Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Listen to Grant on the Miles to Memories Podcast (Again)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few days ago, I had the pleasure of being a guest / co-host on the Miles to Memories Podcast.  I spoke with Shawn Coomer (MtM Founder) while Joe Cheung took the day/night off. This was my second time on the Miles to Memories podcast (first time was back on September 24, 2020).  We talked about many different topics, ranging from the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card and accompanying Priority Pass membership; closing my American Express Business Platinum Card; upcoming Summer trip to Dublin, Helsinki, and Stockholm; and more.

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast here.  Please let me know what you think of the podcast episode by leaving a comment below.  Lastly, if you want to hear more of my lovely voice, check out my Podcasts & Interviews page.  Have a great day everyone.

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My Experience Cancelling 3 International Business Class Awards: Delta, Korean Air & Air France / KLM

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  A few weeks ago, I had to cancel a few international business class awards, so I wanted to share the various cancellation processes, timelines, and fees involved.  If you find yourself in a similar situation, you will know what to expect from the process.  In this post, I will cover Delta, Korean Air, and Air France / KLM awards.  In a future post, I will cover the process for cancelling my Avianca LifeMiles and Singapore Airlines award tickets.

40,000 Delta SkyMiles for Korean Air Business Class (KUL-ICN-UBN): Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -> Seoul, South Korea -> Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

I cancelled the award ticket on Delta’s website on April 2 and received this refund confirmation email.

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My 2 Favorite Restaurant & Food Apps for New York City: InKind & Too Good To Go

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  2 weeks ago, I was in New York City with Laura for her Spring Break.  We had a great time seeing musicals, walking around Manhattan, and eating out at fancy restaurants.  During our time in NYC, we used 2 apps for restaurants and food that I wanted to share: InKind and Too Good To Go.  If you have never heard of InKind before, it is an app that you can use to pay at participating restaurants.  Several times throughout the year, InKind runs various promotions with Chase Offers, Citi Merchant Offers, and AMEX Offers that you can use to buy discounted InKind credits.  If you are new to InKind, you can use my referral link which will give you a $25 reward bonus after you spend $50 or more with InKind.

I’ve written about InKind many times, but I don’t think there is a city in the country with more InKind restaurants than New York City.  Just look at this map of participating InKind restaurants!  I’m not sure the total number, but I would guess somewhere in the 150-250 restaurant range, with multiple options in every area of the city.

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And the Winner is… My Top 10 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2023

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Good evening everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  As we wrap up 2023, it’s time to take a look at my top 10 most popular blog posts of the year. Barring any crazy last minute spikes in blog readership, these are the top 10 blog posts written in 2023 and top 10 blog posts written in previous years. If you are curious, here were the most popular posts from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

2023’s Most Popular Blog Posts (Written in 2023)

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Get to the Sonoma County / Santa Rosa Airport (STS) with SMART Train + Connect ($9 / Person) or with Groome ($20 / Person)

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  Several years ago, I wrote The Fastest Way from San Francisco to the SFO Centurion Lounge and Get to the Oakland International Airport (OAK) Escape Lounge Like a Pro.  In those posts, I showed how you could take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) from various parts of the San Francisco Bay to get to SFO and OAK, and then the fastest way to get to the Centurion Lounge (SFO) and Escape Lounge (OAK).  I’ve taken a few flights from the Sonoma County / Santa Rosa Airport (STS) over the years, so I thought I would write a post on how to get to the airport from Marin & Sonoma County (north side of the Golden Gate Bridge).  STS is in the heart of Santa Rosa, which is part of Sonoma County and a short drive to Napa County – paradise for wine lovers.  As a geography refresher, STS is 60+ miles north of SFO and OAK (thank you Great Circle Mapper!)

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Image source: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=SFO-OAK-STS-SFO

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