Friday, June 25, 2021

Good morning! I was planning to send this newsletter yesterday but we've been on the island of Catalina. It was my first time there in over a decade and I absolutely loved it. Except for the terrible WiFi and the fact that my T-Mobile phone didn't work except for making calls (locals use Verizon). Regardless, the island felt like we were on the other side of the world, even though we were just 22 miles and an hour-long ferry ride from home. More to come!

Hawaii Dropping Testing and Quarantine For Vaccinated Travelers
It was another busy week in travel and last night, Hawaii dropped some huge breaking news: Governor David Ige just announced that the state will eliminate its pre-travel testing/quarantine requirement for domestic travelers to Hawaii who have been fully vaccinated in the United States on this date. Here are the details.

Canada to End Hotel Quarantine For The Fully Vaccinated 
Another destination we're hoping opens up to vaccinated travelers is Canada, since my wife is from Toronto. According to CP24: "Fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents will soon be able to return to Canada without a mandatory quarantine. The first stage in loosening the border restrictions that have been in place for 15 months will begin at 11:59 p.m. eastern time on July 5. It will apply only to people already eligible to travel to Canada, including citizens, permanent residents, and people registered under the Indian Act."

I'm still not clear on all the rules and requirements and don't know if anyone really is as so many friends and people in the industry seem confused as well. I need to know if my kids can enter and not quarantine. My wife is Canadian and I’m American. We’re both fully vaxxed. Our American kids (22 months & 4.5 years) obviously aren’t. We want to travel to Toronto to give essential hugs to family on July 6 and it’s not 100% clear. Anyone know for sure?

More Travel News
Other big travel news includes: Southwest Airlines' CEO announced his retirement and Frontier Airlines rescinds controversial "COVID recovery charge." You can read all about it and the other 84 stories in a week's worth of 12 Things To Know In Travel Today (scroll down). 

NEW! 100k Bonus Points Offer (Worth $1,250 in Award Travel)
Credit card offers come and go, but there is one that has us shouting from the rooftops because it is the best offer EVER on this top travel credit card. Just in time for summer, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a brand new 100,000-points limited time offer, available after meeting the minimum spending requirements. Besides earning 100k points there are so many perks that come with this rare offer, you don’t want to miss out. To get more details on why this offer is so impressive, check out our posts below:

• Best Ever Chase Sapphire Preferred 100,000 Bonus ($1,250 Value!)
• Q&A: Is The Chase Sapphire Preferred Still Worth It In 2021?
• 7 Best Perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

With the 100k point bonus, you can transfer your points to one of Chase’s travel partners, including Marriott, United, or even to try JetBlue’s new Mint class flights to the UK, beginning in August. Plus, you’ll earn unlimited 2x rewards on dining and travel worldwide (don’t worry, there aren’t any foreign transaction fees). So, where will you go with the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
Posts in this newsletter contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.

Always Pack This For Summer Travel
One thing I love about living in Southern California is that we don't have many mosquitoes here, unlike other parts of the country and world, including my home state of Connecticut, where I was last week visiting family. After being bitten by a mosquito, my cousin turned me on to a device that's all-natural and was one of the top products featured on Shark Tank (all five sharks wanted a piece of it). The best part is that it costs just $10 and is the perfect thing for throwing in your summer travel bag. Read the story here. 

How To Prevent Car Rental Companies From Ripping You Off
One of the biggest travel-related stories of 2021 is the shortage and high prices of car rentals. In many destinations, you can’t even get a car and some people have gotten really creative and desperate by renting U-Hauls. Here are 15 tips for renting a car in 2021. But charging high rates isn't the only way car rental agencies make money. There are all kinds of ways, or tricks, should we say, that they employ. One is charging daily fees to use their toll tag, even if you only use it once (I learned my lesson to flip the switch). But I’m hearing from readers that they’re getting charged a gas refueling fee and according to the CEO of Autoslash (one of the sites I use to find the cheapest car rental rates) you should do these two things. Click here to find out what they are.

How To Find Out If The TSA PreCheck Lane Will Be Open
COVID-19 did a number on the TSA and they laid off a lot of workers when hardly anyone was traveling. Now, the vaccines are working and travel is bouncing back. There have been four days of over two million people this month passing through security, including this past Thursday and Friday and I'm betting today's numbers (which will come out tomorrow morning), will make it five days. But the TSA can’t hire and train workers fast enough. So, before you book your tickets or at least head to the airport, I suggest logging on to this website. 

Don't Leave Home Without ...
If you're planning to travel anytime soon, make sure you pack a comfortable sleep mask like this one, that blocks out all light and has fully adjustable and deep eye cups. It's also great for anyone who suffers from bad headaches and migraines.

