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Email ThisA few years back, I came across a useful magazine article that included an incredible list of tips for frequent travelers. Being a little bit of a world traveler myself, I quickly copied over much of the author’s guide onto my laptop for future reference. I couldn’t remember where I had found the list list until now, but a quick search produced 21 Rules of Stress-Free Travel from Best Life magazine a while back. For some reason, my list has 22 tips, but regardless of where that last one came from, it’s a great resource either way. Things will start to change in the years ahead as the price of fuel continues to rise and cheap airlines may not be so cheap anymore, so take advantage of inexpensive travel while you still can. There should be something for everyone. Here is my redux of Peter Greenberg’s travel tips:
Booking Your Flight
1. Talk to a Real Person – Use online travel portals like Orbitz or Travelocity to figure out what you want on the web, then use gethuman.com’s guide to call up, skip the automated phone system, and see if there are better deals by phone.
2. Start with the price – Don’t answer the question “When you do want to travel?” Instead say “Before I answer that, can you just go to your screen and punch up all the published fares on that route? Now scroll down to the bottom of the list. What’s that fare?” Work your way up that list till you find what you can stand. Go ahead and book the lowest fare you can, but then you have 24 hours to go to the web and see if you can book a better deal on kayak.com, farecast.com, or airfarewatchdog.com. For last-minute flights, try lastminute.com.
3. Pick the safest seats – On a 737, sit as far toward the rear as possible. 747, rows 61 through 64, closest to the windows. 757, window seats mid-plane, in front of the wings. MD80, near the emergency exits right above the wings, mid-plane.
4. Research your flight – The U.S. Department of Transportation publishes lists of on-time records each month. Also see flightstats.com.
5. Mail your luggage – If you need more than a carry-on, ship it to your hotel with FedEx, DHL, UPS, luggageconcierge.com, or luggagefree.com. As little as $40 per bag, if it’s worthwhile for your trip. Airmail your laptop to your destination and it’s also a good way to prevent Homeland Security from copying over all your financial records and email history.
6. Ignore departure times – Instead, if you call the airline, ask for the tail number of the aircraft assigned to your flight, and ask where that aircraft is.
7. Go where you’re not supposed to go – With no bags to check, if you’re on an early morning flight, have your ride drop you off at the empty arrivals area. In the evening, get picked up in the empty departures area.
8. Undress for success – Place everything metallic—watch, keys, coins, jewelry, pens, chains, etc.—in ziplock bags and place them in your carry-on.
9. Ignore the departures board – Just read the departures board for the gate number, then go to the arrivals board. If some other flight is arriving at your gate, you know your flight will be delayed.
10. Invoke rule 240 – If the flight is delayed or canceled for any reason except weather, if you invoke rule 240, the airline must endorse your ticket over to the next available flight (on any carrier, not just their own next flight). This won’t work on Southwest or JetBlue however.
11. Get rid of pain in your ears – Take an antihistamine, and use a spray nose decongestant 30 minutes before take-off to prevent the tubes in your ears from closing up. Repeat 30 minutes before landing on flights longer than 4 hours.
Finding a Hotel
12. Never call toll-free numbers – Never call 800 numbers for hotels, call the hotel directly. Don’t ask for reservations, ask to speak to the manager on duty or director of sales. Now you can negotiate. And thank this person if you see them when you are there.
13. Call during football – Call at 4pm on Sunday to make your reservation, when the hotel revenue manager is gone.
14. Negotiate your phone bill – Phone and internet charges are negotiable. Before you take your room key, ask the front desk if you can bundle services for a flat fee of $10 or $15 for unlimited internet and domestic long-distance calls. (This also applies to other charges like resort fees or gym use.)
15. Stay below the eighth floor – They say this can be important for fire safety.
16. Follow the booster pumps – When you check in, ask the front desk to call engineering and find out what floors the booster pumps are on. Ask to be on a floor with pumps and you are guaranteed a decent hot shower any time of day you need it.
17. Ask about construction – Also ask the front desk clerk how close your room is to construction. If you don’t ask, you might get stuck next to the renovation.
18. Let the concierge help you – They’re very connected, and can help with rose petals on the bed, emergency cuff links, a bottle of champagne or that hard to get romantic corner table in the restaurant. Look for their email on the hotel’s website or call in advance to establish a relationship. A $20 tip is appropriate for a good hookup.
