tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769Wed, 06 Nov 2024 03:09:01 +0000Airlines and AirportsOpinionInternational TravelATM and Credit CardsEuropeWeb travel resourcesFrequent FlyerTravel TipsNorth AmericaTravel NewsHotelsBlogsCubaHumorphonesGuidebooks and magazinesAsiaLuggageCar RentalsCell PhonesTrainUS placesPassportsSkiingWine and FoodCampingHistoryBook reviewCar travelCaribbeanGround TransportationLoose ThreadsPet TravelResponsible TravelTechnologyTravel WritingAfricaAirfaresArtAwardsLanguage and translationLodgingMuseumsPhotographyWeatherOpinions, tips, advice, resources, and commentary on the world of travel.http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger326125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-1209305577564521906Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:31:00 +00002011-03-20T10:35:58.423-07:00It’s taken us awhile, but we’re finally happy with our traveling computing and internet-access needs (at least domestically).We have a small, 10-inch-screen Acer netbook that weighs about 2-1/2 pounds. We toyed with the idea of an iPad, but we really need a keyboard. (And I’m just not an Apple fan.) Plus, I can buy (and trash or upgrade) three netbooks for the price of an iPad. I need programs tohttp://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2011/03/finally-happy-with-travel-electronics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-967511853368549052Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:36:00 +00002011-03-08T08:39:28.919-08:00More news on the United/Continental merger. You can now transfer miles between your frequent flyer accounts. Information here.http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2011/03/transfer-united-continental-miles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-4789593984451564855Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:20:00 +00002011-02-17T13:23:13.387-08:00Great news. United is retaining Economy Plus, and will be adding it to the Continental fleet in 2012. Details here.http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2011/02/continental-to-get-economy-plus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-4891337762369354690Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:36:00 +00002011-02-15T14:01:29.257-08:00We noted a few posts back that we’re liking Delta more and more. This morning we just received an email saying, “we have eliminated our mileage expiration policy - no asterisk, no fine print, no ifs, ands or buts.”Wow. This could be a game-changer in the industry. Delta goes on to say, “We are proud to be the only major U.S. carrier without mileage expiration.” More details here.More thoughts http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2011/02/delta-eliminates-mileage-expiration.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-3631563005432414995Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:37:00 +00002011-02-03T11:47:18.965-08:00Even as a kid, I don’t think I ever believed the “alligators in the sewers of New York” legend. And that was in the day when rumors traveled slowly – word of mouth; an obscure newsletter; a letter from a friend that took a week to arrive.Everything today is instantaneous – blogs, Twitter, Facebook, online news. Yet some myths, legends, and cults continue to thrive in this world of openness and http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2011/02/myths-cults-mostly-travel-related.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-3996316536456538914Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:07:00 +00002010-11-10T09:09:53.508-08:00We’ve recently relocated to the southern Rocky Mountains, and our closest real airport is now Albuquerque – an hour and a half away. Denver is 6 hours away, and every other large airport (SLC, PHX, DFW) is twice that distance.We just read that Delta’s flight attendants rejected unionization. (Stay with us, we’ll bring this all together in a second.) And the rumors are swirling about Delta http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/11/living-in-fly-over-country-starting-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-366893596671787250Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:07:00 +00002010-09-27T17:10:23.180-07:00It’s getting interesting again. Southwest Airlines has announced its intention to buy AirTran. Even though the news is only hours old, there have already been a lot of words spilled about routes, hubs, and the like. The airlines even already have the obligatory merger website up.Much of the news centers about integration of aircraft, and about how Southwest now gets access to Atlanta – a big drawhttp://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/09/end-of-southwest-as-we-know-it-or.