Driving Best toll passes for driving across the United States (2024) Upgraded to Economy, July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 The United States has a wide variety of disjoint tolling programs. This can make driving around on toll roads difficult when you travel to different states. I often rent a car in the East Coast and find myself driving on toll roads. While I could use the rental car company’s… Continue Reading
Flying to Vermont and driving up to Montréal Upgraded to Economy, July 13, 2024July 25, 2024 For my third trip to Montréal, I decided to try something more niche. Instead of flying directly to Montréal, why not fly to a city close to the border but still in the United States and drive up instead, crossing the border by land and not by air? Why? There… Continue Reading
Reconciling different travel styles in group trips Upgraded to Economy, July 13, 2024 So you’ve found a group of travelers who want to embark on the same journey as you and you’ve all booked a trip together. Congratulations! But once you set out, you realize you’re going to be with these people either all or most of the time until the end of… Continue Reading
Why it’s okay to save up credit card points Upgraded to Economy, June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 Some websites will make you think that saving up credit card points is hoarding, which has a negative connotation. They say it’s one of the worst possible things you could do and you’re losing so much in opportunity cost by doing so. However, those websites have a profit incentive to… Continue Reading
How many miles is a good deal? Upgraded to Economy, June 12, 2024June 23, 2024 A friend recently asked me about how I booked tickets in business class. When I am not traveling for business, I pay for business class using miles instead of cash. These tickets are called award tickets. However, business class award redemption prices can vary widely. Different airlines charge different amounts… Continue Reading
Flights How I’m spending only $300 for my midsummer vacation’s flights Upgraded to Economy, June 3, 2024June 4, 2024 This summer, I’m making the same voyage I made last summer, except I’ve added one new stop. My goal with this trip was to be as efficient with money as possible. My focus is to minimize my hotel and airfare expenses while maximizing the amount of time I spend outside… Continue Reading
Flights My first amazing Alaska Airlines redemption Upgraded to Economy, June 2, 2024June 2, 2024 A few days ago, I had over 125,000 Alaska miles. This was a lot of miles that I had essentially no use for. I don’t want to redeem these miles on domestic routes because they almost always are a worse deal than simply paying cash. In addition, I want to… Continue Reading
Driving My crazy idea for how I’m going to Montréal this summer Upgraded to Economy, May 31, 2024July 25, 2024 If you can’t tell, I am absolutely infatuated with Montréal. However, the annoyance of clearing customs and immigration at the airport, combined with Canada’s high aviation taxes, make another alternative idea a lot more enticing. Just like I did in my 2022 trip to Toronto, I can simply fly to… Continue Reading
Where should I go next? Upgraded to Economy, May 29, 2024May 29, 2024 Within North America, I have several ideas for upcoming trips. I’m not exactly sure where I should go, but here are my ideas thus far: Alaska Living in Seattle has its benefits for visiting Alaska. For one, I am right at the port of call for cruise ships that go… Continue Reading
Historical context you should know before visiting Quebec Upgraded to Economy, March 29, 2024March 30, 2024 Québec is one of my favorite places to visit in the world. It’s close to the United States and has a rich vibrant culture that’s unlike the rest of North America. I love how it’s such a proximate place to enjoy a culture different from the predominantly English- and Spanish-speaking… Continue Reading
Tired of planning trips for your friends? Upgraded to Economy, March 28, 2024March 28, 2024 Are you tired of being the one who plans each friend trip? I’ve been in those shoes too and it’s pretty exhausting. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Some trips don’t need much planning. For trips fitting the following criteria, it’s actually quite feasible to be less strict… Continue Reading
How I’ve grown as a traveler Upgraded to Economy, February 21, 2024March 2, 2024 In October 2021, I finally had some time on my hands to travel. After several grueling months of work, I decided to take a well-deserved vacation. At the time, many foreign destinations were closed to visitors. Furthermore, almost all of the destinations open to foreigners required proof of vaccination against… Continue Reading