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.

Leave Me Alone!

There was a day when I was booking coworkers on a business trip when I would work very hard to get them in seats next to each other or across the aisle from each other. In the back of my mind I would wonder if I were going on the trip if I wouldn't rather just be alone where I could read my book in peace.

But it wasn't until Karen* told me when booking her flight "Please do not put me ANYWHERE near them" that I finally realized that I wasn't the only one who prefers to travel silently, finally getting the peace and quiet that is so lacking from our daily lives. 

Kimberly Benzel, flight attendant for an unnamed airline, told me her company is still debating whether or not to offer wireless on flights. Why? "Very few people are willing to purchase it." Prices for wi-fi are very modest, particularly for business passengers who usually add luggage fees, upgraded seat fees and are willing to plop down $10 for a drink. My guess is that most of us find the few hours in a plane the only time we have without a ringing cell phone, emailed questions and problems, and people barraging us with chatter.

Flying is a bit of peace, a time to catch up on all the reading that we need to do for our jobs but gets interrupted when we are at our desks. Oh, and maybe we don't want to read any more white papers and flying gives us a chance to pull out our Kindles and paperbacks and read the latest Patterson novel.

What about you? Do you want to sit next to your coworker on a trip? Or do you just want the world to quit talking for two minutes?

*name has been changed for fun

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.