Ready for a Change? Consider Delta's Status Match

Back in the day, I was an American Airlines girl. I worked on a tight budget and I flew cheap, but I had flown American to London to start a study abroad semester and I had an American AAdvantage credit card and I did my best to be loyal. I have many great American stories: sitting next to an armed bodyguard to the Lieutenant Governor of Texas on the way to a presidential inauguration; being given a bottle of champagne by an American flight attendant who noticed me reading a Bride magazine and asked about my impending nuptials; and taking an American flight from DFW to Washington Dulles on September 17, 2001, the first day America's skies reopened after 9/11. My flight crew knew members of the American crews who had died; they had the armbands, and our tense and silent takeoff ended hours later to cheers of relief when we landed safely. I thought I would always be an American Airlines girl.

But something happened along the way. Technology moved forward and American's didn't keep up. I began to have horrific customer service experiences. So American and I broke up.

Perhaps you can relate. But what's a loyal frequent traveler to do when they want to break up without losing their perks?

Enter Delta. And their status match. I will feign no objectivity here. Of the four MAJOR airlines I work with (Southwest and Alaska are the best and they are above this competition), Delta is the only one that consistently seeks customer service input through online and phone surveys. They are also the only airline that has been willing to bend policies toward the customer as much as they can for me. (E.g. Recently, I didn't want to buy a $1000 ticket on a packed flight for a customer without their input and the Delta CSA offered to hold the ticket for me until the next morning at no charge and if I needed it there would be a seat.)

Delta is working to get the lion's share of the airline business. What they do then remains to be seen. But they are earning that business at the moment.

And they are offering a Status match to frequent fliers of other airlines. A customer I book travel for recently went through the process. A United million miler, he is in a good position. He's Gold for life with United. He's also tired of flying through Chicago and Denver every winter. Atlanta and Salt Lake look pretty good. He was just granted Gold Medallion status with Delta.

So if your airline relationship is wearing thin and you are considering breaking up, check out Delta's status match. I think you will be glad you did.

Note: Those four major airlines are becoming three. Delta said they are being deluged with requests so plan on the process taking 4 weeks.

Winter Storm Advice

Winter always provides travel challenges. Count on it. But this winter has been a humdinger.

The one thing you can count on if your flight is delayed or canceled is that you will probably not get through on the phone. Trust me. I know. In the course of Sunday and Monday, I tried calling United five different times. Each time I went through an entire menu, inputting information only to get told to "Please try your call again later" and hung up on. By a machine. The ultimate insult.

I was on hold with Delta for 2 hours and 55 minutes trying to get a traveler on a different flight when she was missing her connection due to weather. Said traveler flew an entire segment, ran to the gate as the door to her connecting flight closed and was rebooked on the flight I was trying to get her on while I was still holding.

When weather threatens a trip, start by going to the airline web page and looking for winter advisory information. Often, you will see that change fees will be waived for travelers who want to cancel or delay their trip. What they probably won't tell you, is they might just give you a refund. And while the instructions tell you to call, you can often get this refund by canceling online. (Or at least credit for a later flight with no fees.) I learned this the hard way after my attempts to call United to cancel a flight to a winter advisory city. The advisory told me to call and change fees would be waived. I tried. Repeatedly. Then I sent a frustrated email to United asking for full credit as I was going to cancel on the web page because I couldn't through. When I canceled the flight, I was given the option for a full refund back to the form of payment. Would have been nice to know before all those calls.

Airlines are not required to give you a refund for acts of God (weather). They can simply give you credit. But often, if you ask, they will do so for customer service reasons.

Tip #1: For this reason, if I ever have a schedule change that causes me to book a second flight on a competing airline, I never cancel until about 24 hours out. Because if a sudden storm comes through, I want the credit or at least want to skip the change fee for use on another flight. (And I have changed flights at the request of the traveler only to have them change their mind again and want their original flight. Irritating, but less so if you never canceled the original flight.)

Tip #2: If you are stranded in a connecting city, the airline is not required to provide anything due to weather. However, if you will patiently stand in the mile-long line (which you probably need to unless you like the flight you were automatically booked on with three connections two days later), you might get somewhere if you politely ask if you could have a hotel voucher and/or a meal voucher.

