Tag Archives: Travel

a hammock on a beach

How to Book the Best Stopover Possible

Do you sometimes find yourself confused by travel terminology? Join the club. One of the topics that baffles many travelers is the concept of stopovers, both what they are and how to use and benefit from them. A while ago, in a blog post I briefly touched on the topic of stopovers, but now it’s time for a more in-depth explanation, so let’s get to it. When you buy airline tickets, many airlines allow you to tack on a free stopover to your flight. Essentially, for the price of visiting one place, you get to visit two. When you have extra time, this is a great deal.

But it’s important to know the definition of a stopover. The most important thing to know is that it lasts more than 24 hours. You might think of this as a layover, so if you do, consider it a LONG layover. To avoid confusion, it’s best to think of a layover as a connection that lasts no longer than four hours for domestic flights and for international flights, under 24 hours. Continue reading

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Case Study: My Trip to Australia with Miles

My boyfriend and I wanted to book a trip to Australia this year because we have a friend who is living there for work. We are somewhat flexible in our travel dates, but knew that we needed to visit in November and/or December due to other commitments, but also that we wanted to be home with our families for Christmas. Here’s how I went about planning our trip to Australia and what it is costing us for our flights.

As I already mentioned, we are pretty flexible with our dates (we both work online, so that helps). Our main two constraints are a friend’s wedding in New York at the end of October and Christmas. Since we have flexibility from working online, we wanted to travel as much of November and December as possible and spend a good chunk of that time in Australia.

a koala bear and a yellow map

Image source: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-sleeping-face-koala-continent-australia-cute-snout-peek-up-australian-image78520349

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a hammock on a beach

PSA: Check Existing Reservations for “Silent” Schedule Changes

Good morning everyone.  A few weeks ago, I wrote this post: PSA: Check Existing Airline Confirmations for Cancelled Flights a Few Days Before Travel.  In that post, I talked about checking existing flights to make sure your flights weren’t cancelled.  Then yesterday, I had a similar situation regarding my Lihue (LIH) to Maui (OGG) Hawaiian Airlines flight.  Even though the flight was not cancelled, there was a schedule change of more than 1.5 hours.  Schedule changes happen, I’m not (that) mad about that, but what really annoys me is when I do not receive an email alert regarding the schedule change.  How difficult is it to send an automated email about a schedule change?

Let me back up a little bit and explain how I found out about this schedule change.  Every Tuesday morning, Southwest Airlines sends out an email about their latest sale.  I then check all my existing Southwest Airlines flights for price drops (pretty rare these days) and rebook any flights that drop in price.  I usually only check Southwest Airlines, but I decided to check all my upcoming flights to see if there were any schedule or routing changes.  When I checked this Hawaiian Airlines reservation, I was surprised to see the 1.5+ hour schedule change.  I immediately called Hawaiian Airlines to see if they could move me to an earlier flight because I am connecting to an Alaska Airlines flight from Maui (OGG) to Oakland (OAK) and this schedule change made my connection very tight.

a screenshot of a reservation code

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Enter Hawaiian Airlines’ Relaxcation Sweepstakes: Win 140,000 Hawaiian Miles (Ends Tomorrow 2/28)

It’s fun when there’s a chance, even a slim one, of going to Hawaii on someone else’s dime. Going to Oahu AND staying at a beautiful hotel in the heart of Waikiki is even better! The Moana Surfrider is an icon in Waikiki. Over the years, it has gone through some renovations inside and out, and though I don’t care for some of the changes to the grounds and landscaping, I certainly wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to stay here. The Moana Surfrider has my favorite coffee place right next door, and many of my favorite places to eat on Oahu are within walking distance. So enter this contest and good luck, everyone!

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Hilton, SPG & IHG are Currently Running Point Promotions (IHG Promo Expires Tomorrow)

Whether or not you buy hotel points when promotions are running, it’s good to know about your options. We all like to travel more, for less! Topping up accounts for an upcoming stay can serve us well when we can get more value from the cost of the stays than we spend on buying those points. I use up my SPG points and Hyatt points way faster than I drink my flat whites, so I keep a list of hotel point promos handy to see if they’ll work for me. Currently, three of the four major hotel chains are running their buy points promotions. Depending on your travel plans, these might be worth checking out.

Starwood Offer: Expires March 16, 2018

I find I can never have enough SPG points. They are extra valuable because when you transfer them to airlines rather than use them for hotel stays, for every 20,000 points transferred, you get an extra 5,000 points. That’s an inexpensive way to buy airline miles. Many people, given their allegiance to Marriott, use these points for Marriott stays as well. They transfer to Marriott in a 1:3 ratio. That’s another good value for these points. Starwood is currently running a 35% off promotion so you can buy the maximum amount of points for $682. And don’t forget, you can gift Starwood points as well. The 35% offer seems to be their standard offer. Starwood has a yearly purchase limit of 30,000 points per account. The offer runs through March 16, 2018.

a pool with a couch and chairs


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