Does the World Need First Class?

Does anyone really need first class seating and service? Wouldn’t it be nice to spread the wealth more toward the back of the plane?

It’s kind of like those arguments that Wall Street has been making saying that without obscene salaries and bonuses, the “talent” will go elsewhere. It’s claimed that the huge compensation packages are necessary to keep all the geniuses from abandoning ship and starting hedge funds. This, of course, referring to the brokers and wizards that got the financial industry into the mess it’s in – these being the same bozos that sank the whole world into the Great Recession.

OK. Now that that’s off my chest....
Qantas has said that they “have too few seats on some of our aircraft.” As reported in ATW Daily News, the airline has or will be removing some first class cabins, and reducing the number of business class seats so it can focus on economy and premium economy.

This makes great sense, even though in the fat times airlines made tons of money off first-class passengers paying thousands of dollars more than the price of an economy ticket. But now reports are that paid first class tickets are rare, and the airlines are filling those seats with upgrade passengers.

But the bigger question is whether the airlines – or the world – really need that level of ostentation. (Showers and casinos for first-class passengers, Mr. Branson?) We can only hope that the world will continue to be “a different world” after this financial wake-up call. We’re skeptical, but a more egalitarian world – with wealth and luxuries ratcheted down a bit and spread around a bit more – would be a wonderful place.

New Credit Card for Old Northwest Visa Holders (and Others)

With Northwest being absorbed into Delta, the Northwest Visa that was offered by U.S. Bank will be disappearing – just like the terminals, signs, and paint jobs on anything that said Northwest. With that change, the only Delta affiliated credit card will be from American Express.

But U.S. Bank isn’t sitting still. If you’re a current Northwest WorldPerks Visa card holder, you should be receiving a new U.S. Bank FlexPerks Visa card – with the same account number (thus, no interruption in auto payments, etc.). Of course, U.S. Bank will also be offering the card to new customers.

The card is a “fake miles” card, which basically awards points you can redeem for a ticket on “more than 150 airlines.” The Signature Visa earns the equivalent of up to 2% return (“up to $400 ticket value for 20,000 miles”) and carries a $49 annual fee (waived the first year; also waived for $24K annual spending). There are also some bonus point categories and other perks/benefits. U.S. Bank also has a lower-tier Visa, with no annual fee but a reward ratio coming in at 1%. There is also a business Visa available.

It’s not clear how rewards are handled. The U.S. Bank website mentions redeeming via a user’s account page. This may mean that the card redemptions are similar to Capital One or Amex FreedomPass, where you receive a statement credit for a ticket purchase. Alternately, it may function more like the old Capital One or the current Merrill+ plans, where you need to contact the reward center to book a ticket.

Bottom line: 2% isn’t too bad, but you should be able to get that return or better with other cards. With this type of card, you generally need to redeem at the top of each reward level, or your reward percentage effectively declines. (Those 20,000 points are for a ticket “up to” $400 value. If your ticket only costs $250, you’ll still pay 20,000 points.) We’re less than impressed with these fake miles cards, but for some travelers they can be useful travel reward tools. Finally, if you’re a new customer interested in this card... wait a bit. The U.S. Bank website doesn’t yet even seem to have an application page available for this card.

Capital One Updates

We’re still not huge Capital One fans, yet we get more inquiries about their credit cards than any other topic on this blog. So we thought it was time to re-survey their offerings and post an update.

As we’ve said before, we think their reward schemes are generally unimpressive (not bad, just not great). But they are also one of a very few cards that do not add foreign-exchange fees, making them a top choice for international travel. For most purposes, that’s the only time we use our Capital One cards.

Capital One’s website lists 28 different cards (yes, 28) and most seem like pretty much their old standards, but two new (to us) cards caught our eye.

• The latest version of the No Hassle Miles Rewards card offers 2 “miles” per dollar after $1,000 a month in spending, with one mile otherwise. (Capital One “miles” aren’t real airline miles that you can transfer into an airline account. They’re simply points you can redeem for statement credit for ticket purchases.)
• The Orbitz Visa Signature offers Capital One’s usual 1 point per dollar, except it gives you 3 points/dollar for purchases from Orbitz. In general, 1 Capital One point translates to a 1% rebate/travel credit. So if you use Orbitz a lot, this would be equivalent to a 3% return – pretty good in today’s reward environment.

Many frequent-flyer commentators value traditional airline miles at about 1.5 cents each. With real airline miles, you need to make sure you maximize your miles (ie: don’t burn 25,000 miles for a $200 ticket), or you could end up having less value than Capital One’s 1%. We, however, feel we use our airline miles at about 2 cents each, so with other types of reward cards for cash or points, we look for a 2% or better return.

We’ve discussed points/miles/reward cards frequently. Browse through our archives on the topic, and you’ll also see some suggestions for cards for international travel.

Rip-Off Alert: EarthLink Internet Services

On one of our recent travels, we spent a month in a location where we couldn’t easily get wireless or other high-speed internet service, but which did have a landline phone. We researched options, and settled on EarthLink’s dialup internet – for one month of service.

We did NOT set up recurring service, but EarthLink continues to charge our credit card (and we continue to contest the charge). EarthLink has not responded to our cancellation and refund requests, and their only option for cancellation is via postal mail.

So we’d suggest: 1) As always, Buyer Beware, and 2) Avoid EarthLink. If you’re looking for short-term or dial-up internet options while traveling, look elsewhere.

Opinions About a la Carte Pricing

There’s been a lot of back-and-forth lately in the travel media about fee-based ancillary revenue. It’s frequently called an “a la carte” pricing strategy – sell a basic ticket, but charge extra for checked bags, a preferred seat, meals, etc. These being aspects of the travel experience that the airlines now believe are optional.

Some commentators suggest that in many cases the added fees are the only revenues that are keeping some airlines alive. And of course, Europe’s Ryanair has been successful from the beginning with a model that stresses seemingly dirt cheap fares, but the customer pays for EVERYTHING additional – seat selection, baggage, food. It’s gotten so extreme that Ryanair itself had a tongue-in-cheek contest last month asking consumers what they thought the airline should charge for next.

But that’s the Brits, and if you know the Brits, you know that they have different expectations about the travel experience than Americans do. So from a U.S. consumer standpoint, the biggest challenge with varying add-on fees is comparing apples to apples. Only a few new “metasearch” websites are just now beginning to experiment with showing fares plus add-on pricing options.

Our view is that the airlines at some point risk alienating their customers so much that there will be a backlash. But then, unless everyone starts flying Southwest (with their wonderfully transparent pricing and terms), consumers don’t have many options as long as every other major airline is playing the same game. (Of course, domestic dinosaur airlines have been alienating their customers with awful customer service for years now. That culture is so ingrained that it’s hard to conceive of how they can alienate customers even more. Joe Sharkey just posted a great article on that topic.)

So is this an opportunity for one airline to differentiate itself and go back to offering service and amenities all in one package/price? The only current hint of a crack in the armor of the a-la-carte pricing model may be Air Canada. The airline recently booted its CEO, and installed a new boss who publicly claims to be reevaluating the a-la-carte pricing strategy.

Maybe that would be the other way out of this mess – for one of the big airlines to scrap all fees, and become hugely successful as customers rushed to support that airline. Oh, wait, that’s Southwest, isn’t it? And Southwest is expanding aggressively as other airlines are cutting capacity and plunging deeper into unprofitability.

