Virtual reality, B2B data visualization, and interactive itineraries emerge at THack Seattle

Seattle was the latest stop on the THack global travel hackathon train — and, despite the town’s reputation for a consistent light ...

from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/virtual-reality-b2b-data-visualization-and-interactive-itineraries-emerge-at-thack-seattle/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=virtual-reality-b2b-data-visualization-and-interactive-itineraries-emerge-at-thack-seattle

6 signs you're broke in Manhattan

At a swanky party, you regale groups of equally horrified and fascinated socialites with a story about the gritty experience of buying your own groceries.

from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/6-signs-youre-broke-hell-manhattan/

Did Southwest Rapid Rewards Shoot Itself in the Foot?

Today, TPG Senior Points & Miles Correspondent Jason Steele looks at the recent changes to Southwest Rapid Rewards to determine the overall effect on pricing and what it means for award travelers. It stinks when a company devalues its points or miles, but the smell is truly rotten when the extent of that devaluation is unspecified, and can’t be clearly spelled...

from The Points Guy http://thepointsguy.com/2015/04/did-southwest-rapid-rewards-shoot-itself-in-the-foot/

Hyatt Gold Passport Password Change Required

A lot of loyalty programs have been having issues with account hacking lately. This is largely caused by members using the same usernames and passwords across programs, which makes it easier for hackers to access multiple accounts.

Hyatt Gold Passport is now requiring all Gold Passport members who sign into their online account with a username to change their passwords.

If you try logging into your Gold Passport account now you should receive the following error message:

"The password you entered does not correspond with your username or Hyatt Gold Passport account number. Please check it and try again."

The post Hyatt Gold Passport Password Change Required appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/04/21/hyatt-gold-passport-password-change-required/

Travel Contest: What’s Your Worst/Most Embarrassing Tired-While-Traveling Sleepless Story?

Join Vagabondish on Twitter and Facebook.

I was so tired once after a long-haul flight to South Africa that I showed up to the airport a day early for my connecting flight. Better than a day late, I suppose. But … that’s what being up for 32 straight hours will do to you. I’m a horribly finicky sleeper. My body needs […]

The post Travel Contest: What’s Your Worst/Most Embarrassing Tired-While-Traveling Sleepless Story? appeared first on Vagabondish.

from Vagabondish http://www.vagabondish.com/travel-contest-tylenol-i-was-so-tired/

The Real Reason Airlines Charge Checked Bag Fees.. And It’s Not What You Think.

Checked bag fees now total billions of dollars in the US. Airlines make real money off them... but not for the reason you think. There are hidden costs that obscure what's really going on when an airline charges you that fee. This is what you may not realize about those checked bag fees..

Continue reading The Real Reason Airlines Charge Checked Bag Fees.. And It’s Not What You Think....

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/04/21/the-real-reason-airlines-charge-checked-bag-fees-and-its-not-what-you-think/

8 signs you're from Sweden

You’ve tried snus and you like your candy salty. Oh heyyy, licorice!

from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/8-signs-born-raised-sweden/

A Foreigner’s Lesson on How to “Deal” with Foreigners

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Turner Wright's personal travels provide perspective on what it's like to be "dealt with" as a foreigner.

The post A Foreigner’s Lesson on How to “Deal” with Foreigners appeared first on Vagabondish.

from Vagabondish http://www.vagabondish.com/dealing-with-foreigners/

Congress and the airline industry are in bed together, literally

from Elliott http://elliott.org/blog/congress-and-the-airline-industry-are-in-bed-together-literally/

Register For IHG Rewards Club Share Forever Promotion

Last Friday I wrote about how IHG would be announcing the details of their summer promotion this week.

While it took a bit longer than I was expecting, IHG's summer promotion is now live. The promotion is called "Share Forever," and it's valid for stays between May 1 and September 7, 2015.

The promotion is being offered in conjunction with Coca Cola (I get how Coke is all about "sharing," though I'm not sure I get the tie in for the purposes of the promotion).

