Frommer’s Budget Tips

At the 2012 Boston Globe Travel Show, Arthur Frommer and his daughter Pauline offered their advice on  “When to Splurge and When to Scrimp on Vacations“.

The high cost of air travel has forced many would-be-vacationers to stay close to home.  The Frommers suggested that rather than cancel your travel plans altogether, plan ahead and save on other vacation components such as food, lodging and activities.

Here are a few of their suggestions:

• Best time to buy plane tickets – 6 weeks before travel date, on a Tuesday or Wednesday;  Avoid booking on a weekend
• Use Twitter to track last minute bargain fares
• Consider airfare/lodging packages
• Stay in apartments where you can make your own meals rather than hotels
• Avoid Tour Groups and travel independently instead
• Save on lodging by booking a condo directly through the owner, renting a spare room or participating in a home exchange

The Frommers also recommended checking out these websites:

• To rent a spare room or apartment: airbnb.com and wimdu.com
• Rooms for free/cultural exchange: couchsurfing.org, globalfreeloaders.com, usservas.org, homeexchange.com, workaway.info, wwoof.org
• Hotel deals: hotelscombined.com, hipmunk.com, dohop.com
• Packages: bookit.com, vacmart.com,  expedia.com
• Car Rentals: bnm.com, autoslash.com
• Teaching English in Spain: Vaughan Volunteers

For more tips from the Frommers, listen to their weekly radio show on WOR News Talk radio 710 AM, Sundays 12-2  or subscribe to the podcast.

Free ebooks

Christopher Elliot, consumer advocate, has launched The Travel Troubleshooter, a new ebook series to help readers become better travelers.

Until May 28, the series will be available free of charge in MS Word format.

Elliot is asking for pre-publication improvement suggestions and editing help.  In exchange for reader feedback, he offers free copies of the books when published.

Current titles in the series include:

• Car Rentals
• Dealing With the TSA (in progress)
• Travel Insurance

Elliot is the author of Scammed: How to save your money and find better service in a world of schemes, swindles and shady deals.

Airlines Reviewed

In July 2011, the Money & Careers section of the Boston Sunday Globe included the results of a customer satisfaction survey of  commercial airlines by Consumer Reports.

“The right fliers: as airlines tack on fees and cut frills, some carriers stand out” summarizes the opinions of the 15,000 passengers that were polled.  Southwest and Jet Blue earned top marks for overall satisfaction with US Airways trailing the list as it did in 2007.  Scores were based on check-in ease, cabin-crew service, cabin cleanliness, baggage handling, seating comfort and in-flight entertainment.

Separately, tips were offered on snagging the best fares.  Here are the suggestions:

• subscribe to airline twitter accounts
• sign up for promo codes using your frequent flier program
• book online either through an airline site or an aggregator such as Kayak or Airfarewatchdog.
• book at the right time – 21 days in advance is suggested
• be flexible on travel dates

Credit Cards Abroad

Are you concerned about using your American bank issued credit card with its antiquated magnetic-strip in Europe?  You are not alone.

A featured article in the June 8th New York Times Practical Traveler column on How to avoid credit card problems abroad generated lots of reader feedback.  Mostly anecdotes on being stuck without needed cash in foreign cities, but also some few helpful tips.

Problems seem to be most severe when attempting to use your card to pay highway tolls or access other self-pay kiosks.  One recommendation is to stock up on cash using your atm card (which seem to work fine overseas as long as you use a numeric pin).  Other readers suggest being more persistent with clerks taking your payment and asking them to swipe again or even manually entering the number into the keypad.

U.S. banks are slowly coming around and some are now offering cards with the E.M.V. (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) chip technology – for a fee. Chase and U.S. Bank are the trailblazers .

Another option is the prepaid Mastercard from Travelex, but there have been acceptance problems reported and you may be charged cash advance fees if linked to your credit card.

For frequent travelers, opening a European bank account may be the best approach.

TSA Offers Travel Tips

Dreading the lines at airport security?

To make the experience as painless as possible for travelers, the TSA has created a website with tips on how to get through screening lines more quickly.

Helpful Hints for Summer Travel includes the common guidelines on liquids and gels (3-1-1) as well as some lesser known advice.

• Equip your smart phone with the MyTSA Mobile app
• Pack in layers
• Review this list of food items that need to go in your checked bag.
• Use the Family/Medical liquids lane if eligible
• Do not pack wrapped gifts in carry-on.

For more helpful hints, download the handy summer travel tips brochure for easy reference.

More Techie Tips for Travelers

Seat Guru’s Ultimate Guide to  In-Seat Laptop Power Ports

http://www.seatguru.com/articles/in-seat_laptop_power.php

A good discussion about the options for plugging in your laptop when you are flying.  It is more complicated than you would think…

Techie Tips for Travelers

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30849025

Rick Steves of PBS fame, talks about using your laptop in Europe.

The Bathroom Diaries

Search for public restrooms in over 120 countries and over 9000 locations in the USA. Each entry rates the restroom and describes its’ features.

Research: The Traveler’s Best Friend

A great article from the Frugal Traveler (May 6, 2009)in the New York Times. He talks about the process he follows to research his trip before he makes his reservations.

Travel Avisories from US Department of State

Keep up to date on travel warnings and travel advisories issued by the US Dept of  State