January 19, 2025  •   View this email in your browser

Greetings

❤️ #WeLoveLA
It's been a devastating week for everyone here in L.A. and we're all thankful for the firefighters and first responders who continue to serve so heroically. Whether you were directly impacted by the fires or not, all Angelenos and of course so many people across the country, have felt the heartbreak. If you have the means to help, Discover Los Angeles lists charitable organizations that are on the ground to help, including the Los Angeles Fire Foundation, the California Community Foundation and the American Red Cross. 

In times of tragedy or disaster, it can sometimes be hard to know what to do and how best to help. In addition to the resources listed above, Visit California released a statement that said, “Los Angeles has always been a beacon to the world – a place where dreams are born and stories unfold from the silver screen to iconic landmarks. Now this resilient city needs your help in its recovery story. One of the best ways to support the comeback of Los Angeles is to plan a trip.”

We followed their advice and instead of escaping to San Diego as we'd been contemplating, we stayed local to explore our own backyard and take advantage of the small crowds. We went somewhere we've always wanted to go but somehow had never found the time ... the La Brea Tar Pits. Here's what our visit was like. The Tar Pits are located right next to LACMA and the Urban Lights installation (pictured above). We had a really wonderful time and my son said it's his new favorite place in California. 

There's a lot of travel news this week including a major storm impacting flights along the East Coast. 

❄️ East Coast Winter Weather
Airlines have issued an expanded travel waiver for the east coast for today (January 19). This allows for voluntary changes for travel to, from or through the airports listed below:

❄️ Gulf Coast Winter Weather
There's also a travel waiver for the Gulf Coast (Travel dates:January 20-22), which allows for voluntary changes for travel to, from or through the airports listed.

️‍🔥 Southern California Wildfires - Extension III
Airlines have also extended travel waivers for Southern California as they are now valid through January 21 for these SoCal airports: Burbank, CA (BUR); Los Angeles, CA (LAX); Ontario, CA (ONT) and Santa Ana - Orange County, CA (SNA). 

🏨 World of Hyatt bonus journeys is back! Earn up to 30K points through March 28
If you ever stay at Hyatt hotels, then you should take 10 seconds to register to earn 2X points at participating hotels worldwide or 3X points at Hyatt Place & Hyatt House hotels. Complete your stays between January 27 and March 28, 2025.

🌸 Fiji Airways sale
In late November, my family and I went on an epic trip to Fiji and Australia, flying mostly on Fiji’s national airline, Fiji Airways. Here's what it was like to fly in the very back of the plane. They just launched incredible roundtrip flight deals for American travelers looking to escape. Travelers can fly from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu or Dallas Fort Worth to:

• Fiji from $748
• Australia from $848 
• New Zealand $848 
• Tonga & Western Samoa from $1,298 

Available on select travel dates but you must purchase by February 7, 2025.

California’s most overlooked state park inspires visitors to ponder their place in the universe
If you're looking to escape L.A. and the surrounding area, then you might want to consider Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It's California’s first and only designated Dark Sky Community. Nestled deep in eastern San Diego County, stargazers can rejoice anywhere in this 615,000-acre protected area, as Borrego Springs’ desert mountain landscape is far from city light pollution. Here's the story.

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 10:10am PT, there have been 993 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 2,051 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 Products of the Week

$13.98 (30% off!) Power Strip with USB-C & 3 Outlets – 4 USB Ports, 5ft Braided Cord, Flat Plug – Ideal for Travel & Cruise Ships

😤Monday

How to measure air quality where you live or where you’re going
I’m guessing that most Americans don’t pay much attention to the Air Quality Index (AQI) on a regular basis. That is, not until recently when they’re either dealing with or reading about the dangerous air in Los Angeles because of the fires. Here's what you need to know.

🧳 Tuesday

Be prepared: How to pack a go bag for any emergency
The horrific fires here in Southern California underscore the need to have an emergency go bag packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. Here's how to pack one with everything you'll need in the event of any kind of emergency situation. 

️‍🚬 Wednesday

How to protect your family from wildfire smoke with a DIY air purifier
Although the last several days have been beautiful in appearance, clear blue skies and the air quality apps say that the air quality is "GOOD", I knew in my heart that they weren’t. My wife has been saying for days that she doesn't trust that the AQI measurements on our weather apps are factoring in the toxins in the air due to the fires. Then this story came out: Toxic Wildfire Ash Danger May Not Be Reflected In AQI: Officials. It's scary to think about the potential long-term effects of being exposed to this air. A friend's pulmonologist said that this is the type of toxic air that turns into lung cancer in 15 years.

We kept our kids home from school most of last week because their school is resuming outdoor activities. We have two air purifiers in our house. One is the commercial grade Jaspr air purifier and the other is a Dyson Purifier Cool so we know the air is clean in our house and of course, we are keeping the windows closed. There are cheaper air purifier options, which you can check out here. If you can’t get one because they’re in high demand right now, you can also make one yourself. Here are the instructions per the CDC.

🎒 Thursday

There's a cat in a backpack on my L.A. flight: What to do if you're allergic
It’s not every day that you see a cat chilling in a specially made cat backpack, preparing to board a plane. A friend of mine sent me a video of this yesterday while he was boarding their flight from Denver to Los Angeles. Here's the video and what you should do if you're allergic. 

🔊 Friday

What you need to know about getting a REAL ID 
In the coming weeks, Americans can expect some degree of fearmongering about getting a REAL ID. It’s essentially the same warning we’ve been hearing for the last 20 years. That’s right. In 2005, Congress enacted the REAL ID Act to address the security vulnerabilities exposed by the 9/11 attacks, aiming to strengthen identification standards and improve security. Here's what you need to know.

🏨 Saturday

Trip report: LAX to ORD and staying in an allergy-friendly room at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport 
Ever wondered what the airport hotel at ORD is like? Here's my trip report, filled with tips.

📺 Travel Videos of the Week

Alaska Airlines flight attendant fired over viral twerking video now seeking $12,000 in donations

UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov removed from Frontier Airlines flight over alleged English misunderstanding

Australian Open turns to animation to engage new fans

Thai farmer pretends she's an Emirates flight attendant in hilarious video

Don't touch my car prank videos

Flying over downtown L.A.

🌎 Top 12 Travel Stories of the Week

1 East Coast to be bombarded with trio of frigid snowstorms
2 US government sues Southwest Airlines and fines Frontier for chronically delayed flights
3 American Airlines flight attendant fatally stabbed during Denver layover on 16th Street
4 Southwest Airlines pilot accused of DUI is arrested at Georgia airport before flight
5 Azul, Gol inch closer to potential tie-up to form major Brazil airline
6 Lufthansa to resume Israel flights
7 PIA, Pakistan’s national airline, in trouble over disturbing social media ad
8 Hanging out at Starbucks will cost you as company reverses its open-door policy
9 Mokulele Airlines grounds fleet over maintenance issue
10 Capital One allegedly cheated customers out of $2 billion, CFPB says
11 President Biden announces 2 new national monuments in California after wildfires scuttled previous event
12 FAA is investigating a midair near-collision between two planes near the Phoenix airport
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

💳 What points transfer to American Airlines miles?
American Airlines is one of the world’s largest airlines that serves just about every destination across the world. As it’s easy to redeem travel miles for award flights, you may try to transfer points to American Airlines to put them to good use and to stop your travel miles from expiring. But what points transfer to American Airlines? Here's what you need to know.

💳 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.