2025 Japan Travel Guide (Part 2): Shinkansen, Kyoto, Osaka
Kyoto is perfect if you enjoy a slow pace—leisurely strolling, great food, and traditional Japanese culture. If that sounds like your style, Kyoto is a great choice. Osaka feels mo...
US Bank Shield Credit Card: New Release, 24 Months of 0% APR, $20 Back Every Year
This card is actually quite interesting—no annual fee, and you can earn $20 back by spending each month, which gives you a reason to keep it long term. After that, however, it offe...
2025 Japan Travel Guide (Part 1): Tokyo, Disneyland, and Sanrio Puroland
During Spring Festival 2025, my family took a trip to Japan, so I’m sharing an updated guide and our experiences....
A Guide to Using Suica in Japan
I recently took a trip to Japan, and Suica made the subway and buses a lot easier. You can also load multiple cards onto one iPhone to tap for other people, and spend the remaining...
The Great Waterfall Leslie Cheung Never Made It to—I Went in His Place
Main Text In the film Happy Together, Tony Leung travels to Iguazu alone. He feels that the people standing beneath the falls ought to be a pair. I finally made it to Iguazu too, t...
Synchrony Venmo Credit Card Review: $200 Welcome Bonus
Many readers may have forgotten that this card is one of the best cards for WeChat Pay. Normally it earns 3% cash back, and if there’s an unusually strong welcome offer, you may be...
Southwest Airlines Miles and Loyalty Program Overview
Southwest announced today that it will roll out a series of changes, including charging for checked bags, introducing a basic fare, extending the expiration period for airline cred...
Walmart+ Membership Guide: AMEX Reimbursement and Multiple Walmart Cash Offers
Walmart Plus members now have multiple Walmart Cash offers; see the Plus membership page for details....
Lix's 2024 Christmas Trip: Part One – LAX to DCA
Here’s a travel-diary-style write-up of the Christmas trip to Washington from three months ago in 2024. Part One: LAX-DCA For Christmas, I had originally booked UA 2282, a nonstop...
After five years apart, is this "China Railway's first train" coming back?
I was brushing my teeth in the morning when I suddenly saw a seemingly insignificant news update: At 7:40 a.m. Beijing time on March 4 (2:40 a.m. in Moscow), train K3, an internati...
An Introduction to the Choice Hotels Program and Its Points
With a wave of acquisitions and its Preferred Hotels partnership, Choice Hotels has carved out a place in the upper-midscale and resort space. Its elite benefits are pretty solid,...