Don’t Fall For This Airport Scam
There’s nothing new about illegal taxi and car service drivers milling around the exit doors of New York airports or popular international tourist destinations trying to solicit business. However, this time they’ve upped their game, which makes it even more sketchy and even harder for some people to determine who's legit and who's not. Read the story here.

How To Reach an Airline's Reservations Agent Without Waiting
This is especially true with waitstaff in restaurants, housekeepers in hotels and reservations agents for some airlines. There have been reports of customers being placed on hold for several hours and I believe it. I tried calling American Airlines at midnight the other day using an elite phone line reserved for their top fliers and I had a hold time or callback option of over an hour. That's crazy, right? Right. Fortunately, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve so here's how I got through without waiting. 

My Number 1 and 2 Travel Tips
If you’re a longtime reader, then you probably already know my number one and two travel tips for being treated like a rock star when you travel. Since it’s been years since I last wrote about them, and I recently received a question on Twitter, I was inspired to write an updated post. Plus, I just flew with my whole family. Here's the story!

10 Tips For Your Trip to the Los Angeles Zoo
We took our kids to the Los Angeles Zoo last week and we had a great time. It was Jack’s second time visiting and Olivia’s first. But what really made our trip so good, besides seeing all the wonderful animals, of course, was that we were prepared. So, if you’re planning a trip to the Los Angeles Zoo, make sure you do a little advance preparation so that your trip goes off without a hitch. Here are 10 tips that really helped our zoo experience.
  
Travel Contests
-Win a seven-night European river cruise for two people
-Win a four-night getaway for two people to Cancun
-Win a week-long cruise for two people on board The 2021 Country Music Cruise
See all contests here

12 Things in Travel You Need to Know Today
— High-Speed Pursuit Breaches LAX Security, Leads Police Across 2 Busy Runways
— Two TSA agents were bitten by a traveler in Denver
— TSA self-defense course for flight attendants, paused during covid, relaunches amid reports of unruly behavior
— Summer travel: Passengers advised to pack their patience as airlines grapple with staffing shortages, bad weather 
— Carnival Sees Entire Fleet Sailing by Spring, Later Than Hoped
— Travel industry protests against Covid restrictions
— United Airlines Just Changed the Most Annoying Thing About Basic Economy Fares
— Here’s Why So Many People Are Fighting On Airplanes
— Qatar unveils new business-class, coach cabins for its latest Boeing 787s
— The Netherlands Reopens To US Travelers With No Restrictions 
— Yesterday's TSA Checkpoint Numbers 
(Read it all here in today's travel news round-up as well as the 84 other top travel news stories from this past week!)

In Case You Missed It  
How to Prevent Road Trip Theft
A friend of a friend recently posted about a terrible road trip experience. I’ve written about this before but it’s time for a refresher now that people are traveling again. Because if this happens to you, it will definitely ruin your vacation. Learn how to prevent road trip theft here. 
 
Don't Fall For This Hotel Scam
One thing that irks me about staying in hotels is how they always seem to try and sucker you. First, it started with outrageously overpriced phone calls but then technology advanced and people were able to use their own cell phones. Then, it was the mini bar but even by charging $5 for a small pack of M&Ms, hotels couldn’t make money so they got rid of the those. On a recent hotel stay, I encountered another way that many hotels try to deceive, or at the very least confuse, guests. Don't fall for this hotel scam.
 
Don't Make This Cell Phone Mistake
When I received my cell phone bill this month, my eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw a charge for an $81 phone call. I thought it must have been an error but it turns out it wasn't. Here's how to avoid making the same mistake.

10 Air Travel Pet Peeves and What You Can Do About Them
After my flights last month, I was reminded of some of my top pet peeves while flying. Here they are, plus what you can do about them. What are yours? Leave a comment and let me know!

How To Avoid Sore Ears From Wearing A Mask
What I didn't include as one of my pet peeves is how wearing a mask for a long period of time hurts my ears. Thanks to a reader, that problem has been solved. Here's how.   

15 Tips For Renting A Car in 2021
This post is chock-full of rental car tips since there's a shortage and prices are through the roof. Here are my 15 tips for renting a car.

3 Websites To Cross-Reference Before Traveling Internationally
In light of the European Union now saying that they’ll welcome vaccinated Americans this summer, I recommend that before you travel internationally, you also consult these three websites. 

What Travelers Should Know About Traveling to Iceland
Iceland is, without a doubt, going to be one of the hottest international destinations for American travelers. A Johnny Jet reader and listener just returned and was kind enough to share two posts about his experience. Check out all his Iceland travel tips below:
Part 1: Travel Tips for American Travelers to Iceland
Part 2: Travel Tips for American Travelers to Iceland

Tips for Traveling to Hawaii During COVID
-10 Tips for Traveling to Hawaii (Oahu) During COVID 
-Maui Advice for Travelers
-The App Every Traveler to Hawaii Needs to Download 
-Live Hawaii Webcams