Alan 
Weekend in Istanbul – Part 1: Air France 777 Business Class Weekend in Istanbul – Part 2: What to See Grand Hyatt Istanbul – Hotel Review Hyatt Regency Istanbul – Hotel Review As part of my whirlwind trip to Istanbul, I spent two nights at the Grand Hyatt Istanbul. I … Read more
I applied for and was approved for an American Express Platinum Card last week. Today I received the “Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions” (which are about as exciting a read as any legal document). But after reading through them I was reminded that frequent flyer miles and credit card points … Read more
Weekend in Istanbul – Part 1: Air France 777 Business Class Weekend in Istanbul – Part 2: What to See Grand Hyatt Istanbul – Hotel Review Hyatt Regency Istanbul – Hotel Review Back in March, Air France had a limited sale on flights from Houston to Istanbul in Premium Economy … Read more
Hyatt Regency Houston Review On my way to Istanbul, I had a 24 hour layover in Houston. I was able to secure a room at the Hyatt Regency Houston for $112 online through the Hyatt Best Rate Guarantee. As of March, 2019, the property is a Category 2 which allows … Read more
The day before I was scheduled to check in to the Hyatt Regency Houston, I received Hyatt Consumer Research asking me to download and test out the new Ask Hyatt app for iPhone. Previously I have used the STAYConnect app and enjoyed the ease of controlling the tv, checking out, … Read more
Alaska Airlines Mile Calculator For all things Alaska Airlines, check out my Alaska Airlines Page. Calculating your total miles with Alaska can be a bit of a chore. The Mileage Plan website shows your progress towards the next level of elite status and your mileage activity. However, it doesn’t break … Read more
Here is my airline mistake fare analogy I came up with after the recent British Airways ordeal: You go to the Apple Store. You see a Macbook priced at $600. “Wow!” you think. “That is an incredible deal! I’ll buy one.” You take it to the cashier. Cashier rings it … Read more
Today I had my British Airways mistake deeply discounted ticket canceled. Early Thursday morning (August 20, 2015) British Airways had an extremely good sale on first class tickets from various German cities to Kuala Lumpur and Sydney. So good, in fact, that British is now calling it an “invalid fare” and ended … Read more
Today I received an email with instructions on how to earn an easy 1,000 free Starwood Preferred Guest points (SPG). I do not know if this is a targeted promotion or not, so YMMV (your mileage may vary). First, download the SPG Mobile App onto your mobile device. Next, Log In … Read more
Today Amex released an update to one of their more popular travel rewards credit card. Seven of the thirteen newest articles on BoardingArea (a site that hosts a number of travel bloggers) were posts about the card. Other bloggers are highlighting the new card. Twitter is aflutter with tweets about Amex. … Read more
I conducted a very unofficial survey on the most popular airplane seats for domestic (US) flights when traveling in economy. I suggested survey participants imagined a 737 seat layout (narrow body, single aisle). I received 52 responses (thank you!) from readers of SingleFlyer, FlyerTalk, Reddit and my followers on Twitter. The … Read more
In what should come as no surprise to anyone that is a member, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan rated best Rewards Program in U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 ranking. Highlights of why Alaska won top honors were the number of airline partners (15), number of retail and hotel partners, and flexible … Read more
When flying domestic economy in the US, which seat and row do you prefer? Are you a window or aisle person? Front or back of the plane? Seat preference seems to elicit strong opinions. Many times I have heard someone, when asked to move seats, say they HAVE to have … Read more
I am a huge Apple guy. I have a MacBook, iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, etc. I worked for Apple for a short time in 2008 (but do not any more… I have no inside scoop, sorry). iPads also have been a staple (pun) in my manufactured spend and resale game for … Read more
As I sit in my condo listening to the Blue Angels buzz by, I have a confession to make. I feel like a bit of a fraud. See, I write a blog about how much I love to travel. And in it do trip reports that often take place on airplanes. … Read more