So here’s our only slightly tongue-in-cheek prediction: Five years from now the U.S. will have five dominant airlines – Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, and two other airlines created from some combination/merger/bankruptcy of the existing five majors (Deltanental? UniCon?). In addition, there will be several new airlines based on the Ryanair and easyJet models (with commodity-level prices and a passel of add-on fees), as well as some existing smaller/regional carriers (such as Spirit, Midwest, AirTran, Allegiant, etc.) that will adopt the no-frills model.

One other possibility is that the U.S. government opens up the domestic airline industry to increased foreign ownership, or allows international carriers to fly within the U.S. Washington seems to be moving toward a governing model that may let some huge businesses fail (GM) or become more foreign owned (Chrysler/Fiat). If the dinosaurs (United, USAir, Continental, American, Delta) are to survive, they may need to shake up their business models by a lot more than adding fees.

Hungry for a great airline meal? That'll be 15 bucks, please.

Canadians vs. Americans in Cuba

We seem to be on a roll with Cuba posts.

Just read an article in the Canadian Globe and Mail about Canadians worried about an “Invasion of the American Tourists” to Cuba. It must have been a slow news day, or some Canadians are really whiney. Or is Canada upset about losing tourist dollars flowing into Toronto and Montreal from the currently “illegal” American tourists to Cuba who fly from those Canadian cities?

From what we saw in Havana and elsewhere, the Italian and German tourists were generally a lot more annoying than were Americans. The Canadians there were certainly “good” tourists, as were the many Scandinavians and Brits we encountered. It really seems disingenuous of the Canadian visitors to Cuba to want to keep it “[their] own little island.” The article does go on to point out that many other Canadians are just fine with American tourism to Cuba.

Travel is great for everyone. It broadens our horizons in much more than a physical sense. Certainly I don’t like some tourists, from any country – but that’s about the individuals, not classing them as a dislikable group. And having lived in tourist towns in the U.S., we have also witnessed the “idiot tourist” mentality first hand – but mostly those folks have given us a laugh much more often than they have disturbed us.

Oh, well, as we said. Must have been a slow news day in Canada.

Travel Twitter Tips

The world is full of too much noise. The web is full of too much babble. And sites like Twitter just make it worse. We actually like Twitter, but are already getting sick of reading “I went shopping” tweets from folks we like to refer to as “nit-twits.” Here is the best article we’ve read about using Twitter: “Twitter Tips from 25 Tweeting Travelers.” Most of the advice boils down to: Please say something useful or just shut up.

Airline Brand Naming Gone Very Wrong (or At Least Very Funny)

We just saw the news that a new airline, Baltia, has received U.S. Dept of Transportation permission to fly from New York JFK to St. Petersburg, Russia. The report we saw on themoscowtimes.com indicates the airline will begin operations sometime this summer.

What we find hilarious, though, is the airline’s name for its frequent flyer program – Freeloaders. We really don’t think this is tongue-in-cheek, but rather a cheerful reminder that some things just don’t translate well, even in this interconnected world.

We also wonder if they chose the name “Baltia” simply because the dot-com domain name was available. OK, we get the Baltic part of the name. And we wish them all the success in the world – but we’d also suggest they hire someone for their marketing department.

We can’t wait to sign up and get our Freeloader card.

U.S. to Cuba Travel, a New Blog Poll, and Win a Cuba Guidebook

Ever since we were lucky enough to travel to Cuba several years ago, we’ve been fascinated with the country. Now, with the strong probability of the easing of travel restrictions for all Americans traveling to the island, we thought we’d start a new blog poll. The question: When travel restrictions are finally eliminated for American travel to Cuba, what U.S. airline will be the first to announce non-stop service from the U.S. to Havana?

Vote on the right, but if you’d also like to leave your guess as a comment, we’ll send a Cuba travel guidebook to the first person who guesses the ultimate airline correctly (make sure you leave an email address/contact info so we can contact you if you’re the winner).

More Misc. Travel News

Results from last month’s “Worst Airline Customer Service” blog poll:
United – 46% of voters
American – 15%
Continental – 7%
USAir – 7%
Delta/Northwest – 7%
They’re all terrible – 38% (Multiple choices were allowed.)
Interesting to note that JetBlue, Alaska, Frontier, Virgin America, and Southwest didn’t receive any votes as the worst. Totally unscientific, but hopefully entertaining.

BAA, the operator of most of the airports in the UK (seven of ‘em), has been ordered by the Competition Commission to sell three of its airports – Gatwick, Stansted, and either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

The Middle Seat blog has a short story on the inevitable – cell phones in airplanes. The EU currently allows it, while the U.S. does not. But we’ll bet with enough pressure from U.S. airlines that want every possible source of extra revenue, that the U.S. ban will eventually give way. If you have any doubt, note that American Airlines just announced it will install WiFi on all planes.

The Loch Ness Monster (Photo) Anniversary

It’s approaching April Fool’s Day, so we thought we’d post one of the great April events from 75 years ago.

On April 21, 1934, the most famous photograph of the Loch Ness Monster was published in the UK Daily Mail. The so-called “Surgeon’s Photograph” was supposedly taken by London gynecologist Robert Wilson. Sixty years later, the photo was revealed as definitively being a hoax. The photo was of a toy submarine with a sculpted “head and neck” made from plastic-wood modeling material. Rather than revealing a monster, the image showed an object estimated to be no more than three feet long.

The Surgeon’s Photo of the Loch Ness Monster.

Yet the legend of the “monster” began long before the photograph. Where did those stories come from? Humanity needs its myths and legends – real or imagined. The waters of Loch Ness, and the mystery and drama of the Scottish Highlands, lend themselves perfectly to a legend of a monster. Who can say what’s real and imagined, especially in the mists of time.

Scotland in the mists – any legend is possible.

Misc. Travel News

Icelandair will begin non-stop service from Seattle to Reykjavik beginning in July. Icelandair connects to about 20 European destinations, including London, Amsterdam, and Paris. Icelandair also has an interesting Premium Economy product; plus, there are no charges for layovers in Iceland.

TripAdvisor now has a booking engine that shows most added fees when searching for airfares, allowing more realistic comparison shopping. The site also has a new contest offering 1 million Continental miles.

According to SkyScanner, the number one complaint by air travelers is airlines’ hidden charges and fees. Following closely was queueing (Brit-speak for standing in lines – checkin, security, boarding) and lack of seat space.

Speaking of Iceland.... If, like us, you have an 09 international mobile phone chip (an Iceland operator), don’t rely on it in the future. Several reports indicate that 09 went bust with the Iceland economy.

More Details of Air France’s New Premium Economy

To update our recent article about Premium Economy, Breaking Travel News has a few more details about the new Air France product.

To be called Premium Voyageur, the cabin will feature 28 fixed-shell seats with 38-inch pitch, 19 inches wide, 4-inch leather armrests, and that will recline 123 degrees. Each seat will also have 10-inch video screens.

Meals are reportedly to be the same as in regular Economy, but passengers will receive amenity kits with noise-canceling headphones, pillows, blanket, etc. On the ground, the Premium Voyageur service will offer priority check-in, 66-pound baggage allowance, and bonus frequent-flyer miles.

The service is scheduled to begin this fall, with eventually all long-haul A340s and 777s offering the new product.

