Welcome to The Morning Shave. We read a ton of travel articles each day for our personal research and to share the best travel tips and tricks with you. Here are the articles for Wednesday, February 5, 2020, that we think you should read.
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The Morning Shave
Very Cool Science: Airplanes Landing In Chicago Are Causing It To Snow. – Really cool phenomenon. Yet another example of how humans can influence the environment and weather patterns. #science
Is The Platinum Card From American Express Worth its $550 Annual Fee? – With both Chase and Amex offering $550 premium credit cards, its time to take a look and re-evaluate whether or not you should keep the card. Many travelers use a lot of the benefits, but others just keep them because everyone else has one. It might be time to downgrade. But, before you do, check out these hidden benefits of the Amex Platinum.
Visa Is Planning the Biggest Changes to Swipe Fees in a Decade. – When credit card swipe fees affect the profitability of a business, they start to take notice. Some fees go up, while others are going down. It will be interesting to follow how these changes might affect the bonus categories we enjoy on our rewards credit cards.
5 Exotic Places Where You Don’t Need a Passport. – There are so many incredible destinations around the world where you need a passport, but not everyone has applied. Here are a few favorites where you can catch some sunshine and thaw out if you don’t have one. One my favorites is Puerto Rico, where I interviewed Conrado of The Millennial Traveler to learn his tips for visiting.
Marriott Adds Capacity Controls To Limit Awards At Many Hotels. – Things like this are infuriating. The hotel chain claims they have no blackout dates, but then their capacity controls mean that I can’t actually redeem points to stay there when the hotel isn’t sold out. UGH! Another good reason to keep cards like the Capital One Venture in your wallet because you can book ANY room, then use points to “erase” your travel purchases. Click here for the latest credit card offers.
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For Amex Platinum, I don’t think you’re allowed to downgrade
Your comment had me second-guessing myself. So, I called Amex Platinum customer service and they confirmed that you can downgrade your Amex Platinum card if you want to do so.