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The American Riviera

October 5, 2014

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A few months ago, I wandered to New Orleans. It was my partner’s birthday and his dream was to do a road trip from The Big Easy to Biloxi, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama. This area of the Gulf of Mexico is nicknamed one of the American Rivieras for its lovely coastline. The 150 mile journey was a quick drive with plenty of sites to see and places to eat along the way.

New Orleans has bounced back since Hurricane Katrina – at least in the tourist areas – and the wildlife along the Mississippi and Alabama coast is returning after the terrible oil spill in 2010. Apart from the French Quarter (specifically Bourbon Street), nothing was crowded and the locals were excited and very helpful at offering travel tips. I stayed at the W Hotel in New Orleans, which left a lot to be desired (though the location is prime) and at the Sheraton in Biloxi (modern and on the beach).

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Tent Rocks in New Mexico

October 4, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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This summer, I wandered to New Mexico and visited the Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. It’s an hour drive north from Albuquerque or 40 minutes south from Santa Fe. The rocks were formed after volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago. I hiked for about an hour observing the colors, layers of rock and ash, and the contours of massive stones rounded by millions of years of wind, sand, and rain at their surface. If you’re in decent physical shape, you can follow up a trail about 1 mile up and unpack a picnic. The panoramas below don’t do justice to the magnificence of the scenery.

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Do You Remember Your First Flight?

April 12, 2014

inGeneral, Stories

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STORIES

I was too young to remember my first flight. It was probably on People’s Express from Newark, New Jersey to Columbus, Ohio back when you could get tickets for $30. But, I do remember the first time that I flew by myself: I was 12 years old and boarded a Continental Airlines flight from Columbus, Ohio to Newark, New Jersey to visit family. I paid $164 for my own ticket with my earnings from my paper route.

The jog down memory lane was prompted by a video I just watched in which two elderly women fly for the first time. Their thoughts on flying are very interesting, as is what they do to prepare. But once they’re airborne, the magic of flight is captured on their faces. If you’re vaguely sentimental, grab a tissue. You won’t take flying for granted ever again.

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No More Free One Ways on American Airlines

April 9, 2014

inGeneral, Travel Secrets

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Yesterday, American Airlines revised its frequent flier mileage redemption amounts for some awards, increased some ticketing fees and took away some baggage benefits. But the worst news was that they removed the ability to tack on a free one way trip to an international award. Luckily, you can still book a free one way ticket in the US and I’ll share how on, you guessed it, United Airlines.

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Hunting for Travel Deals

April 5, 2014

inGeneral, Travel Secrets

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SECRETS

Two questions that people often ask me is “Where can I find great travel deals?” and “When is the best time to buy an airline ticket?” Although the second question is harder to answer because it’s much more subjective, I certainly have some helpful advice when it comes to where and when you can save money.

Finding a super low price on an airline ticket (or even a mistake!) is getting easier and easier with one of my favorite tools: Twitter. Sure, it primarily serves as a way to keep up with your favorite celebrity and look at people’s selfies, but if you follow the right deal sites and travel bloggers, you’ll never miss a low price. I’ve listed four of my favorites below; if you’re not on Twitter, consider creating an account or if you prefer, you could also stick with visiting their corresponding websites. Continue reading…

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Mapo: My Favorite Korean BBQ

March 27, 2014

inGeneral, New York, Reviews

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My favorite Korean BBQ restaurant is a small, family-owned gem called Mapo in Flushing, New York. This place has the ultimate trifecta for me: amazing beef, lots of non-English speaking locals and employees, and it’s so close to LaGuardia that you can easily discern the tail number of the planes on final approach.

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Get $100 from American Airlines

March 25, 2014

inGeneral, Travel Secrets

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AmexPlatinum Back in December, I wrote that the American Express Platinum card would no longer allow you to get into the American Airlines or US Air Clubs so I called to “complain” and got $100 statement credit to use toward airline incidentals on American Airlines. Although the terms & conditions state otherwise, you can use this statement credit – along with the regular $200 statement credit that come as a card benefit – on gift cards from American Airlines, which you can then use to pay for flights.

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UPDATED – Manufactured Spending Part 2: Vanilla Reloads

March 19, 2014

inGeneral, Travel Secrets

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I recently explained how to use Amazon Payments to meet minimum spending requirements or increase your spending on credit cards in part 1 of my series on manufactured spending. In part 2, I’ll walk you through using Vanilla Reload Cards and a Bluebird Account in order to exponentially increase your spending activity. If you haven’t already opened a credit card to earn miles, do so. For some large sign up bonuses, I recommend the British Airways or American Airlines credit cards. If you feel comfortable getting both, you could very quickly amass over 150,000 miles in your coffers.