Restrictions on Cuba Travel Beginning to Ease

It’s still not an end of the travel ban to Cuba, but Congress has relaxed travel rules to Cuba for relatives of Cubans on the island.

Also, the first chip in the 47-year trade embargo has appeared, with the U.S. now allowing some food and medicine to be exported to the island.

Finally, the spending limits (previously zero) for allowed travelers has been raised to $179 per day.

As we have speculated before, it’s probably only a matter of time before all restrictions for all Americans traveling to Cuba are lifted.

What Happens When You Let PR Folks Write Consumer Copy

This is an email we just received from Hilton Hotels about their new brand, Denizen Hotels. Corporate-PR-flak-speak is highlighted in red.


"Born modern, with global appeal and a local accent

"Denizen Hotels will become a cultural epicentre at each of its destinations, cultivating community within its walls. Eclectic, social and humbly authentic, each property within the brand will be smart in design, cultural in character and sensitive in service delivery. Developed as an international intersection of business and pleasure, Denizen Hotels will redefine how guests stay and play. With innovative check-in technologies and in-room comfort controlled at the touch of a button, Denizen Hotels destinations will harness the best and brightest design and technology to provide a seamless guest experience for the modern traveler.

"Denizen Hotels and resorts will range from unique, select boutique experiences to larger destination resorts, creating a unified yet eclectic brand for the global traveller. Active development negotiations are currently underway for resorts and destinations in key cities throughout the globe; including, but not limited to Abu Dhabi, Austin, Beverly Hills (California), Buenos Aires, Cancun, Hollywood (California), Istanbul, Jerusalem, Las Vegas, London, Los Cabos, Miami, Montreal, Mumbai, New York City, Panama City and Washington D.C.

"To become a Denizen, visit denizenhotels.com."

Airline Customer Service, Flying in the “Idiot Cabin,” and a New Blog Poll

There’s a post over at One Mile At A Time (and several other travel blogs and news sites) about a United flight attendant calling passengers in economy “idiots,” and being overheard by a passenger listening to the cockpit channel. On every United flight we’ve taken in the past year (in Economy Plus, which is still in the “idiot cabin”), that’s pretty much how we’ve been treated, so it’s really not a surprise to hear the FAs actually saying it. The best commentary about United’s service, specifically, was on a post at Wing and a Prayer.

But is there something else going on here?

Twice recently, we’ve ridiculed the Association of Flight Attendants for making inane comments (not specifically referencing United) about flight attendants’ duties being primarily that of “safety professionals” in the sky.

We’re beginning to wonder if the Association of Flight Attendants is intentionally putting out moronic statements so as to lower our (already low) expectations regarding actual customer service in the cabin. Maybe if they get enough of us believing that their real duties are as overgrown hall monitors, we won’t even expect courtesy any more.

If that is the mindset of the FA’s union, and that message is being passed on to FAs at most airlines, is it any wonder that there’s an adversarial attitude between airline management, pilots, flight attendants, phone reps, gate agents, baggage handlers, and ... oh, yes, customers.

So with spring in the air, and April Fool’s Day approaching, we’ve added a new poll to this blog. Over in the right column, voice your opinions about customer service on U.S. airlines. Poll closes on ... April Fool’s Day.

New Discover Escape Card

Discover has introduced a new travel-rewards credit card. The Escape Card’s rewards are similar to many other “fake miles” cards, such as some Capital One, Merrill, and American Express cards. The Escape Card gives you 2 miles for every $1 spent – working out to a 2% reward ratio (but only 1% if you want to redeem your miles for cash instead). That’s better than some of the other cards’ reward ratios. However, like the other fake-miles cards, instead of actual air miles you are given credit that can be applied to any travel purchase made with the card.

Offsetting that 2% reward ratio is a $60 annual fee, although you receive 1,000 “bonus miles” every month for the first year. (There have been some reports of the 1,000 miles bonus for 25 months, but we can not find that offer on Discover’s website.)

But the intriguing part is the inclusion of primary car rental insurance (as well lost or damaged luggage insurance, travel delay insurance, and trip cancellation insurance). Note that for international use, Discover will be instituting a 2% foreign-currency-exchange fee in May. (Outside the U.S., Discover cards are currently only accepted in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and China.)

We actually believe this type of fake-miles-reward card can be useful for some types of spenders and travelers. For infrequent flyers looking for some “incentive” to save for that basic economy ticket, these cards might be useful, and may have more perceived travel value than the same level of cash rebate.

Nonetheless, we think there are other cards with which you can usually obtain rewards that are better than 2%. If a flat 2% (for all purchases) is all you want, you can get that with the Schwab Visa (with no annual fee). Still, if you like Discover’s products, the Escape Card may be worth looking into – that primary car rental insurance is quite enticing.

Customer Service on U.S. Carriers - Right From the Horse's Mouth

Just a couple of weeks ago, we posted about flight attendants’ new “main responsibility.” We quoted Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, who said that the union, “views Wi-Fi as a potential threat to flight attendants’ ability to keep order in the cabin. Our duties involve securing the safety of the cabin ... the main requirement that flight attendants are on board for.”

Now, we read this quote (from a post on Upgrade:TravelBetter, in an article about USAirways eliminating fees for coffee and soft drinks).

“Flight attendants are safety professionals first and foremost,” [Mike Flores, president of the US Airways’ unit of the Association of Flight Attendants] said. “This decision by the company will help return us to that status rather than being salespeople in the aisle of the airplane.”

Yet in another report on the same topic, Flores is quoted as saying: “The bottom line is that the airline industry is not the transportation industry. It’s a customer service industry and if you’re not pleasing your customers then you’ve got a problem.”

If it’s ever been possible, we’re speechless.

ATM Foreign-Withdrawal Fees Update

Several banks actually seem to be lowering fees or reimbursing ATM-owner-imposed fees. (Isn’t competition – especially from the internet banks – a wonderful thing?) So rather than list a bunch of small banks offering 0% or 1% fees, or that reimburse ATM-owner fees, we thought we’d highlight some of the Wall of Shame Banks – banks that still charge exorbitant fees (sometimes as much as 3% plus $3 per transaction!) just so you can get your money from a wall. (Note that the high fees may not apply to all cards from these banks, and that there are generally no fees for withdrawals within each bank’s own network.) The banks to watch out for include: Chase, Citibank, Citizens, HSBC, ING, PNC, US Bank, and Wells Fargo.

There are really several types of ATM fees banks can charge:
1 – A fee from your bank (the card-issuing bank) to use any “foreign” ATM. In bank-speak, foreign means any ATM not affiliated with one of their branches. It is charged by your bank, not the ATM owner. (Some banks do not charge ATM fees for withdrawals within their “partner” networks. For example, Bank of America customers do not get charged ATM fees for withdrawals from Barclays in the UK, Deutsche Bank in Germany, and several other international banks.) A few banks do not charge any fees to use a foreign ATM.
2 – Some banks also have a “foreign”-foreign ATM fee that is higher for withdrawals from international ATMs than from domestic ATMs that are out of their network. Again, this will be a fee imposed by your bank. And again, some banks do not charge any foreign-foreign ATM fees.
3 – ATM-owner fees. These are the fees that pop up on an ATM screen saying the ATM you’re using will add a $2.50 (or whatever) fee to your cash withdrawal. Surprisingly, many international ATM machines do not impose these owner fees. These are the fees that banks like Schwab or Bank of Internet advertise they will refund to you. Most other banks do not rebate or refund these fees, so even if your bank doesn’t add any of its own fees, you could end up paying this one. (In the worst cases, you might be hit by a high-percentage fee from your bank for using a foreign ATM, plus get this ATM-owner fee added in as well. In that case, we suggest you get another bank.)
4 – Finally, there’s the possibility of a hidden “fee” you’ll never know about. That is the fact that you never really know what exchange rate a bank uses to convert your foreign-currency purchase or withdrawal into U.S. dollars. It may be the Interbank rate, or may be slightly higher.