And always remember to be gracious. How would you like to be on the other side of the counter? 

The Handy Reference Guide to Travel Sites and Resources

I gave a talk to a handful of people recently and gave them these as sites to be aware of.

Organizing sites:

Trip It: Organizes your flight, hotel, and transportation into single trip itineraries. An App is also available. This is probably the current industry leader for organization.  

Mileage Manager: This site does charge a nominal fee to keep track of all the mileage and discount programs.  But worth it for those who travel a lot, particularly if you book your own.

Travel news and blogs

http://elliott.org/: This is a GREAT site. If you run into a customer service issue/scam, this guy will go to bat for you and help you fight. There is an e-newsletter you can sign up for too. 

http://www.travelindustrywire.com/: Subscribe to their free weekly e-letter to keep up on travel industry news. 

Budget Travel: Though mainly designed for vacationers, they have an e-letter that has really useful information. 

http://www.johnnyjet.com/: I like this site because it has fun things and helpful tips. 

The Air Travel Rights You Aren't Aware of (and How to Get Them): An article to bookmark with helpful links, particularly if you need to file a complaint.

Airports

Travelnerd.com:  Terminal maps, fee calculator, parking and ground transportation info, rates, and coupons, 

Smart Layover: http://smartlayover.com/  If you get stuck, this site (and app) tell you where to find a spot to nap, gate info, layover details, and day-use hotels. 

Gate Guru: http://gateguruapp.com/  This app has detailed info on more than 200 airports and will tell you where to go and what is near your gate, help with layovers, etc.

Air Booking

Yapta.com:  Connected to Kayak, this site lets you search flights and track the ones you like before or after you book. You get an email when a fare drops. Some airlines refund fare drops in the form of credits; I collect money easily because of this site.  If you use a travel booking software, you can use Fare IQ. 

Kayak: Basically Yapta with a fare predictor and a few other features Yapta doesn’t have.  

Bing.com/travel:  I’m not a huge fan but I will often check their fare predictor.

Hipmunk: I don’t LOVE this site but it is a favorite with many.

Hotels

Tingo.com: Hotel-booking site that automatically refunds price drops. 

The Suitest: One to keep an eye, it still has a way to go in usability but a great way to find if you are getting a good deal on a room and particularly helpful when you are looking for a particular type of room, i.e. suites.

Google.com/hotelfinder: Works so nicely with Google maps, though I often just plug a meeting address into Google.com/maps and then do a search nearby. 

Car Rental

AutoSlash.com: Finds the best discount code and applies it

Avis Business:  The best  business program I work with. Works with all size companies, in most situations other employees can drive without signing on or paying fees, and always an upgrade coupon for any length of rental. And you can book with a preferred driver number for others (unlike Hertz which requires you to have their password).

Food and Beverage Guidelines

Per diem rates: The US General Services Administration sets guidelines for food and beverage allowances by region/city. Very helpful if you are operating on a per diem basis for travelers or simply want to set a ceiling for allowable expenses.

Travel Coordinator Education programs

The Travel Institute: Low cost certification with online education. A caveat: a friend who has traveled for years and started her own travel agency says she hasn't been impressed with the knowledge of those who seek certification from online programs.

Social Conscience

ECPAT-USA: I’m a huge fan of ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) and have spoken with Carol Smolenski, President. Support those in the travel industry who have established protocols for dealing with the travesty of child prostitution and trafficking. Marriott and Disney have refused to sign this code. Hilton, Delta, Carlson and Wyndham are huge supporters.

Keeping Track of Awards Can Be Simple

I was recently trying to book family travel and couldn't remember where I had filed the kids frequent flier numbers. They aren't really frequent fliers but I get them numbers anyway. At the least I keep them in free magazine subscriptions from expiring miles. Now a new website makes it a lot easier to keep track of all your miles and points in one place. AwardWallet.com sends you an email when your miles are expiring or when your balance changes. Disappointingly, American, United, and Delta have all forced AwardWallet to quit displaying their info. But if you use hotel rewards, smaller airlines or credit card points, this site will still provide a valuable service.