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-4943957249168514968Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:44:00 +00002010-08-23T13:49:31.956-07:00Now we know. For the absolute best ticket prices, book your airline flights 8 weeks in advance, in the afternoon.A couple of Japanese economists have concluded (via this wonderful formula... A = gUG + min(k - g, (1 - g)(1 - r) ...or some such nonsense) that the best price-window for ticket purchases is exactly 8 weeks ahead. In the afternoon. These folks must not travel all that much. Let's hope http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/08/anything-for-publicity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-432123206722297884Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:28:00 +00002010-09-07T15:11:45.788-07:00Are you a Value shopper or a Price shopper?A price shopper searches out the best price – no matter the circumstances. WalMart, Spirit Airlines, Dollar rental cars. Value shoppers look for the best value for their money – no matter who the vendor is (although many times there’s a loyalty value, too).WalMart may have the best price, and also sometimes the best value, but then so might Tiffany’s. http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/08/price-shopping-vs-value-shopping.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-1427289553809423512Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:58:00 +00002010-08-14T08:04:57.104-07:00As the 3 regular readers of this blog probably know, we hate jargon. Corporate America simply loves to say less with more. In a recent issue of Business Travel News we found some excellent examples of political/lawyer/PR/financial geek-speak.In a sidebar to an article headlined, “Airlines Unlikely To Add Much Capacity,” were the following quotes from the CEOs of the “big 5” domestic airlines. Seehttp://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/08/corporate-jargon-who-said-that.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-8945965948955688547Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:28:00 +00002010-07-07T10:30:59.967-07:00The travel blog-o-sphere has been awash in words about Aegean Airlines entering the Star Alliance (one of the “big 3” airline alliances), and the fact that with Aegean one can gain Star Alliance “Gold” status with far fewer miles than with any other airline in the alliance.(For the uninitiated, once Star Gold is attained on any Star Alliance airline – and there are a lot, it’s the biggest airlinehttp://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/07/aegean-airlines-fast-track-to-star.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-159890107149709200Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:31:00 +00002010-06-29T09:19:06.671-07:00We recently saw a lengthy blog article discussing the “value” of frequent-flyer miles and hotel points. In general, the author postulated that miles/points were mostly worth 1 to 2 cents per mile/point. And that may be realistic for the redemption of points (allow me to just call them all “points” from now on).Every so often, a travel writer/blogger has to take on the topic of value of miles. http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/questioning-value-of-articles-that.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-1077868821990593699Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:17:00 +00002010-06-10T21:31:04.003-07:00Unless you’ve not traveled in the past several years, you’ve probably heard about the Transportation Security Administration’s new Virtual Strip-Search Machines (oops, TSA’s new full-body scanners).The always-excellent The Middle Seat column in The Wall St. Journal yesterday discussed travelers’ reactions to the new full-body scanners. Several quotes in the article were deeply depressing and http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/americans-still-drinking-tsas-kool-aid.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-5325819029591547769Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:26:00 +00002010-06-06T15:28:36.230-07:00I love all the wild speculation about what’s going to happen with the “new” United – the merger of the old United and Continental. The branding of the new company – with the United name, the Continental logo, and a mix of executives (headed by the Continental boss) – seems to indicate that the merged airline will take a similar approach in cherry-picking what parts of the old companies to retain http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/airline-non-loyalty-frequent-flyer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-6959730503271848147Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:08:00 +00002010-06-02T13:44:43.320-07:00Airlines aren’t known for reducing fees or adding benefits without some (usually sneaky) tradeoff. But an email we just received from Frontier Airlines sounds like the airline is truly enhancing their product and customer service. The email says, in part:“You told us you wanted lower and fewer fees and the ability to select your seat assignment when booking an Economy ticket. We heard you, and http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/06/enhancements-that-are-really.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-754720935659955595Sat, 29 May 2010 00:04:00 +00002010-05-28T17:05:57.626-07:00With the new credit-card laws coming into effect, we’ve been watching the transitions going on with reward credit cards. It’s been subtle, but we’re seeing a few more annual fees, combined with a few more incentives.We just got a solicitation for the Chase Ink Plus Visa. For $60/year annual fee (waived the first year), this “upgrade” from our regular Ink card offers a few more points on some http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/05/rewards-credit-cards-chase-ink-plus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-4588752706038259413Sun, 23 May 2010 17:10:00 +00002010-05-23T10:16:54.593-07:00I’ve recently become disappointed with the Boarding Area Mutual Admiration Society. (Oops, make that the Boarding Area bloggers.)Boarding Area is an umbrella for a group of travel bloggers who once seemed to have interesting, unique, and informative voices (and occasionally still do). Now, though, most of these writers seem to all write about the same new credit-card sign-up offers; they offer http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/05/travel-blogs-and-travel-news-sites.