Category Archives for Travel Tips.
I’ve been a long-time opponent of buying travel insurance for small dollar trips. I wrote about the tricks insurers use to get out of paying claims as far back as 2007. And a decade ago I explained why it’s usually a bad deal.
Travel insurance can make sense for a ‘trip of a lifetime’ but the tactics used to sell insurance can be questionable.
If you just need to power your phone and laptop, all you need is an adapter to plug it into the wall. A razor or electric toothbrush may work that way as well, you just want to know if your device is dual voltage.
If you need to use hair devices that operate on high heat you’re going to need a converter. You just need to know how many watts the device needs, and get a converter that supports materially higher wattage than that.
But if you’re using electronics that aren’t dual voltage you need a transformer. For travel you want the smallest one possible based on the wattage of your device — because 7 pounds works much better in checked luggage than 30 pounds or more!
I always prefer an aisle seat but the person in the window gets to decide whether the shade is up or down. And more often than not shades should be closed.
Window shades as well as cabin lighting get adjusted for takeoff and landing for safety, to improve reaction time of both passengers and crew. And when you land in a hot city you’ll often be asked to close the window shades before getting off the aircraft, to keep the plane cool for the next flight. But what about when you’re in the air, mid-trip?
Years later when I started traveling for work midweek transcons in coach were nearly $2000 round trip The idea of paying for first was beyond my comprehension.
The cost of coach trips has come down, and in percentage terms the cost of flying first has come down even more. Part of that is a change in airline pricing philosophy, and part is a change in technology. Instead of just having full fare first class and possibly a discount fare bucket, airlines can price first as a specific upcharge to the prevailing coach rate.
That’s helped them sell more seats up front — Delta sells about 60% of its first class seats, American is closer to 50%. It used to be more like one in ten.
U.S. travelers are certainly aware of the challenges of dealing with visa applications to visit certain countries, and how much simpler it is to visit somewhere that either doesn’t require a visa for U.S. citizens or allows for visa on arrival.
The U.S. won’t allow foreigners without approved visa or ESTA to board aircraft headed for the U.S. That raises the transaction costs of coming here, which makes doing business with the U.S., spending tourism dollars, and supporting U.S. industry more difficult for little security benefit in exchange.
I had no idea just how recent the requirement of a passport for international travel really is, even though the concept of a passport is a very old one. Did you know that passports weren’t commonly required for travel across Europe in the years leading up to World War I?
The most important philosophy in travel is “hang up, call back” — when you don’t get the help or answer you want the first time, whether over the phone or in person, start over with someone else. Be nice, be patient, and the next person may be more empowered or more sympathetic. I’ve been beating this drum for years.
But the most important tip in travel is far simpler.
An airplane ride isn’t usually that long, it’s fine to be separated from your travel companion unless that companion is a small child.
There are times though that it really does matter to most of us.
And even when seated alone, some seats are better than others.
United, American, and Southwest take very different approaches to passengers changing seats. On Southwest their boarding process makes it a free for all. American flight attendants are Switzerland. And United’s are the tax man.
I often say that you do not want to board first. You want to board ‘not last’ so that the plane hasn’t run out of overhead bin space by the time you get on. Boarding early is about one thing only: not having to gate check your carry on bag.
That’s why I absolutely love a quick overnight, and on a two night trip sometimes stretch myself to travel with just my laptop bag, so that I don’t need overhead bin space. I can show up at the airpprt later. I can work productively in the lounge. And I don’t have to rush boarding. As someone that values every 5 minutes in my day (I really do keep myself that busy), this matters to me.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