Airlines Are Not Created Equal: a Tale of Two Airlines

It's tempting to buy the cheapest ticket. I know. I've done it.

But a tale for you to illustrate why you should keep an airline's policies in mind when you select a ticket.

I bought a ticket for traveler on Southwest recently. His flight was canceled the morning he was scheduled to depart due to a snowstorm a Denver. A snowstorm is covered by an "act of God" clause. The airline is not required to refund the money; but they are supposed to offer you credit for a future flight. I called Southwest. They were unable to get the traveler to his destination that day. So I asked for a refund. (It never hurts to ask.) "Sure, I can do that," the customer service agent responded. I almost fell off my chair.

In contrast, American Airlines had a number of planes damaged in a tornado in Dallas last April. I had a traveler scheduled to fly AA with a layover in Dallas. The flight was canceled. I spent an hour and a half on hold with the airline. I was told at the time that they wouldn't issue a refund but they could give me credit for the unused portion of his ticket. I was given the dollar amount to use on a future flight and told to call in to book travel for him. I had a year to use the credit.

I attempted to use it this week. I called in, followed instructions, provided the ticket number, record locator, traveler's name and was told that he had flown that day and there was no credit. I pointed out he couldn't have flown, the flight was canceled. I mentioned the exact dollar amount that should be left on the ticket. I waited while the agent talked to her supervisor. She told me they could see the credit wasn't used, but they couldn't access it. I would have to submit a web form to their customer relations department because their hands were tied. But I was assured. The people in customer relations could handle it. (But I couldn't talk to them.) I did so. I received an email back stating they valued their passenger's privacy and they couldn't correspond with me about the issue because I was not the traveler. This ticket was booked using a business credit card in someone's else's name (not the traveler), with my name noted as the "arranger." The company has a Business Extra account with American and had a number associated with the ticket. I filled out the form with the traveler's name and took a copy of it so he knew what to say if they contacted him. Nothing. No response. The credit expires in a month, and it is clear to me that American intends to make this as difficult as possible to retrieve.

All airlines are not created equal. And sometimes, you should just pay more and go with a reputable company with good policies. Sadly, American Airlines is no longer that.

Go Vote!

Free Museum Day on September 29

My son visiting the Museum of Flight in Seattle

Free Museum Day, sponsored by the Smithsonian, is Saturday, September 29, 2012. Hundreds of museums across the country are offering free admission.

To obtain your admission, you need to register for the museum you would like to visit and you will be emailed two free tickets. (If you are taking a family of four, you can register two different people who will each obtain two tickets.) To find participating museums, you can search by state or zipcode.

Fares Up; Fall Sales Approaching

Airlines raised fares this month for the fourth time this year. Along with increased fees, flying is a spendy venture.

Fall sales should begin around August 20. However, with increased fares and more fees, it may be that fall travel will be expensive. Typically, fall is the least-traveled season and offers the best fares. The earliest sales may not be the best as airlines determine exactly what consumers are willing to pay to fly.

If you need to fly later in the fall, don't forget to track flights at Yapta.com and hope for a nice fare drop.

Sources: USA Today

Flight Tip: Be Sure Someone At Home Has Your Itinerary

It has been a summer of canceled flights, late connections, and travel madness. If you are traveling, be certain you leave your confirmation numbers, schedule and enough information with someone so that they can talk to the airlines on your behalf should you encounter traveling difficulties.

If you are headed to a meeting and your first flight is late, the airline's computer will automatically book you on the next flight they operate that still has open seats. You may be able to fly standby on an earlier flight that technically has no seats left if you have someone who can check schedules and talk to the airline. If your flight is late coming in, often other flights are as well and airlines often have standby seats become available.

If you are not going to arrive at your destination in time for the reason you are flying, you can often find a flight on another airline. You will have to pay for it (and likely a premium at the last minute) but a representative can talk to the airline you are currently scheduled on and seek a refund or at minimum a credit on your behalf if you are not going to use part of your ticket.

Often, these things are happening while you are in flight and in many cases you will not be able to talk to the airlines in flight. Having a representative on the ground who knows your schedule and your needs is always helpful.

