Category: Travel

My experience with ITA Airways Volare status on other SkyTeam carriers

In the middle of 2022, I got Volare status on ITA Airways through a status match program they were running. Since then, I’ve found very limited use of this status. Through my Volare Club Premium status, I’m supposed to have access to SkyTeam Elite Plus benefits. However, as of December 31, 2022, I have not […]

The best travel-size toothpaste for carry-ons

We all know that whenever we’re flying, we have to adhere to the annoying 3-1-1 liquids carry-on rules. I used to think that meant I could only bring small, travel-size toothpaste (only carrying about 0.85 oz in the container) like the below: Believe it or not, those little travel size toothpaste bottles that contain almost […]

How I’m requalifying for AAdvantage Platinum for 2023

Starting for the 2023 qualification year, AAdvantage qualification is based on how many AAdvantage base miles you earn, which count as what’s called Loyalty Points. It doesn’t matter how many segments or miles you actually fly; it essentially only matters how many miles you earn, which is essentially a function of how much you spend. […]

Pre-booking flights for weekend trips

After a recent long weekend trip to San Francisco, I’ve become quite amenable to taking more trips on weekends. As I live in Seattle, Alaska Airlines has become my primary go-to airline, since this is their primary hub. Combined with my AAdvantage Platinum status, which is oneworld Sapphire, I get comfortable benefits when flying on […]

How I got AAdvantage Platinum in January 2022 during the double dipping period

I’ve been enjoying the wonderful benefits of AAdvantage Platinum and oneworld Sapphire since January 2022. While I had qualified for AAdvantage Gold back in October 2021, I was going to be making a 2 month trip to Europe and I realized it would be really handy to have the additional benefits provided by oneworld Sapphire […]

How to save money flying to Canada if you’re renting a car

If you’re flying to Canada from the United States, chances are, you’ll probably be visiting (or at least starting your journey in) one of its larger cities: Toronto, MontrĂ©al, or Vancouver. Then, you might rent a car for your trip. Only problem is, it’s much more expensive to fly to Canada and rent a car […]

My experience with getting approved for Global Entry

After the pandemic, with travel surging, the estimated application wait times for Global Entry has become less certain than before. As I recently went through the application process myself, I hope my experience will be a helpful data point. The stages of the application process There are essentially three stages: Applying for Global Entry Waiting […]