Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Let’s Review my 2022 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions

Good afternoon everyone, happy New Year’s Eve!  Since today is the last day of the year, I wanted to review My Wild and Crazy 2022 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions.  6 months ago, I wrote My 2022 Midyear Review of Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions where I shared my 4 out of 26 correct predictions.  Hopefully I was able to pick up a few more correct predictions in the second half of the year.  Without further ado, here are my predictions and the results…

My 2022 Airline Predictions (2 / 7)

  • Alaska Airlines or Southwest Airlines will bring back their “convert travel funds to airline miles” feature. – I still cannot believe this feature exists but Alaska and Southwest are not using it.  Maybe we will see this feature again in 2023.
  • American Airlines will return as a Citi ThankYou Points airline transfer partner. – I still cannot believe that Citi can’t get American Airlines to come back to the ThankYou Points portal, not even for a short trial period.  I’m hopeful this will happen in 2023.
  • Avianca will give Turkish Airlines a run for their money for domestic Star Alliance awards. – No, I don’t think this happened in 2022.
  • British Airways will let you use Avios to pay the taxes, fees, and fuel surcharge portion of award tickets. – Yes, you can pay a large portion of taxes / fees / fuel surcharges with British Airways Avios (link).
  • Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, or United Airlines will introduce a “Miles and Cash” payment option for award tickets (pay 10,000 miles or pay 8,000 miles + $40). – No, I don’t think these airlines introduced this feature in 2022.
  • JetBlue will partner with another US airline for award bookings. – Yes, you can book JetBlue flights using American Airlines miles (link).
  • United Airlines will be a transfer partner with Brex, Citi, or American Express. – Wrong! I should have guessed united Airlines would partner with Bilt Rewards.

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Last Call for FTU Virtual Seminar on Saturday, December 3 ($25) or Free with Online Annual Membership

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  If you are not busy tomorrow (Saturday, December 3), I highly recommend attending the FTU Virtual Seminar (tickets available for $25) or free if you have the FTU Online Annual Membership.  The seminar starts on Saturday, December 3, at 8am PT / 11am ET.  I have attended all of the FTU Virtual Seminars over the last 2 years and they are always well done, educational, and entertaining – and I am sure this seminar will be no exception!  I will be presenting about Vacasa Vacation Rentals and here is the rest of the schedule.

If you register for the seminar, but are unable to watch the live stream, you can access the recording of the seminar and watch later on.  This is also a great way to re-watch your favorite presentations and catch any details that you originally missed.

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Register for FTU Virtual Seminar on Saturday, December 3 ($25) or Free with Online Annual Membership

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great Cyber Monday!  If you are not busy this Saturday, December 3, I highly recommend attending the FTU Virtual Seminar (tickets available for $25) or free if you have the FTU Online Annual Membership.  The seminar starts on Saturday, December 3, at 8am PT / 11am ET.  I have attended all of the FTU Virtual Seminars over the last 2 years and they are always well done, educational, and entertaining – and I am sure this seminar will be no exception!  I will be presenting about Vacasa Vacation Rentals and here is the rest of the schedule.

If you register for the seminar, but are unable to watch the live stream, you can access the recording of the seminar and watch later on.  This is also a great way to re-watch your favorite presentations and catch any details that you originally missed.

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Last Call for Tickets to the FTU Signature Orange County Travel Conference (November 12-13)

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday! There is 1 week to go before the FTU Signature Orange County event begins in Irvine, CA.  I will be at the event all weekend and I will present on Vacasa Vacation Rentals (9:45am – 10:45am on Saturday) and How to Cancel & Rebook Hotels, Airlines & Rental Cars (2:45pm – 3:45pm on Saturday).  You can see the entire schedule here.  Here are the details:

  • Date / Time: November 12-13 (9am – 5pm on Saturday, 9am – 5pm on Sunday)
  • Location: Back Bay Conference Center in Irvine (next to Boomers and near John Wayne Airport)
  • Price: $150 for FTU Online Members (with $49 coupon code) or $199 for non-members (become an FTU Online Member for $69 and get a $49 coupon code for in-person FTU events)
  • Schedule, Info & Purchase: FTU Event Page
  • Bonus Events: Saturday Night Bowling Party (free for FTU Online Members) & Sunday Social Event at Boomers (pay to play)

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Last Call for FTU Virtual Seminar on Saturday, October 29 ($25) or Free with Online Annual Membership

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday! If you are not busy tomorrow (October 29), I highly recommend attending the FTU Virtual Seminar (tickets available for $25) or free if you have the FTU Online Annual Membership.  The seminar starts on Saturday, October 29, at 8am PT / 11am ET.  I have attended all of the FTU Virtual Seminars over the last 2 years and they are always well done, educational, and entertaining – and I am sure this seminar will be no exception!  Here is the complete schedule and lineup of speakers.

If you register for the seminar, but are unable to watch the live stream, you can access the recording of the seminar and watch later on.  This is also a great way to re-watch your favorite presentations and catch any details that you originally missed.

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