August 4, 2024  •   View this email in your browser

Greetings from L.A.!

I hope you're having a great weekend. It's rough day for U.S. travelers thanks to storms. There are over 1,600 canceled flights and it's still early. Below are travel alerts from United (the only airline that emails them to me). FlightAware shows the culprits are mostly East Coast airports with LGA, CLT, MIA, MCO, JFK, TPA, BOS, DFW, PHL DCA, and EWR leading the way. 

🌩️ East Coast Severe Weather
Here are United Airlines' travel waivers, which have been extended for today, August 4: 

•    Baltimore, MD (BWI)
•    New York/Newark, NJ (EWR)
•    New York-Kennedy, NY (JFK)
•    New York-LaGuardia, NY (LGA)
•    Philadelphia, PA (PHL)
•    Washington, DC - Dulles (IAD)
•    Washington-National, DC (DCA)

⛈️ Tropical Depression 4
United Airlines also issued a travel waiver for Florida, thanks to the tropical depression. This waiver is for today through tomorrow (Monday. August 5). These travel waivers allow for voluntary changes for travel to, from or through the airports listed.

•    Ft. Myers, FL (RSW)
•    Key West, FL (EYW)
•    Sarasota, FL (SRQ)
•    Tampa, FL (TPA)

️🚨 Speaking of LaGuardia ... Did you see the TSA officers tackle a traveler who grabbed his backpack from the x-ray machine and tried to run after it was discovered he had a loaded gun inside? Scroll down to see this week's Travel Videos of the Day. There are some crazy ones in there including a Frontier Airlines pilot getting arrested just as the plane was about to push back.
 
🌴Our California road trip
If you get my Daily Travel Tip newsletter, then you know that we just returned from our road trip down the California coast. We started in Sonoma County, spent three nights at Cavallo Point in Sausalito and two nights at the Portola Hotel & Spa in downtown Monterey. The photo above is from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which has to be one of the best aquariums in the world. We then spent a night at the Hilton in Santa Barbara before returning our rental car at LAX. 

🌎 Travel Trivia Question of the Week
This week's Travel Trivia question is once again courtesy of my son who asked this question on our road trip: What are the 5 largest U.S. states? I bet you know what the top three are but number four and five may surprise you. Scroll down to the bottom to find the answer!
 
💡 Reader tip
This tip for expedited Global Entry application approval comes from a reader, who says: "My husband and I decided to get the Global Entry to go with our passports.  We looked at places hosting interviews and chose Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  We scheduled our interviews within a week of deciding to do this!  We interviewed on a Monday and had our global passes on Saturday the same week.  My takeaway:  We had a great mini vacation in an interesting city and accomplished our global pass interviews quickly.  There are immigration centers in other parts of the USA which also are not swamped with people seeking assistance with passport items.  Consider taking a domestic vacation to expedite your next international vacation!" Joanmarie W. ~ Frankenmuth, MI

In this issue:

• Today's Travel Outlook ✈️
• Travel Tips This Week ✅
• Travel Quote of the Day 💬
• Travel Thread of the Day 
• 12 Things to Know in Travel Today 🌎
• Travel Video of the Day 📺
• and more… 

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 

As of 9:25am PT, there have been 1,618 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 3,335 delayed. Here's a link to the up-to-date stats and a live look at the FAA's National Airspace System Status. Here's what to do during weather delays and flight cancellations.

🧭 Travel Product of the Week

The ultimate sleep mask: Why I’ll never go back to my old one
From reader Toni: "On your recommendation, bought this mask for my husband and myself. Wholeheartedly agree, best mask ever! We’ve also used Lewis&Clark, Manta, and others but this is more comfortable and totally seals out light. Just ordered 2 more for Dopp kit and living room for naps. Thanks for recommending." Here's what makes it so good.

