One our readers was staying at a hotel and the friendly bellhop brought his luggage, including his camera case, up to his room, while he parked the car. When our reader got to the room, the camera was gone. [More]
travel
Be Sure To Confirm Age Requirements Before Buying Airline Tickets For Kids
By 8.30.10
A man in California ended up fighting with Expedia over compensation after his kids, ages 12 and 16, were left stranded overnight in a Virginia airport, because the airline wouldn’t let them board the connecting flight without being accompanied by someone 18 or older. The man told Expedia the kids’ ages before buying the tickets but the company’s system didn’t send up any red flags, so he thought the trip would be fine. [More]
Man Passes Self Through Airport X-Ray
By 8.27.10
Fed up with being forced to repeatedly walk through a metal detector even though he wasn’t carrying any bombs, a man decided to find an alternate way to get through airport security. [More]
7 Clauses To Beware Of In Your Cruise Contract
By 8.23.10
Cruise line contracts are drafted by the company’s lawyers and contain nothing in the way of consumer protection. For instance, if you get sick and the ship’s doctor treats you and you die, your family can’t sue the cruise line for malpractice. [More]
Help, Expedia Sold My Chargeback To A Collection Agency!
By 8.23.10
Ed and his wife successfully filed a chargeback against Expedia for a canceled trip earlier this year. Now he’s being dunned by a collection agency for the amount that Amex refunded him. [More]
Continental Refuses To Believe Woman's Service Dog Is Real
By 8.18.10
Continental sure has a lot of skeptical employees when it comes to customers with disabilities. Jessica tried to buy a ticket yesterday and was told no, because the ticket agent didn’t believe that Jessica’s self-trained service dog was legit. [More]
Pillow Fight Breaks Out On Airplane
By 8.13.10
A pillow fight broke out among tourists sitting in economy on a Lufthansa airplane this summer, and even the flight attendant got in on the action, laughing and tossing out more fluffy ammunition. In the end everyone claps and laughs. Aw! [More]
Matrix Lets You Find Cheap Airfare, Plus Advanced Routing Codes, Minus Ad Clutter
By 8.11.10
One thing that always has mildly irked me about searching for airfare is all the ads. Do you want to look complete the same search through one of our partner sites? Do you want to add on a hotel? Yadda yadda, just gimmie da plane! Da plane! Well now you can strip away all that gimcrack and tomfoolery and go directly to Matrix, the software that powers sites like Orbitz, Kayak, FareCompare, and Hotwire. [More]
Know How Much Your Bag Weighs Before Flying
By 8.9.10
Delta tried to charge “Frustrated Traveler” an illegitimate bag fee yesterday by claiming it was over the weight limit. He knew, however, that unless the bag had been eating tubs of frosting throughout the flight, it was still the same 47 pounds it was when he weighed it himself before boarding. [More]
Starwood American Express Card Hikes Annual Fee To $65
By 8.6.10
The annual fee for the Starwood American Express card is going up from $45 to $65. Is it worth the price to pay for the right to use a credit card? [More]
Drunk American Airlines Passenger Lights Napkins On Fire
By 8.5.10
An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after an inebriated and drugged-out American Airlines passenger lit some napkins on fire. [More]
Rotten Economy Might Mean Big Savings On Airfare This Fall, If You Can Afford To Travel
By 8.2.10
Travel guru Christopher Elliott thinks that airfare prices could drop significantly this fall, thanks to a double-dip recession and general economic misery. So far prices for car rentals and cruise packages are going up, but Elliott says he’s hearing from travelers and travel companies about “dramatic, unexpected bargains” and “rates … on par with last year’s record-low prices” when it comes to flights. [More]
Are Travel Boycotts Hurting Arizona Hotels? Will They?
By 7.28.10
The controversial immigration law passed by Arizona’s government back in April has lead to over 20 organizations (including cities, towns, school districts, churches and universities) joining a travel boycott of the state. But is it hurting business? Too soon to tell, says USAToday. [More]
Passengers Removed From Orlando-Bound Flight For Watching 9/11 Clips Before Takeoff
By 7.27.10
A father and his son were removed from an Air Canada flight in Toronto last Tuesday after another passenger saw the boy watching footage of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks on his iPod, reports Canoe News. The airline says the pair were determined not to be a security risk, just people with a really bad sense of tact, and it cleared them for a following flight. [More]
Don't Give Greyhound Tickets As Gifts
By 7.27.10
If you buy a Greyhound bus ticket for someone else, Greyhound will charge you a flat $18 “gift ticket fee,” which must be the worst named fee in the history of transportation. On short rides, like a one-way trip from Cambridge, MA to Hartford, CT, it bumps the price up from $22 to $40. [More]
Rejoice Penguins, Wells Fargo Has An ATM In Antarctica
By 7.24.10
Wells Fargo is the undisputed leader in Antarctic banking thanks to a pair of ATMs at McMurdo station. Despite the monopoly, the bank acts as a benevolent despot by allowing non-customers to draw cash without a surcharge. But who replenishes the stock of $20s? What happens when the ATMs break? Wells Fargo VP David Parker explained it all in a recent interview. [More]
I'm Watching Continental Let My Bags Get Soaked, Will I Be Compensated?
By 7.19.10
Reader Ken is sitting on a plane right now watching his bags get soaked. He’s wondering if he’ll be able to get compensation for the water damage. [More]
Hotel Pools That Make Us Want To Weep With Longing
By 7.17.10
Is it getting hot out there or is it just us? For those trapped in urban jungles with nary a public pool, much less a simple lawn sprinkler, cooling off with water in the summer can seem like an impossibility. So why not torture our overheated senses just a little bit more with a slideshow of amazing hotel pools? [More]