The Scoop on Summer Travel

I have been booking travel for nonprofits for years now and I've never seen airfare costs so consistently high. Here's why:

1. Fuel costs. Jet fuel, like the price to fill your car's tank, has gone up. Even worse, it is volatile so airlines aren't sure what they'll be paying.
2. Summer travel is up. The recession brought summer travel down for the last three summers. While the economy isn't making a significant recovery, the travel industry is. Why? My best guess is exhaustion. People are tired of delaying vacation plans and they are going anyway.
3. Less flight options. American Airlines cut flights this month and they are cutting some more next month. The nation's third largest airline says pilots are calling in sick in record numbers, and speculates this is because of upcoming changes to its health insurance coverage that will raise costs on some options (i.e., elective procedures such as vasectomies). Pilots may be taking care of those things now. Less American flights means fewer seats to various destinations, putting flights on these routes at a premium. 

So is there a way to save? There aren't any miracle solutions but if you can do any of these things you might save a little.

1. Track your flights before and after purchase at Yapta.com.  If you have enough lead time, you can find flights that work with your schedule and opt to track them. Yapta sends you an email if there is a fare drop. I've saved hundreds of dollars doing this. Alaska, AirTran, and JetBlue will offer credit for upcoming flights if your fare drops after you purchase. In some instances, it might be worth a change fee to rebook at a lower rate if a fare drops significantly on other airlines. 
2. Is your schedule flexible? If you can fly home on a Saturday night instead of a Sunday, or fly mid-week instead of Monday or Friday, you can often get a better fare. 
3. Don't buy on a weekend. With very few exceptions, several years of flight tracking have taught me never to purchase a ticket on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Tuesday is usually the cheapest day to purchase but there are exceptions. 
4. Use the "search nearby airports" feature. Sometimes you can save several hundred dollars to fly into an airport that is an hour or two away.  Especially with multiple travelers, this can make the extra distance worth it. 

And sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. 

Travel Reminder: Always book with a credit card

As many of us attempt to become less dependent on credit, it remains a good rule of thumb to continue to use a credit card whenever you make certain purchases. Always use a major credit card when booking flights, traveling internationally, or booking with a hotel that takes a deposit.

When Direct Air filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations in March 2012, customers were told to contact their credit card companies to seek reimbursement for tickets purchased that would not be honored. While the company wasn't honoring their obligations, the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) gives consumers a chance to recoup their losses if they used a credit card for purchase. Customers using a debit card were out of luck.

The economic downturn has affected hotels, tour operators, and other travel-related areas of business, and if you venture to countries that have less stability in financial infrastructure, you stand to lose it all if you've traveled using a debit card.


Sources: Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission
"Direct Air under fire as it files for bankruptcy," USA Today, March 20, 2012

Free Annual Pass for Active Duty Military

Dusty buffalo at Yellowstone Photo credit: pdell from morguefile.com

Beginning May 19, 2012, active duty military personnel can obtain a free annual national parks pass. The pass covers either those your in your vehicle or the pass holder and 3 additional persons 16 or older. (15 and younger are admitted at no charge.)

You may obtain your pass at any national parks entrance where fees are charged and the pass will last through the last day of the month a year after it is obtained.

For more more info: http://www.store.usgs.gov/pass/military.html.

Yosemite National Park: Photo credit: schick from morguefile.com

April 21-29 is National Park Week.  Admission is free to the nearly 400 national parks across the United States and her territories. Even if you can't take a week off, check out the list for parks and hours near you.

Alaska Airlines and Starbucks Team Up for Free Tickets, Free Coffee

Alaska Airlines is now serving Starbucks coffee on all its flights beginning this month. To launch this joint venture, you can have free coffee at select west coast stores during one afternoon hour on Tuesdays in February. During that hour, you can text Alaska to win free round-trip tickets; they will be giving away five pairs of tickets during each hour. Hours and locations (Seattle, Feb. 7; Portland, Feb. 14; San Diego, Feb. 21 and; San Jose, Feb. 28), will be released on Alaska's Facebook and Twitter pages at 8am PST.

