January 18, 2023  •   View this email in your browser

Greetings!

We're back from our amazing 12-day trip to Hawaii and I have a lot of stories to write! Here are the first three:

Trip Report: Los Angeles to Maui on American Airlines
Here's my trip report, which is full of tips. 

Car Rental Tips I Learned from Renting a Car in Maui
Part 2 of my trip report is chock-full of car rental tips that relate to Maui specifically but many of which can be applied to renting a car anywhere. 

Hotel Review: Ka'anapali Beach Hotel in Maui
“Low key” and “old school” were the main reasons guests told me they like staying at Ka’anapali Beach Hotel (KBH). Forty minutes (26 miles) from Kahului International Airport (OGG), along the scenic Ka’anapali coast in Lahaina, Hawaii sits this idyllic resort, which just underwent an $80 million renovation. Here’s why you should add this hotel to your Maui travel plans.

TSA Checkpoint #s
Americans continue to take to the skies. TSA officers screened 1,788,696 people at airport checkpoints nationwide yesterday, January 17. Four years ago on the same day (pre-pandemic): 1,600,698.

Travel Deals
Celebrity Cruises launches wave deal through March 1 with some great deals. For example:

Mexican Riviera: 7-Night Cruise from Los Angeles on Celebrity Solstice from now through April 2023 with stops in Catalina Island and overnight in Cabo San Lucas for only $239 per person.

Alaska: 7-Night Northbound Glacier from Vancouver on the fully revolutionized Celebrity Millennium from Fri. May 12, 2023, to Fri. May 19, 2023. Stops include Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway and Hubbard Glacier with prices starting at $500 per person. 

If you need a cruise travel agent, I use ... Mike Gelman (1-800-724-5868).

In this issue:

• ✈️ Today's Travel Outlook
• ✅ Today's Travel Tip
• 💬 Travel Quote of the Day
•  Travel Tweet of the Day
• 📺 Travel Video of the Day
• 🌎 and more…

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 

As of 2:10pm PT, there have been 459 canceled flights to/from or within the United States and 2,227 delayed. You can see the FAA's National Airspace System map above. Here's a link to the up-to-date stats and here's what to do during weather delays and flight cancellations.

✅ Today's Travel Tip

The Top 20 Safest Airlines to Fly in 2023 According to New Airline Safety Ratings Results
The top 20 safest airlines, according to AirlineRatings.com's metrics are ... Click here to find out which airlines they've deemed the safest.

✅ L.A. Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow

The L.A. Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow Exhibit is a Dazzling Display and Celebration of Nature
My wife and I took our kids to see the L.A. Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow exhibit at the L.A. Zoo and it exceeded expectation. Get a sneak peek and buy tickets here.

✅ Currency Exchange            ✅ Calendar Countdown

          🇪🇺 €1 Euro = $1.07 USD                                      💘 27 Days to Valentine's Day
          🇲🇽 $1 MXP = $.052 USD                                     👨‍💼 33 Days to President's Day
          🇬🇧 £1 GBP = $1.23 USD                                      🐇 81 Days to Easter
          🇨🇦 $1 CAD = $0.74 USD                                       🇺🇸 131 Days to Memorial Day
          🇦🇺 $1 AUD = $0.69 USD                                      ✨ 167 Days to Fourth of July

✅ Yesterday's Travel Tip

How To Avoid Long Lines When You Travel ... and At Home
There’s one thing I really don’t like and that’s standing in lines ... and I know you probably feel the same way. That’s why I learned from an early age the value of holding elite status with airlines, hotels and car rentals. (Here's the trick to getting TSA PreCheck fast and 4 other tips you need to know.) So, if your distain for long lines equals mine, then you will appreciate this tip. Read the story here.

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📺 Travel Video of the Week

 TRAVEL TWEET OF THE DAY

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 Airport strikes: Brace for summer travel chaos, warns Ryanair boss
2 Flight attendant choked, causing 7th recent unruly Hawaii flight diversion
3 Qantas airliner lands safely in Sydney after calling mayday over ocean
4 United Airlines posts $843 million profit, bullish on 2023
5 Couples would pick a vacation over an engagement ring: Sandals survey
6 Woman shocked to get lost luggage returned — four years later
7 Netflix will pay its next flight attendant as much as $385,000
8 This woman is riding around the world with her dog
9 People are abandoning pets at airports. Don’t be like them.
10 Travelers With Food Allergies Fight for Early Boarding
11 A TikTok video that appeared to be posted by a cabin crew member who died in the Nepal plane crash is going viral as people pay tribute to her.
12 Yesterday's TSA checkpoint numbers    

✅ In Case You Missed It
 

How to Save 40% on Hawaiian Airlines Baggage Fees (And It Doesn’t Require Getting a Credit Card)
We’re back in Hawaii and I learned another tip, which saved me over 40% on baggage fees. In the process, I also realized I’d made a stupid mistake. Read the tip here.

✈️ Miles & Points

✅ Last Week's Travel Tips