If you’re planning on accessing cash from ATMs while traveling, and your bank charges ridiculous fees, we suggest opening an online checking account with the likes of Bank of Internet, Fidelity, Schwab, or State Farm. Make sure the online checking account has no monthly fees, and then fund that account with just enough money for your travels. This is probably much safer than carrying a debit card tied to your regular checking account (especially if you have a large balance). If your debit card were lost or stolen, your entire bank balance could be wiped out.

(This is part 3 of a short 3-part series of updates on international credit card and ATM use. Part 1. Part 2.)

Dynamic Currency Conversion

Just say no.

The practice seems most prevalent in Europe, but some merchants (anywhere in the world) will offer to charge your credit-card payment in U.S. dollars rather than in the local currency. Don’t do it. This “dynamic currency conversion” can cost you as much as 5% more for your purchase, as the exchange rate the merchant uses is usually much higher than the Interbank exchange rate. This is even worse than the 3% most Visas or MasterCards charge. Again, simply refuse. Visa representatives say that any merchant accepting their cards must allow the customer to pay in local currency.

Also watch out for international purchases through PayPal. On a recent purchase, we were offered to convert the price (in British Pounds) to U.S. dollars “at the PayPal exchange rate.” We declined, as it would have been much less favorable than using the open-market Interbank rate. On our $35 purchase, the PayPal exchange rate would have added more than $2 to our transaction. Can you spell “rip-off”? Just another reason to dislike (and avoid) PayPal. If you must use them, decline the PayPal exchange rate if possible (some PayPal merchants seem to offer this option, some don’t), and if paying with a credit card (whether through PayPal or directly) use a 0% foreign-conversion fee card such as Capital One or Schwab.

(This is part 2 of a short 3-part series of updates on international credit card and ATM use. Part 1. Part 3.)

Ryanair Inflight Cell Service

It’s a sign (unfortunately) of the times. European cheapo carrier Ryanair has installed in-flight cell-phone service on 20 of its aircraft. According to the report on Breaking Travel News, only six people will be able to use their mobile phones at one time. Since Ryanair has virtually no service that it doesn’t charge for, maybe all the galleys on the aircraft will be empty, and the cell-phone users can stand next to each other and the flight attendants and bother them instead of other passengers.

Ryanir will become the second airline offering in-flight cell-phone service, following Emirates which began the service last March. Breaking Travel News says that bmi has been testing text messaging, and that British Air will allow text messaging on some flights. According to the article, “Other carriers that have begun testing inflight technology include Air Portugal, Qantas, Air France, Oman Air and Royal Jordanian. Meanwhile Lufthansa has ruled out using the service.”

Credit Card Foreign-Exchange Fees Update – Discover and Other Cards

Despite the fact that the Discover credit card does not have as much international presence as does Visa, MasterCard, or America Express (it’s only accepted internationally in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, China, and Central America), it was one of the few cards that did not add foreign currency transaction fees when converting purchases made in other currencies. No longer. According to Discover’s terms and conditions, the card will begin charging 2% beginning with billing periods ending after May 1, 2009.

Thus, the only credit cards we know of not charging any forex conversion fees (0%) are Schwab and Capital One. There are several cards from small banks and credit unions that charge 1%, but realistically for most consumers, practically all popular Visas and MasterCards charge 3%, and Amex charges 2.7%. (FlyerGuide Wiki has an overview of credit, debit, and ATM forex fees, but we have not independently verified all their information – it is a user-edited Wiki, after all.)

Technically, the 0% that Schwab and Capital One advertise means that those banks are absorbing the 1% that Visa and MasterCard tack on above the Interbank exchange rate for ALL foreign-currency conversions. Those 3% fees from most banks means that in addition to Visa/MC’s 1%, those banks are adding another 2%.

(This is part 1 of a short 3-part series of updates on international credit card and ATM use. Part 2. Part 3.)

Hilton American Express Card Changes

It looks like it’s official. The Hilton HHonors American Express card has changed its reward ratios. The new terms offer “6 points for Hilton Family Hotels, Supermarkets, Drug Stores, Gas Stations, Home & Wireless Phone, Cable & Satellite TV, and Internet Service Providers.” 3 points for other purchases. This is up from 5 points previously in several categories, but Restaurants and the Post Office have been eliminated from the higher reward tier.

This doesn’t seem like a big deal to us. We still think the Hilton Amex is one of the best reward cards available, and an extra reward point is always a nice thing. The big unfortunate change is the elimination of restaurants from the top 6-point tier. It’s getting harder to find reward credit cards offering more than 1% for restaurant purchases. (The Costco Amex and the Chase Business card both still seem to offer 3% at restaurants.)

The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act

A bipartisan bill (HR 874) that would allow Americans to travel to Cuba was introduced in the House of Representatives on February 4, 2009. The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act would prohibit the President of the United States from regulating or forbidding travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens and legal residents, except in times of war between the two countries or of imminent danger to public health or the safety of U.S. travelers.

Americans have been forbidden to travel to Cuba since the 1963 travel ban. And in 2004, former President Bush tightened the ban on Cuban-American travel.

Americans without family on the island are not permitted to travel unless sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, with a few exemptions for researchers and journalists. During his campaign, President Obama said he would ease back on Bush’s restrictions on travel to Cuba. “We’ve been engaged in a failed policy with Cuba for the last 50 years,” Obama proclaimed to a crowd while in Miami. He also promised “unrestricted rights” regarding travel to the island for Cuban-Americans – but it was unclear as to whether that would apply to other Americans. The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act takes Obama’s promise one step further. The bill calls for ending the ban for all Americans, not just for those of Cuban origin.

Old Postcard: Havana, Cuba, in the 1930s

Travel Photography

We recently received an email note from a friend in Sweden, and he asked about the photo gear we travel with, and what we use for our books and websites. Which got us to thinking (a dangerous precedent). Here are our preferences for travel photography equipment.

Francesca has a “big” Nikon digital SLR, with 18-55, 55-200, and 70-300 zoom lenses. Despite its significant bulk and weight, she takes it on pretty much all trips. She loves photography for its own sake, as well as being inspiration for her paintings.


Back in the slide-film days, Kenneth used to be a “semi-pro” photographer, selling numerous photos to magazines to accompany his articles. He still has several useless film camera bodies as well as too many nice lenses that he’ll never use again. Yet in this digital age, he’s become enamored of “amateur” cameras. His two digital cameras are an older Olympus Stylus waterproof model, which is used primarily for skiing, hiking, and anywhere around water. In addition, he uses a small Nikon Coolpix that will fit in a shirt pocket, and it sees a lot of use in restaurants (without flash) for food and wine photos as well as being a general travel camera.

