Greetings!

📰 I hope you're having a great weekend. It's scorching hot here in Los Angeles so I'm thankful for air conditioning. Instead of going to the beach this weekend, we went to the Sloomoo Institute, which just opened today. It's billed as America’s #1 slime museum and there are multiple locations across the country. My kids loved it and you can see some photos on my Instagram Story.
⚠️ Air Canada Pilots Labor Negotiations
This week, United Airlines issued a travel waiver in advance for those who booked tickets on their Star Alliance partner, Air Canada. It looks like the pilots for our neighbors to the north are going to strike and the travel dates for United's travel waiver are September 15 - 23, 2024. This travel waiver allows for voluntary changes for travel to, from or through the airports listed:
• Calgary, AB, CA (YYC)
• Edmonton, AB, CA (YEG)
• Halifax, NS, CA (YHZ)
• Montréal, QC, CA (YUL)
• Ottawa, ON, CA (YOW)
• Quebec City, QB, CA (YQB)
• Toronto, ON, CA (YYZ)
• Vancouver, BC CA (YVR)
• Winnipeg, MB, CA (YWG)
🌎 Travel Trivia Tuesday
This week's Travel Trivia Tuesday question: What is the largest island in the world? Scroll down to find the answer! FYI: It's not Australia, which is what I guessed.

In this issue:

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook

As of 12:20pm PT, there have been 62 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 2168 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 cancelations.

🧭 Travel Product of the Week

INIU Portable Charger, Slimmest 10000mAh Time Deal (40% off = $17.99)
It's not surprising a portable charger is one of the must-have items for flight attendants. With one of these, you don't have to worry about your plane not having working power ports or your phone running out of battery while sightseeing. Check it out here.

⚠️ Monday

‘Freak accident’ kills three hikers who were sucked into a powerful whirlpool in California
A hike along California’s popular Seven Teacups trail turned into an unimaginable tragedy when three hikers died after being sucked into a powerful whirlpool. Here's the story and what you need to know about staying safe if you ever find yourself caught in a natural whirlpool.

🍂 Tuesday

2024 leaf-peeping: This fall foliage map helps travelers plan their autumn road trips
Right now is a good time to start planning a leaf-peeping trip. If you just want to see the leaves then it's probably best to wait until the last minute since no one really knows when they're going to start to change except Mother Nature. But this handy interactive map is a great tool to help you figure out when the leaves will change.

🧳 Wednesday

Is Instagram-famous Quince worth all the hype? I had to check it out for myself
My wife Natalie, who is our editor and who I met on a press trip while she was working as a digital editor for a large Canadian magazine, is great at unearthing deals most of us would miss. Her latest find is a company that sells luggage, travel accessories, clothing, home items and more that rival many luxury brands but at a fraction of the cost. The company's founder mused: "Why is it the five nights a year we spend in a really nice hotel, we have better sheets and better towels than the 360 nights at home?’” And so he set out to change that. Here's what you need to know.

📅 Thursday

Google releases top travel tips, tricks and insights to help travelers get the lowest price possible
Google has released their top tips and tricks for saving money on travel in 2024, based on four years of aggregated Google Flights data. And whenever Google shares their latest travel trends and offers new insights on the best time to book flights, both during the holidays and other busy times throughout the year, it’s smart to listen. Here's what Google recommends to save money on travel.

🚗 Friday

‘Medical emergency or just plain stupidity?’ Wild crash on California freeway being investigated by California Highway Patrol — Here's what to do if you see an erratic driver.
This wild video was captured on a San Diego freeway and is now being investigated by the California Highway Patrol. As you will see, the footage shows the driver of a Subaru driving up the freeway's embankment before veering across all lanes of freeway traffic and crashing into an SUV where both vehicles went into the center divider and the Subaru overturned. Here's the video and some tips for drivers.

📺 Travel Videos of the Week

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 Record-breaking Labor Day travel increases by 9%
2 Boeing Starliner spacecraft lands back on Earth
3 ‘Bomb threat’ scrawled on toilet paper forces Boeing jet to make emergency landing
4 American Airlines ex-mechanic gets 9 years prison for smuggling cocaine hidden under cockpit
5 The world’s most physically demanding landmark can be found in Norway – and it features 4,444 stairs
6 U.S. airlines cool hiring after adding 194,000 employees in post-Covid spree
7 EasyJet flight forced to make emergency landing at Manchester Airport due to ‘strong winds’
8 Norwegian passenger traffic up 10%
9 Italian shot putter wins Paralympic gold wearing Mona Lisa eye mask
10 United Airlines brings back LAX to Shanghai flights
11 They were due to leave for their dream cruise in May. Three months on they’re still stuck at the departure port
12 Pig butchering scam: Woman describes being kidnapped, forced to work as cryptocurrency scammer abroad
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.

✅ Travel Trivia Answer

What is the largest island in the world?
Answer: According to Britannica: Greenland (836,330 sq miles/2,166,086 sq km) is the largest island in the world. It's three times the size of Texas. Greenland is a part of Denmark, though a home-rule government attends to domestic affairs. Its people are primarily Inuit.