Good morning! ⛈️ East coast thunderstorms
I hope you're having a relaxing weekend. It looks like today (August 18) won't be as smooth a travel day as yesterday since United Airlines and others have issued a travel waiver. This waiver allows for voluntary changes for travel to, from or through the airports listed below. However, I just looked at the weather in NYC, and it looks fine so I'm not sure if it happened earlier today. - 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)
🥳 Happy Birthday, Olivia!
This week, we celebrated my daughter's fifth birthday! In 2019, I was in Las Vegas at a travel conference when my wife texted me to say that she was rushing to the hospital. The next couple of hours played out like a Hollywood movie as I scrambled to get to the airport and get on the next flight. Things snowballed from there. Here's the story: Baby Olivia arrived 3 weeks early
Unfortunately, this past week, we also found out Olivia broke her arm at camp when she got hit by a rogue soccer ball. The good news is that they don't make casts like they used to as this one is fiberglass and waterproof so she can swim in a pool or take a bath without any problems. But until the cast comes off, there's no ocean, lake, bubble bath, bath bombs or sand for her.
🎉 Easy way to earn AAdvantage miles
If you're looking for an easy, feel-good way to earn miles, AA has partnered with StandUpToCancer again. They're offering 50 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles for every dollar you give when you use your AAdvantage Mastercard credit card to make a donation online between $25 and $10,000. You can donate now through September 30, 2024, or when total qualifying donations reach $3,000,000, whichever comes first. I donated myself. Here's how.
🌎 Travel Trivia Question of the Week
🌎 Travel Trivia Question of the Week
This week's Travel Trivia question is: What is the difference between the Netherlands and Holland? Scroll down to find the answer. |
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✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 
As of 9:01am PT, there have been 136 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 1,969 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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🧭 Travel Product of the Week 
Under $14 (35% off)! Surge protector power strip with 8 outlets and 4 USB ports, 6 feet power cord
One thing we always travel with is a power strip in case we're in an old hotel room, vacation rental or airport, so we don't have to wait around to take turns to charge our devices. As a family of four, we have a number of devices. In fact, I played hero once when I pulled out our power strip in an airport and let other travelers use it since the few that were there were all being used. Check them out here.
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🩹 Monday 
The thoughtfully labeled and organized (and TSA-friendly) first aid kits I’ll never travel without again
You'll never regret packing a first aid kit or keeping one in the car for minor emergencies. Here's why the Keep Going first aid kits, which come in three different sizes, are a great option.
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💸 Tuesday 
Deal alert: Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways are having a fare war at HVN
Good news for those in the Connecticut area. Both Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways are competing to get passengers from the Nutmeg state and beyond – especially Southern New York. Southern Connecticut’s Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) is just 53 miles from Westchester (HPN) and 75 miles LaGuardia’s (LGA) airport. Here's what you need to know.
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👏 Wednesday 
Beware: This “brilliant” travel hack could end up costing you hundreds of dollars
One thing I love about the internet is that it gives everyone a voice and if someone shares a great idea, it can spread like wildfire. Unfortunately, one bad thing about the internet is that misinformation and bad ideas can do the same thing. Here's a so-called 'brilliant' travel hack that's making the rounds that you should be wary of. Here's why.
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⚠️ Thursday 
PGA pro robbed in London while making his way back from Paris Olympics; His caddie and coach won’t make this week’s tournament after their passports were stolen
On Saturday, I wrote a story about how former number one WTA star Naomi Osaka almost couldn’t play this week’s tennis tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio because United Airlines lost her luggage. Yesterday, another star athlete is in the news with yet another travel-related story. Former PGA number two player in the world, Hideki Matsuyama, was just a victim of a robbery in the United Kingdom. Matsuyama, his caddie Shota Hayato, and coach Mikihito Kuromiya, were on their way to Tennessee after winning the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Here's what happened.
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💰 Friday 
It’s not too early to start booking your holiday travel: 10 tips for finding cheap flights
You may not be ready to start thinking about the holidays just yet but if you want to get the best deals, now's the time to start looking. Don't leave it until the last minute. Here are my 10 tips for helping you find cheap holiday flights this year.