Kenneth is also addicted to video and filmmaking, and has three video cameras: A small Canon mini-DV video camera for travel; an old Sony Hi-8 video camera with amazing low-light capabilities and for intentionally capturing a grainy, “old-video” look; and a “big-gun” Panasonic DVX100 for filmmaking. (Weirdly, we’ve never been interested in producing or posting online video.)


We carry a passel of camera chips (and video tapes), because we generally don’t travel with a computer except on driving trips. We take spare batteries for every camera, and chargers for everything.

When we return home, we make sure every image is stored in at least two places – usually our main computer and an external hard drive – before we erase any camera memory chips. Trust us, this is important. We have “accidentally” deleted whole photo files and were very glad to have had another backup.

We’ll discuss composition, lighting, and other techniques in future articles.

Hilton Hotels for Lufthansa Miles

We seriously doubt that Hilton and Lufthansa have been reading our blog for ideas, but something we mentioned several months ago has actually happened.

According to this Hilton web page, members of Lufthansa’s Miles & More frequent flyer program can book Hilton hotel rooms with miles. The entry page states that a minimum of 13,500 miles are required.

At least some companies are thinking outside the box – a necessity in these current economic times.

Flight Attendants’ Main Responsibility

And you thought it was customer service.

(Spoiler alert: We know, we know. We said we were going to be less grumpy on this blog. But this news got our attention.)

The New York Times recently ran an article about the roll-out of new Wi-Fi services on planes, noting that some travelers appreciate it while others find it a distraction. But the really weird part of the article is a quote from Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants. Caldwell said the union “views Wi-Fi as a potential threat to flight attendants’ ability to keep order in the cabin.”

“Our duties involve securing the safety of the cabin, not acting as censor police,” Caldwell is quoted as saying. “It just adds another layer of duties inside the cabin, which take away from the main requirement that flight attendants are on board for.”

In addition, Caldwell said the flight attendants’ union also feared that terrorists plotting a scheme on a plane could use Wi-Fi to communicate with others on the plane or on the ground. “Right now, their ability to do that on board is limited,” she said. “But we can see an instance in which this becomes a potential threat.”

What????? Isn’t the TSA supposed to be keeping terrorists off airplanes? Don’t we have air marshals on most flights? Aren’t flight attendants supposed to be on board for customer service? The “MAIN REQUIREMENT” that flight attendants now have is “securing the safety of the cabin”???

The Times article finishes by noting that “airlines in the United States are catching up to many foreign carriers, like Lufthansa, which has offered [Wi-Fi] service for the past several years.”

Oh, sorry, Ms. Caldwell, I guess we forgot about all the terrorist activities on Lufthansa that have occurred since they installed Wi-Fi.

Does anyone wonder why fliers dislike just about everything regarding travel on domestic carriers?

Premium Economy Overview

Does anyone remember when airlines offered “Coach” seats instead of “Economy”? Prices were at one time regulated, seat pitch was usually 34-36”, the word “Coach” held a modicum of cachet, and in-flight service was actually personal and attentive. Airlines (and their employees) still had the words “customer service” in their vocabulary back then.

SAS DC-6. Hats, suits, service. Photo by L'Écolier on Wikipedia.

Today, there aren’t many travel experiences worse than Air-Sardine-Can. Yes, we know there wasn’t any in-flight video back in Coach days, but most U.S. carriers don’t offer anything more on domestic flights now anyway.

If you are as dissatisfied with airline Economy seats and service as we are, yet can’t seem to justify the cost of Business Class tickets, there’s an in-between option you may want to consider. Called various names by the different airlines (Economy Plus, Premium Economy, Economy Comfort, etc.), this between-Economy-and-Business service aims to provide more leg room, better in-flight amenities, and sometimes additional on-the-ground benefits that can make life easier at check-in and boarding. We’ll call it PremEcon.

The PremEcon concept is well established, but changes are always ongoing (some airlines are adding the service, amenities change, etc.), so do your specific research to confirm all this with the airline you’re planning to fly.

Prices for PremEcon vary widely, from as little as $15-30 additional (some United and JetBlue flights, depending on route) to as much as four times regular Economy. In many instances, PremEcon seems to be about twice as expensive as regular Economy. By comparison, Business Class fares can easily be five times or more the cost of Economy. As for amenities, the best PremEcon products today are roughly comparable to what international Business Class was a dozen years ago, and the best PremEcon is often very similar to current domestic First Class seats.

In the broadest terms, we have found three different “flavors” of PremEcon: 1) Just more leg room (and the same physical Economy seat), with no added amenities over regular Economy; 2) The opposite, with quite a few amenities (including better seats themselves) but not much increase in leg room, and; 3) Airlines offering both significantly increased leg room and added amenities. Most of the airlines in the latter two categories offer a physically separated PremEcon cabin, while in the first category the seats are generally within the main Economy section.

Seat pitch numbers (the distance from one seat anchor to the next, which is not the amount of leg room) were compiled from the airlines’ websites as well as from independent seat-rating resources such as SeatGuru. We have not taken tape measures to any seats ourselves. As for seat width, we do not mention it unless it exceeds the industry standard of 17-18” for most Economy seats.

For comparison purposes, most domestic First Class seats today have seat pitch of about 36-38” and are 18.5-21” wide. International Business and First seats are much bigger and more luxurious than that. Note that, in general, domestic flights on U.S. carriers have two cabins: economy and business/first. The domestic PremEcon seats listed in the first section below are pretty much just regular Econ seats with a bit more legroom. International flights, especially on international carriers, may have as many as four classes in separate cabins: economy, premium economy, business, and first.

In the first category (more leg room only) are:
United – Economy Plus offers 34-36” seat pitch (roughly 3-5” of additional legroom over United’s and the industry’s standard Economy seat pitch of 31-32”). The upgrade price varies by route and distance.
JetBlue – All seats have at least 34” pitch (on their primary aircraft, the A320), and some seats with pitch up to 38” are available for additional fees.
Midwest – Signature Seats have 34-36” seat pitch and are 22” wide, at an up-charge from the standard 32”-pitch Econ seats.
Virgin America – A few 38”-pitch seats are available for an additional charge. These Main Cabin Select seats also offer complimentary food and drink, priority ground services, and other extras. (We couldn’t decide if Virgin America should be in this category, or below where we list airlines offering enhanced services. We left it here because it’s only a few seats in exit rows, and not a separate cabin.)

The second category (better seats and added amenities, but not all that much more leg room) includes: (Amenities might include extra baggage allowance, lounge access, priority check-in, complimentary beverages, better meals, better entertainment systems, or refundable fares.)
Icelandair – Offers a PremEcon product that has only 33” of seat pitch, but the seats are 21” wide and amenities include lounge access, priority check-in, enhanced meals, and more. This appears to be their Business seat but with less leg room than in the Business cabin.
Virgin Blue – PremEcon seats offer only 33-34” of pitch, but amenities include lounge access, better meals, more entertainment options, extra baggage allowance, and more.
Air Tahiti Nui – Air Tahiti doesn’t claim to have a PremEcon product, but their standard Econ seats and service may offer comfort and in-cabin amenities equivalent to that of the above two airlines. These standard Econ seats have 33” pitch and are 19” wide.
(Like Air Tahiti, above, Thai Airways seems to have several planes with up to 34” pitch in their standard Econ seats. Thai’s regular services and amenities are reported to be exceptional.)

