Greetings from Beverly Hills!

I'm happy to report that I've finally conquered my jet lag from our two-week trip to Fiji and Australia. I didn't take a nap on Thursday and went to bed at a decent time so I'm back on track sleep-wise and ready to hit the road again! Before our holiday travels ramp up later this week, we did a quick weekend staycation in Beverly Hills. Stay tuned for more about our visit.
🎄 10 more sleeps til Christmas!
At our house, the countdown to Christmas is on BIG TIME! If you're still looking for holiday gifts, we have lots of suggestions but here are our top picks:
-Apple AirTags
Now that the airlines are incorporating Apple's Find My technology into their operating systems, Apple AirTags are an absolute must-have. And they're a perfect gift, too. Buy here.
-Belkin Wireless Charger Stand with Auto Face Tracking
My wife uses this cool stand every day when she's Face Timing her mom. It follows her around the kitchen while she's cooking so she can talk to her mom hands-free. Buy here.
-Tech Organizer
Keep all your cords, cables and chargers neat and tidy with a tech organizer that will simplify travel. Buy here.
🙌 Double Hilton Points
Hilton Honors members have the opportunity to earn 2X Bonus Points on all stays during between January 1 – April 30, 2025 with their Double Your Stay Promotion. Members can now pre-register for the promotion and even if you're not planning to stay at a Hilton, you might as well register just in case. I did and it took just 30 seconds.
🌞 Packed airports, planes and roadways
AAA is predicting the busiest travel season ever. "AAA projects 119.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home over the year-end holiday period from Saturday, December 21 to Wednesday, January 1. This year’s domestic travel projection narrowly surpasses the previous record set in 2019 by 64,000 travelers."

🌺 Hotel review: Nanuku Resort Fiji
If you’re following along on our Fiji and Australia adventure, here’s a quick recap if you want to catch up:
Part One: Flight Review: Our 11-hour flight on Fiji Airways from Los Angeles
Part Two: Getting from Nadi International Airport to Castaway Island
Part Three: Hotel review: Castaway Island Resort
Part Four: Hotel review: Nanuku Resort Fiji
Part Five: Flight review: Fiji Airways from Nadi, Fiji to Sydney, Australia
Our last stop in Fiji was Nanuku Resort. When you pull into their driveway, you feel like you’re in a Jurassic Park movie. The grounds are lush and well-maintained and it all felt a little surreal. There’s a lot to love about this hotel. Here’s what we loved most.
🌺 Fiji Airways sale
Speaking of Fiji .... Fiji Airways made national news on Tuesday as they launched the airline's new nonstop service to the tropical paradise from Dallas Forth Worth. To mark the occasion, the airline is offering discounted round-trip fares from just $699 per person to Fiji, available until December 17th. This new 13-hour flight marks the airline’s longest flight and operates three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays on the state-of-the-art Airbus A350. We flew Fiji Airways four times in the last two weeks and loved it. Here's a detailed look at what it's like to fly a long-haul on FJ in the very back of the plane.


🏆 The winner of the 2024 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards
Back in September, we shared the finalists for the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards, which showcased a series of very funny animal photos. The winner has finally been announced and it’s this photo above of a squirrel stuck in a tree, taken by Italian photographer Miko. Check out all the other finalists here.
🎙️ WGN Show
I was up early on Monday to call into Bob Sirott's morning drive on Chicago's popular WGN radio. We talked about finding last minute deals for Christmas (here's some advice), as well as low-cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier Airlines either getting or sprucing up their first class.
I got sidetracked so I didn't get talk about how some travelers are really happy with Spirit's Big Front Seat (their version of first class) like listener Ellen who sent me this email immediately after my segment: "If you buy a big [front] seat on Spirit, you get special check-in, first boarding, all of the drinks and snacks that you want. There is 1 flight attendant to take care of us only. You get 1 free checked bag, 1 carry-on and 1 personal bag. Free. I just flew 4 trips. There is another section that has two seats in a three-seat row, in the middle is a tabletop. More room. This is great." I've never flown Spirit but after reading Ellen's email, I would like to check it out. You? However, with them in bankruptcy protection, I wouldn't book anything too far out. Though, I don't see them going out of business until at least the fall (if they do).
📰 Travel news
There was a lot of travel news this week so be sure to scroll down to read it all, as well as my other tips.
🎥 Travel videos
I also should note that many of this week's travel videos are on the same page so you might have to scroll down to see the one you want.

