224 lines
23 KiB
XML
Executable File
224 lines
23 KiB
XML
Executable File
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<linksandnumbers>
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<item id="1">
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<title>Renting a car? Read this and BEWARE!</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[Below is a link to an excellent article regarding what to expect when renting a car. Note that you should determine BEFORE you arrive at the rental counter exactly which, if any, of the optional fees, charges and insurances mentioned in the article you wish to accept.
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[link href=http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/carrent.htm]http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/carrent.htm[/link]
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Also, when picking up your car, be sure to READ the front page of the rental contract that you sign. Don't just believe the rental agent when he said OK to you asking to decline a certain insurance. If he says it is declined but you sign the contract that states you are accepting it, guess whose word holds up? Yours - your signature!!!
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]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="2">
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<title>Frequent flyer mileage programs</title>
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<subtitle>is it worth collecting miles?</subtitle>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[So what's the value of these miles? Sometimes you might want to pay some sort of fee (for a credit card or a phone service, for example) just to get the miles, and you want to know if the miles are worth the fee. And sometimes it is a close decision whether to use valuable miles to get a ticket, or to just pay cash for it so you can use the miles later for something more valuable. Well, here is how to figure this all out: The value to you of one mile very much depends on how you use them. To find that value, you need three numbers:
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Total dollar cost of the ticket you would buy with your miles: Be sure the dollar price of the ticket is for one that is similar in restrictions and advanced payment to the conditions on using the miles. Usually this is a discount ticket sold by either the airline or by me using fares through my discounters/consolidators. Be sure you have the total cost, including taxes and fees.
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Total miles you would lose by using miles to acquire the ticket: This includes both the miles you pay to get the ticket and the miles you would have accrued by buying the same ticket with dollars.
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The number of dollars you would have to spend anyway by acquiring the ticket with miles: You will pay departure, excise taxes, and security fees. These charges can amount to over $100.
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To compute the value of one mile:
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First subtract the dollar charges for using miles from the dollar cost of buying the ticket. This is the dollar amount you save by using miles. Then add the miles you would get by using dollars to buy the ticket to the miles you would be charged for the ticket if you were to use your miles to get it. This is the total number of miles the ticket would cost you.
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Now divide your dollar savings you just computed by the total miles you just computed to find the cost per mile.
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Examples: A round trip to Europe from the West Coast of the United states can usually be purchased through consolidators for about $500 in the winter and $1,000 in the summer, plus taxes and fees. Yet both would cost 50000 miles on most airlines. Suppose the taxes and fees are $50 and the length of the round trip is 10000 miles. Further suppose that you have exactly 50000 miles in your account. If you use your miles to get the summer ticket, you would have 0 miles left in and be out of pocket $50. If you were to buy your ticket with dollars you would be out of pocket $1,050, but you would have 60000 miles in your account after taking the flights. So your net savings by using miles is $1,050 - $50 = $1,000, and your net loss of miles is 10000 + 50000 = 60000 miles. Divide those numbers. You are getting $1,000/60000 = 1.66 cents per mile. Yet if you use your miles to get the winter ticket, you are getting $500/60000 = 0.83 cents per mile. I would use my cash to buy the winter ticket, and save my miles for something more valuable.
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A 5000 mile coast to coast round trip domestic ticket within the United States costs around $200 plus taxes and fees on Southwest Airlines if you wait for the right sale and are willing to fly on three different airplanes to get there and eat peanuts while doing so. At that price, assuming the taxes and fees are the same no matter how you acquire the ticket, using 25,000 miles for the same trip would value the miles at $200/30000 = 0.67 cents per mile. Better use those miles for something more expensive. But perhaps you want a non-stop flight and a meal, and figure that will cost you $320 plus taxes. Well, $320/30000 = 1.066 cents per mile. That's a little better.
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What about buying a ticket on your preferred airline that costs more than a ticket on a cheaper airline? Most airlines calculate the value of one frequent flyer mile at 2 cent. That means a free ticket within the USA that requires 25,000 miles should be worth $500 (25,000 x .02). Most people use their frequent flyer miles for tickets worth far less than that, but let's use that as an example.
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It takes roughly three paid round-trip tickets across the Atlantic to accrue enough miles for the free ticket using miles. If you pay $150 more for each of those tickets using your ëpreferred' airline compared with the cheapest airline, you have just ìpaidî $450 ($150 x 3 trips) for your ìfreeî ticket.
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The moral of the story? Try to accrue miles in your preferred airline's program but be realistic. If a transatlantic ticket on another airline is less expensive by $100 or more, you are definitely better off putting the savings in the bank and using the cheaper airline. With less of a savings, it is a tossup. Unfortunately, every decision is not so cut and dried. If you are close to obtaining enough miles for an award, if your miles will soon expire or under similar circumstances, it might be best to use your preferred airline even though it costs quite a bit more.
