Downgraded and out of miles
Joe Crawford cashed in his hard-earned American Airlines frequent-flier miles for a first-class ticket on Cathay Pacific. But then the airline changed equipment, and suddenly there was no first class. To make matters worse, American refused to credit Crawford for his missing miles. Can you lose your upgrade and your miles, too?
Just laugh it off
As the plane taxied down the runway, the man across the aisle from me chattered away to the people next to him. I began reading. Once in the air, his row mates shut their lights off. Barely pausing, he turned to me and kept up his monologue for the rest of the flight.
My tour operator is bankrupt
A few months before her Italian vacation, Melanie Van Amsterdam’s tour operator, Italiatour USA, folds. Now she has no airline tickets, hotel reservations or tour and is holding a bill for $7,178.62. The trip is a bust, but is there anything she can do to get her money back, short of going to court?
Obsolete before their time?
Karen Greenwell says she can get lost in her own backyard. Which is why Ms. Greenwell, a clinical researcher in Blue Bell, Pa., always insists on renting a car with an onboard navigation system.
A swapped ship in the Galapagos
It was to have been the vacation of a lifetime — a trip to Peru followed by a cruise of the Galapagos Islands on a small yacht. But when the yacht becomes a bigger vessel, Howard Seltzer’s privacy goes overboard. Now he wants a refund from the tour operator, Overseas Adventure Travel. Is he entitled to any money back after the company swaps his ship?
A meeting out of uniform
It was 1 a.m. on a Sunday night in March, and I was standing at the luggage carousel at the Panama City Airport in Florida, waiting for my bags. In just seven hours, I would be meeting with a two-star Air Force general on a sales call, and I was eager to be on my way.
A broken Hotwire promise
Hotwire promises that its rental cars have no hidden fees. So why does the Hertz car that Karen Webb just booked through Hotwire suddenly cost $35 more? Did she click on the wrong button? Or is Hotwire hiding a surcharge?
Thrown off schedule
For business travelers, dodging hurricanes is an annual ritual that, like weathering summer thunderstorm delays or winter blizzards, gets easier with practice.
From bad to worse?
Ahh, autumn. No more crowded airports, chronically overbooked hotels or highways clogged by minivans filled with vacationers. Is it any wonder that business travelers look forward to the end of summer?