Finally, the third category of additional leg room, better seats, and added amenities: (We have emphasized a few of the amenities each airline offers, but many have additional perks – priority boarding, better meals, lounge access, comfort kits, complimentary drinks, better entertainment, extra frequent-flyer miles for booking PremEcon, extra baggage allowances, and more.)
Open Skies/L’Avion – This British Air subsidiary has the greatest seat pitch of any PremEcon product at 52”, with a seat width of 20”. Excellent seats, easy boarding (the airline only offers PremEcon and Business classes), but not lounge access. (Some reporters have speculated about the future of Open Skies with the falloff in business travel in the current economic environment.)
British Airways – Seat pitch 38”, width 18.5”. Average number of added amenities, mostly in the cabin.
SAS – Seat pitch 37”, width 18.3”. A few extra amenities, but mostly just a better seat. SAS’s product has seemed to be on the high-end price-wise in our research.
bmi – Seat pitch 49”, width 21”. Not as many “other” amenities beyond the seats, but look at that seat pitch and width. (bmi has recently announced reductions in U.S. service.)
Virgin Atlantic – Seat pitch 38”, width 21”. Nice in-cabin amenities, plus lots of other perks, including check-in, lounges, etc. A long-established, well-respected product.
EVA Airlines – Seat pitch 38”. Benefits seem mostly in the seat itself, but typical Asian airline on-board amenities appear excellent.
Air New Zealand – Seat pitch 38-40”, width to 18.5”. Additional amenities (many) appear to be on the plane, not at the airport with check-in, etc.
Qantas – Seat pitch 38-42”, width 19.5”. Priority check-in and boarding; wide range of in-cabin amenities. (Not available on all planes nor all flights. SeatGuru reports the 42” pitch as being on some seats on the new A380.)
ANA – Seat pitch 38”, width 18.5”. Benefits seem mostly in the seat itself (including leg rests!), but normal Asian airline on-board amenities appear excellent. This seems to be only offered on some routes.
Japan Airlines – Seat pitch 38”. JAL has added their PremEcon product to more North American routes. Incredible-looking PremEcon seat design and in-flight amenities, plus lounge access.
Air France – While a different type of PremEcon product is currently available on a few non-U.S. routes, Air France is adding a new PremEcon section to nearly all aircraft in late 2009. Seat pitch for the new product is announced to be 38”.
V Australia – Keep an eye on this new one from the Virgin folks. PremEcon seats are 38” pitch, 20” wide. Better seats, better on-board amenities, but no on-ground benefits. The first flights from Australia to the U.S. are scheduled for early 2009.
Thai Airways – Only on the Los Angeles-Bangkok route with their A340 aircraft. 42” pitch, 19” wide, many extra perks.

Air Cubana does not appear to offer Premium Economy. Photo by Chalmers Butterfield on Wikipedia.

There may be other PremEcon products out there, but it may take some digging on your part to find them, especially as some are only regional products. As examples: China/Mandarin Airlines appear to offer a PremEcon product on some inter-Asia flights, but we can find no details. LAN has introduced PremEcon on some flights within South America – it appears to offer a lot of amenities but also seems very expensive. KLM offers Europe Select seats with 2” more legroom and additional perks, but only for inter-Europe flights.

We’ve written enthusiastically about Premium Economy before, and remain convinced that it can be a high-value product for travellers seeking more comfort without the expense of Business Class. We’d also love to hear of any updates, additions, or changes that our readers are aware of.

Some Good Airline News

We’ve previously mused about how provincial Americans can be. Even experienced world travelers can get stuck in the mode of assuming that the only airlines out there are U.S. or European, and that they’re all in financial trouble. So we’re pleased to note that elsewhere in the world, some airlines are making a go of it. The four most recent headlines from Alternative Airline News:

Ethiopia looks set to get a new domestic airline.
Mon 2-Feb-2009

Air Ethiopia is the brainchild of Capt. Abera and will operate Ethiopian domestic slights, possibly later this month.

BOA Bolivian airlines set to take off.

Mon 2-Feb-2009

New Bolivian state owned airline BOA looks good to go, at last....

Indochina Airlines flies high.

Mon 2-Feb-2009

Indochina Airlines of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam has an encouraging first two months of operation.

Adria Airways fleet now complete.
Fri 30-Jan-2009
Adria Airways take delivery of fleet completing CRJ900.

Three Chimneys Restaurant, Scotland

We’re not ones to usually post restaurant reviews on this blog, but we recently had a dinner that was so far over the top that we thought we’d share our experience.

On the Isle of Skye, Scotland, is a totally out-of-the-way restaurant that embraces local ingredients and offers a multi-course dining experience such as what one might find at famous Michelin-starred restaurants in New York, Napa, London, or Paris.

Dinner at The Three Chimneys restaurant can be either a traditional three-course meal, or the spectacular Seven Courses of Skye. We had the seven-course dinner (which with appetizer, cheese, and dessert turned out to be more like 9 or 10 courses), and would suggest that if you’ve traveled that far for a meal you might as well go with the best.

Not on the list of the seven courses is an amuse bouche (appetizer) of the day. This was followed by ...

Loch Dunvegan Langoustines with Tattie Scones & Glendale Organic Mesclun

Colbost Crab risotto with Shellfish Essence and Truckle Wafer

A Selection of Broadford Cold & Hot-Smoked Fish with Croft Quail Eggs

Sconser King Scallop with Hazelnut Crust, Pickled Winkles, Split Pea & Ham Hough Purry, Claret Jus

Three Loch Harport Oysters with Cucumber & Mint Jelly, Homemade Crème Fraiche, Smoked Herring Roe

Roast Glenhinnisdal Lamb Loin with Kidney, Heart, Liver & Hairst Bree

Highland Cheeses with Our Oatcakes

Three Chimneys Hot Marmalade Pudding Soufflé with Drambuie Syrup & Mealie Ice Cream

When we were there, this menu was £65 per person – an astounding bargain. We started the meal with a half bottle of Domain Seguin Pouilly Fume 2006 (Sauvignon Blanc) ...

... and continued with a premier cru white Burgundy as our main wine – a Marie & Marc Vincent Santenay Beaurepaire 2003 (Chardonnay). Both wines were excellent, and good matches for the primarily seafood menu.

The wait staff are young and reasonably knowledgeable, and asked each diner if there was any part of the seven courses that they couldn’t eat, as a substitution or two was available. Francesca declined the lamb course, and thus had another fish offering.

Pan-Fried Mallaig Hake & Razor Fish with Root Vegetable Dauphinoise, Puy Lentils,
Cumin Cauliflower, Orbost Herb & Garlic Salsa

Overall, we’d say it was one of the best meals of our lives.

You'll definitely need reservations very far in advance at the Three Chimneys Restaurant.

Surviving a Crash

The news about the US Airways flight that landed in the Hudson River has begun to abate. It’s miraculous that all survived, and we began wondering what we’d do in such a situation, and what we’d like to have with us if we had to make an emergency exit.

For many years we were involved in wilderness search-and-rescue, EMT work, and firefighting. In addition, we’ve been around water, ropes, injuries, and emergency situations in our own adventuring.

If we were to survive a crash, the things we’d really like with us afterward would include:
EMT Shears – These can cut through straps, light sheet metal, clothing, and more. And they’re TSA legal.
Flashlight – Just a tiny keychain LED light would suffice.
Glasses – Reading glasses, prescription glasses, whatever we normally needed.
Wallet – Yes, we know not to grab our stuff in an emergency exit. But life would be immensely easier in the days following a survivable crash if our passport and credit card were in our pocket rather than in an underwater carry-on bag.
Cell Phone – As long as the battery lasts and you have a signal, probably the most useful “survival” tool.