In this issue:

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook

As of 9:50am PT, there have been 108 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 1,577 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

Don't wrap your presents until you've tried this game-changing gadget
Every now and then, we like to share a ‘Not a Travel Tip Tip’. Today, we have a great one, courtesy of my wife Natalie, who swears by this thing. Here’s what she has to say:
Wrapping holiday gifts can either be a joyful tradition or a frustrating chore, depending on your perspective. No matter how you feel about it, this handy little gadget will change everything. It’s not gimmicky, it really works WAY better than scissors and you’ll wonder how you’ve been cutting wrapping paper without it all these years. It also makes a great gift. Read more about it here and buy it here.

🏝️ Monday

Hotel Review: Castaway Island, Fiji
Bula! If you’re following along on our epic trip to Fiji and Australia, this is part three. We left off just after touching down in Nadi, Fiji following an 11-hour Fiji Airways flight from Los Angeles. With the help of Rosie Holidays, we then transferred 30 minutes to Port Denarau to catch the 90-minute ferry to Castaway Island. As you’re about to see, we had an incredible stay at Castaway Island Resort.

💤 Tuesday

Is this the best travel pillow in the world? Some travelers think so
If you read last week’s Los Angeles to Fiji trip report, then you know that I used the Trtl travel pillow for the first time on the 11-hour flight in the back of the plane. My wife and I wanted to try them out since it was the first time we would be doing a long-haul red-eye flight in coach. They turned out to be a game-changer. My wife fell asleep shortly after dinner and when she woke up, she asked me how much time was left in the flight. When I told her 3.5 hours, her eyeballs nearly popped out of her head. She was in complete shock. She thought she’d slept for maybe an hour but she’d slept for five. Here's why this pillow is a game changer for so many travelers.
PS: If you're wondering about the super comfortable mask I'm wearing, you can check it out here (it costs just $15.99). It is the most comfortable sleep mask I've worn and it blocks out light completely. It's a travel essential for me (especially when visiting my mother-in-law's, whose home is flooded with morning light) and makes a great gift for travelers or anyone who needs complete darkness when they sleep.
Between the sleep mask and the travel pillow, I had the best airplane sleep in coach I've had in a long time.

📸 Wednesday

My wife and I tried Pressed Juice’s 7-day Vacation Prep Pack: Here’s how it went
I’ve never done a cleanse before except when preparing for a colonoscopy and that’s no fun. But my diet isn’t the best so I figured I could use a bit of a reset. The holidays are coming up and we were just about to embark on an epic trip to Fiji and Australia. A ‘vacation prep’ sounded perfect. Here's how it went.

🎁 Thursday

The TSA’s advice for traveling with gifts this holiday season
Without a doubt, airports and airplanes are going to be packed this holiday season. With that in mind, security checkpoints are going to be crazier than ever. Here's the TSA's advice for those traveling with gifts this holiday season.

️‍✈️Friday

Flight review: Fiji Airways from Nadi, Fiji to Sydney, Australia
If you’re following along on our adventure to Fiji and Australia, this is Part Five of our epic trip. Here's what it was like to fly from Fiji to Sydney and what visa you need to get to enter Australia.

📺 Travel Videos of the Week

🌎 Top 12 Travel Stories of the Week

1 Alaska Airlines plans new nonstop flights to Japan, Korea in $1 billion postmerger profit push
2 Federal Aviation Administration head Michael Whitaker to step down
3 United, Apple rolling out new way to track lost luggage with AirTags
4 JetBlue to bring 'junior Mint' first class to domestic flights in 2026
5 Pilots of turbulent Hawaiian Airlines flight should have gone around severe weather, report says
6 California couple killed while on holiday in Mexico, says local official
7 Hannah Kobayashi family offers refunds to those donating to search efforts now that she's found
8 Mexico postpones controversial $42 tourist tax
9 Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. But when exactly?
10 Korean Air completes Asiana takeover to form one of Asia's biggest airlines
11 American airlines upgrades million miler status: lifetime Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum arrive March 2025
12 Free wi-fi for Aeroplan members coming to Air Canada flights
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
💳What points transfer to American Airlines miles?
American Airlines is one of the world’s largest airlines that serves just about every destination across the world. As it’s easy to redeem travel miles for award flights, you may try to transfer points to American Airlines to put them to good use and to stop your travel miles from expiring. But what points transfer to American Airlines? Here's what you need to know.
💳 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.