Greetings! I hope you had a great week. I did not travel this week and didn't get a lot done since I've been dealing with identity theft and kids holiday parties ... not exactly a great combo. My wife gave me an RFID-blocking wallet as an early Christmas present, which is a great idea to help protect your credit cards data and identity. Here's the one she got me. It makes a great gift for yourself or anyone on your holiday shopping list. Identity theft is no joke and not fun to deal with.
🌺 Alaska Airlines Buying Hawaiian
The big travel news of the week was that Alaska Airlines is acquiring Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion. Here are the details. Of course, a few minutes after I sent last week's newsletter, they announced this surprising news.
⛈️ Northeast Severe Weather
It's been a fairly smooth week for air travel around the U.S. but that might change later today as there's a storm brewing on the east coast. In fact, United Airlines just issued a travel waiver for today and tomorrow: New York/Newark Severe Weather - Expanded.
This travel waiver was originally for travel to, from or through New York/Newark, NJ (EWR); New York-Kennedy, NY (JFK) and New York-LaGuardia, NY (LGA). But it has since been extended to, Bangor, ME (BGR); Boston, MA (BOS); Burlington, VT (BTV); Hartford, CT (BDL); Manchester, NH (MHT); Philadelphia, PA (PHL); Portland, ME (PWM) and Providence, RI (PVD). It allows for voluntary changes so if you want to avoid potential headaches, consider delaying your trip.
🚂 A Little Room With a View: Traveling Cross-Country in an Amtrak Roomette
My wife and I wrote a lot of travel tips this week, which you can find below. But another great story we published this week comes to you courtesy of my cousin Karen who wrote a short but interesting piece on Amtrak's roomette. Here's an excerpt:
“Whatever you do, don’t get the roomette.” This warning came from a colleague regarding our trip from Chicago to Sacramento on the Amtrak California Zephyr. This input would have been most welcome … if we hadn’t heard it a scant 36 hours before our scheduled departure. A quick phone call to Amtrak sealed our fate. The train was completely sold out, no larger rooms were available for our three-day, two night journey. Read the whole story here. |
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✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 
As of 8:25am PT, there have been 57 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 2,058 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.
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⚠️ Monday 
Don't Fall For This Gift Card Scam This Holiday Season
According to Civic Science, "This holiday season is shaping up to be the year of the gift card. Nearly 1-in-3 U.S. adults say it’s ‘very likely’ they will be giving gift cards this year (excluding those ‘not sure’), up 12% from last year. An additional 35% say they’re ‘somewhat likely’ to purchase gift cards. All in all, just a little over a third of U.S. adults will not be buying gift cards this year, indicating gift cards will be a major source of revenue for retailers this season." Citing convenience as the number one reason to buy gift cards, shoppers do need to be aware of potential risks. So, if you're planning to purchase gift cards this holiday season, here's a scam you need to look out for. Knowing what to look for can prevent you from getting ripped off. Here's the story.
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💻 Tuesday 
Tech Expert's Advice For Keeping Your Phone Safe When Asking Strangers to Take Your Photo
My buddy and renowned tech expert Rich DeMuro just shared a good tip on his social media pages that all travelers should take note of. Here's the tip.
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⚠️ Wednesday 
FBI Warns ‘Tis the Season For Holiday Scams – Here’s What You Need to Know
General wisdom says that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. And while no one wants to think about getting scammed over the holidays, well, it happens. The holidays might be a busy time of year for you but they’re an extremely busy time of year for scammers and their main goal is to either steal your money or your personal information … or both. Here's the tip.
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💻 Thursday 
11 Tips For Using In-Flight WiFi Safely
I recently wrote about how six of my credit cards were hacked in as many days. It left me wondering how this could have happened. I wondered if my computer had been hacked while using in-flight WiFi a few days prior. Some experts advise against using in-flight WiFi at all because of the vulnerabilities but ... easier said than done. Here are 11 tips for using in-flight WiFi safely.
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🛍️ Friday 
14 Tips and Tricks For Avoiding Holiday Travel Headaches
I'm an optimist so I think Christmas/NYE holiday travels will be smooth just like Thanksgiving was. However, this time around, it's a much longer period for something to go wrong (ahem, a major snowstorm) than there is for Thanksgiving. If a major storm hits or an airline has another IT failure, then everything could be thrown off. That's why I wrote an article featuring my best holiday travel tips, including information on navigating the crowds and generally, how to have a smooth travel experience.
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🧳 Saturday 
Flying with Gifts: TSA's Advice
Without a doubt, airports and airplanes are going to be packed this holiday season. With that in mind, security checkpoints are going to be crazier than ever. Here's the TSA's advice on how to not get your gifts confiscated or ruined.
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📺 Travel Video of the Week 
Aussie Saves Dog from a Kangaroo by Boxing Him
If you haven't seen this wild video, it's worth the 15 seconds.
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⚡ 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.
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💬 TRAVEL QUOTE OF THE DAY “The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” ~ Shirley MacLaine |
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🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel This Week 1 Airport locked down after anti-aircraft ammunition discovered
2 ‘Bank jackings’ in Chicago see robbers drain victims’ accounts with their banking apps, cellphones
3 After more than a year of discussion, L.A. is ready to make outdoor dining permanent
4 Nearly half of men think they can safely land a plane in an emergency, survey finds
5 Now you can visit a real-life ‘Hobbit Hole’ in New Zealand
6 Guy flies to France to surprise girlfriend only to find out she flew to England to surprise him
7 Virgin airline workers caught in 'wholesome' moment on tarmac at Aussie airport
8 'Ghana Must Go' bags: Ethiopian Airlines bans the well-known luggage
9 How to strengthen your immune system for better health, fewer sick days this winter
10 Pickles, halloumi and camel milk: What we’ll be eating in 2024
11 The pretty little UK city surprisingly named as the most beautiful in the world
12 Hong Kong air traffic to make ‘full recovery’ next year |
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🧵 TRAVEL THREAD OF THE DAY @flyingphotog: Southwest has introduced deicing trucks with forced air capabilities in Denver. Think of it as a big blow dryer. Removing snow on the gate helps reduce time spent and Glycol used while on the deicing pad before departure. |
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✅ Currency Exchange ✅ Calendar Countdown 🇪🇺 €1 Euro = $1.07 USD 🎅 15 days until Christmas
🇬🇧 £1 GBP = $1.25 USD 🎊 21 days until New Year's Eve
🇨🇦 $1 CAD = $0.73 USD ❤️ 66 days until Valentine's Day
🇦🇺 $1 AUD = $0.65 USD 🐰 112 days until Easter
🇲🇽 $1 MXN = $.057 USD ☀️ 167 days until Memorial Day Weekend |
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