I’ve always liked Wendy Perrin’s column in Conde’ Nast Traveler magazine. Often she discusses things from a point of view with a bigger budget than my own, but today’s newsletter points us to her tips on how to help get the airline award seats we want, and that’s good on any budget.
With several days to spend in Porto, Jonathan L explores several aspects of local culture
recommended by TravelGumbo
This iconic tree along The 17 Mile Drive is always a beautiful picture.
Of all the grand features of Paris’s Grands Magasins, Paul Heymont’s favorite is the stained glass dome at Printemps
DrFumblefinger shares images of a Lewis and Clark statue he spotted on the Boise State Capitol grounds.
PortMoresby guides us to a community weekend market at a historic Northern California home (07/23/2014)
Jonathan L (pictured), on the road, meets PortMoresby (picture taker) for coffee in Auburn, CA.
PortMoresby’s Borneo adventures include a visit to Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, and once home to the White Rajahs
That’s good advice in her column! I’ve often had success calling back when I didn’t get the “right” answer the first time helps…and the night shift often has the most experienced agents.
Other useful tips, aside from being the most pleasant if sadly disappointed customer they’ve had all day:
Plan early, book early. If you really want to fly to Paris in late July on the cheapest FF tickets, your best bet is late August: the airlines generally open seats 330 days ahead, and if you can be first in line…bingo!
+Know the airlines’ partners. The agent may be looking only at the airline’s own inventory or its closest partners (AA, for instance, looks first at AA and British Air). If you know, you can ask “can you please look at connections in Madrid instead of London?” etc.
+Be prepared for near misses: If you can’t get a reasonable flight to Rome, take Milan; it’s not a long train ride (and can be super-cheap). Barcelona and a short cheap hop to Marseille. Milan for Venice. Etc.
+Even after you have your FF reservations, keep calling if you’re not happy. I’ve been able to get re-routed (same start and end, but better connection or none) when inventory opened up; there’s usually no charge if dates and endpoints stay the same.