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Here’s How You Can Get Into Airport Lounges When Flying JetBlue from New York to Orlando

One of the big perks of being a frequent flyer with one of the “big three” U.S. airlines (American, Delta and United) is access to their airport lounges. These spaces are a ~~quite~~ less crowded place to wait for your flight compared to the loud chaos that usually is the norm near the gates. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to charge your electronics, snack on some cookies or veggies and even treat yourself to something from the bar. Even if the airlines have started to charge for the better snacks and drinks, it’s still better than nothing.

You’d think on your way to a vacation at Disney World or Universal Studios in Orlando from the New York/New Jersey area and decide to take JetBlue that you’re out of luck for getting into an airport lounge before your flight, right? Wrong!

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Should You Prepay For Gas With Your Rental Car?

You know the questions you’ll going to be asked at the counter when renting a car. Do you want to upgrade to a larger/nicer/fancier car? Do you want to get the insurance coverage? Do you want the navigation system? Do you want to opt in to their toll program? Lastly, you’ll get the pitch to prepay for the gas. It sounds like a good idea. The price they’re showing is pretty decent and it’s much lower than the amount they’ll charge you if you don’t bring it back full. Should you go for it????

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What Are Visa Checkout and MasterPass and Why Should You Sign Up?

Keeping up with all of the ways to pay for things nowadays is hard. I remember the days of cash, check or credit (or money order). Now we have mobile payments with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Android Pay and services like PayPal to contend with. I was even asked if I wanted to use my PayPal account to pay for my Home Depot purchase in the store the other day. The line between online and in-store payments is blurring every day. If you are confused where Visa Checkout and MasterPass fit into the equation, I don’t blame you.

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Pizza and Bagels and Deli, Oh My!

When we travel to New York City, the foods we crave are pizza, bagels and deli sandwiches. Since we moved to Florida from the NY area, we have never found a local place that does any of them as well as they do in New York. Some people say it’s because of the water but places have even tried to import the water and it still doesn’t taste the same. An average slice of pizza in New York is going to be better than the best you can find anywhere else. You can argue this point with me, but you’d be wrong. 😉 Continue reading “Pizza and Bagels and Deli, Oh My!”

What is Priority Pass & How Can You Get A Membership

The Priority Pass program is a network of airport lounges (and, more recently, restaurants, bars and even day suites) that allow access to members of the program. They can be airline lounges or locations with no airline affiliation.

The priority pass program has been around for about 25 years. We visited a lounge in Japan with our friend Steve, who had a membership, when we visited there in 2005. At the time, lounges didn’t sell day passes as access to these rooms were seen as an exclusive perk for frequent flyers. Today, the airlines see membership to the lounges and access to them as another way to generate extra revenue.

Here is a description of Priority Pass from their website:

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How To Avoid Extra Credit Card Fees During International Travel

Going on an international trip is very exciting but it can also be very expensive. Using a credit card to pay for purchases when traveling internationally is often the best way to get a good exchange rate and the rate your bank gets will be better than the one you’ll get on your own if you exchange cash. Using a card also means that you don’t have to carry around a bunch of cash with you. However, many cards will add on a “foreign transaction fee” to any transactions made with anything except your home currency. Here’s an easy way to keep from paying that extra 2-3 percent on all of your purchases while away.

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Hotel Review: Fitzpatrick Grand Central

We just returned from a long weekend trip to New York City, where our plans for the weekend centered around going to see the Classic East concert at Citi Field in Queens. When I was looking for a place to stay, there were not many options in Queens by the 7 train line that goes right to the ballpark. I saw that after leaving Queens, the 7 train’s first Manhattan stop is at Grand Central Station so my hotel search focused in on that area. There were several chain hotels in the area but when I looked at TripAdvisor, one independent hotel stood out – the Fitzpatrick Grand Central, originally built in 1916.

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