2019 Amazon Prime Days Details, Why the iPad Pro Is Now an Awesome Travel Computer, Hyatt Adds New Luxury Hotels, Tips About Being Pickpocketed, and More

Another Monday Tuesday summary of posts here! This one goes back a couple of weeks, but only posts that are still relevant! I hope things are going well for you all with your travel and summer plans!

I had a marathon in Boston the first Saturday of September and was into my training program, flights booked, everything. Well, the marathon organizers went and changed the date – 10 weeks out. This is not ok (even with a single date later), especially since I have yet to hear back from my e-mails about a race refund. So, now I’m out of my fall marathon! It’s ok, though, I will plan on hitting the January marathon with more intensity!

On the travel angle, I did book the inaugural 787 Dreamliner Turkish flight between Turkey and Amsterdam (not the inaugural 787 flight but the first on this route). I will be flying it in September long-haul anyway but wanted to get a nice glimpse earlier than that, so hopefully it will work out!

The business class cabin aboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The italicized posts below are from the title.

Miles, Points, and Travel

• Uber Is Going to Delivery Meals from McDonalds – By Drone – The race for drone delivery is really heating up and Uber is hoping that people’s desire to get a Big Mac will help them get to the front of the pack.
• Travel Tips: What To Do if You Are Pickpocketed & How to Help Prevent It – Talk about a terrible way to disrupt your travel plans! Having your pocket picked and losing your documents and cash can be a bad thing – here are some tips of what to do if that happens and how to prevent it from happening in the first place.
• Summer Hyatt Promo – If you are a Hyatt credit cardholder, you can get 10% of your redeemed points back with this offer.
• How My Airline Elite Status Saved 20% At a Restaurant – Airline elite benefits are not just about the airport and the airplane! My Aegean Gold status saved me 20% at a restaurant on the ground and it can do the same for you.
• Two Words That Can Really Help Your Marathon Training – If you are training for a marathon, these two words can be a big help – if you can control your pace! Slowing down can be a huge help in helping you go faster, believe it or not!
• Why the iPad Pro Is About to Become an Awesome Travel Computer – Spoiler alert – iPadOS is awesome and I am using my iPad Pro instead of a computer more than ever! Find out what makes the iPad such a powerful device!
• Review: Bluffworks Piton Polo Shirt – This has been the one Bluffworks product I was really excited about and it delivers! Find out why this shirt is a great replacement for my daily Under Armour polos (as soon as I get more Bluffworks polos).
• American Express Finally Made a Great Move for Global Travelers – If you travel and like earning points, American Express is finally making moves to reward you in certain categories.
• Video: Turkish Airlines Shows Off Their New 787 Dreamliner – The new 787 Dreamliner for Turkish Airlines is about to take flight and this video shows a sneak peek!
• Watch Out for Dynamic Currency Conversions at ATMs in Greece – If you are traveling in Greece (and other countries in Europe) and want cash out from a bank ATM, watch out for that horrible practice of dynamic currency conversion! It could take a lot more money out of your bank account with your withdrawal.
• Should You Carry a Water Bottle on the Run? Running with a water bottle in your hand can be good or not good but there are other ways to carry as well! Find out some that may work for you as well as why I stopped handholding a water bottle.
• United Just Made the United Club Credit Card More Valuable – Without Touching It – When an airline devalues one part of their program through fee hikes, chances are that a credit card may have just taken on more value. That is what happened when United announced they were raising the price on their United Club membership.
• The New Chase Southwest Performance Business Card with 80K Points – Good Deal? – This is the latest credit card in the Southwest family and it comes with some impressive benefits. Is it a good deal? Read and find out!
• Video of NFL QB Cam Newton Offering $1,500 for a Better Economy Seat – and then getting turned down! Yes, a 6’5″ athlete with a $20+ million contract was flying back to the US from Europe in economy and wasn’t able to get a better economy seat with even a $1,500 offer to a fellow traveler!
• Exclusive TopCashBack Offer – If you are new to TopCashBack, find out how you can get $25 as a free bonus!
• Hyatt is Expanding Again with 16 Luxury Alila Properties – Find out about these new properties and how much it will cost in points to redeem for a free night.
• Does Southwest Boarding Pass “A1” Get You Any Seat on the Plane? If you happen to get Southwest boarding pass “A1”, it means you are the first person to board in the regular process so does that mean you get any seat?
• Details on the 2019 Amazon Prime Day – Amazon Prime Day is coming for a 2 day parade of “epic deals” and these have historically been better than even Black Friday!
• Hotel Review of the Academia of Athens, a Marriott Autograph Hotel – There are plenty of Marriott properties in Athens now but this one is brand new and can be redeemed with a free night certificate or just 35,000 points.
• New TripIt Updates for Smart Assistants – If you have a Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa device, that device has just gotten even better at helping you with your travel plans – thanks to the latest TripIt updates!
• I Won the $10,000 Daily Getaways Giveaway – A big shock for us! Find out what it contains and what we are thinking of how to use it. Plus, we would love some suggestions for trip ideas from you all as well!
• The Red Sox Flew the Most Luxurious Big Jet to London at a Cost of $500,000! And the best part (for this Yankee fan) is that it didn’t do a bit of good for their chances at beating my Yankees! 🙂

And that is it for the last couple of weeks! Hope all the American readers have a great 4th of July!

Featured image is one of the Alila hotels now in the Hyatt program