Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon that may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: Add your Passport to your Apple Wallet, a possible solution for Chase point transfer issues, see some ideas for the quiet side of India, and hear a little more from those stranded by Sonder and Marriott’s split.
Apple Adds Digital ID For Passports, Use For TSA Checkpoint Verification
If you’re an iPhone user, you may already know that you can create some Digital IDs in your Apple Wallet. (For example, driver’s licenses from certain states can be used to create Digital IDs). Assuming you have an iPhone 11 or later with iOS 26.1 or later, it’s now possible for you to load your US Passport as a Digital ID, and present this to TSA as your form of ID for domestic travel at more than 250 airports in the US. (This will also work with an Apple Watch Series 6 or later with watchOS 26.1 or later.)
Trouble Transferring Your Chase Points? Try This
Dave Grossman of Miles Talk has been encountering an issue transferring Chase points, and he’s not the only one. Essentially, he encounters an identity confirmation action that seems impossible to actually get through. Luckily, he spoke with his contacts at Chase and got to the bottom of what was going on and what you can do if this has been happening to you. The short explanation is that you have to ensure you have a mobile number listed in your account, which is actually assigned with the label “Mobile” (as opposed to “Home”, for example). (He says to mark this phone number as the primary phone number, though it’s unclear if that part is mandatory or not.) That may sound easy enough, but there are two bummers about this. One, some people may have to call to achieve this phone update, and two, it can apparently take up to 2 weeks for this to get updated and fix the issue. Dave intends to keep the post linked here updated as to whether or not the fix actually works for him, so keep an eye on it if you’ve been in the same boat.
6 Hidden Corners of India That Redefine What ‘Offbeat’ Really Means
India can be overwhelming to Westerners for a lot of reasons, and often brings to mind crowds, commotion, and chaos. Just today, for example, I shared a rickshaw with literally 12 other adults and 5 children – 16 people inside and 2 hanging off the back. But India also has an incredible diversity of landscape, not unlike America’s… and there actually are remote pockets far off the beaten path with cowbells and goat herds instead of car horns and rickshaws. It wasn’t until my third time in India, visiting the small village of Raithal in the Himalayan region, that I saw this other side of India, and I’ve since realized just how many places like this there are. It’s mind-boggling, and as someone whose travel is largely motivated by adventure and nature, it feels like a new frontier (an ironic way to describe a place so ancient). This funny little web article gives a good sneak peek at some of these epically beautiful regions (as does this one about hidden caves in India). Ladakh has been on my list for a while, but the Dzukou Valley in Nagaland was a new one from this list that piqued my interest, nestled in that section of India between Bangladesh and Myanmar. It’s known for green mountainsides covered in wildflowers in certain parts of the year. If any part of your traveler’s spirit is motivated by adventure, consider visiting any of these places instead of the Taj Mahal. And of course, this short little slideshow just scratches the surface. Maybe someday I’ll put together my own wish list of off-the-beaten-path destinations in India, and in the meantime, comment below with any suggestions of your own!
Marriott and Sonder make an absolute mess, with guests forced out and reservations cancelled
Earlier in the week, Nick wrote about the absolute dumpster fire created by Sonder’s financial collapse and sudden liquidation, which caused Marriott to call off their partnership immediately, just one year into the intended 20-year partnership. The video linked here shows a little more of what that actually looked like for guests and employees, both blindsided.
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The India links are great! We almost always avoid cities in our travels because we find that you get so much more the feel of a place from the rural areas and small towns. It is always great to have more suggestions of out-of-the-way places to put on our wish list.
Any idea how the passport thing works with kids who don’t have phones yet?