Greetings from San Diego!

🥳 If you received yesterday's newsletter, then you already know we're in San Diego celebrating my son's 7th birthday and our 11th wedding anniversary.
🦁 On Friday, we surprised our son with a visit to the San Diego Safari Park (photo above). I would argue it's the closest you can get to an African safari without the long trip. And yesterday, we toured the San Diego Zoo, which is really the most amazing zoo I've ever been to.
✈️ It's been another busy week in travel and you can read all the top stories here. So far today, it looks like a great day to fly in or around the U.S. as there's an unusually low number of delays and cancellations. Find more information below.

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In this issue:

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook

As of 8:05am PT, there have been 49 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 1,043 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

A Simple Tip For Making Sure Your Checked Luggage Gets VIP Treatment
To check luggage or not to check luggage: That is the question many travelers face. We all know that traveling with carry-on only comes with a multitude of benefits but when you have to check a bag, this is a unique and clever way to help your bag get VIP treatment. Here's the story.

🚗 Tuesday

10 Uber Tips That Will Totally Improve Your Next Experience
I’ve been a huge fan of Uber since the first time I took the ride service over a decade ago. In fact, I’ve taken over 500 Ubers in over a dozen countries and on four continents. However, Uber occasionally ticks me off and I’ve come close to missing flights because of the quirks of the system and drivers. So, to make sure you don’t miss a flight and to help make your travels smoother, here are 10 Uber tips that will totally improve your next experience. Here's the story.

🥪 Wednesday

The Unsurprising Way Travel Experts Save Money on Food When Traveling and Have a Local Experience
Aside from airfare and accommodations, for many, one of the largest expenses when traveling is food. Many travelers often spend way too much money on eating out and half the time, it’s not even good or authentic food. Here's how many travel experts, myself included, save money on food when traveling. Read the story.

🏩 Thursday

A Former FBI Agent’s Hotel Safety Tips
Even though I’ve personally traveled millions of miles and stayed in thousands of hotels in over 70 countries, I still can’t get enough travel tips. I love discovering smart new ways to travel better, faster, easier, cheaper and safer. When I saw that a former CIA officer and FBI Special Agent was offering up her travel safety tips, I was all ears. Here are the tips.

🛂 Friday

Video Released of 3 Miami TSA Officers Stealing From Passengers – Here’s How To Protect Your Valuables at Security Checkpoints
Three TSA officers were caught on camera stealing from passengers’ bags at Miami International Airport. Here's the newly released video footage and tips on how to prevent it from happening to you.

🛒 Saturday

Trader Joe’s Best Kept Secret … And It’s Not Even Food
A couple of weeks ago, I shared a tip that was not a travel tip and asked if readers had any interest in these kind of tips. That first not-a-travel-tip tip was about how I lowered my Spectrum bill by over $100 a month and many of you expressed that you enjoyed it. So today we're back with another tip that's not travel-related but helpful and interesting if you're a Trader Joe's shopper. This tip comes courtesy of my wife, who writes: "I have to admit: when I first moved to the United States from Canada, it took me a while to fully grasp what seemed to be the mild (ok, sometimes wild) obsession many people have with Trader Joe’s." She goes on to share the item she thinks might be Trader Joe's best kept secret. Read the story here.

📺 Travel Videos of the Week

Shocking Video Shows State of New York City Sidewalk and What Lies Beneath
I’m constantly telling my kids (especially my rambunctious six-year-old), to watch where he is walking and running. He’s always on the move and sometimes he trips because he’s not looking ahead at where he’s going. Heck, it can happens to any of us, as it did to my wife last month. It almost happened to YouTuber Casey Neistat, who filmed this viral video that has over 30 million views. Watch the video here.

⚡ Travel Product of the Week

Wynd Plus Smart Personal Air Purifier with Air Quality Sensor
I've written about the Wynd Plus Smart Personal Air Purifier with Air Quality Sensor before but it's worth sharing again. My son suffers from pretty bad seasonal allergies and using an air purifier is a big help. It's also great to have on the plane - we use ours all the time to purify our personal space. It's lightweight and easy to pack, wherever you're going. Check it out here.

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 Brazil plane crash: 14 dead as aircraft full of American tourists plunges near Amazon
2 French ski resort closes permanently because there’s not enough snow
3 Delta joins other airlines in cutting profit estimates on higher costs
4 Summer is nice, but fall is better — for travel
5 Changing economics means legacy airlines are leaving regional airports
6 Crime-fighting fog hits shoplifters as retail theft spirals out of control
7 Tripped Up: A traveler says her insurance wouldn’t pay up
8 A Disney expert who charges $2,500 a day to guide VIPs through the parks shares how to get the most out of a visit
9 Why a vacation is good for you – even before you take time off
10 We moved to the paradise of Costa Rica, but it quickly turned into hell
11 As major airlines hike pilot pay, Alaska Airlines boosts wages
12 ‘I was attacked by a homeless man in San Francisco, and he knew how to play the system’

✅ Currency Exchange ✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points