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It seems that the cost to purchase a business class ticket is always much more than twice the cost of an economy class ticket, yet the number of miles to buy the business class ticket is usually only 1.5 or 1.6 times the miles for cattle class. So if you usually fly business class and have lots of miles to spend, for you business class might be a very cost effective method of using those miles.
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O.K., now go decide how you might use your miles. Then get a good estimate of how much money you would have to pay to get tickets for the same usage, buying just as far in advance as you would have to if you were using miles (often 6-10 months). Then do the math to get some idea of how much your miles are worth.
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Now you can decide if the miles you would get are worth a fee to get them. If, for example, MCI offers me 10000 miles for using their long distance service for six months, but wants to charge me a $5 per month minimum (which I would never come close to exceeding), then I would be paying about 6 months x $5/month = $30 for those miles.; Let's see, that's $30/10000 miles = 0.3 cents per mile. Not a bad price for miles that I will sell to the airlines for at least four times as much.
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Since I value my miles at 1.5 cents each, I can consider that to be a 1.5% discount when I buy stuff that gets me one mile per dollar spent, say by using a credit card that uses miles, or shopping at internet sites that give me even more miles. This is useful for comparison shopping.
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And you can decide a cut-off value for which you would choose to pay cash for a ticket rather than use those valuable miles. For me, that averages about 1.5 cents per mile. But your decision might be different, depending on what kind of ticket you would buy with the miles.
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]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="3">
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<title>Frequent flyer mileage programs</title>
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<subtitle>how to be sure your miles are credited to your account</subtitle>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[Though you give me your frequent flyer numbers and I enter them into the reservation, that is still no guarantee that the airlines will have your numbers in their system for the entire trip or that you will receive mileage credit. In order to increase the chances of receiving credit for your trip, double check at each and every airport that the airline has your number in their computer and retain all ticket stubs and boarding passes until you see the mileage credited to your account.
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If for some reason you will need copies of your ticket stubs or ticket numbers from me after completion of your trip, we charge $25 per person to obtain such past date information plus any costs that my suppliers might charge, if we obtained your ticket through a discounter.]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="4">
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<title>Travel Insurance</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[If you are purchasing this policy within two weeks of having your ticket issued, [link href=/travelinsurance.php?type=cruisett]Cruise, Tour & Travel[/link] protects you up to $250 to cancel for any reason. Otherwise, [link href=/travelinsurance.php?type=protectassist]Protect Assist[/link] is the best option for you. ]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="5">
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<title>Staying in a hotel? Read this.</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[The latest way for hotels to try and make money off their guests is to offer the "convenience" of charging you for your room in the currency that your credit card is issued in. So if you have a US-issued credit card but stay in Europe, the hotel will offer to charge your card in dollars. Sometimes they don't even tell you they are charging your card in dollars, but just do it. DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. Insist that your card be billed in the local currency where you are staying. Otherwise, the hotel will use an artificially high exchange rate and you will have no recourse. If you have the charge billed in the local currency, you will obtain the preferred exchange rate used by the credit card company when they convert the charge into the currency your credit card bill is issued in.]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="6">
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<title>Austria travel information</title>
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<subtitle>since so many clients visit or live in Austria</subtitle>
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<type>external_link</type>
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<text><![CDATA[http://www.austria-tourism.at/]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="7">
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<title>Travel a lot and need a cheap prepaid phone card?</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[Here is the phone card that I use for all my long-distance calls, both in the office and while traveling. I get great rates, and there are neat features like being able to pre-program several phone numbers I frequently call from so that I don't need to enter a PIN number when calling from those phone numbers.
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If you use the link below to sign up, we each get 20 free minutes. Trust me, I am not pushing this company for the 20 free minutes (at 3 cents per minute, that is only 60 cents!). They truly are a good and inexpensive way to call. And their international rates are great too.
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[link href=https://www.onesuite.com/04CI74648/suitetreat]https://www.onesuite.com/04CI74648/suitetreat[/link]]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="8">
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<title>Lonely Planet travel guidebooks, travel information</title>
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<subtitle>in my opinion, probably the best guidebook series.</subtitle>
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<type>external_link</type>
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<text><![CDATA[http://www.lonelyplanet.com/]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="9">
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<title>Packing Tips</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[[b]The right bag[/b]
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In the beginning there's the luggage - and it had better be lightweight and roll.
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Ideally, carry-on only is the way to go, and some people (who are not my friends) can pull that off. For the rest of us who want some variety in our clothing and need to take bulkier gear, checking bags is a given.
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Airlines typically allow two checked pieces. To avoid surcharges, these may be no more than 62 linear inches (a combination of length, width and depth) and weigh a maximum of 50 pounds each.