🫗 Monday

The lifesaving tips travelers can learn from California highway closure that left motorists stranded for days
On every trip I take, I always monitor the weather and local news. Fortunately, I looked at the news before leaving Sausalito because the San Francisco Marathon took place this past weekend and there were a ton of road closures. I was planning on driving through the city to check it out but passed on it so I didn’t have to deal with the traffic. Another story that caught my eye and is the inspiration for this tip was a headline that read ... Here's the story and tip. 

💰 Tuesday

Money talks: United Airlines passengers can’t get up fast enough to volunteer their seats to Vegas and score jackpot offer
There’s an old saying: “Everyone has a price.” And we see that play out firsthand in this viral video, which was shared with the caption: “When your flight asks for 14 volunteers to get off the flight.” Here's the video and tip. 

⚠️ Wednesday

New Scam Alert: Phony parking tickets with risky QR code payments is currently circulating
I’ve written a lot about scams since travelers are often more susceptible to them than locals. And thanks to tech expert Rich DeMuro, travelers can be well aware of this new scam. Here are the details.

📓 Thursday

Why every parent should pack a flight logbook for their kids every time they travel
A reader just asked me a great question: “I know your kids have used a flight log for years, but I don’t recall seeing you recommend one. I want to get some for my 3 grandkids, 6, 8, & 10.” ~ Len M. Here's my answer and why it's such a great thing to have.

💸 Friday

How long should a layover be when booking a connecting flight?
One question I get a lot from readers is how much time to leave between connecting flights. It’s a great question and in the past few years, the recommended time has changed dramatically. Here's what you need to know.

🐛 Saturday

American Airlines flight makes emergency landing; passengers say they saw ‘bugs crawling out of woman’s hair’
A traveler recently shared the story about his flight from Los Angeles to New York that had to make an emergency landing in Phoenix because passengers saw "bugs crawling out of a woman's hair." The delay was about 12 hours. Besides the horror of the bugs, commenters on the video also expressed horror at the compensation he got from American. Here's the story as well as the government's rules about what passengers are entitled to when their flight is canceled or significantly delayed.

📺 Travel Videos of the Week

Olympic surfer shares athlete’s accommodations on cargo ship almost 10,000 miles away from Paris

Frontier Airlines pilot handcuffed and arrested just before plane pushes back at IAH

Traveler tackled by TSA at LaGuardia Airport after fleeing with loaded gun in backpack

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 Carnival Cruise ends early due to tropical storm, next voyage moved up
2 Countries urge nationals to leave Lebanon as Mid-East war fears grow
3 ‘It was humiliating’: Woman said she was removed from L.A. flight over medical condition
4 Chairs and bottles thrown as protesters clash in resort
5 Why is Japan cracking down on rideable motorised suitcases?
6 Why did Air Canada passengers end up 400 miles further away from London?
7 War shatters dating scene for women in Ukraine
8 ‘Astonishing’ Antarctica heat wave sends temperatures 50 degrees above normal
9 A year after Maui wildfire, chronic housing shortage and pricey vacation rentals complicate recovery
10 We tried to find out the most popular beverage order on every major airline
11 A deer invasion in Hawaii has turned into an environmental crisis—and a sustainable business opportunity
12 Berlin to Helsinki without using a plane
Read it all here as well as the 84 other top travel news stories from this past week!

✅ Currency Exchange

✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points

💳 Our favorite credit card rewards to earn in 2024

💳 5 reasons why the Bilt Card is worth it
The Bilt World Elite Mastercard continues to be the best way to pay rent with a card as you can earn 1 point per dollar in rent payments without fees. However, if you have a high monthly payment, you can reach the previous $50,000 annual earning cap before year-end. Thankfully, the annual Bilt points cap is being lifted so you can earn more points on rent. Here are 5 of the best reasons the Bilt Card is worth it.

✅ Travel Trivia Answer

QUESTION: What are the 5 largest U.S. States?
ANSWER: According to Britannica, they are:
1. Alaska (665,384 square miles)
2. Texas (268,596 square miles)
3. California (163,695 square miles)
4. Montana (147,040 square miles)
5. New Mexico (121,590 square miles)