Free Entrance to National Parks

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the U.S. National Park Service is not charging admission January 14-16, 2012. So head to your closest national park or do a last minute splurge and go where you've never been before. Hawaii has national parks too!

For more info, go here.

Best Car Rental Service: Book Once, Get the Best Deal with AutoSlash

I just discovered Autoslash.com. I tried it a couple of weeks ago, booking a car rental for an upcoming trip. Two days after booking the best deal I found there, I received an email that Autoslash had found a better rate with the same company and had canceled and rebooked my car at the better rate. No work for me, just $34 savings.

Best Travel Toys

I just discovered YoYo.com. I ordered my kids' Christmas presents Sunday and they arrived today. And shipping was free. (1-2 day shipping free on orders over $49.)

Check out YoYo's Top Travel Toys for Kids

My favorites:
Melissa & Doug License Plate Game ($15.99)
Crocodile Creek 100-piece Travel Pouch Puzzle (World Map or Dinosaurs) $4.99
Slinky ($4.99)
PBS Kids Take Along Puzzle ($19.99)
Tangle Relax Therapy 4.99

Use Code YOYOBIGKID2 by December 15 to get 20% off your first order. And you can get the shipping free on top of it if your order is $49 or more.

Fly or Drive? Now a Calculator to Price the Difference

If you've ever sat down and crunched numbers to determine if it was cheaper to fly or drive, BeFrugal.com's Fly or Drive Calculator is for you.

I checked out the cost difference to fly or drive our family to Disneyland next spring. The site factors in a few variables such as the kind of car (year, make, model) you will be driving, and if you would have a friend pick you up at the airport or have to take a shuttle.

I loved this tool so much, I'm including it on my side bar.

Flying with Kids--How to (Almost) Enjoy It

I benefited greatly from traveling as a child. As a result, I'm inclined to want to take my own children on trips when I can. But traveling with young children is challenging and expensive.

Thus, we've traveled as a family less and less as we added children to our family. Our youngest made a cross-country trip before he was 5 months; our second made it to 10 months, and our youngest just made her first cross-country trip 6 weeks before turning 2 (when we would have to pay for her seat). Fortunately, she took to air travel with as much ease as our first born did. She balked at boarding but when we reassured her upon takeoff that all was well, she settled in for a nap and happily snacked, slept, and colored for the five and a half hour flight.

Unfortunately, kids have earned a bad rap on airplanes. And most of that can be blamed on their parents. Here are a few tips for turning your kid into one strangers will be happy to sit next to:

1) Now is not the time to begin teaching your child that they aren't the center of the universe. If you haven't disciplined or taught them good manners before, you're out of luck and you can expect to hate your flight. Plan on spending your entire flight apologizing to everyone around you and bribing your kid like crazy.

2) Bring healthy snacks. I once sat next to two children who had pretty much a Halloween-like stash of candy. Five hours of sugar will not calm your children or keep them healthy on a disease-infested plane. They'll get sugar in the snacks, juice or soda they are offered en flight. Consider cheese sticks, nuts, fruit or vegetables. And if you don't want to take these through security you can usually find healthy food to purchase in the airport.

3) Electronics are good. I am not a big fan of DVD players in the car. But on a flight a new movie or an old favorite can go along way to keeping a child quiet and happy. Computer games, IPODS, even your cell phone can be marvelous helps.

4) Bring age-appropriate toys and comfort items. I typically bring along at least one new (never been seen) activity for each child. A familiar favorite is helpful too, particularly if you have someone who gets a little nervous about flying. Stay away from things that roll or you can count on losing them very quickly. Depending on the age and attention span of your little traveler, you may need up to one activity or toy per hour on the plane. Definitely bring the favorite blanket, stuffed animal, or pacifier.

5) Don't forget to feed them on the way up and down. I thought EVERYONE knew this until I was on a flight with a woman whose baby screamed on the way up and down. Babies can nurse or have a bottle; older kids can snack or chew gum. But they will be a lot more comfortable if they are chewing or sucking.

On a night flight, consider bringing along the pajamas. My daughters always take that as a cue that they should sleep now. And we all love to sit next to sleeping children.

Holiday Airfare Tips

Tips on how to get the best deal on holiday airfare from Expedia.