Marriott Helps You Score Amazon Cash

I have many weaknesses and/or vices. One of them, specifically, is Amazon.com. I wish I could help it, but I can't; I see things on the site that I want (books, music, Johnny Carson mics for podcasts) and I just start swiping my credit card left and right.

So, it's with that understood that I'm really excited to see Marriott's latest promotion, which features Visa and Amazon and hotel rooms. No, I am not a shill for Marriott. I just like their Twitter account. And it's quite simple: you book at Marriott, you get Amazon gift certificates.

Get one voucher for a $25 Amazon.com Gift Card claim code per night for up to two nights on weekend stays at Marriott Hotels and Resorts, JW Marriott Hotels, and Renaissance Hotels and Resorts

Get one voucher for a $15 Amazon.com Gift Card claim code per night for up to two nights on weekend stays at Courtyard hotels

There's always some catch, of course, though. This deal isn't particularly bad though: you simply have to book between April 13th and May 3rd for a weekend stay between April 16th and June 14th.

Now, clearly an Amazon $50 gift card/credit does not equal cash. But at the same time, if you can get $50 off a Marriott stay instead of having to stay at a lesser hotel, and then pick up, say a Grant Green box set, you've done pretty well for yourself.

Virginia Beach Meteor ... Or Just Your Casual UFO?

Virginia Beach and North Carolina may have experienced a meteor explosion on Sunday night. Or perhaps Agents Sculley and Mulder were just in the neighborhood -- because despite residents' claims to the police and weather services that something bright exploded in the sky Sunday, the National Weather Service says they have no record of anything meteorlogical.

One motorist who saw the lights while driving east of the Staples Mill Road exit of Interstate 64 described it as similar to “what falls away from big fireworks” but “much bigger” and “from much higher up."

In other words: "Aliens, obviously." But that motorist wasn't the only one:

“It was very, very bright and lasted less than a second,“ said Richmond resident Jay McNamara, who was returning home with his wife on River Road when they saw an object in the southeastern sky. “It was smaller than the moon and a white or yellow color."

"And round, like a flying saucer," McNamara continued. Okay, not really. However, I think there's a pretty good chance that this is going to get run as a UFO sighting, just because, again, the National Weather Service recorded no meteroic activity despite the flurry of e-mails that hit a local news station's inbox.

The point of it all? If you're scared of aliens, avoid the beaches of North Carolina and Virginia in your travels for at least the next few weeks, until things clear up.

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The iPod: Saving Lives Since 2008

iPods -- and all MP3 players -- are fantastic for a number of reasons. The primary being that they contain hours of music and can save travelers from a near death-like experience of having to actually converse with the person in next airplane seat.

Additionally, they're fantastic for skiers and snowboarders who like to jam out while cruising down the slopes. And a lost skier and snowboarder in Switzerland found a different use for their MP3 player this weekend: saving lives.

The two — a skier and snowboarder, both from France — had got lost late in the day Friday outside marked runs near the resort of Savognin in southeast Switzerland, said Gery Baumann, spokesman for mountain rescue service Rega.

“The two winter sports enthusiasts were found by the crew of the Rega helicopter shortly after midnight — thanks to the faint light of their MP3 player,” he said.

Yup, thanks to their MP3 player, the pair only suffered "mild hypothermia", which, while quite lame in and of itself, is vastly superior to the alternate: "death". The lesson as always? Go out, buy yourself an iPod (or whatever) and carry it with you at all times. Also: bring a battery pack.

Last Minute Travel Related Christmas Gift Idea for Your Loved One

Are you sitting in the office right now, pining over what to get your family and friends for Christmas, just mere hours away from when said presents are due? (Maybe you're not. I am. Seriously -- melt down mode, in which I irrationally start purchasing things from Best Buy in the hope that someone in my family likes them -- is only like four hours away.)

Well, here's a cool little gift item for the traveler in your life. The Chargepod. That's right, it's a seven-legged power funneling horse that allows you to plug all your accessories, via different adapters, in at once.

Perhaps you've seen the Power Monkey? No? It rules too, but the downside is that it's a single plugged adaptable piece (upside is that the battery is mobile) and that's where the Chargepod takes over. Look at that thing. iPod, Blackberry, Pager, Bluetooth, Zach Morris Phone You Still Have For Some Reason -- it charges everything, all at once.

So, since you're too cheap to show your love for your family through the purchase of an iPhone, just go grab one of these suckers. Or print out a picture and say "It's in the mail!!!1" That's my favorite move.

United Christmas Bonus Never Going to Happen

United Airlines recently announced its intention to spread some extra Christmas cheer for hard-working employees this holiday season. The airline says it will give a US$100 bonus to most of its union-represented workers ...if... United tops the month's rankings of on-time performance. If the airline only comes in second place, or meets its self-stated goal, then those same workers may receive a US$65 dollar bonus. One recent article provides the fine print for this holiday agreement:

The airline was ranked 10th in October, 17th in September and 15th in August for on-time performance. United was next-to-last for the 12 months ended in October 2008.

It really fills the heart with cheer to see a company offering Christmas bonuses despite a struggling economy. Unfortunately for all those workers, actually getting the bonus will require a Christmas miracle of Jimmy Stewart proportions.

