Best Travel Blogs: 09/11/14

September 11, 2014

What to do when things go “awry” with your Hotwire booking

from Elliott http://elliott.org/the-troubleshooter/things-go-awry-hotwire-booking/

Dragons Coming

In Game of Thrones Who is your favorite character? For me, I’d have to say Tyrion… I liked him ever since I started reading the books about 10 years ago! Daily Photo – Dragons Coming Here's a photo from a wicked place in China. It was a very cloudy and moody sunrise and I thought […]

from Stuck in Customs http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2014/09/12/dragons-coming/

On New York City Beaches, Endless Summer

For some, Labor Day marks the beginning of the choicest time on the city’s beaches, despite the city’s official policy of closing all the beaches to swimming after the holiday.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/3e6211bd/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C0A90C140Cnyregion0Con0Enew0Eyork0Ecity0Ebeaches0Eendless0Esummer0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Travelport aims to raise up to $480M with it IPO in US

The long-awaited US initial public offering of Travelport, the British-based global distribution system (GDS) bought by private equity firm Blackstone Group, values ...

from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/travelport-announces-ipo-aiming-raise-480m/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=travelport-announces-ipo-aiming-raise-480m

My Most Embarrassing Travel Day Ever

I pride myself in airport etiquette. Airports and airplanes are my life. At least it feels that way based on the amount of time I spend in them.

Unfortunately some days I can’t help but beat myself up over being a complete and total f&cking idiot. Usually I'm embarrassed if I make one mistake at an airport, since I’m in my “element” when flying. Unfortunately on Monday I had one of those travel days that felt like an out of body experience.

Let me start by saying that over the past two weeks I’ve collectively undergone 16 hours of delays. And that’s in the midst of my busiest two travel weeks of the year, where I’m flying 45,000 miles and have lots of stuff to attend to on the ground as well. I'm tired, and perhaps that played into this...

The post My Most Embarrassing Travel Day Ever appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/09/11/embarrassing-travel-day-ever/

Being Bad By Doing Good: How An Airline Can Be TOO On-Time

I’ve heard American Airlines CEO Doug Parker say that the most important thing, and almost the only thing, that matters for an airline is to run a safe on-time operation. US Airways has a tendency to start boarding early, and over the past six weeks or so I’ve noticed that American has started to do […]

The post Being Bad By Doing Good: How An Airline Can Be TOO On-Time appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/09/11/airline-can-time-bad-good/

Cape Fur Seals in Namibia

from Everything Everywhere Travel Blog http://everything-everywhere.com/2014/09/11/cape-fur-seals-namibia/

Trip Report: US Airways Boeing 767 Business Class SJU-PHL

US Airways Flight 1078 Route: San Juan (SJU) – Philadelphia (PHL) Flight Length: 3hrs 55mins Aircraft: Boeing 767-200ER (762) Seat: Business Class (Seat 2G) I rarely fly US Airways. Because of the horrible things about them I read every day and my experiences booking flights with them, every time I do fly US Airways my […]

from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/09/trip-report-us-airways-boeing-767-business-class-sju-phl.html

Heads Up: In Buenos Aires, a ‘Secret’ World of Dining

At “closed door” restaurants in the Argentine capital, the address is just part of the intrigue.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/3e614a24/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C0A90C140Ctravel0Cin0Ebuenos0Eaires0Ea0Esecret0Eworld0Eof0Edining0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Next Stop: Wine, Olive Oil and the Good Life in Uruguay

The Carmelo area, not far from Argentina, has recently gained attention as much for its wine as for being an awfully nice place to visit.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/3e614a23/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C0A90C140Ctravel0Cwine0Eolive0Eoil0Eand0Ethe0Egood0Elife0Ein0Euruguay0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Aeroplan Blocking All Air China Award Space

One of the side effects of having an award booking service is that not a week goes by where I don't wonder how in the world "normal" people who aren't obsessed with miles and points manage to redeem their miles at all. This goes beyond knowing that people in our hobby get a much better "value" out of their miles than the average person -- there are times where I am truly blown away that anyone else ever manages to get anything ticketed.

An example of this is an award we recently booked for a client from New York to Beijing on Air China, with the return from Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. Both segments are in first class, and with direct flights this was a rare "textbook" award booking.

The post Aeroplan Blocking All Air China Award Space appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/09/11/aeroplan-blocking-air-china-award-space/

What Do You Do When You Have a Reservation But It’s Not Honored?