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-6082259352093197421Mon, 10 May 2010 16:16:00 +00002010-05-12T09:00:16.332-07:00We like to sit in the middle. No, not the middle seat, not the middle of the airplane, but in the middle seating option between Sardine and Extravagant. That means some sort of Premium Economy – and in the U.S. that usually means just more legroom with few extra perks.Some time ago we did an extensive round-up of Premium Economy on various airlines. Things have probably changed a bit since then http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/05/in-middle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-6673460268344239824Tue, 04 May 2010 16:10:00 +00002010-05-04T09:11:51.149-07:00We know Consumer Reports has a huge following. But every time we see a CR article about something that we really know about (bikes, skis, travel, art, photography, kitchen knives, etc., etc., etc.) we find the articles and recommendations typically way off base. So why should we believe their recommendations about things we don’t know much about (vacuum cleaners, garbage disposals, dishwashers, http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/05/consumer-reports-really-knows-travel.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-624014085877742075Mon, 03 May 2010 16:02:00 +00002010-05-03T14:51:21.938-07:00To me, the most interesting aspect of the just-announced United-Continental merger is the depth, scope, and professionalism of the merger website. The interactive combined route map is pretty kludgy, and quite a few questions are left unanswered, but overall it’s amazing what they’ve put together in probably less than three weeks (the amount of time since “serious” talks were made public).The http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/05/united-continental.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-9031783079697988651Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:50:00 +00002010-04-19T13:50:57.770-07:00[Updated 4.19.2010 See below.]Am I one of the few people who find the whole “fees for carry-on baggage” imbroglio hilarious? Everyone seems to be taking it so seriously.First it was Spirit Airlines declaring that it will begin charging passengers “up to $45 to place a bag in an overhead bin.” [NY Times]. Then, it was New York Senator Charles Schumer gaseously spewing that he was going to draft a http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/04/much-ado-about-nothing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-8991442198612261656Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:18:00 +00002010-04-12T18:24:36.944-07:00Almost everyone has their panties in a wedge (in one way or another) over the fact that Spirit Airlines has announced it will be charging a fee for carry-on bags. Even our Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, seems to have nothing better to do than say: “I think it’s a bit outrageous that an airline is going to charge someone to carry on a bag and put it in the overhead. And I’ve told our peoplehttp://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/04/spirit-airlines-bunches-ray-lahoods.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-8253054592525121012Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:39:00 +00002010-04-07T08:41:44.610-07:00It’s already all over the internet, so I’ll just note the headline from the UK Daily Mail: “The mother and daughter who ‘tried to smuggle corpse on to plane’.” Read the full article.http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-many-ways-can-you-spell-stupid.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-6962326668884718485Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:21:00 +00002010-03-23T09:21:54.398-07:00This is probably the first time I’ve agreed with anything Ryanair’s Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has said or done.After leasing a few Ryanair planes to British Airways during its strike, O’Leary called the striking union cabin crews “spectacularly stupid.”http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/03/ryanairs-oleary-on-striking-ba-cabin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-711352449506106555Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:25:00 +00002010-03-17T09:30:23.849-07:00We seldom spend time looking at the statistics of our various websites and blogs. But a recent post on the Ridge Winery blog got us to thinking (always a very dangerous thing).Since the first of the year, this blog has been reached directly; by referrals; and via 312 different search terms. Far and away the most searched-for phrases were some variation of “no international ATM fees.” Several of http://howtotravelamerica.blogspot.com/2010/03/search-engines-say-cutest-things.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)