GeekSugar

Travel Tip: 3 Steps to Take If Your Flight Is Cut

SavvySugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:45:14 -0800

You think you've done a good job, booking a flight months in advance of your planned travel. But with airlines cutting costs - and thus flights - all the time, there's a chance you will see that foresight going right down the drain. If you get the dreaded "Itinerary update: Flight change" email, look for these three things:

Check destination airport and connections. If the airline is no longer serving that airport or if the new time you'd arrive is drastically different, they may reroute you to another local airport - fine if you're familiar with the area or aren't meeting people, but if that exact spot is where you're joining family, it can be a problem.
Check times. Make sure your new departure, connection, and arrival times work for you and be comfortable with the window between any connections. Most US airlines will offer a full refund if your new flight arrives either 90 minutes earlier or later than the originally scheduled one.

See the last step when you read more.

Check for other flights. Look for alternatives before you call the airline. Although there are no guarantees, you may be able to change to a different flight that day with less of a wait or one that arrives at your exact desired destination. While swapping carriers is trickier, know which airlines have code-share partnerships, as changes between those linked airlines can be possible through the same agent.

Jet-Set Juicy Couture

FabSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:59:17 -0800

Juicy Couture's latest destination is the airport. The bubbly brand is setting up four airport boutiques starting December. The first will be inside the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport. Next stop? The British Airways terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in January. Then Taiwan TaoYuan International Airport’s Terminal II in February. Lastly, the fourth shop is set for a Spring launch in the Athens Airport Duty-Free area.

"We know that our customer is traveling and she’s in the airports. Women are always wearing our tracksuits, especially to travel in. We just don’t think she’s being targeted by other retailers in these airports, so there’s a real opportunity there for us," said Ellen Rodriguez, senior vice president of global licensing and international for the brand. What do you think of Juicy's new venture?

Source

5 Ways Flexibility Can Cut Travel Costs

SavvySugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:45:42 -0800

When it comes to bargains, it pays to play it cool. High maintenance travelers can be as finicky as they want while on vacation, but that approach won't get you the cheapest trip while in planning mode. Think flexibility when organizing a vacation, and the deals will come to you.

View Slideshow ›

I'm Asking: Have You Ever Purchased or Transferred Miles?

SavvySugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:10 -0800

Ahh, the challenge of racking up enough miles to actually use them for a free ticket. Business travelers and those who frequently fly via the same carrier can stock up for award travel, but did you know that many major airlines have expiration dates following a period of "non-activity" (usually between 18 and 24 months)?

If you want to still make use of those miles, you can purchase the remainder to get a free upgrade or trip in batches of 1,000 miles. However, this adds up and varies greatly between airlines. Case in point: American charges $27.50 for 1,000 miles, whereas United rings in at $67.25 for the same number. It works well if you're close to a usable amount, but if your airline rewards program is simply going nowhere, transfer your miles to a friend or family member who's saving up for a ticket. After all, you don't want to be spending more money to get a free ticket than it would cost to buy the ticket itself.

Have you ever had to purchase or transfer miles when your mile-hoarding left you coming up short?

I'm Asking: Do You Still Work While on Vacation?

SavvySugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:30:04 -0800

They don't call it a vacation for nothing . . . or do they? Taking time off work is a necessary luxury, but sometimes so much preparation goes into having just a few days away, you're too exhausted to enjoy the beginning of your time off. Not fun.

I try to step away on true vacation days, but there are times when I can't resist a peek in the inbox - and then, once you look, who's to stop you from writing back to one or two (or 10) people? Do you put on your out-of-office message and take your time off seriously, or do you find yourself still working even when you're technically not?

US Lifts HIV/AIDS Travel Ban

TresSugar — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0700

For the last 22 years, foreign citizens living with HIV or AIDS have been forbidden to legally enter the US. As of Monday, that ban will be a thing of the past. On Friday, President Obama announced the decision to overturn the policy he called "rooted in fear rather than fact." He said:

"We talk about reducing the stigma of this disease - yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat. We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic - yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people from HIV from entering our own country. If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it."

