Key fobs / US Park finder / Movie theatre deal
Recomendo - issue #511
Spare car key fob
Most modern cars have electronic fob keys, which are great, except if you need to replace them. They can cost between $200 to $500 to replace. Our 2008 Toyota Prius had one single grungy fob that was starting to fall apart and I wanted to have a spare key cheaper than the $400 Toyota wanted to charge us. So I found Tom’s Keys, which sells a third-party fob ($98) that you can program with an existing working fob (required). The programming steps are ridiculously complex; I thought it was a joke (open, close the driver door 6 times, insert fob twice quickly, open and close door again, push both buttons on fob, repeat, etc. This complexity is from the car manufacturers, not from the key people.) But after many many tries I successfully programmed the new fob to work, so now I have a spare. Tom’s Keys customer service is flaky, and there are some complaints about not being able to program the key, but for me it was worth the try for $100. — KK
Plan your next national park trip
The US National Park Finder filters all 63 U.S. national parks by their best months to visit, as well as listing their top activities and best spots for stargazing. After filtering, each park card gives you sample itineraries, fun facts, travel hacks, and resources and advice pulled from Reddit. The next park on my travel wishlist is Saguaro National Park, and it’s helpful to get all this information on one page. — CD
Sound machine for a good night's sleep
We live on a fairly busy street, and in the summer our fans do a good job of drowning out traffic noise. But in the colder months, we rely on sound machines instead. I used to play white noise through my phone, but I worried about damaging the speaker at high volumes night after night. This $25 Hotmoon Cocoon 2 solves that. It has 40 sounds, including white, pink, green, and brown noise. I'm a fan of brown noise — it's less harsh and more mellow than white noise. — MF
Civilized hiking
I am a huge fan of walking a long distance with friends or family. It’s intensely bonding. Ideally you walk about 100 km, for six days, with comfy lodging at an inn with a meal every night, cafes along the way, carrying only a daypack, with your luggage forwarded. This is not camping, not backpacking! Walking with no gear is so very civilized. I’ve done these kinds of memorable walks all over the world. The easiest way to start is to follow a route supplied by the outfitter MacsAdventure, who will arrange the lodging and luggage forwarding, and give you a route to follow on your phone app, for very reasonable costs. You choose when you want to go. My recommendations for two easy-to-do, highly rewarding walks are the Cotswold Loop in England, and the Coastal El Camino in Portugal. Either one will give you an easy, memorable trip. Sign up with some friends or family. — KK
Find direct flights midway
Midway is a tool to help people in different cities find a meetup destination they can each reach by a direct flight. You put in two or more departure cities and it shows you every destination reachable by direct flight from all of them, with filters for distance and flight time. Honestly, even if you don’t have group plans, it’s just useful as a way to see all the direct flights possible from your home airport. — CD
Unlimited movies at AMC
My wife and I go to the movies at least once a week, and AMC Stubs A-List has been a fantastic deal for us. For $27.99/month (going up $2 starting July 15), you can see up to 4 movies per week at any AMC theater — and it doesn’t matter what format: standard, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, Prime, laser, or even the lounge-chair theaters. All are included. You also get free online reservations with no booking fees. If you have an AMC near you and enjoy movies, this will save you a lot of money. — MF
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