Giveaway: $400 in Visa Gift Cards

Offer Your Best Travel Tips in the Comments by 10am Eastern Saturday morning to Win.

Some of y’all will remember that I hosted an online forum about technology and travel that was sponsored by National Car Rental coinciding with the launch of their new mobile app.

I rent regularly from National and had been looking forward to the introduction of a mobile app (finally!) and the folks participating in the chat were friends and travel heroes.

I like the products I like, I share the reasons why here, and I don’t want there to be confusion over my motives — if I benefit personally from a referral link I always say so in the post, I frequently try to arrange to give any miles I may earn from referrals back to you in the form of bigger bonuses (some companies are receptive to this, others are not) and I prefer to do giveaways rather than take freebies myself.

There was modest compensation for participating in the National forum, and I already gave away half the amount here on the blog. I split it up into more than one giveaway largely because I didn’t want to have to do tax reporting!

I want your best travel tips in the comments.

  • You may enter as many times as you like, but each entry should be a bona fide travel tip. I will compile the best tips in a subsequent post.
  • I will select two winners, largely at random but to be eligible to win the entry must be (in my sole judgment) a genuine tip.
  • Two prizes of (2) $100 Visa Gift cards each will be awarded.

You have a great chance of winning because internet traffic drops like a rock on Friday evenings, second slowest only behind Saturday evenings.

So.. what are your best travel tips? They can be anything from ways to improve the odds of getting an airline upgrade, a hotel suite upgrade, clearing airport security quickly, the best place to eat at a given airport, anything at all.

I love to learn from this community of readers, and love to be able to share your knowledge back with everyone else. I look forward to reading your submissions, and of course to selecting two winners!


    You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. Don’t miss out!

About Gary Leff

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 »

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Comments

  1. Smile and learn to greet in their local language. Spend a few minutes reading about their customs and incorporate the subtle ones into your routine.

    Alooo-ha! Good-und-Tag! Como-s-ta! Sawadeekaaa! Ne-hao! Konnichiwa!….and coming soon a-SalamMalaiKum (Maldives in Dec)!

  2. With outlets being so few and far between at the airport, bring a power strip with you to use at the gate.

  3. Noise cancelling headphones are amazing for international trips, I’m sad no one told me about them sooner!

  4. My best tip currently is to look first at itasoftware, go to ita matrix and do a flexible date AND nearby airport search. I’m taking a group on tour to Spain in February, and just keep looking for the best dates for people to fly over and back, as well as those great fares from Butte which pop up irregularly.

  5. Always be nice and friendly when travelling (or planning travel) ~ it can make a huge difference in what people are willing to do for you.

  6. When purchasing luggage heavily consider manufacturers or stores with unlimited warranty protection; Red Oxx, Briggs & Riley, and Costco to name a few.

  7. Use a local sim an an unlocked smartphone to stay in touch cheaply with whatsapp, talkatone and other such apps

  8. Don’t say you’ll do it, actually take the few seconds and REALLY do it… when you rent a car and see any damage, regardless if you are provided a damage form to report it, take your phone and TAKE A PIK!!!!!

  9. Ask the locals for places to eat for great, but cheap food. And as always, being polite and trying to speak the local language (at least a few words) only helps!

  10. Make sure you understand the subtleties of the rules for the points you can get with your various credit cards — e.g. the double points on Amex business gold for airline purchases is only if you buy the ticket on the airline website, so don’t go through Expedia first for their bonus; some gas bonuses are only for “free-standing” gas stations; etc.

  11. Some car rental companies offer substantial discounts if you prepay (or pay in advance) of the rental.

    Even if you book a car before traveling be sure to check with Hotwire the day before you travel for a good deal. Then, when you prepay, you are paying at or about the time of the rental rather than months ahead of time.

  12. When traveling abroad, always PRINT OUT your ticket information. I got stuck in a place where I didn’t speak the local language and needed proof of an onward journey. While I couldn’t TELL them, I definitely could whip out my travel info and SHOW them that I would be leaving the airport soon. This has saved me a few times!

  13. This is a sort of “once-removed” tip: don’t use Bluebird for ANYTHING you can charge — use a credit card and then pay it off with Bluebird.

  14. When traveling abroad, I used the Bluebird debit card to withdraw cash at participating ATMs. The exchange rate is pretty much the market rate, and the only fee you get charged is $2. No cash advance fee, unlike credit cards. Risk limited to how much you have funded the account with. You earn miles/points by using VRs to load it.

  15. Call your credit card company when you travel overseas, a quick call now beats no money later!

  16. When renting cars, the Chase UR site has the cheapest airport rentals, I’ve found. Rental must be round-trip and from/to an airport, but it prices out lower than other sites 98% of the time. Compare next time you need a car from an airport.

  17. Download FourSquare when in a foreign country and use their “trending” feature to find out which place is bumping and partying!

  18. Make sure to check Virtuoso, Visa Signature or Amex FHR before booking more expensive hotel stays. Many a times for the same price you get a bunch of perks.