There are probably many other items that could be added to this list, but the longer a list becomes the less likely one is to carry what’s needed. Most of the above items can be kept in a case not much bigger than a wallet. Better yet, you could use one of those dorky-looking money-purse things that travelers always have hung around their neck. And as for clothing:

Shoes – We have seen survivors from a winter plane crash walking through snow in their socks. We’re going to keep our shoes on during takeoff and landing.
Jacket – We have never worn our coat or jacket during flights, but may reconsider doing so during takeoff and landing, despite the inconvenience.

I don’t think we’re overly cautious, yet we have chains in our car in winter, we carry a first-aide kit when we’re hiking, and we keep a shortwave radio in our home. A little bit of emergency planning may not just save your life, but could help with saving another’s as well.

Training with New Zealand firefighters

Feeling Fat In London?

Instead of taking the tube (subway), why not just walk? And if you’re planning on eating 3,000 calories of scones and fish & chips, you’ll want to know how to burn off those calories. Now you can know how many steps it takes to walk between tube stations.

A new map of the London underground has a convoluted scheme to let you figure the number of calories you can burn by walking between tube stations instead of taking the tube itself. It does not tell you how long it will take, nor what the neighborhoods are like (we think most London areas are quite safe). And it certainly does not tell you the actual route between stations, as the London tube map is “representational” and not literally accurate.

The Business Traveller Magazine website has this to say about how to use the map:
“The map, compiled by volunteers on behalf of the insurance firm Pru Health, records the number of steps needed to walk between neighbouring tube stops. As example, 2,780 steps are needed to walk from London Victoria to Green Park. Research suggests that roughly three calories are burned for every 100 steps taken, meaning the walk will burn just over 80 calories.”

While it’s totally more gimmick than useful, London is a surprisingly walkable city.

How Many Passengers Can You Get on an A380?

From Alternative Airline News (January 16, 2009) comes this tidbit.

Air Austral (on the island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa) has “signed a memorandum of understanding” to buy two of the new double-decker Airbus A380 aircraft. The airline said it plans to outfit the planes as all economy, with 853 seats, to service the Reunion-to-Paris route.

Which would be an interesting contrast to Virgin Atlantic’s plans for “double beds, private rooms, masseuses and manicurists, bars, showers, and in countries where we’re allowed to, roulette and blackjack,” according to Richard Branson in an interview back in December 2007.

Book Review: Art Safari Sketchbook, Volume II

The Art Safari Sketchbook is the creation of Mary-Anne Bartlett, who leads art safari painting holidays to Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, and Namibia. Its conception came about as a way to sponsor an orphan-care and arts-&-craft project in Malawi. The sketchbook contains drawings and writings by some of the creative adventurers who have traveled with Mary-Anne.

Mary-Anne Bartlett is the great-great-granddaughter of Sir John Kirk, the physician and botanist who accompanied Dr. Livingston on his explorations in Africa during the 1850s and 1860s.


The first volume was published in 2005 and funded the Mtendere Orphan feeding & day care center at Ulongwe near Liwonde National Park in Malawi. The orphanage was created by Danger, a guide at Mvuu Camp within the park, who started the small orphan feeding project in a local church. Within 6 months of publication, the book was instrumental in raising money to build a permanent base for his dream. The new home for the orphanage made possible the arts & craft project, where the teachers and helpers are encouraged to supplement their income by making craft items for sale.

All the proceeds from this publication will go to support food for the school and teacher salaries for the next two years. If additional money is raised, a fund to help introduce a new rhinoceros into Liwonde National Park will be started.


The publishing company, Hakim & Slater Publishing House, donates all profits from book sales to charitable purposes throughout the world. If you would like to purchase this art book, please contact them at www.hakimslater.com.

Best Reward Credit Cards (Especially for Travel)

After our recent rant-and-rave against the so-called credit card rating websites, we figured it was time to update our list of our favorite travel/reward credit cards. There are MANY reward credit cards out there, and your personal financial situation will have an effect on the cards you choose. Remember, unless you pay off your cards every month, go for the lowest-rate credit card, and ignore reward cards (which usually have much higher APRs).

In the broadest terms, we strive for at least a 3% reward ratio for all our purchases – whether that’s cash-back, airline miles, hotel stays, or for international purchases. We have also generally refused (with one exception, see below) to pay an annual fee on any card. And although it makes for a fat wallet, we don’t mind using multiple cards for different purposes.

CASH BACK
We have three current favorites:

Chase Freedom Visa – This card offers 3% cash back on your “top 3” (from 15 different) categories of spending each month, up to $600 (after that, it’s 1%). Even when only used for the $600 spend/month, we get more than $200 in cash rewards each year.

We also have a Chase Business Visa that gives us 3% cash back at hardware/building supply stores, office supply, gas stations, and restaurants (1% elsewhere). We use it only for those purchases. (Especially as it’s getting harder to find cards that give good rewards at restaurants.)

Schwab Bank Invest First Visa – This new card (it’s only been available since November) offers 2% cash back on everything. Domestically (see also International Travel, below), we use it for purchases that don’t give us our 3% or better with some other card.

[We are somewhat concerned about the future of cash-back cards. For example, we’ve heard that new Chase Freedom card holders are seeing different reward terms than for the card we have. There was a recent Wall St. Journal article on the topic. The Schwab card is new, so we wouldn’t expect any changes soon. Nonetheless, confirm reward schemes before applying, and be ready for possible changes in the future.]

HOTEL CARDS
We still believe that the Hilton American Express is one of the best cards available. It offers 6 Hilton “points” if used in certain categories and for Hilton hotel stays, with 3 points for other spending. The way we value Hilton’s points, and based on hotel room rates, the 6-point level represents to us about a 5-6% reward. But it’s really only useful if you plan to stay in (and otherwise pay for) Hilton chain hotel rooms.

[The above has been UPDATED to reflect Hilton’s new 6-point reward level.]

We continue to hear wonderful things about the Starwood American Express card, but simply have too many other cards that we currently use to be intrigued enough yet to acquire the card (which carries an annual fee).

[An advantage of the hotel cards is that your points are held in a system that is probably more stable than an airline, and that are less likely to change in value than a bank’s cash-back structure.]


AIRLINE CARDS
We believe that signing up for airline cards can be a worthwhile deal, if you can get some big initial miles bonus and if the (usually high) annual fee is waived for the first year. The choice of card(s) will depend on the airlines or alliances you fly. Every major U.S. airline offers such a card, as do many international carriers. The value of airline miles varies by how you use your one-mile-per-dollar spent on the card. We generally value most airline miles at about 2 cents per mile, equivalent to 2%. That said, we seldom use an airline card except....

The only airline card that we’ve been willing to pay an annual fee for over the past couple of years has been the Alaska Visa, which offers a generous initial sign-up bonus; a $50 companion ticket every year; and 2,000 bonus miles every year. We’re torn about renewing it each year, though, because of the $75 annual fee. But the companion ticket seems to make the fee worthwhile, especially if you use it for something like a pair of $800-each Hawaii tickets (with the second ticket therefore “costing” only $125).

