4 secrets for upgrading your next vacation travel
March 1, 2010 ·
Think this is bad?
It could get worse. Much worse.
Travel is still at the beginning of its long descent into mediocrity. Airlines seem to invent new surcharges and passenger-hostile rules every week. Hotels aren’t far behind. Just the mention of the word “customer service” in the back office can be enough to evoke cackles of disdain [...]
9 spring travel tips: How to save money and sanity
February 17, 2010 ·
As I write this here in the Northeast, the rodent saw his shadow, a snowfall fell the next day and we’re headed for a single-digit deep freeze this weekend — all of which are indicators that it is time to distract ourselves with dreams of spring travel.
Of course, planning a trip these days can induce [...]
How to save on car rental in a recession
February 2, 2010 ·
Don’t clear your wallet when car rental companies clear their lots.
Much as airlines have cut back on flights and routes since the recession began, the lodging industry has, er, built a lot more hotels and added a lot of rooms?! Oops. Expansion may have seemed like a great idea at the time, but this tactic [...]
Find a cheaper car rental away from the airport
February 2, 2010 ·
The best rate Darren Popik could find on a weekend car rental at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport recently was $114. So he decided to look elsewhere.
Popik, a Los Angeles-based blogger, widened his search to other car rental locations in the Texas capital. And he found a lower price through Enterprise Rent-a-Car. “It was a much better [...]
Cash back may be better than miles programs
January 28, 2010 ·
Now that many U.S.-based airlines are charging co-pay fees for upgrading from economy class to business or first, and considering some of the other fees you’ll now pay to use your frequent flyer miles, Airfarewatchdog suggests you think twice if you’re collecting most of your miles with a credit card.
Sure, the bonus miles you can [...]
Dollar Thrifty boosts mileage of rental car fleet
December 16, 2009 ·
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. said Wednesday it expects its fleet of rental vehicles will be about 10 percent more fuel-efficient after recent purchases of new car models.
Dollar Thrifty said more than 40 percent of its 2010 model year purchases were cars with highway ratings of more than 30 miles per gallon. Only about 10 [...]
How to avoid a customer-service nightmare
November 12, 2009 ·
Bad service is everywhere.
The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index finds that airlines score a failing 64 percent. Hotels? Guests give them a gentleman’s “C” (75 percent). Ditto for car rental companies. Even though there aren’t any reliable customer service surveys, the one or two I’ve seen suggest no one is particularly happy with the way [...]