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Manufactured Spending Part 1: Amazon Payments

March 16, 2014

inGeneral, Travel Secrets

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Many credit cards offer large, attractive amounts of bonus miles on new accounts after spending a minimum amount of money within a certain period of time. The amounts vary: sometimes they are as low as $2,000 or $3,000 but as high as $20,000. The timeframe in which you must spend this amount is typically 3 months but it can be as long as the first year of account ownership. To meet the minimum spending requirements (or just plain increase the amount of miles or points that you earn) on credit cards like the recent American Airlines or British Airways offers, there are some ways that you can achieve this without having to spend much or any of your own money. This practice is known through blogs and various forums as “manufactured spending” and I’ll describe two of the easiest and most common methods in a posting today and tomorrow. As with anything, moderation will be the key to your success. Continue reading…

Manufactured Spending Part 2: Vanilla Reloads | Wandering New Yorker
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Pictures from Florence

March 6, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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It’s easy to fall in love with Florence, Italy: the history, the architecture, the art, and of course, the food. Arguably no other city was as important during the Renaissance or to the shaping of the modern Italian language. I visited the city for the second time in February, spending a little over two days there; I can’t wait to go back.

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Pictures from Cambodia

February 12, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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The focal point of my trip to Asia was Cambodia. I took so many pictures at Angkor Wat and some of the surrounding temples that it took me a week to go through them and pick the best ones. Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world and is as beautifully detailed, mysterious, calming, and exquisite as it is enormous.

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Pictures from Vietnam

February 11, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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Vietnam has a fascinating dichotomy between urban high energy and the peaceful remote areas of the country. Ho Chi Minh City has a buzz to it that I haven’t felt in a lot of places. Taking a boat on the Mekong Delta or visiting the Cu Chi tunnels in the jungle north of Saigon is incredibly serene. I can’t wait to go back and see more.

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Pictures from Malaysia

February 10, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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From the Petronas Towers and Hindu temples tucked away on an old avenue in Kuala Lumpur, to the entirely planned administrative capital of the country, Putrajaya, Malaysian architecture has a wide range of influences.

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Pictures from Bangkok

February 9, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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Bangkok is one of the most colorful cities that I have ever visited. From the temples, monuments, food, and even the taxis, it’s stunning.

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Miss Your Flight? Here’s What You Should Ask.

February 6, 2014

inGeneral, Stories, Travel Secrets

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Have you ever been running so late that you’ve missed your flight? I cut it very close the other day on the United Airlines 6:35pm departure from Newark to Milan. I wasn’t able to complete online check in because I was randomly asked to have a United Airlines ticket agent double check my passport before issuing my boarding pass. I got into a cab at 5:05pm – the middle of rush hour – and didn’t make it to Newark until 6:10pm, well past the one-hour-before-departure cut off for international check in. If I had my boarding pass it would have been plenty of time. But I still had to check in, so I quickly scanned the ticket agent faces and looked for someone who seemed friendly and potentially sympathetic. I found one and politely asked her if there was any way that she could get me onto the flight to Milan. She initially, with a lot of regret in her voice, said no, but then I asked the magic question which had me sitting on the plane 10 minutes later:

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Pictures from Venice

February 6, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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Venice is one of the most surreal cities on the planet. I took a day trip there in January and although it was my third time to the city, it’s so breathtaking that I fell in love all over again.

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Pictures from Milan

February 5, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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Milan is a gorgeous city in northern Italy. My recent visit in January for a long weekend was just the right amount of time to see “The Last Supper,” the Duomo, and Leonardo da Vinci’s horse. Sadly, it rained nearly the entire time but the clouds meant great lighting for photos.

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Pictures from Tokyo

February 1, 2014

inGeneral, Photos

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Tokyo is one of my favorite cities. Despite a little jetlag, a 14 hour time difference, and some chilly temperatures, I enjoyed every minute of it during my recent visit in December 2013.

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100,000 American Airlines Miles

January 31, 2014

inGeneral, Travel Secrets

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A few days ago, one of my favorite blogs, The Points Guy, posted that Citibank is running a promotion on the Citi Executive AAdvantage MasterCard and awarding 100,000 American Airlines miles after you spend $10,000 in 3 months. Although the card comes with a hefty annual fee of $450, you will receive a one-time $200 statement credit after you make three purchases on the card. In addition, the card includes membership to the American Airlines Admirals Club (and now US Air Club).

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UPDATED – 50,000 Miles from British Airways

January 11, 2014

inGeneral, Travel Secrets

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British Airways is currently offering a Visa card through Chase with a ~~100,000~~ 50,000 Avios sign up bonus. ~~The usual bonus is for 50,000 Avios but from time to time larger offers like this appear~~. I recently wrote about the advantages of booking short flights on American Airlines by using British Airways Avios. I have also used British Airways Avios to book business class seats to and from Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific Airlines and friends of mine have used Avios to fly Qantas Airlines in Oceania. Ironically, what I wouldn’t use British Airways Avios for is to fly British Airways! Why? British Airways imposes very expensive fuel surcharges when you fly them which make an Avios redemption almost just as expensive as paying for a ticket. In fact, I just priced a ticket from New York to London on January 16 and returning January 21 on the British Airways site for $890 versus spending 40,000 Avios and $687 in fuel surcharges. In my opinion, redeeming 40,000 Avios is hardly worth the $203 savings.

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