Travel Apps :: mileBlaster

Today I'm excited to tell you about one of the most well received and user-friendly mileage tracking apps out there: mileBlaster, selected by CNET Reviews as one of 10 essential apps for frequent fliers. What's different about mileBlaster in relation to other mileage and loyalty program tracking apps is aside from showing your progress for each travel reward program entered, providing details on your progress towards awards and alerting you to mile expiration, it informs you about current and relevant mile bonuses. Trip Styler Tip :: Many airline mileage reward program miles expire after no account activity over 18-months, so having an app to help you manage multiple accounts can mean the difference between a free flight and expired miles.

Because of this app's added features it costs a cool $5.99, but here's the kicker: if you have multiple accounts like me {ie - two fairmont president's club memberships}, or want to share the app with a family member, you can both enter your airline and hotel loyalty programs into this app {on one phone}.

Using the App, I just found out that I have 16,000+ miles expiring in 6 months with Flying Blue {Air France and KLM miles program}. To this end, I got an email from app providing me with 4 ways I could use, extend or redeem my miles. Invaluable. If I let the miles go, that's basically part of a free flight or hotel stay that's going into oblivion, but being on top of it I can quickly figure out my options and make the most of the miles earned.

As mentioned above, this app tracks airline miles and hotel reward programs, but it really, really excels in the airline miles tracking department!

Details

• $5.99
• Works with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad & Nokia
• Try it for free with the desktop version, or for a discounted rate with the web version
• Track multiple accounts for one loyalty program

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Other Travel Apps Every Tuesday we feature a new travel app. Don’t forget to peruse the other 70+ travel apps we’ve reviewed from travel first aid, to luxury and boutique hotel finders, to border waits and trip itinerary management. Here are the most recent:

• HipMunk
• Mad Libs
• Travel Etiquette
• Jetsetter
• Metr0

Travel Apps :: HipMunk

Contrary to the catchy name and graphic, the HipMunk travel app is not a game involving hipster chipmunks, but an awesome flight search tool. I know, there are a lot of flight search tools, so why would you use HipMunk over ITA or Kayak? If you're a visual learner, then HipMunk's a great option for you. Rendering flight search results in a visual, timeline format, it sorts flights primarily by agony---a score that combines price, duration and number of stops.

Using it for my upcoming trip to Australia {see example below}, the flight results clearly show price, carriers, timing and layovers. Note Air Canada is the only non-stop flight. No, it's not the cheapest, but it's the least painless given it's direct.

Details

• Use HipMunk flight search through their app or their website
• Free
• Works with iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad
• When asked about app development for Android and Blackberry, HipMunk noted it was "possible"
• Book through the app or finish the transaction on HipMunk's website by entering a unique code

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Other Travel Apps Every Tuesday we feature a new travel app. Don’t forget to peruse the other 60+ travel apps we’ve reviewed from travel first aid, to luxury and boutique hotel finders, to border waits and trip itinerary management. Here are the most recent:

• Mad Libs
• Travel Etiquette
• Jetsetter
• Metr0
• Google Translate

Travel Apps :: Mad Libs

Not Just for KidsIn this post I'm going to talk about the kids word game Mad Libs, and yes, as an adult, it's still one of my all-time favorite games. Now there's an app for that.

The Best Game Ever If you've never heard of Mad Libs it's a smart game requiring you to fill in a series of verbs, adjectives and adverbs, which it then takes and inserts into a short story. You then read the finished product aloud and {hopefully} laugh at how the random words you selected make the story a little zany. Sound smart? It is. Sound fun? It is. Sound like a fun game to play on the plane by yourself or with others {including kids}? It is. Would you have got an A in high school English if you played this at the beginning of every class? Yes.

