News and notes from around the interweb:
- Avis renter charged thousands of dollars for tolls after previous customer stole the transponder from the vehicle and kept using it.
“It must have been an Uber or taxi driver, or someone frequently going through tolls,” Micah said of the mystery driver who racked up more than $2,600 in toll charges to his account. …
Each time he called Avis, he said they told him to go back to e-Tolls, and each time he called e-Tolls, he said they told him another contradictory story. …
According to Micah, he repeatedly submitted charging records, receipts, and location information, but the charges continued. He also repeatedly requested photographic evidence showing the vehicle passing through toll plazas — but he said those photographs were never provided to him.
- The latest round of Singapore Airlines Spontaneous Escapes award discounts has no U.S. flights discounted.
- 100 Marriott points for 3 Starbucks purchases by June 21 if your accounts are linked. I guess that’s fine, you’re getting about 50-60 cents back. If your accounts are linked already you don’t need to do anythng else and you get the points. But I hope nobody is actually bothering to go out of their way for these promos? What a sad partnership this turned out to be.
- 10% bonus converting hotel points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles through July 14, Marriott excluded. Another from the ‘why bother’ category, but better to have a 10% bonus than not a 10% bonus as they say.
- 15% bonus transferring Amex Membership Rewards to Avianca Lifemiles through July 15 again, better than not 15% bonus, but I wouldn’t make a transfer proactively without specific immediate redemption just for this bonus.
- Air Canada has opened a new Air Canada Café lounge in Québec City. They just opened a new one in Montréal. These are nicer than the grab ‘n go efforts of Delta and American. In fact they aren’t just grab ‘n gos they feature breakfast pancakes; build-your-own power bowl bar; local cheeses; full-service bar including specialty coffee and cocktails
- (1) Ambassador Herschl Walker. Somehow I’d missed this. (2) The U.S. government is warning against jet ski rentals?
🚨 SAFETY ALERT: Ambassador Herschel Walker has an important message for Americans visiting The Bahamas: Jet ski rentals pose a serious risk of injury, death, and sexual assault. U.S. gov't employees are banned from renting them — and you should avoid them too.
Watch. Share.… pic.twitter.com/zgxSTEjdmh
— U.S. Embassy Nassau (@USEmbassyNassau) June 15, 2026
- JSX is offering 50% off flights to Scottsdale book today and travel by September 30. Reader T.C. sends this to me via TravelZoo which is a reminder that TravelZoo still exists.
And you just know that Avis fought and blamed that innocent renter the whole time… *sigh*
Ambassador? Bah…amas!
@1990 — Yup and bah-haa….mas
Nice at YQB – if the new Air Canada cafe is now open does that mean the priority pass lounge out there is back too? Missed it when I was there earlier this year due to the construction.
I’m at a loss as to how someone can go *that deep* in tolls before having their own account shut off?
Or am I misreading it?
*Example: I take my SunPass PRO with me everywhere (in fact I have 3 in case I lose one or forget it). If I leave my SunPass in a car, I can deactivate it with a few clicks. And every refill on my SunPass account dings me via a notification on my phone AND an email.
@haolenate — Oh, SunPass… how Florida of you… (I know, it works elsewhere…)
Ambassador Herschel Walker?!? The guy who was so achingly stupid that he publicly said while running for the U.S. Senate that he no longer wanted to be a vampire but now wanted to be a werewolf was named as a United States Ambassador? Who could possible be stupid enough to appoint such an idiot to represent our country?
This is why I actually track and monitor individual expenses on a weekly basis. Don’t allow yourself to be in a position where you’re being charged hundreds of dollars repeatedly for weeks and “don’t notice it”.