Before this decision, the US joined a less-than-impressive list of countries that banned HIV-positive outsiders. The list still includes: Armenia, Colombia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sudan, and Yemen. Considering there are already Americans living with HIV/AIDS, it served little purpose to "quarantine" the country. I'm happy to see that our HIV/AIDS prevention strategies will no longer include an ineffective and discriminatory ban.

It's Still Possible to Save on Airfare . . . After Booking

SavvySugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:40 -0700

You've done your homework on plane fares, but, when seeing the cost begin to climb, panic and purchase. Two hours later, the price is back down again even lower than before. I feel your pain, but don't slam your keyboard and give up. Do something about it.

That's right, you can actually save on airfare after booking. Both Expedia and Travelocity have 24-hour windows on their low-fare guarantees, and Orbitz's Price Assurance only applies if someone buys that fare at a lower price. But booking directly with the airline can allow even more changes after the fact.

While I wouldn't recommend torturing yourself with fare checks everyday from purchase to takeoff, it makes sense to monitor the price 24–48 hours after you book, just in case. To see a chart of fees and refund amounts by airline, read more.

Airline	Low-Fare Policy	Fee
Alaska	Refund fare difference, $100 discount code, same day as booking	$0
American	Refund fare difference, $50 promo code, same day as booking	$150
Continental	Refund fare difference, $100 travel certificate, same day as booking	$150
Delta	Refund fare difference, $100 travel voucher, same day as booking	$150
JetBlue	Refund fare difference into a JetBlue travel voucher	$100
Southwest	Refund fare difference into Southwest travel credit; no same day restriction	$0
United	Refund and $100 travel certificate same day as booking	$150
US Airways	Refund minus $150 change fee; no same day restriction	$150

I'm Asking: Have You Ever Taken a Cruise?

SavvySugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:45:49 -0700

With an inescapable floating location, cruises provide a city's worth of activities all under one roof. Nice if you view scheduling and paying for activities to be a daunting vacay task, but what if your lack of planning also equates a need for freedom? Sadly, cruises may disappoint with scheduled eating times, less flexibility for spontaneity, and limited onshore time but, hey, you'll be too busy to notice.

Choices run the gamut from cheaper cargo cruise options to the world's most expensive cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas (costing $1.4 billion dollars and five years in the making), that will take its maiden voyage this December and you know what you're paying for from the get-go, like all-inclusive resorts. All you seafarers, tell us why cruises are your type of trip or say why you'd prefer to stick to your landlubber ways!

Vince and Kyla Retreat to Rome

PopSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:30:44 -0700

Vince Vaughn and Kyla Weber cuddled up as they took a walking tour around Rome on Wednesday. Vince is taking advantage of his promotional world tour, and turned it into a romantic vacation and real life Couples Retreat by bringing costar Malin Akerman and her husband along for the ride. Vince and Kyla looked happily in love as they held hands throughout the day, showing that the famous bachelor is really ready to settle down.

To see more of Vince and Kyla in Rome, just read more.

View 20 Photos ›

Oh, Good. Another In-Flight Fire Hazard to Worry About

GeekSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:45:02 -0700

In-flight fires caused by gadgets are back in the news after a recent piece in the New York Times warned of yet another risk: fires caused by the rechargable lithium batteries in handheld credit-card machines used by flight attendants to ring up purchases. The Federal Aviation Administration considers the batteries hazardous, and requires special training for flight attendants on airlines who carry spare batteries (some airlines, like Delta and JetBlue, don't carry spare batteries at all).

No fires from the readers have been reported, but according to the same article, in the last two years, a portable DVD has caught fire on a plane, a flashlight placed in a storage compartment exploded, turning into a projectile, and eight people were injured when a battery fell against a metal seat frame and exploded.

The best way to keep devices from overheating, or worse, catching fire? Keep them out of overhead compartments, and turn them off completely before storing them for flight. Do you take special precautions when flying with gadgets?