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Located inside of a National Landmark the St. Louis Union Station Hotel is unlike any hotel I have stayed at previously. In 1985, with the first major renovation of Union Station, the “headhouse” was converted into a 539-room hotel which at the time was operated by Omni Hotels. Over the years, the hotel has transitioned…
Travel Tech: Bose QuietComfort 20 Headphones

I realize I am very late in writing my review on these headphones, but they are one of my favorite travel accessories and one that I rarely leave home without. Bose introduced the original QuietComfort 20 headphones back in 2013 and there have not been any significant changes since their original release (and thats a…
Trip Report: Madison, WI

I recently visited Madison Wisconsin and was very surprised by how much I enjoyed the Capitol city. This was not my first time in Madison, but it was the first time I had the opportunity to stay for an extended period of time and explore the city. Transportation Madison is home to Dane County Region…
Travel Tech: T-Mobile One

On September 1, 2016, T-Mobile launched its latest and greatest phone plan dubbed “T-Mobile One.” The plan offers several benefits not currently offered by any other carrier and seems to be the best phone plan for any frequent traveler. As luck would have it, my cell phone contract ended just a few weeks ago and…
Hotel Review: The Ritz-Carlton Chicago

Living in Chicago I rarely spend the night in hotels in the city, but recently I attended a wedding downtown and turned the event into a lovely staycation. The Ritz-Carlton Chicago is conveniently located in the Water Tower building attached to the Water Tower Place mall. The hotel is perfect for anyone visiting the city looking…
American Express Platinum Card

With the introduction of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card the premium credit card space, once ruled by the American Express Platinum card, has become even more competitive. Several years ago, the Platinum card from American Express had some incredible benefits that justified the $450 annual fee, buy today the cards benefits are lackluster at best.…
Co-Branded Airline Credit Cards

The question that I am asked repeatedly is “which credit card to sign up for?” The answer is often difficult because everyone’s goals differ, but for the average consumer co-branded airline credit cards simply do not make sense. Let me explain. A co-branded credit card is a credit card which is linked to a specific airlines…
Travel Tip: Using American Airlines Gift Cards

A few days ago I wrote about American Express’ Airline of Choice program and how I had successfully purchased American Airlines gift cards in $100.00 increments which were then reimbursed by American Express. Unfortunately, I messed up on my first attempt and am now stuck with $400.00 worth of American Airlines gift cards. This is not…
American Airlines Carry On Discrimination?

Today FlyerTalk.com had an interesting article today about Emilie de Ravin taking to twitter to “call out” American Airlines for their rude behavior when taking her carry on bag. Although I disagree with Emilie about firing an employee for taking a carry on bag, I do think there is an issue. I honestly believe that gate…
My American Airlines Airline of Choice Credit Posted

Yesterday I wrote about credit card travel/airline reimbursements because I honestly had forgotten about the American Express Platinum Airline of Choice program. I had forgotten to redeem my $200 credit and today I am happy to say my Airline of Choice credit has posted. First, a little background on what happened and how I forgot about…