Good morning from sunny L.A.

Yesterday, I watched the U.S. women's soccer team and the men's basketball team win their gold medal games. Both were so exciting and I was bummed I didn't make the trek to France. I really love watching the Olympics and it's going to feel like an empty void tomorrow when the Summer Games are over. However, I'm excited that the next Summer Games will be just a few miles from our house in Los Angeles!
😢 Travel story of the week
Sadly, the big travel news story of the week was out of Brazil, where a commercial plane carrying 58 passengers and four crew members crashed. The video of the airplane slowly spiraling to the ground is haunting and the crash put all of the US airline delays and cancelations this week into perspective. Fortunately, today looks like a much smoother day for travel in the U.S. as there aren't that many delays or cancelations.
🎾 Serena Williams denied a table at Paris rooftop restaurant with empty tables, social media erupts
Another story capturing headlines this past week: Tennis superstar Serena Williams tweeted that she and her kids were turned away at the rooftop restaurant of the Peninsula Paris, which she said had empty tables. It caused quite a stir on social media. Here's the story.
🌴 A new Global Entry enrollment center
I do have some good news, too: The U.S. government is opening a new Global Entry enrollment center that caters to walk-in cruise passengers. See Wednesday's Travel Tip below for all the details.

🏨 Discover the Finger Lakes: The Lake House on Canandaigua
Canandaigua is a city in Ontario County in upstate New York and Lake Canandaigua is one of the Finger Lakes. I hadn’t been to the Finger Lakes since I was a kid, Natalie had never been and it was only a three(ish)-hour drive from Toronto. So while we were in Toronto this summer, we decided to drive down and check it out. The hotel was kind of enough to arrange and host our visit so we got to check out what turned out to be one of our all-time favorite hotel experiences. Here's our review.
🌎 Travel Trivia Question of the Week

This week's Travel Trivia question is: How many U.S. States have a one-word name? Scroll down to the bottom to find the answer.

In this issue:

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook

As of 8:58am PT, there have been 65 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 1,926 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.

🧭 Travel Product of the Week

Portable travel fans on sale
In today's New York Times newsletter, they ran a story about how the new trend in the Big Apple and around the world, since temperatures are rising, are small portable fans, which they say "have become a go-to accessory at bars, restaurants and even the post office. 'I definitely have it on me all the time, because even in the subway, just waiting for the train, it’s very stuffy down there,' Adrienne Black, a 32-year-old New York City resident, said." If you’re sightseeing or on a tour, go early in the day and take this handheld portable fan that’s currently 42% off.

⛈️ Monday

Buckle up: This week is going to be a doozy for travelers as U.S. airlines deal with weather-related flight delays and cancelations
After looking at the latest numbers for airline cancelations and delays last night, I wrote this: It’s a mess out there: American, Delta, United, Southwest and other U.S. airlines struggling to cope with severe weather. Unfortunately, today’s (Monday, August 5, 2024) numbers are worse than they were at the same time yesterday. The culprit has been severe thunderstorms in the northeast and Tropical Storm Debby in the southeast. Here's my advice and why I think it's going to be a rough start to the week in air travel.

💸 Tuesday

What travelers can learn from Olympic pole vaulters’ checked luggage woes
Yesterday, the pole vault competition caught my attention, even though I don’t think I’ve ever watched more than a minute of it. But Swedish athlete Mondo Duplantis won the gold and kept going to break his own World Record in front of the sold-out crowd inside the massive Stade de France. I then came across a story titled: “Pole vaulters’ biggest challenge: Getting their poles to Paris.” It was fascinating what these athletes have to deal with, and I know everyday travelers can learn from what their coach did. Here's the story and tip.

👏 Wednesday

The new secret place where conditionally approved Global Entry applicants can get a walk-in interview
Every international traveler knows that the best travel perk to save you time and money is TSA PreCheck and Global Entry. The biggest beef travelers have with Global Entry is trying to get an appointment once they’re conditionally approved. Trying to find an appointment is not easy unless you get creative and shockingly the U.S. government is trying to make it easier -- especially for cruise passengers. Here's what you need to know.

⚠️ Thursday

Passenger sues United Airlines after metal wire in his meal gets lodged in throat
I'm always telling my 7-year-old son to slow down when he eats and chew his food properly. Now, I'm not sure if this United Airlines passenger was eating too fast but this is a great reminder to chew, chew, chew. Read the story here.

🛂 Friday

Travel hack: How to beat long U.S. customs lines at Canadian airports
If you’ve ever flown from Canada to the United States, then you know that Canada is one of the six countries that have Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance. It’s a huge time saver and a relief because when you land in the U.S., passengers are treated as domestic passengers. All passengers have to do is walk off the plane, grab their luggage (if they have any), and either exit or go to their connecting flight. That’s it. Here's how to beat the long lines.

🧳 Saturday

United Airlines loses tennis star’s luggage: Here are 6 ways to prevent this from happening to you
Former number one tennis legend Naomi Osaka shared on social media that United Airlines had lost her luggage and she “literally can’t play” without it. Osaka was flying to Cincinnati to play in the Cincinnati Open, which takes place from August 11 to August 19. There are several lessons to be learned here, which the Internet was happy to point out as well.

📺 Travel Videos of the Week

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 Aviation experts weigh in on the mystery of fatal plane crash in Brazil
2 Eight cancer doctors among dead in Brazil plane crash – as seven others changed flight at last minute
3 Hotel workers vote to strike at several of Waikiki’s biggest hotels
4 Boston hotel workers vote to authorize citywide strike
5 San Francisco hotel workers vote 'yes' to potential strike
6 Dozens of tourists fall ill with diarrhea, vomiting at five star island resort
7 UK security stepped up for Taylor Swift's upcoming shows after foiled terror plot in Vienna
8 Perseid Meteor Shower 2024: Peak time and how to watch
9 Turbulence is up. Mandating a seatbelt might not be the answer, pilot says
10 "Double Arch" geological formation in southern Utah collapses
11 Australians can start using PreCheck and Global Entry in 2025
12 Dave Matthews Band incident: 20 years after disgusting mishap in Chicago, victims now can laugh about it
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

QUESTION: How many U.S. States have a one-word name?
ANSWER: According to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, it's 40.