Rapid Travel Chai

On my mind: Award Wallet told me my Hertz balance had increased and I realized I had messed up on one of my rentals for United miles. Darn. You can disable Hertz points earning so rentals will default to miles. I had enabled points a few months ago for a two rental promotion, and didn’t turn them back off, so each rental I needed to manually select United miles.

I sent in a request to get the points reversed and miles credited though am not optimistic. I wish I were better at not dwelling on my mistakes.

Hacks:

• Chase Starbucks Visa Card review.
• How to reallocate your new Discover Miles credit line.
• How to earn miles from Europcar.

Travels:

• Motorised nose wheels will let planes leave gates by themselves.
• The man who moved an ancient forest — to surround Shanghai’s newest hotel.
• Are packing cubes worth it? A look at uses, alternatives, brands & sizes.

Events:

• Japan’s plan to resolve a 70-year-old row with Russia is failing.
• Maria Sebregondi, Moleskine founder, takes note of the digital age.
• In Phoenix, the musical instruments of Ancient China.

Ideas:

• A nasty-tasting shellfish could be just the job for cleaning rivers.
• Lessons from the road: Mark Beaumont on tears, broken bones and making adventure pay.
• In Afghanistan’s unwinnable war, what’s the best loss to hope for?