November 12, 2023  •   View this email in your browser

Greetings!

☀️ I hope you're having a great weekend! It's like summer here in L.A. with a high of 82F but it's supposedly going to get cold and wet later in the week. 

✈️ I just returned from a three-day, two-night trip that took me to five airports: LAX-JFK, LGA-BNA-DFW-LAX. I had a wide range of seats from a plush lie-flat to a cramped middle seat in economy. I also had multiple celebrities sitting next to me including Conan O'Brien (pictured above) and Gerry Turner, the Golden Bachelor (pictured below). Here's my LAX-JFK first class trip report.

🎤 Both were extremely warm and friendly, which is always refreshing. Gerry was in Nashville for the CMAs and I was there to speak at a travel conference, which was my first speaking gig since the pandemic. It felt great to be back out there.

When I returned home, I took the kids to the Dr. Seuss Experience in Santa Monica. Here's what it's like. 

🧳 I have a lot more travel coming up so let's hope it all goes as smoothly as this week's travels did. 

📰 Surprisingly, there's a lot of travel news today so instead of doing a recap of the top 12 stories, there are new ones and a link to see each day's travel headlines. 

⚠️ SCAM ALERT: I Just Got Suckered to Be a Guest on a Podcast for $3,000 But I Didn’t See the Actual Scam Coming
If you have a verified Facebook or Instagram account, you will want to read this story I just wrote. I'm embarrassed to admit I fell for this ridiculous scam but I'm sharing my story to help prevent it from happening to anyone else.

BONUS: Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa in Carlsbad, California

Sponsor: Indus Travels

9-Day Tour to the Islands of Thailand Including Flights!
​Starting from $1599 per person, unwind at beaches in Phuket, see the limestone cliffs in Phi Phi, and explore Krabi. This ultra small group tour, with a maximum of 6 guests per departure, includes the superior hotels, daily breakfast, ferry services, and more. Book by Nov. 24th and save $300 with the promo code WCBH1123.

In this issue:

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

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 

As of 9:30am PT, there have been 48 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 1,068 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.

🔋 Monday

The Foldable, 3-in-1 Charging Station Every Traveler Should Pack
One of my constant frustrations when traveling is keeping all of my devices charged. Over the years, the number of products I use that require charging has grown considerably. It’s no longer just my phone and computer. Now, many of us have to charge a watch, a Kindle, tablets, earbuds and headphones. It’s a lot. Here's how to make it easier.

🌴 Tuesday

Oh, the Places You'll Go! Use This Travel Hack to Find Cheap Flights
If you're looking to get away and are flexible on your destination, this travel hack is for you. It will show you where the cheapest places to fly are. Check it out here.

🧳 Wednesday

Want to Make Life Easier When You Travel? Do This Simple Thing
Yesterday, I was in New York City attending a media event for Airbnb. I’ll share those details later today once the embargo is lifted. But since I was going straight to New York’s LaGuardia Airport immediately after the press event, I brought my bags with me. Something the bellman said to me and something that happened immediately after was the inspiration for this tip. Read the story here.

💻 Thursday

The Privacy Gadget Every Traveler Needs When Working on a Laptop, Phone or Tablet
If you need to do work, read important documents, send sensitive emails or do anything private on your laptop, phone or tablet when you're on an airplane (or in any public place, for that matter), then you should be using one of these great gadgets. I've had mine for more than a decade and never travel without it. Read the story here.

📅 Friday

Travel Tip: Give Your Upgrade To A Soldier
When I first wrote this tip, I truly debated if I should write about this or not. I don’t want it to look like I did it for anything other than what it was … the right thing to do. But I’m hoping that bringing attention to it just might inspire others to do the same. Here's the story. 

🎖️ Saturday

48 Ways to Honor a Veteran For Their Service This Veterans Day
It’s Veterans Day and although I’ve never served in the military, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of all the sacrifices our brave soldiers have made to allow me and the hundreds of millions of people in the USA and abroad, to live the lives we live. I try to show my gratitude as often as possible, including either giving my upgrade to soldiers or upgrading them next to me using my miles and points. Here's the tip. 

📺 Travel Video of the Week

Escorting a Fallen Soldier Home on Delta Air Lines Turned an Ordinary Flight Into the Most Extraordinary Flight of My Life
Back in October 2013, I boarded a flight that I wasn’t originally supposed to be on. I wasn’t feeling well and so I postponed my flight by a day. Little did I know then that because of this change, I would end up on what would turn into the most emotional flight of my life. It’s now 10 years later and still, I think of this flight often, but especially on Veterans Day. Here’s what made it so emotional. Here's the story and video.

⚡ Travel Product of the Week

Bagsmart Electronic Organizer Travel Case
One of my best travel organizing tools is a tech organizing case like the Bagsmart Electronic Organizer Travel Case. It comes in a single layer style like the one pictured above and is currently 40% off. The double layer style is also on sale for 20% off. Check out both options here.

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel This Week

1 Taylor Swift's postponed Argentina show prompts airline to waive flight-change fees
2 Iceland declares state of emergency, evacuates over threat of volcanic eruption
3 There's another wildfire burning in Hawaii. This one is destroying irreplaceable rainforest on Oahu
4 Maui tourism on the road to recovery but emotions still run deep
5 American Airlines passenger: Pilot took girlfriend's first-class seat
6 For the second day in a row a similar mistake caused a security issue at Pearson airport.
7 Cruise's recall means trouble for driverless car companies
8 London police arrest over 120 as pro-Palestinian rally draws counter-protests
9 American Airlines preps for busiest ever Thanksgiving holiday
10 Israel-Hamas war slows global air travel recovery
11 Early snowfall a boon for alpine ski resorts
12 'Legendary' dad flies easyJet plane to Spain himself after pilot doesn't show up

✅ Currency Exchange            ✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points