As with the Starwood card, we’re intrigued by a couple of airline cards that we don’t have – as they’re offered by airlines we fly less frequently. Those include the JetBlue Amex, the Virgin Atlantic Amex, and the Virgin America Visa. If our travel patterns change to where we fly those airlines more often, their credit cards might seem much more appealing. (The JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic cards carry annual fees.)

[There have been innumerable articles about the decline in value of airline miles. We’ve touched on the topic a few times, but it’s too long of an issue to go into here. That said, carefully evaluate the value of your miles, as well as associated redemption fees – either for “free” tickets or upgrades.]

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
With one exception, we only use a card that does not charge foreign-exchange fees. The best offerings for us right now are:

The Schwab Visa, mentioned above, that charges 0% forex fees, and offers 2% cash back. It’s like getting the equivalent of a 5% reward for foreign purchases (as nearly all other credit cards tack on foreign-exchange fees of 3%).

Capital One has many cards, all of which charge 0% forex fees. There are many different reward schemes (cash, miles, points – all usually translating to about 1% reward). In general, we don’t find their rewards very appealing, but with the lack of forex fees and a 1% reward, it’s still equivalent to 4% value.

The exception is the Hilton Amex (mentioned above) which charges 2.7% in forex fees, but does give us 3-6 Hilton points for purchases. But we use it internationally for one purpose – car rentals. It (and other Amex cards) has available an inexpensive car-rental insurance policy that offers primary CDW insurance. We consider the forex fees/points/insurance paradigm a worthwhile trade-off.

[As with other bank-based cards, discussed above, it seems that some of Capital One’s reward schemes may be changing.]

OTHER CARDS
In addition, we have an Amex FreedomPass Business card that has a reward ratio of only 1.33%, but offers discounts of 3-5% with JetBlue, Delta, Marriott, Hyatt, and Hertz (and quite a few other non-travel discounts, such as 5% with FedEx), simply by purchasing with the card. Those purchase categories, therefore, give us at least a 4% reward. It, too, offers the same optional primary CDW car-rental insurance coverage as does the Hilton Amex.

We still have no problem juggling cards – using one card for something and a different card for another purchase category. But, after considering all of the above, and all the various reward factors and card use for a wide variety of travel patterns (and if companies like Chase do indeed reduce their reward options), and if we were limited to only two cards, our two top choices would currently be....
Schwab Visa – No forex fees for international purchases; 2% rewards on everything.
Hilton Amex – Points go into as much of a “fail-safe” program as possible; bonus points for selected categories of spending; car-rental insurance.

There are many other cards out there. As we mentioned in our rant against the so-called card rating sites, it’s really hard to get unbiased information. So it’s doubly important for you to determine what’s important to you – cash, miles, points, other benefits. What we have presented above are only our opinions.

This photo has nothing to do with this article.

Europe Ski Tips

It’s prime ski season in Europe, and the snow this year is some of the best in several seasons. Here are our Top 15 Europe Ski Tips.

Pick Your Resort Carefully
Ski resorts in Europe can be far bigger than even the largest North American resorts (such as Whistler or Vail). Conversely, they can be small, intimate places ideal for relaxation and romance. Just don’t go to Val d’Isere, France, expecting a quiet, cozy French village; likewise, don’t go to Murren, Switzerland, if you’re looking for vast slopes and great nightlife.

Most Resorts Cater to Week-Long Vacationers
Europe ski weeks are usually Saturday to Saturday. Many, if not most, resorts cater almost exclusively to those time frames – thus, lodging is harder to find day-to-day (or more expensive); trains, taxis, and transfers are more frequent on the Saturday and weekend in/out days; even airfare can vary between midweek and weekend. On the same theme, if you prefer uncrowded slopes, avoid the UK half-term and the French school holidays. There will most assuredly be more crowds in Europe than at North America resorts, but still, the European school breaks are like U.S. spring breaks on steroids.

Ski Lodging Options
Lodging varies widely at European ski destinations. You’ll have your choices of “self-catered” vs. catered chalets (condos); large vs. small hotels; slopeside vs. village lodging; hotels with meals (usually in the hotel dining room) and without; and several other permutations. Make sure you understand the options. We’ve stayed in “self-catered” lodging where not even the toilet paper was included.

Bring Your Boots
And your goggles, helmet, gloves, and one pair of ski clothes. Rent skis and poles. Your feet are the engines of your skiing. Rental boots in Europe can fit just as badly as rental boots in the U.S. For skis, you should have excellent options of some of the best and latest models.

Rent the Skis You Want
Don’t be talked into renting a ski too long, too short, too old, not suited to your ability, or badly tuned. European ski shop employees are no different than in the U.S. – underpaid and indifferent.

Consider Skiing with a Small Day Pack
Stuff it (lightly) with snacks, an extra warm layering garment, and maybe shoes. At the big resorts, weather can change on one part of the mountain and you might easily be half an hour or more from getting back to your starting point. Also, many resorts are strung out along a long valley, and you might start at one end but finish your day several miles away. A pair of walking shoes/boots in your day pack can make the bus/taxi/walk back much more comfortable.

Take a Few Little Repair Items
We always travel with zip ties, a Leatherman tool, and duct tape. As with weather and resort layout, you may find yourself a long way from a ski shop (even one on the hill). A small kit can come in handy.

Adopt the Euro Long-Lunch Attitude
Lunch at most European ski areas is seldom a sandwich-in-the-cafeteria situation. Go native. Also remember that most resorts have an actual town at their base – you can easily eat lunch in a real restaurant (yes, in your ski clothes) almost as conveniently as on the hill.

Euros Start to Ski Late In the Day
Since many skiers stayed up late the night before, many resorts don’t start getting crowded until 10 or 11. Join the fun at night, or have an hour to yourself by being on the lifts when they open in the morning. A surprising number of skiers close the hill, too. Maybe it’s those long lunch breaks they take.

Lift Lines
The renowned unruly lift lines (queues) of the past are mostly fading with high-speed lifts, but be ready to be shoved a bit. Start early; ski while everyone else is taking lunch; ski the lower mountain when other skiers are up high; etc.

Out-of-Bounds Skiing
If you ski out of bounds (off piste) be aware that it’s perfectly legal, but if you screw up you’ll be charged for rescue. Buy the optional rescue insurance (which usually only costs a few Euros) with each day’s lift ticket.

Luggage
You’ll almost certainly have to check a bag with your airline, but make sure your boots are in your carry-on. In your checked bag, bring just one pair of pants, parka, etc. Spare or replacement clothing can be purchased anywhere. (Besides, it’ll be Euro-trendy. And we guarantee you will neither be the dorkiest nor the trendiest-looking skier on the hill.) Considering the transportation hassles and the ridiculous airline baggage fees, we suggest not traveling with checked skis.

Everything Ski-Related is Available, But...
While you can find just about everything at European ski resorts, the shops may not have your favorite sunscreen, energy bars, or personal items. If you really want something specific, bring it from home.

Bring a Few Passport-Size Photos
They’re necessary for multi-day lift tickets. Most ticket booths have photo kiosks, but it’s a lot easier to bring your own photos.

Partake of the Regional Culture
If you’re skiing Les Trois Vallees, spend a few days wining and dining in Paris before or after your holiday. Or if you’re skiing in Austria, spend time with Mozart and opera in Vienna on the same trip.

Val d’Isere, France