Last week we had our first ever cliffhanger episode--this week we're back to finish the story of Robert's European Vacation.  We also cover some great news on the redemption side, as well as options to earn miles without flying on Today's No Annual Fee Edition of the podcast.

News

0:32 Etihad Awards Booking on AA.com (link)

Still not seeing JFK-AUH Apartment show up even though there is space

Have to call New Zealand for that one still (link)

3:24 British Airways Avios Partner Award Devaluation Coming (link)

0-650 miles: 6,000 Avios (was 4,500, unclear whether this range will become bookable on North America routes)

651-1,150 miles: 9,000 Avios (was 7,500)

1,151 miles-2,000 miles: 11,000 Avios (was 10,000)

2,001 miles-3,000 miles: 13,000 Avios (was 12,500)

Goes into effect May 30th, 2019

4:06 [Targeted] Amex Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic 30% Transfer Bonus (link)

Good for awards on Delta metal, ANA roundtrip…

...and Necker Island

4:46 Fee-Free Visa GCs at Staples (link)

5/5/19-5/11/19

Said to be limit one $200 VGC pp

5:11 Stop & Shop $15 Off Groceries with $100 GC Purchase (link)

Purchase $100 3rd party GC, get $15 voucher towards future grocery purchase

5/3/19 to 5/23/19

7:14 $15 off two $100 MCGC & 8X Happy cards at Safeway Branded stores

Need to add to J4U app

7:30 [Targeted] 5,000 MRs for Adding Authorized User to Amex Personal Gold

Add up to 4 users, 5,000 MRs each

Each AU must spend $500 to receive the bonus

AUs are free on Personal Gold

Received via email, subject “Earn 5,000 Membership Rewards® points by adding an Additional Card Member”

Amex clearly listens to the show

Link to check whether you’re eligible

(will say “We are sorry, you are not able to apply for an Additional Card online.” if ineligible)

8:59 Part II--Family Travel to Venice and Rome. 

Be sure to listen to Episode 21 if you haven't already. 

9:05 Rome

Hotel dei Mellini

Boutique hotel just west of the Tiber

10-20 minute walk from most major sites

Booked family room

Upgraded to 2 BR/2BA Suite

Complimentary breakfast, free WiFi, nightly turndown service

Who needs status with this kind of treatment?

Dal Bologenese was very good for dinner

Colosseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill Tour (not a fan)

Pasta Making Class was amazing

4.5 hour tour

Booked “Once in Rome” through Chase Expedia portal

Started off with some confusion because the tour time said 10:30a yet the vouchers said it started at 10:00a

Hard to access vouchers through Chase’s wonky site, especially on mobile

Nobody there at the meeting point when we arrived at 10a

Called Once in Rome, they said they’d call me back but didn’t/couldn’t figure out what my number was

Finally connected with the guide a half-hour late, but it ended up being by far our favorite tour of the week

The tour ended up getting routed to an AirBnB “Experience” which was very similar to the tour we initially signed up for (link)

The re-routing may have been responsible for the confusion over meeting point and time

It actually ended up working in our favor because the AirBnB Experience was more expensive than what we paid for and, I’d have to guess, much better

Highly recommend this AirBnB Experience if you’re in Rome

Checked out Trastevere and had dinner at the No 2 restaurant in Rome on TripAdvisor out of 10,000+ (link)

It actually was pretty terrific

Kind, friendly service

Got us right in on a Friday night

Great food & drink (a little more trendy than traditional)

Discussion about restaurant selection process while travelling: Location vs format vs local vs traditional vs modern take

Ride to the airport in an E-Class Mercedes set up through the the hotel (cheaper than Uber Black, the cheapest Uber option in Rome)

MyTaxi app is supposedly the way to go, but when I tried calling one it took like