19. Germproof your room – Always pack sanitizing wipes. Use them on the TV remote, phone handset, doorknobs, and toilet seat. Pull off the bedspread and throw it into the corner of the room. Never look at it again. Never touch it again. Lastly, turn on the hot water in the bathroom, and place the water glasses under that faucet for at least three minutes. (I don’t know that this is very water-saving friendly, but I guess those glasses are dirty!)
Renting a Car
20. Think locally – Instead of using an 800 number to reserve a car, try rentalcars.com for comparison prices. Rent a car on a Saturday—many cars suddenly become available when weekend customers don’t show up.
21. Take pictures – Use your digital camera or cell phone (with the date and time stamp turned on) to snap a few quick shots of the rental car’s dings and dents. Show them to a rental-agency employee, and get their name before you leave.
22. Get your own gas – Don’t let the rental company charge you $7 per gallon for gas. Fill up the tank before you return the car. Check gasbuddy.com for the cheapest gas on your route, and get traffic info from traffic.com.
One last tip (23!) that I’ll reiterate is always check Kayak.com for the best prices! The site lists airfares, hotels, car rentals, cruises and more, it’s a free service, and it basically aggregates information from all the other online deal listing services like Orbitz, Travelocity, etc., to show you where to find the lowest prices. I used it to get cheap tickets in Spain, and I highly recommend it for any traveler.
Share your own travel stories if you put any of these ideas to use, or if you have your own tips. Look for more thoughts on getting the best air travel prices (and other savings) soon.
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Rule 240 is not an absolute MUST for any airline. It really depends on the terms and conditions as detailed in their own contract of carriage. There is no longer any federal mandate to abide by 240. Also, AirTran is an additional airline without any 240 rule whatsoever. Here is an excerpt from an article by Peter Greenburg, a Today.com travel editor.
“United Airlines changed its language to say that in the event of a delay or cancellation, it would still fly you on a competitor, but not necessarily in the same class of service as on your original United flight. Delta still has a Rule 240 in its contract of carriage, but conveniently omits the section in which it used to say it would fly you on another carrier in the event of a “flight irregularity.” American only promises to get you out on one of its own flights. Alaska and Northwest airlines have stayed with most of the original paragraph 240 language.
So, the real bottom line here is that while no one airline is legally mandated to follow Rule 240, many of them do — if they want to. And the real key is that you have to ask — not demand — and in many cases, you’ll be accommodated.”
Wow! A lot of these things I never ever would have though about. Thanks for the great tips.
Thanks for the Kayak.com tip. I’m planning a couple of weekend trips out of town and have been wondering which weekends would be least expensive. Kayak let’s me search multiple weekends at once!
re: #3
many years ago, I had a conversation about seat safety with someone who started, but never finished flight attendant school. She pointed out that planes rarely crash, but when they do, how often do you hear about a lot of survivors?
As was pointed out to her in class:
If you’re near the front of the plane, umpteen rows of seats and passengers crash into you. if you’re at the back of the plane, you slam into all the seats in front of you and are covered in blue toilet sanitizer and human waste. If you’re in the middle, still sucks to be you.
After hearing that anecdote from her flight attendant class, I’ve since shot for the most leg room. I’m going to be as comfortable as possible for the longest amount of time possible.
Hey guys, thanks for your comments.
@Greg: Thanks for clarifying the info about Rule 240. Much of the tips above are from Peter Greenburg!
@Alaia: Glad to help. Kayak seems to be the best aggregator I’ve found. It certainly saved me in Ibiza/Barcelona last winter.
@zak: Good points, but I guess some of the reasoning about safest seats in the event of a crash might be in cases where an engine has trouble but the plane stays in the air, or perhaps a water landing. I’m just guessing, but why not try for the safest right?
Sounds interesting. I want to know more details about it.I think this will help me a lot. Thank you very much.
I would have to add priceline.com to the list of websites to find great rates. I have never used it for an airline (too many variables) but I have been using it for several years for car rental and hotels. I have always gotten great deals when compared with the published fares for the same company.
Tip learned the hard way. Don’t hold your boarding pass in your mouth while you’re digging in your purse to find something. That paper they are printed on will take the skin off any damp place on your lip.
If only rule 240 could be invoked for Amtrak trains that are delayed for reasons other than weather.
I’d booked an Amtrak reservation last weekend from New York to Boston and despite arriving at Penn Station 90 minutes earlier, I learned the train was delayed by 40 minutes.