Welcome to June!

📆 Can you believe it’s already June and that Father’s Day is just two weeks from today?! That means it’s time to start thinking about gifts for Dad. And if you think you’re just going to get him another pair of socks this year, well … we can actually suggest a cool pair he’ll like! Check out our top Father’s Day gift picks and find something that special dad in your life will love. Or, since Dads love practical gifts, get him (and yourself!) an Apple AirTag, which continues to be the hottest travel gadget of the summer. Plus, the four-pack is, at the time of this newsletter distribution, 20% off. Get them here.
🌀 June also marks the official start of hurricane season. This is the hurricane app that Floridians use and travelers should, too.
✈️ American Airlines in the news
There was a lot of travel news this week (not so much today). One of the top stories was the huge storm in Texas, which wreaked havoc on travelers -- especially American Airlines (AA) and Southwest Airlines passengers. To give you an idea how bad the storm was, watch this video of an AA plane being whipped around while parked at the gate.
💼 More AA news
In addition to AA not being able to get their schedules back on track like Southwest, they also made headlines (see our travel news round-up below) as they got rid of one of their top executives and scratched their ridiculous plan to cut earnings for miles and loyalty points on some non-direct bookings made with certain third-party sellers.
🏨 Hotel reviews
Since we didn't travel the past two weekends, my wife and I got caught up on our recent trip reports. If you have some time today, here are our reviews of two of the hotels we stayed at in the last few weeks:

-Hotel review: Shore House at The Del
-Hotel review: The Cassara Carlsbad, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton hotel

And if you have little kids, check out the newly opened Dino Valley at Legoland for some family fun.
🇫🇷 Airline review: Norse Atlantic Airways from Los Angeles to Paris
On May 1, we sent a writer to cover Norse Atlantic Airways' inaugural LAX to CDG route. Here's what Norse's Premium Economy is like. Our writer also spent four nights at the ResidHome Paris-Opéra, courtesy of StayForLong. The hotel is located in the middle of the busy shopping district near the Paris Opéra and St. Lazare train station. Here’s what Tina's stay was like.
✈️ Travel Trivia Tuesday Question
This week's Travel Trivia Tuesday question was two-fold: What's the flattest U.S. state? What's the most mountainous U.S. state? According to National Geographic, it's likely not what you think. Scroll to the bottom for the answer.
🛂 My wife received her first U.S. passport
Let's end with some good news ... My wife, who officially became a US citizen in March (here's what the emotional swearing in ceremony was like), just received her U.S. passport. She requested expedited service and it took three weeks. Not too shabby. If you need to apply for a passport or renew yours, here are 12 passport tips for 2024 that will save you time, money and headaches.

In this issue:

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✈️ Today's Travel Outlook

As of 1pm PT, there have been 194 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 3,686 delayed. Here's a link to the up-to-date stats and a live look at the FAA's National Airspace System Status. Here's what to do during weather delays and flight cancellations.

🤮 Monday

Blood found on wall of airplane; United Airlines flight attendant does nothing
What would you do if you found blood on the wall beside your seat on an airplane? That's what happened to a passenger recently and the flight attendant's reaction did not sit well with the passenger or the commenters on Reddit, where the incident was shared. Read the story here.

🚢 Tuesday

Going on a cruise? Don’t sail without these essentials
My family and I are gearing up for a European cruise next month and we're really starting to get ourselves organized. Here are some of the cruise essentials we'll be packing. Read the story.

📖 Wednesday

Love to read? You’re going to love this hotel's unique bedside reading program
Last month, I was in Nashville with Hilton Honors to check out some of their new hotels and projects. They put me up in the Conrad Nashville and though I didn’t have much time to spend in the hotel or even hit the pool, I wanted to share details about their unique reading program. Read the story here.

👟 Thursday

Don’t let blisters ruin your vacation: This anti-blister balm is the solution you never knew you needed
When I travel, especially to great walking cities like Paris, London, Rome, New York and Chicago, I tend to walk far more than usual. Some days, I’ve clocked upwards of 20,000 steps. Heck, I sometimes walk a ton just making a connection through a major airport. Last month, I walked 3,000 steps in PHL alone.
Unfortunately, a lot of walking can come with blisters and no one wants blisters, especially while traveling. That's why I just purchased this small anti-blister stick for under $10. I'll definitely be packing it for my upcoming European vacation, thanks to the recommendation from a friend and travel writer. Read more.

🍔 Friday

Is it OK to take food from an airline lounge to-go? How much?
This week, a post on Instagram went viral after someone posted photos of a man filling a giant Ziploc bag with cereal before putting it in his bag and walking out of the Admirals Club at Miami International Airport. The post stirred up quite a debate about whether or not it's okay to take food out of an airline lounge. What do you think? Here's what you need to know, including the airline's written rules regarding lounge food.

⚠️ Saturday

Kentucky family is out $15,000 after posting Carnival Cruise itinerary on social media
A family from Kentucky is going viral because their Carnival Cruise was cancelled last-minute two days before the sailing. Turns out they're not alone. Here's what you need to know.

📺 Travel Videos of the Week

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 United Airlines plane to undergo deep cleaning after several passengers report feeling sick on Vancouver-to-Houston flight
2 Meet the 79-year-old who has traveled to all 193 countries in the world
3 Ryan Reynolds shares 'point of pride' fact about his and Blake Lively's kids
4 Passengers disrupt flight shortly before takeoff from IND airport
5 Rescue worker dies, several thousand evacuated in southern Germany floods
6 The most common last name in every country, mapped
7 Street wars: Have e-bikes made New York City a ‘nightmare’?
8 What should people know about the new coronavirus variant? A doctor explains.
9 Why you can’t get a table for six at a restaurant
10 Hijacked: A renter turned L.A. home into an illegal Airbnb from 5,000 miles away, lawsuit says
11 Florida welcomed over 140 million visitors in 2023, breaking tourism record
12 Becoming Rick Steves
Read it all here as well as the 84 other top travel news stories from this past week!

✅ Currency Exchange

✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points

💳 Our favorite credit card rewards to earn in 2024
💳 5 reasons why the Bilt Card is worth it
The Bilt World Elite Mastercard continues to be the best way to pay rent with a card as you can earn 1 point per dollar in rent payments without fees. However, if you have a high monthly payment, you can reach the previous $50,000 annual earning cap before year-end. Thankfully, the annual Bilt points cap is being lifted so you can earn more points on rent. Here are 5 of the best reasons the Bilt Card is worth it.
💳For a limited time, you can earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. The standard bonus offer is only 60,000 points with similar spending requirements. As a result, the extra points make this offer worth $938 with the Sapphire Preferred instead of $750 when using the 25% travel redemption bonus. New 75,000 Bonus Offer: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

✈️ Travel Trivia Tuesday Answer

What's the flattest U.S. state? What's the most mountainous U.S. state?
Answer: Per National Geographic: "This week [Jerry] Dobson and Joshua Campbell, a Ph.D. candidate who is now a geographer for the State Department in Washington, D.C., published a study called "The Flatness of U.S. States" in Geographical Review, a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Geographical Society. In it they listed the top five flattest states.
Kansas wasn't one of them. The flattest state is Florida. The most mountainous state? Well, it isn't Colorado. It's West Virginia.
The inspiration for Dobson's research came as he drove across Kansas with a GPS transmitter on his dashboard. "The first 300 miles [480 kilometers] is hilly, and the last 150 miles [240 kilometers] is truly flat," he said, with a caveat: "You are on an interstate and highway planners tend to choose the flattest land."