The post Register For IHG Rewards Club Share Forever Promotion appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/04/21/register-now-for-ihg-rewards-club-share-forever-promotion/

The Totalitarian Art Gallery in Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam is home to many fine upscale art galleries and high-end restaurants. Its one of the most expensive places to live in the Netherlands, prestigious enough that Rembrandt lived out the last few years of his life here. But amidst the luxury boutiques and galleries, lies a small antique shop on the corner of Singel and Lijnbaanssteeg, overlooking the old Singel canal, the original moat which surrounded the old city. 

Inside the shop is a fairly eclectic collection of antiques, which veer towards the somewhat peculiar; Victorian anatomical models, vintage optometry equipment and taxidermy. In one of the cases is a small statue of Lenin and under it a small printed card: “Visit the Totalitarian Museum in the Basement”. 

Stepping through the swinging wooden doors separating the shop from the office at the back, and turning the corner, there is a narrow staircase leading to the basement. There you will find, lurking underneath the streets of Amsterdam, one of the largest private collections of artifacts collected from countries with the darkest of pasts: the secret Totalitarian Art Gallery.

Largely collected from the former Soviet Union, the low-ceilinged basement is filled with original propaganda paintings, toys, signs, flags, and medals. The Soviet propaganda program was one of the most widespread, brutal, and uncompromising of the 20th century. Strictly enforcing the Marxist-Leninist party line, it dwelt equally on the cult of personality of its leaders, the promotion of the heroic idealism of Communist workers, the suppression of the Western class system, and most chillingly, the manipulation of the young. The party line was omnipresent through posters, newspapers, the media, and the arts. Bludgeoned into the minds of the Soviet children through songs, marches and meetings, the ideal was to “make the young into a generation of Communists. Children, like soft wax, are very malleable and they should be moulded into good Communists.”

Other brutal regimes are also on display, from la Republic de Cuba to the most Orwellian of totalitarian societies, the Deutsche Demokratic Republik. From unopened packets of KOCKMOC cigarettes, named for the Soviet Kosmos satellites; to the RAKETA line of watches, named in honor of Yuri Gagarin; prestigious medals such as the Medal Materinstva I Stepini, awarded to all mothers bearing and raising six children; and the Za osvoenie nedr i razvitie neftegazovogo kompleksa Zapadnoj Sibiri medal, awarded to three years outstanding service to the Petrochemical Complex of Western Siberia.

The totalitarian regimes documented in the collection may have long gone, but the chilling message they propagandized, lives on in a tiny basement in Amsterdam.

from Atlas Obscura http://atlasobscura.com.feedsportal.com/c/35387/f/665719/s/45988aa7/sc/3/l/0L0Satlasobscura0N0Cplaces0Cthe0Etotalitarian0Eart0Egallery/story01.htm

Hallstatt, Austria: So Pretty, China Made a Counterfeit Copy

I don’t think Jeff and Amanda knew what to make of me at first. Rand had met Jeff a…

from The Everywhereist http://www.everywhereist.com/hallstatt-austria-so-pretty-china-made-a-counterfeit-copy/

Uber / Capital One Partnership Offers Savings and Free Rides

Today Capital One announced a new strategic partnership with Uber that will offer cardholders an easy way to save on transportation costs. Effective immediately, the Capital One Quicksilver and Capital One QuicksilverOne cash rewards credit cards will offer cardholders 20% off Uber rides from now until April 30, 2016. If you haven’t already tried Uber, you’re in luck. For...

from The Points Guy http://thepointsguy.com/2015/04/uber-capital-one-partnership-offers-savings-and-free-rides/

Mission To Cuba (And The Future)

Cuba is still under a U.S. trade embargo, but executives traveling with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are looking toward a future where "there will be 30 or 40 million Americans vacationing in Cuba every year."

from Travel Feedly http://www.ibtimes.com/what-new-york-gov-andrew-cuomos-cuba-trade-mission-means-us-travel-industry-1889475

13 addicting things about DC

DC: the only place in America where the Presidential motorcade is more of a traffic nuisance than a novelty.

from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/life/13-things-youll-addicted-living-dc/