Category Archives for Travel Tips.
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.
If you’re flying American Airlines on a basic economy fare take note: starting December 12 customers with peanut allergies can board early so they have a chance to wipe down their seats. Delta allows this too.
By the way I don’t actually recommend misrepresenting your needs. I do think these loopholes speak to the absurdity of the restrictions themselves.
British Airways offers reasonably good award availability, and it’s no secret why. You don’t just pay miles for awards on their flights, you pay a huge cash co-pay, a practice .that a former American Airlines pricing executive called unethical.
There are several ways to reduce those surcharges, such as booking one way awards for less than a roundtrip. However there’s another trick or glitch that allows you to reduce fuel surcharges on premium cabin tickets.
Flight attendants often aren’t well paid, though they do benefit from travel and in some cases scheduling flexibility.
Tipping is often against airline rules, but that doesn’t mean your crew won’t accept tips especially if you offer it again a second time once they decline.
Airlines charge extra for the ‘better’ coach seats. It would be nice if they gave you something extra when you’re stuck in one of the seats that’s worse than average — a free cocktail, free inflight internet, or a discount on your next trip. At a minimum airlines could make the unwritten rule that the coach passenger gets priority for two arm rests explicit.
This isn’t a written rule, and it isn’t enforceable. We need to be courteous to fellow passengers, and this is the principle that gets us there.
Airlines have taken that knowledge, that business travel booking engines will filter out basic economy options, and used it as ‘the new Saturday night stay’ — the means to differentiate pricing for leisure travelers and business travelers.
When Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood first closed, they immediately allowed you to link accounts. That gave you the ability to status match and it gave you the ability to move points between accounts at a ratio of 1 Starpoint to 3 Marriott points. Linking accounts does not and will not ever automatically combine them.
Marriott tells me they are “now rolling out [the ability to combine accounts] in batches to our members through tomorrow. As a result, when members log in and see the prompt they will have the opportunity to combine their accounts.”
Don’t put your most important items such as money and passports in the overhead bin if you can avoid it. Not every seat allows bags at your feet, but computers should go there at least during flight and check that everything is in place immediately once it’s been out of your sight.
TSA screeners steal from passengers at checkpoints. Baggage handlers steal from checked bags. oneworld’s head of finance allegedly stole $2.2 million. And a former Miss USA stole noise cancelling headphones. So why not passengers stealing from each others’ carry on bags?
No one offers a free airline ticket for answering three questions and sharing the (scam) offer with friends.
Anyone offering something for free but asking you for a credit card to claim your prize is suspect. However scammers are getting good at making themselves look like the brands you know and maybe even trust.
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 »
