We’re wrapping up 2022 by thinking back to some of the best places we’ve ever stayed. Without further ado, here’s a list, in no particular order, of our favorite hotels in the world.
Continue reading » “Our Favorite Hotels in the World”Author: Daniel Cassman
The Best Travel Gadgets
As the chaotic summer travel season gets underway, it’s more important than ever to pack efficiently and make sure you’ve got everything you need. This is our list of essential travel items, those things we always make sure we have with us when we go. Many of these items also make great gifts. Take a look, and let us know what you think!
Continue reading » “The Best Travel Gadgets”A Disappointing Experience with Marriott
I’ve stayed in many, many Marriott hotels. The world’s largest hotel chain doesn’t always offer the most exciting lodging experiences, and its loyalty program could use some serious improvements, but it’s impossible to compete with Marriott for pure volume. The number of hotels it has in the United States and throughout the world is remarkable. As someone who travels for business to cities that sometimes don’t offer many other options, Marriott’s reliability is hugely reassuring. For the most part, my experiences at Marriott hotels have been good to excellent. But during the summer of 2020, Marriott provided one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with any travel company.
Continue reading » “A Disappointing Experience with Marriott”Grading Responses to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the globe and shut down most travel, companies that provide travel services responded in different ways. We had a number of trips planned that we had to change or cancel, and the companies we interacted with fell on a wide spectrum from pleasant and supportive to evasive, dishonest, and unhelpful. We assigned them grades based on their stated policies and our experiences.
Continue reading » “Grading Responses to COVID-19”Stuck in Albuquerque
A few weeks ago I traveled to Albuquerque on business. I’d never been to New Mexico, and I didn’t know what to expect. Founded in 1706 as a Spanish outpost, Albuquerque lies at about a mile of elevation in New Mexico’s high desert. It’s a sprawling urban center of almost 600,000 people. I planned to fly home on a Friday, but my flight was canceled and I wasn’t rebooked until the next day, so I had more time than I expected to explore the city.
Continue reading » “Stuck in Albuquerque”The Best Travel Credit Cards
The right combination of credit cards can provide lucrative benefits, or even pay for your next trip. Our focus here isn’t deep optimization of the points and miles game; there are plenty of websites out there that’ll help you there if that’s your goal. But we can still provide some advice on how to pick the best credit cards for you.
Summary
If you don’t want to read the entire article, here are our top-line recommendations:
- Our recommendation for frequent travelers: get “Chase Trifecta” of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Chase Freedom Unlimited, and the Chase Freedom. You’ll have to be ready for the Sapphire Reserve’s $550 annual fee, but its benefits over the Sapphire Preferred are worth it, especially if you spend a lot on travel and dining. It earns 3 points per dollar on travel and dining purchases. The Freedom earns 5 points on rotating quarterly categories, so use the Freedom for those. Then use the Freedom Unlimited for everything else, as it gets 1.5% back on all purchases. You can combine the points you earn from all three accounts into your Sapphire Reserve account, where you can transfer them to frequent traveler programs or redeem them in other ways.
- If you’re new to the points and miles game, get the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited cards. The Sapphire Preferred carries a $95 annual fee, but earns 2 points per dollar on travel and dining expenses, and you can transfer points to frequent traveler programs including United, Southwest, Marriott, and Hyatt. Use the Freedom Unlimited to get 1.5 points per dollar on all other expenses, and combine your points.
- If you want the simplest option, get the Citi Double Cash card. Earn 2% on all your purchases, redeem for cash and statement credits, and don’t look back.
- If your travel is generally flexible and you’re willing to spend a lot of time maximizing your points redemption, consider the American Express Gold or Platinum cards. These cards earn points at different rates, but they both earn MembershipRewards that can be transferred to several valuable partners.
Airline and Hotel Credit Cards
If you’ve read our article on the best travel credit cards, you know that you can usually get the best value from a points-and-miles card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the American Express Platinum. Credit cards associated with a specific airline or hotel brand—known as co-branded credit cards—generally should not be among your primary credit cards. However, these cards can still provide useful benefits, so we’ll break some of the best ones down here.
Continue reading » “Airline and Hotel Credit Cards”