Airlines are not the only ones getting creative with fees. One hotel now offers optional “deposit protection” that turns your nonrefundable room deposit into a fully refundable one.
From the monthly archives:
August 2008
Read this week’s issue online or subscribe to the RSS feed.
In this issue …
• Hotel alternatives that could save you big bucks
• “Get the gloves out” ticket agent orders TSA agents
• What’s so funny about airline fees? Everything!
• How to reach yours truly
• Support this site
This issue of Elliott’s E-Mail is underwritten by FirstClassFlyer.com, the [...]
So who is Prime Travel Protection Services? I asked that question yesterday after one reader lost two cruise vacations when his insurance claim wasn’t honored by the company. This morning I got a call from Jerry Watson, the president of Prime Travel Protection, with the answer.
What do Prime Travel Protection Services, Travelers Protection Services, Vacation Protection Services and Trip Assured have in common? They may be the same company.
Airline ticket agents write the darnedest things on your boarding pass. If you’re on the dreaded TSA watchlist, as Matthew Heffelfinger claims to be, you could find several “S”s notifying the Transportation Security Administration agent that you deserve extra-special screening. Or something else.
Business travelers are often trapped in thankless jobs, and their jetsetting lifestyle only seems glamorous. Here are the three biggest mistakes these road warriors make.
Ilene Coffey’s room at an Orlando hotel comes with an unexpected surprise: a $50 fee for a “short stay.” When she protests, her hotel and online travel agency tell her she must pay. What’s worse, she can’t back out — if she does, her credit card will be charged for the stay. Is there a way out of this mess?
What’s the most maddening thing about airfares? Probably the pricing. You’re offered a low “base” fare, only to have fees, taxes and surcharges tacked on to it. By the time it’s all added up, the fare has doubled. Why can’t they just quote an all-inclusive price to begin with? That’s what Stanley Gyoshev, who founded the online travel agency Lessno with Assen Vassilev, thought. So they did something about it.
Angela Gross thought she was booking an airline ticket on Frontier Airlines’ Web site. Turns out she was buying more than that. After finishing the transaction, she discovered she had also signed up for a $10.95 insurance policy.
American Airlines misplaced 41,194 bags last June according to the Transportation Department. Add American Eagle, and you’re talking 56,814 lost bags, the most of any airline. That’s bad news for American, but good news for the courier services that reunite passengers with their luggage. Very good news, actually.
Read this week’s issue online or subscribe to the RSS feed.
In this issue …
• After summer of ‘staycations,’ travel industry rolls out the welcome mat
• Travel agent takes a 100 percent commission — is that too much?
• Free speech? No thanks, say airlines — unless it’s for us
• How to reach yours truly
• Support this [...]
How much of a travel agent commission is too much? Ten percent? Twenty? How about 100 percent? That’s no academic question.
It’s been months — years, actually — since an airline asked for my opinion about a flight. They probably know better. So when Southwest Airlines sent me an email asking for my feedback, I just couldn’t resist.
Get ready. It’s coming. You can hear it in conversations with other travelers: the whispers of imminent action. You can almost feel it in the airport terminal: the nervous energy, the pent-up frustration.
Something is wrong with Lynn Seehafer’s SUV, which she valet parked at a Disney World hotel. She thinks it’s been taken for a joyride. But has it? And to what extent is Disney responsible for the vehicle?
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