  19. If traveling abroad with a smartphone, I sign up with an international data plan and cancel it as soon as I get back, for those moments you need email/data access and have no wifi access.

  20. To alleviate travel stress, some airlines like Lufthansa have ‘late night check-in’ allowing you to check-in your luggage the day before your flight. This is very helpful for early morning flights or if you have a family or a disabled traveller you can simply proceed the day of your flight, with boarding passes in hand, directly to security.

  21. Charge everything you can to a credit card with no foreign exchange fee. And know which programs for miles and points can help you on your travels

  22. If you have nonrefundable economy tickets and no elite status, and at airport, and an earlier flight to destination is available, ask at the ticket counter for earlier flight if airline will put you on that flight without a charge. It often works. Especially if you did not check bags. Just did this going from DCA to CLT where the change fee for taking earlier flight offered at $75 when getting boarding pass. Changed with the ticket agent. Got to destination 2 hrs earlier st no additional cost.

  23. Any time you have the opportunity, spend time cooking/picnicking abroad. Not only can it save loads of money, but foreign grocery stores are one of my favorite peeks into something off the tourist route.

  24. Always mention special events, birthday, anniversary. You never know when you’ll be upgraded!

  25. Contact the hotel before special vacations and let them know why you are traveling and politely ask if there is anything they can do to help make the trip more memorable. (Room upgrades often happen — a little work for something very beneficial even if you have no status)

  26. Several of the airlines offer a discount on on-board purchases if you use THEIR credit card (and will only take credit or debit cards for purchases). On the other hand, there are smaller airlines which accept only cash. Make sure to be prepared.

  27. Some airlines make you present the card you used to book the flight before they’ll allow you to board. This is prevalent in Asia and Africa. Use a no FOREX card to book, then make sure you take that card with you. Especially to off-the-beaten-path countries (and have a little local currency with you in case CCs aren’t accepted – two tips in one!).

  28. Planning a trip that is months away? Make car rental reservations as soon as you have your dates firmed up, but keep checking the rates periodically. Unless you choose a prepaid rate, you can keep updating your reservation without penalty whenever you find a better deal. I’ve saved up to $200 on a weekly rental on more than one occasion. (For this reason, never book a prepaid rate that has a penalty attached, unless you find an amazing advance-purchase deal for Christmas or other extremely peak seasons.)

  29. Ask for standby availability if you’re early at the airport, you might make it on an earlier flight

  30. Oh, and if you’re going to be in a country for more than just a few days invest in a local SIM for your smartphone. It usually costs relatively little, and the ability to call local and use data for cheap often offsets the costs within a week.

  31. Domestically look to book one-ways flights as against round trips. They generally price out cheaper.

  32. Use ATM’s in preference to exchange counters, especially as you should already have a foreign-transaction-fee free card. I always want to run up and shake people who are changing cash, especially at airports and places with such abysmal rates.

  33. When looking for an award flight, especially one involving multiple flight segmens, use your airline search tool to build your itinerary then call the airline to book it giving them the flight routing information. Helps to get what you want. While you might have to pay a fee to book over the phone it might be worth it with complex travel routings.

  34. Always bring an empty water bottle and fill it up after you pass security at the airport. Hydration is the key to happy flying.

  35. If you have a choice of security lines, pick the one without the young kids or grandma in it.

  36. Always pack emergency money with a credit/debit card in a separate bag for “emergency use”.

  37. I always try to keep a small stash of euros on hand — very helpful when arriving at an airport with metro/bus transportation into town. Using the airport ATM will get you big bills (if it’s not out because of a lot of arriving passengers). Even in NYC, the buses from LaGuardia require correct change, in coins.

  38. You need to make miles a part of your planning process similar to financial planning. With good planning you can accumulate miles/points and enjoy amazing trips that would not be possible without spending a lot of $$.

    Plan a few actions each week and set aside a few hours to manage your mileage portfolio.

    Happy Travels!!

  39. If you are just getting started in the travel game look at the folks that are going for the “hot deals” and see if you can overlap the dates they are traveling. Odds are good you can get guest access to a lounge from them if they are elite flyers trying to keep their status.

  40. If you travel abroad a lot, get a Global Entry card. Sure beats standing in line for half an hour (or lots more) after a long overseas flight. Money well spent.

  41. if you are an advance planning, generally earlier you book the better as general rule. But good to keep tabs on specials to favorite destinations so know yearly cycle of how specials play out for any particular destination. For instance special package deals for first 2 weeks in Dec (slow period) often become available in Oct going to Cancun or Maya. So don’t book Cancun in advance for that period of time.

  42. Download new reading material to your Kindle or other e-reader so you have plenty to read in case you find yourself without the internet.

  43. Try to brush up on some of the local customs where you’ll be travelling. For example, I learned that in Italy, in most cases, you must ask for your meal check. Otherwise, you’ll be waiting there forever. Apparently, they consider it rude to just bring the bill to the table without a request.

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