Round the Blogosphere
Deals We Like highlights Avis has a great promotion where you can earn 1,000 Hyatt points on qualifying rentals of 2 days or more.
Gary posted a funny, yet fitting Christmas video about the TSA. A few bad apples, indeed.
Rapid Travel Chai had the pleasure of meeting Lee Abamonte, who also has a great blog. In case you didn’t know, Lee is attempting to visit all 321 sovereign countries.
Just Another Points Traveler reports that it may be possible to receive 3,000 Club Carlson points for FREE. Who doesn’t love free points?
Speaking of reports, Wandering Aramean provides an interesting analysis of the Indian Airline market. I personally don’t know a lot about it, but perhaps there’s something there of value.
When it comes to hotels, I’ve been fortunate, whether paying a very preferable $133/night at the Ritz-Carlton, or staying in a suite for absolutely nothing. But I have been fortunate financially, in that staying at a name-brand hotel as never been a problem for me. But in that light, I think When Double Wides Fly’s article on finding cheap hotels is a breath of fresh air. To some folks, this may be very useful information.
Though it is a name-brand property, Frugal Travel Lawyer has a good review of her family’s affordable stay at the Hyatt House in Florida.
Point Me to the Miles 
Just to clarify, Lee has visited all 193 member states of the UN, which is the general standard for ‘sovereign countries,’ the 321 group he is working on is the Travelers Century Club list which has an expanded classification, which inspires some cool and challenging travel. An example is French Guiana in South America which is a department of France itself, so is not a sovereign nation, but is on the TCC list.
Thanks for clarifying. I am envious that you got to meet him!