Takeoff To Travel

Hi everyone! The travel bug hit me at the age of eight on my first flight and ever since then I’ve loved planning vacations for my friends and family. My goal is to try out new hotel chains and sample the many airline cabins out there. Having been both a city boy and living in the suburbs, I love traveling to all destinations both big and small.

Mint-astic! Full Review: NEW jetBlue Mint Suite, Los Angeles to New York

Mint-astic! Full Review: NEW jetBlue Mint Suite, Los Angeles to New York

Posted by | Sep 16, 2021 | , , , | 6

Background and Booking: I booked my flight a little over a month before, and at the time there were two flights from LAX-JFK utilizing the planes with the new Mint Suites. The two planes with the new layout are “A Mint Summer Night’s Dream” and “A Neo Mintality“. These are currently the only domestic flights in which you can try out the new Mint Suites; otherwise you would have to fly to London. More jets with this layout should be rolled out soon. I had a JetBlue credit from a flight I cancelled last summer, so I decided to...

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Takeoff Point: JetBlue’s Mint Business Class Throne Review: Newark to San Diego

Takeoff Point: JetBlue’s Mint Business Class Throne Review: Newark to San Diego

Posted by | Sep 6, 2021 | , , , | 2

Background: I’m writing to you all from the air, thanks to the free Fly-Fi WiFi that jetBlue offers to all passengers. This is going to be a short review version before I post my full review in the next week or so. Today, I’m going to share my experience flying JetBlue’s “Throne” Seat on their A321 Mint Plane! I booked this flight from Newark to San Diego for a price of $515 one way, in order to use a travel credit I have from a flight from last year. If you’re interested in some takeoff points from my flight...

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California Countryside Hotel Review: Carmel Valley Ranch by Hyatt

California Countryside Hotel Review: Carmel Valley Ranch by Hyatt

Posted by | Sep 5, 2021 | , , , | 0

Booking: I was particularly attracted to Carmel Valley Ranch when Hyatt announced the promotion this summer for 25% back in points for World of Hyatt cardholders if you registered by August 20th for stays at a Joie de Vivre by Hyatt, Destination by Hyatt or the Unbound Collection by Hyatt property from June 15th, through September 15th, 2021. Carmel Valley Ranch is part of the Unbound Collection, and is a World of Hyatt Category 6 Property, which means it’s 25,000 points for a standard room redemption per night. Note: World of Hyatt peak award pricing will kick in for...

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Rental Car Review: Silvercar SUV Audi Q7

Rental Car Review: Silvercar SUV Audi Q7

Posted by | Sep 3, 2021 | , | 2

Background: Silvercar, is a rental car company that only rents out silver Audi A4’s, A5’s, and the SUVs Q5’s and Q7. They also aim to make rental cars hassle free with free toll tracking, WiFi, and fair refueling prices ($9.95 fee, plus market rate on fuel you used). In 2017, Audi fully acquired Silvercar, and as of now in 2021, they shifted from shutting down their airport locations to moving operating to existing Audi dealerships. Currently, Silvercar has 31 locations across the US. While not the most convenient for airport travelers, there are some dealerships located quite close to airports,...

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Takeoff Point: JetBlue’s BRAND NEW Mint Suite Los Angeles to New York

Takeoff Point: JetBlue’s BRAND NEW Mint Suite Los Angeles to New York

Posted by | Sep 2, 2021 | , , | 0

Background: As part of my new project in which I will have short review versions for some of my longer posts, today I’m going to share my experience flying JetBlue’s brand new Mint Suite! These shorter posts will be called “Takeoff Points” and feature short commentary points with 8 pictures included. Let me know what you think! I’m writing to you from the air, thanks to JetBlue’s free Fly-Fi Wi-Fi for all passengers! Flight Details: Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK) jetBlue Flight 424 Date of Flight: September 2021 Seat: 5A- Mint Suite Aircraft: Airbus A321neo Plane: A...

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Takeoff Point: Carmel Valley Ranch, Hyatt’s Unbound Collection

Takeoff Point: Carmel Valley Ranch, Hyatt’s Unbound Collection

Posted by | Sep 2, 2021 | , , , , | 0

Background: I decided to start a new project in which I will have short review versions for some of my longer posts. I’ll start it off with my recent stay last week at the Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, California which is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection. These shorter posts will be called “Takeoff Points” and feature short commentary points with 8 pictures included. These will get posted first, then I’ll put the full review up on the site a few days later. Let me know what you all think! Takeoff Points: Carmel Valley Ranch 1) The base rooms...

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Resort Review: Westin Monache Mammoth, California

Resort Review: Westin Monache Mammoth, California

Posted by | Aug 19, 2021 | , , , | 4

Background: As a California native, I’ve had my eyes on the Westin Monache Mammoth for a while when the hotel opened in 2007. It used to be featured on the Westin website homepage, and only being 350 miles from the LA area, it would be a great weekend road trip for me. It’s located in Eastern California, relatively close to Yosemite National Park. The Mammoth Mountain ski resort is known for having snow very late into the season, even during the beginning of the summer. And there are plenty of lakes and hiking trails nearby for summer activities as...

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Free Caesars Diamond Dinner Review: Mr. Chow and Hell’s Kitchen

Free Caesars Diamond Dinner Review: Mr. Chow and Hell’s Kitchen

Posted by | Aug 9, 2021 | , , | 0

Background: For my one night Vegas Trip in August to utilize me and my dad’s Caesars Diamond Celebration Dinner Credit, we needed to find some restaurants to use our credits at. Having previously used the credit at Bacchanal Buffet and Old Homestead Steakhouse, we wanted to try something new. We would have one dinner, and one lunch (Funny how it’s called Celebration Dinner, but you can use it for lunch as well). We decided on Mr. Chow for dinner as we’ve always heard about it being famous, and thought the credit would be a good use here (looks like...

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Electrify America Review: DC Fast Charging from LA to Vegas

Electrify America Review: DC Fast Charging from LA to Vegas

Posted by | Aug 8, 2021 | , , , | 11

Background: As part of my one night in Vegas Trip to utilize my Caesars Diamond celebration dinner rewards as well as status match to other programs, my dad and I decided to take a trek with his electric Audi e-tron and try out some Electrify America DC fast chargers for the trip. In this post, I’ll give some tips and pointers of the specific stations we visited. Electrify America: Electrify America operates an electric vehicle DC fast charging network in the US, with 647 charging locations currently and 121 new stations in the works. It was founded by Volkswagen,...

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Complimentary Stay Review: Aria Las Vegas

Complimentary Stay Review: Aria Las Vegas

Posted by | Aug 7, 2021 | , , , | 5

Background: I decided to do a quick road trip with my dad to Vegas in order to use our $100 Celebration Dinners from Caesars Rewards Diamond, as well as status matching from Caesars Rewards to M life Gold and Wynn Rewards Platinum. I haven’t been to Vegas since before the pandemic, and I heard Vegas has been quite crowded. Thinking it would help avoid the crowds, we decided to book a Sunday night as they are normally less packed. Boy were we wrong. Vegas is in full swing, regardless of it being Sunday or Monday. At least the indoor...

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