A Test Run I just played one of the vacation-themed games from the free app and here is the story, which I was also able to email myself {bonus}: HOW TO ENJOY YOURSELF ON THE BEACH When you go to the beach, you must take along a big blanket, a thermos bottle full of soy sauce {TYPE OF LIQUID}, lots of suntan smelly feet {SOMETHING ICKY}, and a couple of folding credenzas {PIECE OF FURNITURE (PLURAL)}. Then you put on your pantyhose {ARTICLE OF CLOTHING} so you can get a beautiful charcoal {COLOR} to last you all summer. You also should have a big hat to keep the sun off your big toe nail {PART OF THE BODY}. If you want exercise, you can find some boxes {PLURAL NOUN} to play volleyball with. Volleyball is America’s favorite shiny {ADJECTIVE} game. You can also bring a/an amazing {ADJECTIVE} lunch, such as hard-boiled dail-up internet {PLURAL NOUN}, a few crocodile {ANIMAL} sandwiches with mustard, and some bottles of redonculous {SILLY WORD} cola. If you remember all of the above and get a place near a/an checkered {ADJECTIVE} lifeguard, you can sunbathe boldly {ADVERB} all day.

Details

• Free {but fancier paid versions available for word-game enthusiasts}
• Works with iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad

— Get more travel tips & updates like this by subscribing to RSS or email, liking us on facebook or following us on twitter. —

Other Travel Apps Every Tuesday we feature a new travel app. Don’t forget to peruse the other 60+ travel apps we’ve reviewed from travel first aid, to luxury and boutique hotel finders, to border waits and trip itinerary management. Here are the most recent:

• Travel Etiquette
• Jetsetter
• Metr0
• Google Translate
• Instagram

Travel Apps :: Etiquette

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"Thou must try to place thy luggage in the overhead bin within a one-seat radius."

When circumventing the globe by plane, train and automobile, the above tip and other etiquette suggestions are important to know, to avoid mishaps or faux pas. Since it's travel etiquette month, we're taking the opportunity to feature two etiquette apps for Travel App Tuesday! And what better place to have social and societal do and don't info than on-the-go, when you need it most!

Conde Nast Traveler has a great etiquette app, but as much as this pains me to say, it's only available on a Blackberry, so iPhone users get their pick of Etiquette Survival Guide or Etiquette for all Occasions. Both of these apps are free, funny and present a fairly bland {yet important} topic in a fun way. For example, this tip from the Etiquette Survival Guide could not be more true: "Thou shalt always demand the taxi driver to use the meter. Never trust the driver giving you a good deal."

Although neither app is dedicated to travel etiquette, both dish out good reminders of how to communicate with people {on the road} which is especially important when you're tired, stressed out and miss the conveniences of home.

For more travel etiquette info you can read on your smartphone or your personal computer, check out this comprehensive list via Conde Nast Traveler.

Other Travel Apps Don’t forget to peruse the other 60+ travel apps we’ve reviewed from travel first aid, to luxury and boutique hotel finders, to border waits and trip itinerary management. Here are the most recent:

• Jetsetter
• Metr0
• Google Translate
• Instagram
• Airbnb

Travel Apps :: Jetsetter

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Hopefully you're not an impulse shopper, because having this next app at your fingertips could be dangerous!

Jetsetter, a trip style = luxury  travel flash sale website, has just launched an iPhone app where you can view and book current sales at any moment!

Jetsetter is a free-to-join, member's-only site, meaning you can't view the travel deals unless you're a member {see jetsetter link above to join}. HOWEVER, if you install the app, you can view the deals sans membership and get an instant membership upon download.

I've booked 2 trips via Jetsetter and have been really happy with both hotels, one in Portland and one in LA. Jetsetter's hotel descriptions and reviews are balanced, listing the features and drawbacks so you know what you’re getting into. Luckily, the app also includes these descriptions and reviews so you can make an informed decision when you succumb to the always-inspiring and always-changing travel flash sales; now, literally at your fingertips.

Details

• Free
• Works with iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad, and Blackberry
• Android is next on the list
• No word yet on a Blackberry platform

Other Travel Apps Don’t forget to peruse the other 60+ travel apps we’ve reviewed from travel first aid, to luxury and boutique hotel finders, to border waits and trip itinerary management. Here are the most recent:

• Metr0
• Google Translate
• Instagram
• Airbnb
• Book Crazy