Sy has vowed to never fly Delta again after a colossal followup left his bag bouncing back and forth between three cities and two continents, and once he finally got his bag back, it stank of urine. [More]
travel
Hit Up Big Attractions On Your Road Trip And Still Save Cash
By 6.20.11
Taking a vacation via your vehicle is already one way to save some money, instead of flying your entire family to a destination that will add even more costs. But just because you’re saving by driving, there are even more ways you can stretch a buck on a roadtrip and still see the big attractions. [More]
JetBlue Kills Off "All You Can Jet" Program
By 6.20.11
JetBlue will not be continuing its “All You Can Jet” (AYCJ) program for 2011, the company told members via email this morning. Last year AYCJ let passengers take an unlimited number of flights between early September and October for only $499-$699. For people who really flew enough to get the full value out of it, it was a great deal. They did give a promo code to participants for 15-30% off discounts, which tipster MissDeeJane described as “a concession prize.” [More]
Pay $400 To Play With Bulldozers In Las Vegas
By 6.20.11
If you’re looking for something different to do on vacation this summer, how about playing in a giant sandbox driving bulldozers and earth movers? That’s the idea behind “Dig This,” a “construction theme park” opening in Las Vegas this summer. [More]
How To Always Get An Exit Row Seat
By 6.17.11
Exit rows are magical areas on airplanes where you’ll aways have that most rare and precious commodity known as “legroom.” On some airlines you’ll have to pay extra for the privilege. On others, it’s yours just for asking. Airfarewatchdog breaks down the exit row policies by airline so you can pick the flight that makes it easiest or know what you have to do to get that extra stretch space for your feet. [More]
How To Swerve Away From Extra Car Rental Fees
By 6.17.11 — Updated: 9.8.16
Sure, maybe you’re smart enough not to fall for the optional insurance car rental companies like to shill when you borrow one of their fine vehicles. And of course, you’re wise to the astronomical final bill you might get if you opt for their pricey fuel options. But do you know what other gotchas lay in store? [More]
US Airways Pilot Arrests Passenger For Having Baggy Pants
By 6.16.11
An entire US Airways flight was evacuated and the pilot placed a passenger under citizen’s arrest after he refused to pull up his baggy pants, reports NBC Bay Area. [More]
Hotel Openly Advertises For Fake TripAdvisor Review Writers
By 6.16.11
It’s no secret that hotels put bogus user reviews of themselves on sites like TripAdvisor, but usually they’re more discreet than this. TripAdvisorWatch found an example of an owner of several hotels in Hanoi posting on freelancer.com under his real name asking “if anyone can teach me the way to write reviews on this forum in which my reviews can not be found as fake and be removed.” [More]
Hotels.com Leaves You Without A Place To Stay In Beijing, Shrugs
By 6.15.11
Dylan traveled to China a few months ago. His consumer complaint doesn’t directly involve any company in that country, though: his issue is with the company that was supposed to provide him with a place to stay in Beijing, Hotels.com. Miscommunication ensued when Hotels.com first had the wrong address for the hotel, then failed to actually reserve a room for Dylan. When he called the company for help, he learned that while they help customers book rooms in foreign countries, they don’t necessarily have anyone on staff who speaks the language of those countries to smooth over issues. [More]
Toy Security Wand Lets Kids Play At Being TSA Agents
By 6.14.11
There’s nothing cooler than being a TSA agent for Homeland Security and now the Spy Gear Security Scanner lets kids live out their dreams. It’s a handheld security wand whose LED lights flash and an alarm goes off when it detects metal, just like the real thing! [More]
Avoid Credit Card Problems When Traveling Overseas
By 6.13.11
Most credit cards in Europe have an embedded PIN chip in them, called an EMV card. Almost no American credit cards do. This causes big problems for Americans traveling in Europe but there are a few ways to minimize the hassle. [More]
Walk Your Family To The Airplane With A Gate Pass
By 6.8.11
A lot of big dramatic scenes in movies where there’s a last ditch effort by one lover to make it right with another lover by grabbing them just before they get on the plane don’t seem like they could happen these days with new restrictions that make it so you have to buy a ticket in order to go past security. But it turns out they could still happen, we would just have to have an explanatory side-scene where they ask the ticket counter for what’s called a “gate pass.” [More]
Get More Money When Airline Loses Luggage By Having Receipts For Every Piece Of Clothing
By 6.8.11
Airlines play the lowball game when they lose your luggage, offering paltry compensation and making it hard for you to get a fair value for your lost items. It demands a bit of an anal mentality but you can help yourself if you’ve saved the receipts for everything in your baggage, writes the Airfarewatchdogblog. [More]
To Avoid Airport Security Hassle, Don't Flinch From Eye Contact
By 6.7.11
As someone who travels red eyes coast to coast for weeks for business meetings, Jeanniey knows a thing or two about getting through security with the least friction. She tells NYT that one thing she discovered, the hard way, was that you don’t want to dodge from eye contact with the security workers. [More]
Best Credit Cards To Get Now
By 6.6.11
After a nearly apocalyptic pull-back in the credit card market, with credit lines slashed to the quick and new credit being denied, banks have decided to let a trickle flow out again. To entice the cream of the credit score crop, they’re dangling a new batch of incentives. Via the Richmond Times-Dispatch, here’s some of the best deals out there right now on credit cards: [More]
Get A Refund After An Airfare Pricedrop
By 6.3.11
It is possible to get a refund for the difference if the airfare drops after you buy your ticket, but you’ll usually have to fly one of these three airlines to make it worth your while. [More]
Report Graft Via Smartphone App
By 6.1.11
Bribespot is a new website and Android app that wants to fight corruption by being the Foursquare of bribe reporting. When someone tries to shake you down, you’re supposed to “check in” and report the payola request. Bribespot maps the data and shows where hot zones of graft are popping up. If a place gets enough hits, the people in charge there could have an impetus to take action. It remains to be seen whether the free service gets enough traction to be useful, but it’s a cool idea for how social media and mobile technology can empower regular people to work together to fix government. [More]
Did US Airways Use This Luggage As A Pinata?
By 6.1.11
Apparently some baggage handlers working for US Airways must have thought there was candy inside our reader’s luggage and went to town on it in a fun game on the tarmac involving blindfolds and bats. That’s the only possible explanation for the abused condition he got it back in. More beatings, of the psychic sort, ensued after he tried to seek recourse from US Airways before being finally told he would have to drive 45 miles back to the airport so they could inspect the bag. Fed up, our reader emailed this letter to the CEO of US Airways: [More]