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Most carriers impose a surcharge of $25 for 51-70 pounds and $50 for 70-100 pounds on domestic flights. You will pay $80 extra for a third checked bag that meets the 62-inch limit. First-class passengers may be allowed more leeway. Rules for foreign flights vary.
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The best bet for durability and weight in a roomy bag you're going to check is a wheeled 25-29-inch soft-sided case, often referred to as a pullman or trolley. Look for the new lighter-weight polyester or nylon bags made with graphite frames. A big open design accommodates more and weighs less than bags with multiple internal compartments. Many of the better bags are expandable, providing as much as 2 1/2 inches of extra packing space when needed.
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Opt for a bright color so the bag will stand out in the sea of black cases at baggage claim (or highlight your black bag with brightly colored duct tape or a colorful luggage strap). Choose a bag with a dual-pole telescoping handle, which provides more stability than single-pole models for additional bags you sling over the handle. A good, reasonably priced choice is Delsey's Helium Lite 100 line. The 25-inch expandable trolley, available in bright red, blue or black, weighs just 10.7 pounds and is widely available for about $90.
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Post / Andrew Lucas) along the sides. Put heavy durable items at the wheel end of the bag to keep the center of gravity low and make for easier pulling. Place fragile items such as hair dryers at the handle.
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[b]Carrying on[/b]
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Wheeled soft-sided 21-22-inch bags with one big undivided interior compartment provide the most packing space for airlines' carry-on allowance, typically 45 linear inches. (On smaller planes, these may have to be gate-checked).
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Thinner is better, so opt for a bag with a depth of no more than 9 inches. Stuffing the outside pockets can make a bag too fat to fit in the overhead bin.
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A good choice is Delsey's Helium Lite Carry-on Suiter Trolley ($70), which measures 21 by 14 by 8.5 inches, and weighs 8.8 pounds.
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Airlines usually will allow one additional small item, such as a purse or computer bag. I like a zippered nylon knapsack, which leaves my hands free to navigate the wheel-aboard, and is a special blessing when I'm confronted with stairs.
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Load your wheel-aboard bag with essential guidebooks, medications that you don't want to have to replace, and bulky fragile goods, well-wrapped in a spare pair of socks or T-shirt - which can come in handy if your checked luggage is delayed.
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The smaller bag, which will remain in your possession even if you have to gate-check the wheeled bag at the last minute, should hold all valuables, such as money, jewelry, travel documents, crucial prescription medications and keys. It also should contain any items you may want to get to on the plane - a book, newspaper, CD or MP3 player, earplugs, decongestant spray, an inflatable neck rest. For long flights, I also include eyeshades and a pillow cover. Dreamsacks makes a sumptuous blue silk Airline Comfort Set ($55), composed of padded eyeshades, a small pillowcase and a 72-inch by 43-inch blanket, all tucked into a matching bag.
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If you get to the gate and find your plane has been switched to one that can't accommodate your wheeled bag onboard, transfer any important items to your smaller bag. Make sure you get a claim check, and that the bag has an ID tag. (In fact, even your smallest carry-on should have a tag in case it gets misplaced.)
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[b]Security Matters[/b]
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Now that security officials are performing random inspections after checked bags leave your hands, the only locks recommended are the special Transportation Security Administration-approved padlocks, for which most U.S. baggage inspectors have special keys. Brookstone sells a version called EasyCheck for $20 for a two-pack. These locks are not universally operational, however, particularly abroad. I secure my checked bags with a little snap-on disposable plastic padlock ($8 for a 20-pack of PrivaSeals from Magellan's) and an adjustable luggage strap ($10 from Magellan's). These won't stop a determined thief, but they may deter opportunistic filchers looking for a hassle-free hit.
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While baggage ID tags are essential for reuniting lost luggage with their owners, security experts advise against putting your home address on these. (Why advertise that your home may be unoccupied?) Better to list your office address, phone number and e-mail, and perhaps a cellphone number. It also may be helpful to include the hotel or ship for which you are bound, so lost luggage at least has a chance of reaching you during your trip.
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[b]Getting it home[/b]
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If you've acquired a substantial amount during your trip - whether guidebooks, clothing or gifts - consider shipping rather than schlepping the excess. Or, take precious purchases with you and ship clothes you won't need for a while.
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Whenever possible, pay by credit card for items you intend to ship, and insure valuable shipments. Many credit card companies provide some free insurance on purchases.
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If you're planning to bring back substantially more than you left with, pack a sturdy double-zippered duffle in your main bag. It's better to check an extra bag on your return than to try to stuff too much into just one - which could push the weight over 50 pounds or risk bursting seams or breaking zippers. A good choice is Eagle Creek's Large Cargo Duffle ($70), which measures a generous 30 by 15 by 14 inches, and weighs 2 1/2 pounds.
