Welcome to Travelling Lens Insider, where every weekend I send you a carefully curated letter of all things travel, photography and points optimisation.

Now, onto this week’s letter…

✈️ Travel, Points and Miles

• 🧳 Why are we being forced to gate check bags when flying in US—even when there is plenty of overhead bin space! And it’s getting worse. I personally had this experience when flying domestically on United Airlines from San Francisco to Houston. 😠
• 🗺️ There is a lot of lingo that gets thrown around in the travel points and miles world in the US. If you’re confused by any of it, this Encyclopedia of Points and Miles is your reference point to clear anything up.
• ​🌸 My March 2025 roundup and recap. It was a busy month of Cherry Blossoms, 1-Michelin star dining experience and another round of Houston Rodeo.

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📷 Photography

• ​🎨 Colour theory for photographers made easy. Watch this 29 minute crash course to boost your understanding of how to use colours to make more powerful travel photos.
• 📷 Internet famous travel photographer Roman Fox shares 6 ways tips that help you become a better photographer and increase the number of shots you’re proud of.
• 🎬 An 11 minute breakdown on why Substack is THE place to be for photographers right now (especially if you’re frustrated with platforms like Instagram). I’ve definitely enjoyed my Substack experience so far!

Want to an easy way to plan your next trip? Get the free Travel Hub trip planning system in Notion.​

👀 Lately

Houston is city big on sports.

Since living in the US, we’ve made a point to watch a few basketball, baseball and football games live.

This week, we got a chance to watch the Houston Astros play (and win!) against the Detroit Tigers from my husband’s work’s corporate suite.

The view of the game and the food on offer in the suite were great.

The dessert cart that comes around to each suite half way through the game is always a treat.

🔎 On My Radar

We’re in the middle of planning our mid-year trip to Europe, which includes a stop in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

After some long and hard deliberation, we decided to treat ourselves to indulge a couple of nights at the rather luxurious Hotel TwentySeven.

💬 Final Words

That’s all for today! See you next week

Janice

(p.s. I’m always looking to improve. If you have feedback, I’d love to hear your thoughts on today’s newsletter. And if you enjoyed it, please let me know why!)