This post is mainly for the ladies! I feel like men have it so much easier with travel shoes. As a female, my criteria for travel shoes are:
Author: e*
China Travel Pro Tips
Greetings from Xi’an, China, home of the terra cotta warriors and famous for biang biang noodles! I’m currently here for a week on business, but really, to eat delicious and super cheap ($1!) noodles. 🙂
It’s been over 10 years since I last came to China, and this is my first time in Xi’an. So I am not a China travel expert by any means. I assume you have your 10-year visa and typical travel preparations squared away, so the purpose of this post is just to elaborate on two major tips for any first-time traveler to China: 1) Use Apple Maps, 2) Download a VPN at home before going to China.
Review: Overnight Luggage Transport in Japan
Back in May, my husband and I went on our annual trip to our favorite country in the world, Japan. It was an amazing trip as usual, and this time we hit up Tokyo, Fuji, and Hakone. We purchased the Fuji-Hakone Pass, which gives you round-trip transportation from Tokyo and unlimited transportation within the Fuji and Hakone area, plus many discounts or free admissions to local attractions. I’ll review this pass in a future post.
Tokyo Maricar Review – Real-Life Mariokart! (Shinagawa Shop)
Have you ever played Mariokart? Do you like gokarting and driving fast? This awesome this-would-only-happen-in-Japan activity called Maricar might be for you. Maricar was first recommended to me by my friend Tim, and since then, many of my other friends have done the tour and highly recommended it. However, out of maybe 10 of my friends, only one was not very impressed. It’s not for everyone, so hopefully I can help you decide if you’ll enjoy it.
Shady Business Practices by @Hertz Car Rental in Vancouver
I think this will be my first time blasting a company for shady business practices and not making it right. I hope it will be my last.
Update: As a result of this post, the manager of the Vancouver Airport Hertz location emailed me and honored the original booking rate. Still annoyed it had to come to this, though.
Background
I went to Vancouver, BC this weekend on a last-minute wedding anniversary trip with my husband. They don’t have Uber, and I soon found out that it was likely because the local taxis and car rentals are so inexpensive, that Uber would have a hard time surviving.
Trip Suggestions: Japan
Co-bloggers E & M go to Japan just about every year or multiple times a year, and would unequivocally say it is our favorite country in the world to visit. We often joke about just moving there, because it’s such an awesome country (M isn’t joking anymore, he lives there now!) Anytime we hear friends or family say they’re thinking about going to Japan, we immediately start gushing about how amazing it is, how awesome/polite/kind the people are, how safe it is, and how you’d never get bored or run out of things to do there, etc etc. It really has something for everyone. With Japan becoming more and more accessible through fare deals and award availability, I am regularly getting questions for what to do, where to eat, etc.
I Survived an Amex Financial Review – A Few Tips
Introduction
I remember the year that I started going hardcore collecting miles and points for travel, people spoke in fear of the term “Amex FR” (Financial Review) and how it could lead to slashed credit lines or even worse, complete shutdown. I was scared, and treaded very carefully with my large portfolio of Amex cards, never having huge spikes in spending, never cycling, etc. As I learned more about this dreaded Amex FR, I discovered that slashed credit lines and shutdowns had a lot to do with your reported income on your application.*
My First Citi Prestige Trip Delay Reimbursement
I’m currently in my 2nd full year of holding the Citi Prestige (i.e. paid the annual fee twice now), and when they announced the major changes last year, I resolved at that time that I would product change my card when my 3rd annual fee came due. I had literally never used the 4th night free, golf, or 1.6 cpp AA redemption features. The only benefits I was actually using were the Admirals Club access (which I’d probably used 2 times, but also had an AA Executive card overlapping for a year) and Priority Pass benefits (which is now covered by what feels like a bazillion other cards).
T-Mobile vs. Google Fi, and how to use Google Fi on an iPhone
Hello from Barcelona, where I am currently on the 3rd leg of my around-the-world trip [partially with Daniel]! 😀 I was inspired to write this post based on a recent Doctor of Credit post on Google Fi (also known as Project Fi), and thought I’d throw in my two cents based on my experiences (and of course, my referral link too). I work remotely, which gives me the awesome flexibility to travel, as long as I have access to the internet during my shift. Therefore, in-flight wifi and international cellular data is key for my job.
Trip Report: Complimentary Total Rewards Atlantis Bahamas Trip
Introduction
In May 2016, I signed up for Founderscard and detailed my experience here. One of the benefits of Founderscard is Total Rewards Diamond status, which is useful for people who go to Vegas and Atlantic City. I enjoyed the benefits of TR Diamond in my last 2 trips to Vegas since receiving the status, and recently booked my free 4 night stay at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. I had first heard about this benefit via TPG’s post, and originally people were skeptical about it and thought there would be some gambling requirement, etc. I thought I would write a post today for anyone who is planning to go. For the current benefit, the trip must be booked before Jan 31, 2017, with travel before the end of Feb.