I was tweeted this morning with a question about rental cars. [A] friend trying to drive to her wedding this weekend is getting a shrug & “what can you do?” from @Hertz, but no car. Advice? You’re less likely to have this happen to you if you’re a member of the rental car company’s frequency […]

The post What Do You Do When You Have a Reservation But It’s Not Honored? appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/09/11/reservation-honored/

Enchanted Isle: Puerto Rico

If Puerto Rico isn't on your radar, it's time to readjust. The Caribbean’s most convenient destination—especially for Americans, who don't need a passport to get there—is also one of its most interesting, offering travelers untouched rain forest, colonial architecture, and palm-lined beaches. For a weekend or a weeklong getaway, "la isla del enchanto," as it's affectionately called by locals, is quickly becoming a go-to destination.

from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/09/11/enchanted-isle-puerto-rico/

The moment this city became my home

The glow of the buildings across the water seemed to permeate my skin, and I became sure that Chicago was my home.

from Matador NetworkMatador Network http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/moment-city-became-home/

Traveling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by Bus

We were originally going to fly from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. We had booked our flight, but Nicci told me she wanted to see more of the countryside, and suggested that we take the bus instead. Tickets were $15, and they picked us up from directly from our hotel and took us to the […]

from The Everywhereist http://www.everywhereist.com/traveling-from-phnom-penh-to-siem-reap-by-bus/

World's most photogenic volcanoes

It's no surprise that dangerous locales are also often the most photogenic.

from CNN.com - Travel http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/11/travel/photogenic-volcanoes/index.html

Amtrak Doesn’t Know the Definition of “Fall” (But Does Know Double Points)

Amtrak is offering double points system wide. Registration required. They claim the offer is for the entire fall. But it ends November 14. So I do not think ‘Fall’ means what they think it means. (HT: Free Frequent Flyer Miles) You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — […]

The post Amtrak Doesn’t Know the Definition of “Fall” (But Does Know Double Points) appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/09/11/amtrak-doesnt-know-definition-fall-know-double-points/

The NYC tourists don't see

This video shows 99 sides of New York most tourists don't even know exist.

from Matador NetworkMatador Network http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/visit-99-nyc-locations-2-minutes/

Collecting Miles As A Beginner?

Reader Owen left the following comment on the Ask Lucky page a few weeks ago, but I'm just now getting to answering in-depth:

Hi, Ben. I have a friend at work who plans to go from DC (any airport) to BKK via Tokyo (stop-over of 5 days) and asked for my help. She is looking for two first (preferably) or business class tickets. I plan to refer your booking service. She and her husband have almost no credit cards but great credit, which should make it easy to get enough miles and points before May next year, which is when they want to go. Which points and miles should I recommend, and how many? Should I have them contact you now? I’m thinking Chase Ultimate rewards and Amex MRs, in addition to other miles, will provide the most options. ANA, AA, US Airways, Korean, and Singapore are potential airlines. Thanks.

This is a common question, and it's understandably difficult for people who are new to our hobby to wrap their heads around the mileage requirements for award tickets. So I thought it might be helpful to go through my general approach for recommending a card strategy.

The post Collecting Miles As A Beginner? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/09/11/collecting-miles-as-a-beginner/

In Transit Blog: Boutique Hotels Get a French Design Touch

Sofitel So boutique hotels feature the work of French designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Lacroix.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/3e5fa8cc/sc/10/l/0Lintransit0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C0A90C110Cboutique0Ehotels0Eget0Ea0Efrench0Edesign0Etouch0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Armchair Traveler: Transformative Travel, 4 Ways

Follow a photographer to Mexico and Hunter S. Thompson to South America, then head to Brazil for culture and the Galápagos for nature in this survey of four recent books.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/3e5fa8cb/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C0A90C140Ctravel0Ctransformative0Etravel0E40Eways0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

10 things to do in New Orleans

#9: Volunteer at an urban farm. They make use of areas that were once an eyesore, growing food for neighborhoods that need better access to fresh produce.

from Matador NetworkMatador Network http://matadornetwork.com/trips/10-things-first-time-traveler-new-orleans/

The dullest, most vital trend in travel mobile apps: local event curation

In a broad trend, travel players like Gogobot are moving aggressively into the “local” space in order to capture the attention of ...

from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/gogobots-move-local-events-mirrors-broader-mobile-travel-app-trend/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gogobots-move-local-events-mirrors-broader-mobile-travel-app-trend

IHG Will Seriously Close Your Account for Signing Up for Bonus Offers

IHG Rewards (formerly Priority Club) used to be one of the absolutely most generous programs for free nights because you could sign up for tons of promotions, earn them all on the same stays, and wind up with a windfall of points. Basically IHG Rewards would send out different kinds of offers, and anyone who […]

The post IHG Will Seriously Close Your Account for Signing Up for Bonus Offers appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/09/11/ihg-will-seriously-close-account-signing-bonus-offers/