Traveling is Greater than Possessions →

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The instant gratification that comes along with the hefty price tags on new clothes, trendy sneakers and expensive jewelry is satisfying enough to be considered an actual addiction.

But it’s crucial for us to remember the importance of investing in our life experiences even more so than splurging on the next big thing from our favorite designer; it’s true that money can’t buy you happiness.

In fact, it seems the happiest people in this world have found a way to distance themselves from shopping addictions and unnecessary spending.

I'll admit, it's been pretty awesome flying as much as I do. The benefits along with an amazing travel partner help out too. ^_^

JetBlue's New Fare Classes are Better than Meets the Eye →

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The big news is that the price differential between Blue and Blue Plus tickets is generally only $15. JetBlue has made it a better value to purchase a ticket that includes a checked bag than it is to pay a bag fee, even in advance. In addition, buying a Blue Plus fare earns more TrueBlue points than the base fare, for marginally more money.

In comparison, Delta and United don’t have fares that include a checked bag, nor do they let passengers purchase checked baggage ahead of time for a reduced fee. American does offer fares with checked bag included, but the premium is more than the cost of a checked bag, although it does include group one boarding.

Essentially, if you are going to check a bag, don't book on Orbitz or Expedia and just select Blue Plus via JetBlue.com. Attention media, friends and family, it's still the best out there.

 
 

JetBlue's Fly-Fi vs. the Rest →

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The inflight Internet market in the U.S. doesn’t seem to follow any basic rule of competition. On an American or Delta plane you could wind up paying $10 to $20 to surf for the duration of your flight, and “surf” might be a generous word in this case. If there are a lot of other people using the same network on your plane, speeds might be so slow you’ll wind up paddling your way through the web.

At the other end of the spectrum, JetBlue offers complementary Internet access to all of its passengers. Instead of delivering a sluggish Internet experience, its Fly-Fi service is the fastest in the biz delivering speeds over 10 Mbps, and doesn’t restrict high-bandwidth applications like Netflix on its networks.

Installed on about 85% of our Airbus A320s and 100% of our A321s, commuting on JetBlue is a breeze with Fly-Fi. So fast and with access to Amazon Prime, Netflix and YouTube and every other social network, time does fly. I love working here.

Touring Paris at $100 a Day →

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I love the New York Times 36 hours in [insert city] articles and definitely use them as reference for when I travel1. Just today, there's a great post by Seth Kugel that gives you insight on how to make an extravagant, concierge curated Paris day turn into a feel good, money savvy boasting trip. This alone makes me want to visit ASAP and see how much I can save / spend.

Mr. Ilisca was formulating a perfect Paris day for a fictional well-heeled guest. Cost: about 1,000 euros (or a little more than $1,100). I was sipping espresso, taking notes for the task ahead — creating the most similar day I could for one-tenth of the price.

Further reading into the comments and one reader's suggestion goes even as so far as staying at a breakfast provided hostel, taking meats from the buffet, and getting wasted on grocery store bought beer. Sounds perfect!

  • Haven't been traveling much since the birth of our youngest son, but 36 hours in Brisbane was a pretty handy guide when we took our second babymoon last August.

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    • JetBlue x Manhattan Portage Sustainability Project

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    Now's your chance to own some of JetBlue Airways' previous uniforms. Familiar pieces from the uniform line include the pilot shirt with embroidered wings to the flight attendant tie, shirt and scarf make up some of Manhattan Portages newest pieces. Grab the limited set while you can!

    The Manhattan Portage X JetBlue City Lights Bag is constructed out of recycled JetBlue pilot shirts. Keeping the original garment pocket and pilot wings, the City Lights Bag is a perfect organizational companion. Domestically and internationally, it loves to tag along! Buy here

    The Manhattan Portage x JetBlue Toiletry Case is designed to carry all your important travel necessities. This "above the wing" piece is made entirely from recycled flight attendant uniform materials - the exterior body is JetBlue's signature windowpane shirt, the lining is a scarf and the easy grab-and-go handle is a necktie! Buy here

    I'm thinking about picking up either or or maybe both! And Just in case you wanted something larger, check out the Manhattan Portage x JetBlue Europa.

    Andrew Zimmern's Top Spots in San Diego

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    Andrew Zimmern vlogs about his three top choices in San Diego. One of them was featured on his show and all three are listed below after the video.

    Love his tip about avoiding the Gaslamp District. But I'm more excited to hit up Nobu and try some fresh sea urchin!

    Izakaya Masa / yelp

    Hodad's / yelp

    Tita's Kitchenette

    Buy an MTA Card for $19.05 or $22.30 after March 22nd, Trust Me

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    Getting settled into the NYC life on reserve, you tend to have a lot of time to search and Google things. Toss in little bit of Yelp and various recommendations, it's easy to become inundated with awesomeness. But let's start off with a life little "hack." More specifically, don't give the MTA more money than you have to (leaving cash on a card) and load up a card with $19.05 or $22.30 after March 22, 2015.

    Three quick options. But wait a minute. One button leaves you with the same $9.45 card, and gives a remainder of $1.95 after just three uses. The next one is even more frustrating: you end up with a $19.95 card, leaving a remainder after 7 uses of $2.45! That's right, the nickel we were talking about earlier. The last option does not leave you much better off. You'll get a $40.95 card, which leads to $0.95 on your card after you use 16 rides. So all three buttons presented leave quite a bit of "insufficient fare" on the card.

    via I Quant NY

    Now I just have to calculate how much to load on my card to zero it out since I was ignorant to this awesome information.

    JetBlue Adds Apple Pay for InFlight Purchases

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    With many airlines accepting only credit cards these days, I'm glad to see jetBlue getting onboard with Apple Pay. Bravo! And in a few months, we'll be paying with our Apple Watches! ^_^

    Starting next week, passengers on select JetBlue Airways flights can use Apple Pay on their iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets to buy food, drinks and certain onboard amenities when the plane reaches cruising altitude. You'll be able to upgrade to available premium seats, too.

    Update: Looks like a new app will go along the iPad minis too! Way to utilize tech jetBlue!

    Apple Pay in the air, JetBlue will deploy iPad minis and NFC-enabled cases to more than 3,500 inflight crewmembers. In addition to the cases with Apple Pay compatibility, each iPad mini will be loaded with a custom-designed iOS app — The Inflight Service Assistant — which will give inflight crewmembers access to customer manifest and flight data to provide the best experience possible to JetBlue customers.

    Sapporo Snow Festival Results in Amazing Star Wars Sculpture

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    This is just one of many reasons to add Sapporo to the bucket list. You can always check out the Japan Guide too for a more formal introduction.

    Geeks like to go all the way with their projects, and Japan is a country full of geeks. That‘s why they spent a month (and purportedly enlisted the help of the Army) building a giant Star Wars snow sculpture for the 66th Sapporo Snow Festival. And is truly enormous: 3,500 tons of snow went into making this 23 meter wide, 15 meter tall piece of geek art.The centerpiece of it all is a giant bust of Darth Vader, beckoning Luke to join the Dark Side. Vader is accompanied by three Stormtroopers and two TIE Fighters (one of them being his personal TIE Advanced).

    via Demilked