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.

Southwest Adds New Fees...Will There Be More?

Southwest recently added a new early boarding fee called "upgraded boarding" and added fees on overweight baggage. They also admit that a no-show fee is in the works for the near future.

Nothing too serious yet, but admittedly Southwest has struggled compared to other airlines who have found ancillary fees to be the path to profitability.

In recent months, Southwest fares have been highly competitive beating out other airlines where they hadn't been in quite some time. Is it an attempt to build customer loyalty before adding more fees? Or the result of collecting a little more in optional services? We shall see.

For now, it is a great time to use Southwest, particularly with no bag fees for the first two bags and no change fees.

Sources: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/17/uk-southwestair-fees-idUSLNE8BD01O20121217
http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/travel-fees.html

We Love Alaska Airlines!

© timwillingham for Daily Infographic, 2012.

Go Vote!

Are Children People Too?

Few of us who have experienced air travel have avoided the annoyance of being stuck in a small space with a screaming or obnoxious child. This blog has offered up advice to the parents of young children in an effort to help any would listen make air travel smoother for all.

But several Asian airlines are now in the process of either banning children from certain flights or creating "child-free zones."

And even on American carriers, new fees to select seats (on many airlines you must pay extra to choose aisle or window seats) make it very difficult, not to mention prohibitively expensive, for a family to travel seated together.

Before the advent of allowing travelers to select their own seats, airline representatives would seat families near the rear of the plane automatically. But with the advent of seat selection, it became a little trickier. Initially, families might select to sit up in the front of the plane, very close to first class and business class sections. Increasingly, airlines have started to reserve those seats for frequent travelers and those willing to cough up extra money to sit near the front in an effort to keep families to the back. The logic is that paying $59 for a seat fee is one thing; paying $59 for five different people gives most people more pause. And most children are not frequent fliers.

But a ban? A ban disturbs my freedom-loving, "created equal" American consciousness.  If we can ban children from a flight, or even a section of a flight, who else will we ban?



Sources: "Airline to roll out child-free 'Quiet Zone' in coach class," USA Today
"Flying solo: New airline policy keeps family and friends from sitting together on flights," AP.

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.