Category Archives: Travel

I have chosen the non-conventional career path of working for myself instead of working for others, and as Award Expert has grown, it has consumed a growing chunk of my time. Even with an excellent team already lending support,...

Gary Leff is both a friend and an inspiration, and he faced a tall order in defending Delta’s Skymiles program on Comedy Central last night, even with a “sympathetic” Steven Colbert. No, this wasn’t exactly a discussion about credit cards...

I do a special post on Memorial Day each year not to be jingoistic or political, but because the ultimate sacrifice made by so many members of the military throughout the American experiment is so easy to forget in...

Sometimes your life can change in ways you least expect it. Mine changed nearly four years ago, while sitting with my uncle and brother in a guesthouse near the Galilee in northern Israel. I had taken the LSAT (Law...

Even before Jay-Z and Beyonce made headlines for their recent trip to Cuba, an On the Spot column by Los Angeles Times travel writer Catharine Hamm caught my attention – Question: What are the travel requirements for going to Cuba?...

Air Samoa made headlines this week with its new policy of charging passengers based upon their weight (personal + baggage). Many are wondering if such a policy could ever hit airlines in the United States. The answer is not...

My life wasn’t always centered around travel. My undergraduate studies were in political science and U.S. history and my first post-graduation job was in the White House Press Office. That kept me busy enough M-F, but there was just...

One of my Washington rituals over the last decade has been to eat lunch at Ebbitt Express, if time permits, every time I arrive in the city. Located adjacent to Old Ebbitt Grill and a block from the White...

When planning my Balkan adventure over the summer, I saw that Macedonia spilled out into northern Greece and there happened to be a Hyatt Regency near the airport in the city of Thessaloniki, where I could catch a non-stop...

In my world of frequent airline travel, now ongoing for nearly decade, it becomes easy to forget that most do not travel and many of those who do make only one or two holiday trips per year. Nevertheless, my...

2012 has been an incredible year, filled with exotic travel and great adventure, though you’d hardly know it if you’re a regular reader of Live and Let’s Fly. Award Expert really hindered my blogging this year and as I...

Christmas is upon us and I realize that I have been conspicuously absent this month. An odd day to resurface, perhaps, but as you pause today to spend time with family and friends or at least enjoy a day...

Last call for those who wish to enter my gogo in-flight wi-fi giveaway. Tomorrow I will use random.org to select five winners to receive a wi-fi pass good for use on a number of airlines. If you have not...

Thanksgiving has arrived in the U.S. once again and the year has been another memorable one. My decline in blogging the last several months has been irksome, but Award Expert has grown tremendously this year and required the bulk...

British Airways’ retro livery at Washington Dulles International Airport. Check. Green-screen check-in systems that look just like…SHARES on United Airlines today. Check.  A Swiss Air 747-200 screeching down the runway at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport as Revolutionary Guards race...