With no real bonus in sight, and a struggling airline trying to improve it's "on-time" ranking, who really wins? The travelers of course. In the process of not ever giving out these bonuses, United may accidentally get you to your holiday destination on time. Merry Christmas.

FareFinder: Delta makes post-turkey get away easier

Looking for a quick getaway after the stuffing is finished? Delta has some interesting deals, as long as you read the fine print and have a couple of vacation days left in the work bank.

Delta has a Super Off-Peak promo on its Web site, which lets you get some special deals on flights to select cities. The Super Off-Peak days run Nov. 27 and 28, then Dec. 3, 13-17 and Christmas Eve and Day. Phew.

I know, I know: What kind of deals are we talking about here? Well, LaGuardia to Orlando for $89 each way. How about jet-setting from JFK to Vegas for $259 roundtrip between Dec. 13 and Dec. 17?

My peeps in the ATL have some of the best deals (being a hub has its advantages), with one-ways to places like Chicago, Philly, NYC and every other East Coast and Midwest locale under $144.

As always, the fine print gets you, since the airline has these Super Off Peaks for the dates stated. Plus, you have to buy the tickets by this Saturday (Nov. 29). But if you're trying to get away from the cold Northeast or just need to use those remaining vacation days, there are some good deals to be had.

FareFinder: Traditional Holiday in Williamsburg

FareFinder is getting into the holiday spirit lately, so decided to drop some knowledge about this little weekend trip that's good for the post-Turkey, pre-Santa time.

For those East Coasters who want a quick getaway (or if you want to get your Historical Americana on), the folks at Colonial Williamsburg are offering a holiday package that fits the bill. Two nights at one of the CW's Resort Collection properties, lunch at a primo CW tavern, tickets to the holiday walking tour and length of stay passes to all the CW attractions starting at $81 per person, per night.

For those who have never been to Williamsburg, it's truly a treat, especially during the holiday season. They've got plenty going on, from historic homes decorated to the nines, special dining events and kid-friendly activities, it's a hidden gem.

The package prices jump depending on the hotel you choose (the value Governor's Inn is the $81 low-end, while the five-star Williamsburg Inn is $291), but the Williamsburg Lodge selection at $147 is the FareFinder choice.

Image from CW

FareFinder: Turkey Day Getaway

While Thanksgiving is steeped in tradition, sometimes it's refreshing to not have to slave over a stove and prepare for the inevitable family questions (So when is name of your child here going to get married/have children/grow up?).

With that in mind, LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels is offering a bunch of last-minute specials to whisk you away to some of the posh-est (is that even a word?) destinations for the upcoming holiday.

For example: The four-star Casa Marina Resort & Beach Club in Key West is rates starting at $149 nightly, a cool $100 off the regular price. Or how about a five-course meal with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey at his namesake restaurant in the newly-redesigned The London West Hollywood for $85?

It might be worth the price of the meal just to seewhether Gordon flies off the handle at an unsuspecting cook or busboy. That would certainly be more entertaining than watching the winless Detroit Lions get trounced on Turkey Day.

Entire Jamaica Tourist Board Quits

It's not often in today's 24-hour news cycle that a single headline reaches out and grabs your attention. We are so frequently bombarded with stories, blurbs and features that the real gems of the travel industry, and the world for that matter, often slip through the cracks. So, you can imagine my surprise when I saw this title, "Entire Jamaica Tourist Board Quits." I don't know about you, but to me, that sounds like a story worth reading.

Allegedly, the entire board turned in their resignations to Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett because, "A changing landscape demands a new architecture...We need to rebuild and redesign our structure to allow us not only to survive in these times of economic uncertainty but also to prosper and grow." Here's some food for thought... what does it say about the short-term future of international travel when the entire tourism board of the friendliest vacation spot on earth starts looking for new work pre-emptively? International travel's about to get a lot cheaper. And after enduring the upcoming holiday season with your family, a little sun, sand and fruity-umbrella-topped cocktails will be just what the doctor ordered.

President Bush Takes Action to Ease the Hassle of Turkey Day Travel

Interesting -- and extremely helpful -- news out of the White House relating to travel has emerged this week: President Bush plans on issuing some sort of stra-tegery type memorandums that should make getting where you need to go on Thanksgiving a whole heck of a lot easier.

The marquee item in his strategy for reducing air traffic congestion during the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons is the temporary opening of airspace typically dedicated to the military to commercial airliners. Last year, the Pentagon freed up two East Coast corridors during Thanksgiving; Bush said that was being expanded this year to also include the Mideast, the Southwest and the West Coast, including the skies around Los Angeles and Phoenix.

[...]A lot of our citizens are nervous about travel,” Bush said in remarks before hundreds of employees at the Department of Transportation. “They are saying ‘Will traveling home for the holidays be a wonderful life or will it be the nightmare before Christmas?”

Bad movie puns aside, that's tremendously helpful news ... you would think. Certainly more airspace = less congestion = more flights on time = more time nursing the gravy bowl. Right? Perhaps not.

A National Air Traffic Controllers Association (Really? There's one of those?) spokesman pointed out that all the huff and puff surrounding these announcements really only serves to make citizens think that there's a lot of efficiency being processed through the national travel network, when the reality is that it makes very little difference.