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A portable luggage scale can come in handy when weight is a concern. Magellan's Travel Utility Scale, 4 inches square, weighs just 6 ounces ($10). Hook it onto your bag's carry handle and lift it off the ground for a reading in pounds and kilograms (up to 50 pounds/23 kilograms).
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[b]The inside story[/b]
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Packing wisdom holds that you should take half the clothes and double the money you think you need. It's a good rule.
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I always do a trial pack a few days before a trip, then go back the day before and remove the things I really don't need after all. Out come the extra pair of shoes that match the extra slacks, which also come out. Out comes the heavy trench coat; my lighter-weight parka, though less stylish, will do fine.
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The weightiest contents tend to be the toiletries, so pack only a starter set of minisize shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, baby powder and such. Most hotels and cruise ships supply and regularly replenish toiletries in the rooms (stash some away for subsequent trips).
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For internal compartmentalization, I vote for self-sealing plastic freezer bags in quart, gallon and 2-gallon sizes. Fancy packing cubes and pouches hog more space and weigh more than simple ziplocks, which have the added advantage of being see-through, and thus are less likely to be opened by inspectors. The bags are great for toiletries. Pack spillable items together, double-bagged.
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To reduce the volume of bulky items, such as sweaters and slacks, by as much as two-thirds, use plastic compression bags. These basically are giant ziplocks with a one-way valve on one end through which excess air is removed when the compression bag is rolled tightly from the other end. I've run into wrinkle problems with these, however, and the weight of the items remains the same, so the more you can fit, the heavier the suitcase gets.
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Start packing the suitcase by filling the recesses made by the luggage wheels and telescoping handle with shoes (in 2-gallon ziplocks), underwear and other items that make use of that often wasted space.
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Next, lay all garments flat, biggest first, letting the excess drape over the sides of the bag. Then fold the spillover carefully back into the bag in reverse order, last garment first, then the one under it over that one, and so on. This is the most compact packing method, and also will cut back on wrinkling.
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Stash socks and underwear in the corners of the bag. Wedge extra shoes along the sides. Put heavy durable items at the wheel end of the bag to keep the center of gravity low and make for easier pulling. Place fragile items such as hair dryers at the handle end.
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[i]Judi Dash, a freelance writer who lives in Beachwood, Ohio, writes the Travel section's weekly Gearing Up column.[/i]]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="10">
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<title>Obtaining travel advisories from the US State Department</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>external_link</type>
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<text><![CDATA[http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_1168]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="11">
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<title>Obtaining travel information from the US State Department</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>external_link</type>
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<text><![CDATA[http://travel.state.gov/]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="12">
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<title>Helpful International Travel Information</title>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[[link href=http://www.geocities.com/Thavery2000/]Airline Toll Free Numbers[/link]
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[link href=http://usembassy.state.gov/]U.S. Embassies and Diplomatic Missions[/link]
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[link href=http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm]U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service[/link]
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[link href=http://www.towd.com/]Tourism Offices Worldwide[/link]
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[link href=http://www.customs.gov/]Help Through U.S. Customs[/link]
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[link href=http://flightview.com/]Track flight information[/link]
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[link href=http://www.oanda.com/]Travel Currency conversion[/link]
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[link href=http://dictionary.reference.com/]International Dictionary and Translation[/link]
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[link href=http://www.worldtimeserver.com/]Time Around the World[/link]
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[link href=http://aviewoncities.com/]Major worldwide city information[/link]]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="13">
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<title>Travel Notes</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[Very organized travel directory providing country/state information, reviewed websites, and regular travel articles. [link href=http://www.travelnotes.org]www.travelnotes.org[/link]]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="14">
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<title>Need help obtaining passports and visas, even within 48 hours of departure?</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>external_link</type>
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<text><![CDATA[http://www.passportsandvisas.com/index.asp?affiliate=1718]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="15">
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<title>Sick of all the travel taxes you pay?</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>page</type>
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<text><![CDATA[Many domestic tickets include taxes of up to 25% of your fare and taxes, security and fuel surcharges on international flights can be up to $300 per person. Want to fight back? Send a letter to your congressman.
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Go to the following links, enter your US zip code or state and it will tell you all your elected representatives (you can compose an Email to them online and send it from your computer)
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[link href=http://www.house.gov/writerep/]http://www.house.gov/writerep/[/link]
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[link href=http://www.senate.gov/]http://www.senate.gov/[/link]]]></text>
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</item>
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<item id="16">
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<title>Report a bad link</title>
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<subtitle/>
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<type>external_link</type>
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<text><![CDATA[mailto:travel@friendshiptours.org]]></text>
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</item>
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</linksandnumbers>
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