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📺 Travel Videos of the Week 
Man missed flight that crashed in Brazil because he was late to the gate. After arguing with gate agent, he ended up hugging him
Sadly, the big travel news story last week came out of Brazil, where a commercial plane carrying 58 passengers and four crew members crashed. The video of the airplane slowly spiraling to the ground, is haunting. But for one passenger, a gate agent who was doing his job, saved his life. Here's the video.
‘You’ve now been warned’: Pilot threatens rowdy coach passengers with prison time instead of beach vacation
Unruly passengers have been the topic of many a news story these days. It seems that the rise in passengers behaving badly spiked considerably during and after the pandemic or maybe we’re just seeing more reports because everyone is recording and sharing videos on social media. But these incidents aboard airplanes around the world have got to be stressful for airline crew. This pilot made sure that he laid down the ground rules before takeoff. Here's the video and story.
Fascinating: Here’s how to decode U.S. highway numbers if your battery or GPS dies on your next road trip
It’s amazing the stuff you can find on the internet and I just came across something I wished I’d found a long time ago. And apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way, as you will see in the comments. Here's the video. |
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💬 TRAVEL QUOTE OF THE DAY “Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo.” ~ Al Gore |
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🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today 1 Couple found dead in Marriott hotel in Southern California
2 California driver's licenses to be available on Apple, Google wallets
3 American Airlines extends Israel flight suspension
4 Major update on Heathrow Airport strike action impacting summer holidaymakers
5 2028 Olympics softball, canoe will be held in Oklahoma City
6 Florida sets record with 34.2 million visitors in Q2 2024, marking historic growth in tourism
7 Seabourn Quest to offer 2026/26 South Pacific voyages
8 Woman charged with trying to defraud Elvis Presley's family in Graceland sale
9 One in three residents supported ban on tourists at 'Spanish Mykonos'
10 Florida hit by 'worst real estate crisis in decades'
11 Delta flight attendant hit passenger multiple times with 'loaded' beverage cart: suit
12 Ritz-Carlton officially takes over at Turtle Bay
Read it all here as well as the 84 other top travel news stories from this past week! |
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🧵 TRAVEL THREAD OF THE DAY @theo_vouvous: The top 10 international tourism destinations in 2023 were:
1. 🇫🇷France: 100 million
2. 🇪🇸Spain: 85.2 million
3. 🇺🇸United States: 66.5 million
4. 🇮🇹Italy: 57.2 million
5. 🇹🇷Turkey: 55.2 million
6. 🇲🇽Mexico: 42.2 million
7. 🇬🇧United Kingdom: 37.2 million
8. 🇩🇪Germany: 34.8 million
9. 🇬🇷Greece: 32.7 million
10. 🇦🇹Austria: 30.9 million |
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✅ Currency Exchange 🇪🇺 €1 Euro = $1.10 USD
🇬🇧 £1 GBP = $1.29 USD
🇨🇦 $1 CAD = $0.73 USD
🇦🇺 $1 AUD = $0.66 USD
🇲🇽 $1 MXN = $.053 USD
✅ Calendar Countdown 🛠 15 days until Labor Day
🎃 74 days until Halloween
🦃 102 days until Thanksgiving
🎅 129 day until Christmas
🎊 135 day until New Year's Eve |
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💳 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.
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✅ Travel Trivia Answer 
What is the difference between the Netherlands and Holland?
Answer: According to Afar: "Turns out that after decades of being considered interchangeable terms, Holland and the Netherlands are two very different things. The difference between Holland and the Netherlands is that the former is a province, while the latter is the name of the entire country. According to the CIA World Factbook, the Kingdom of the Netherlands (locally referred to as the Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) was formed in 1815. Of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands, Noord Holland (North Holland) and Zuid Holland (South Holland) are just two of them." So, how exactly did Holland become synonymous with the Netherlands? Afar goes on to say, "blame bad branding. The Netherlands’ largest city—Amsterdam—is located in Noord Holland. Historically, that region has been the largest contributor to the nation’s wealth, so it became common practice for the Netherlands to use the region’s name as a synonym for the entire country."
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