$18,030 in gift cards, cards I’ll pay the annual fee on, and people taking their bags in an airplane evacuation

I hope that you’ve enjoyed the past week of travel information – here’s a recap of what you may have missed from Points With a Crew over the past week or so

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Featured stories

I’ve always said that it’s a good idea to diversify your miles and points earning strategies

One of the things that I do is resell gift cards

Over the past few months, I have bought $18,030 in gift cards – was it worth it?

A tourist trap is defined as “an establishment, or group of establishments, that has been created or re-purposed with the aim of attracting tourists and their money.”

Here’s an article on the 28 worst tourist traps out there

Having been to several of the places on the list (hello Salem Witch Museum!), I can definitely agree – what do you think?

Lots of discussion (and angry comments!) about a recent Emirates flight landing in Dubai

When the flight came in for an emergency evacuation, video showed many passengers stopping to get their bags from the overhead bins.

So, is it foolish to take your bags in an airplane evacuation?

Lots of credit cards out there, and my general rule is that I don’t like to pay the annual fee on any

Still there are always exceptions

Here are 4 credit cards that I think give enough benefits that I will pay the annual fee on.

My daughter and I are headed to New York City next month

I asked her what she wanted to do while we were there

Here are a 10 year old’s Top 10 things to do in New York City

This came up last year and it’s back in the news again

Apparently some people think that parents of young children have nothing better to do than spend time placating random strangers on flights.

This is why parents of children should NOT give airplane goodie bags to fellow passengers.

Family travel

• Last month I wrote up the beginner’s guide to cooking in a hotel room – now here are 4 hotel room cooking recipes that we used that you can cook without a stove, oven or microwave.
• 6 amazing pictures from our travels to Singapore

• 9 of the worst nights sleep ever – mine was at the worst hotel room I ever stayed at, where the proprietor offered to give me (and I quote) “a room with something wrong with it”
• (I’m embarrassed to admit that) I eat McDonalds on vacation
• Review of the Centennial Conrad Singapore hotel – pretty great hotel except for them wanting to charge me $6 to wash my underwear
• A few months ago our family of 8 took the Amtrak Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle – we had a great time – here’s our review.

• 7 interesting facts about England that I didn’t know before we went to London

Miles, points and credit cards

• Citibank was in the news for several bad things.  First there was the devaluation on the Citi Prestige card, then they changed the rules of who would be eligible for signup bonuses.
• There was a bit of good Citibank news – you still might be able to apply for Citi cards before the rules change, and there is still a way you can get the AT&T Access More card (even though there isn’t an active signup link)
• Get 4500 Avios for signing up for a magazine
• There’s an ongoing 50% transfer bonus for American Express Membership Rewards.
• Check your SPG accounts for a targeted promotion for up to 18,000 bonus Starpoints
• United has 2 ongoing award sales – 20% on domestic travel in the US (including Alaska and Hawaii) and up to 25% on travel to Asia.
• You can get a $10 rewards for spending at least $100 through Paypal
• United just introduced something called the United Excursionist Perk… what the heck is that?
• Don’t screw up your Citi Prestige airline credit (like I did)
• How you can earn miles by paying your rent with a credit card (for free)
• There’s a new deal between Sprint and American Airlines where you can get up to 25,000 AAdvantage miles for signing up with Sprint
• There are 7500 miles in shopping portal bonuses ending as soon as today

News and notes

• In 1974, there were 50,000 pay toilets in the US.  By 1980 there were almost none.  Read the story of the Committee to End Pay Toilets in America
• A live turtle goes through airport security…. in a used hamburger bun?
• Chinese tourist mistaken for refugee; held for TWELVE DAYS in refugee camp (!)

If you’re still up for more travel reading, here’s last week’s recap: Giving away Award Wallet codes, a free $25, a IHG PointBreaks map and more

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