Brigada » …Travel

4) What’s your Favorite Credit Card to Save Frequent Flyer Miles? —

brigtoday — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:56:49 +0000

My buddy, Tim, recently acquired the United Mileage Plus Visa Signature Card (they have three levels and this is the middle). The card allowed him to gain…

1st year free then $90 a year thereafter.

1 mile for every dollar spent.

Double miles on United Purchases.

40K free miles immediately.

Miles never expire and are unlimited.

Also, 2 free United Club passes per year.

When used to purchase the trip, allows one free bag to be checked.

Also allows priority boarding.

Card plus his status allows free upgrades to economy plus seats.

Have you been happy with a credit card like that? I have used an American Express Card since 1991 and by now, they have me in a Platinum version. It’s great because the points will transfer virtually anywhere. But I like Tim’s card because there will be virtually no yearly membership fee. So … what’s in *your* wallet????? (and why?) :-) Please click on “Comment” below — or, if you’re reading the email version of this post, please log onto the web using the link below and leave a note about your best pick. Thanks in advance!!!

9) Do you Travel? Duh. Get this app. –

brigtoday — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 03:51:50 +0000

Lissa’s done it again. Although she faces all kinds of infrastructural challenges operating from her modest-sized town in Uganda, she has again discovered an item that we’re sure many Brigada participants will appreciate. This one has public transportation routes for more than 400 cities around the world. Grab it at…

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/metro/id320949132?mt

(Thanks Lissa!)

11) Save money on hotels / Make money by renting rooms –

brigtoday — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:49:46 +0000

Brigada participant, Mark, told us this past week about a new service that offers rented rooms online:

http://www.housetrip.com

On this site you can list your house for rent without cost. They connect homeowners or second-home owners who are away with willing renters. Pay by credit card that gets credited only if you are satisfied with your stay. If you are traveling for work or holiday consider being a renter. Homeowners rent out entire apartments, homes and even extra rooms. Mark says the one-year old website out of Switzerland is very user-friendly and safe. So, say goodbye to Motel 6 and say hello to a new house-on-the-way!

7) Track a Flight for Free –

brigtoday — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:53:54 +0000

You know, one of the best services for tracking flights *has* to be

http://www.flightaware.com

See the logged flight path, minutes until landing, plus lots of other resources (especially for pilots).

3) Global Entry Program Could End up Saving us Hours –

brigtoday — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 04:57:38 +0000

I’ve recently qualified for the USA’s Global program. It’s a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Though intended for frequent international travelers, there is no minimum number of trips necessary to qualify for the program. Participants may enter the United States by using automated kiosks located at select airports. The cost is $100 for five years, so although that sounds steep, suppose you value your time at $10/hour. Suppose it saves you 2 hours per year over the course of the five-year membership. Suddenly, it’s a free pass, and everything else is gravy. On my first flight back into the USA with my Global Entry certification, my domestic flight was extremely tight, due to a late arrival. Immigration lines spiraled for what looked like a two-hour wait. I was nearly embarrassed by the fact that I walked past all of it. The enrollment process involves an online application and an interview at one of the offices located in a Global Entry airport. Visit the website below to see which airports are now included. This could be a wonderful tool for those who frequently travel overseas, as it allows one to skip the customs lines entirely. Here is the website for more information:

http://www.globalentry.gov/

Keep in mind, if you often travel with groups, it’s possible that this pass might not help you much. Why? You’ll feel so guilty leaving the rest of your group back in the line! Note: Just as I received my certification, Brigada reader Eric C. pointed out to me that this program is not reserved for USA citizens only, a fact I had completely missed. (Thanks Eric!)

8) How to Fight Back when Your Flight is Canceled –

brigtoday — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 04:52:45 +0000

Have you been bumped lately? It seems more and more common, as airlines struggle to keep planes in the sky — not only balancing passenger loads and mechanical issues, but also weather and staffing. Either way, Lissa, our Uganda Desk Guest Editor, found a New York Times article that might stimulate some ideas in that brain of yours.

http://nyti.ms/fWXPf4

Check it out. It just might help you avoid a costly mistake next time you try to grab a jet to nowhere.

10) Taking a Train on your Next Mission Trip? Visit Seat61.com –

brigtoday — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:50:37 +0000

This site just might help you figure things out:

http://www.seat61.com/

Even if it doesn’t, it’ll be fun reading about it. Whoever knew there was so much information about trains in one site! :-)

3) USA Today Says 70% of us Want to Check Our Own bags –

brigtoday — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:57:30 +0000

That’s a whole lot of bag-tagging. Read the whole story at…

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2456usg

(That’s a tinyurl that will redirect you to the longer USA Today link, but note that you’ll be able to preview where it’s taking you before you redirect.)

The whole airline industry thing amazes me. I was in California on Friday when my wife had to be taken into surgery (her gall bladder had gone South). So I called the airline upon which I was holding tickets (American Airlines) and asked if they’d consider moving up my flights 3 days due to the medical circumstance. The lady was just a bit snippety as she responded, “Mr. Lucas, we no longer make medical exceptions — ever.” She wanted $600 for a seat on a flight that left in an hour. What I don’t get is that I hung up, then purchased a fare on Southwest that covered exactly the same ground for just $189. Who decides these insane rules and why wouldn’t an airline take $189 if it had an empty seat to sell? No wonder they’re going belly-up. Do you think I’m going to go out of my way to buy on AA again any time soon? What’s more, the Southwest folks didn’t charge for my bags and, of all things, they were *nice* to me! :-) (It was like they really did love to fly! :-) ) Go figure. (Thanks, Lissa [from Uganda], for the tip on the original article that started this rant. :-) )

6) How Can You Keep Track of all your Trip Arrangements?

brigtoday — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:54:35 +0000

Try

http://www.tripit.com

List your airfare, housing info., rental car, and more… and let TripIt do the heavy lifting for you to keep everything streamlined and on the same page — all for free. You can always do TripIt Pro for $69/year, regardless of whether you’re in or out of the USA. The ‘pro’ version adds text messaging if any of your flights change, info about open seats, freq. flyer point tracking, and trip information-sharing with your inner circle of friends and colleagues. But the free version is fun to try too. For example, when you get a booking confirmation, just forward it to the tripit email address, and magically, Tripit builds itinerary info on your next trip. Pretty cool, actually.

6) Portable Backpack

Editor — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Looking for a solution for carrying all those assorted items once you reach your destination? Try the $10 Kiva backpack at…

http://www.amazon.com/Kiva-Key-Chain-Pack/dp/B000BNGHJO

My 19-year-old says it folds up really small… and it would be very handy to throw into your luggage… then deploy upon arrival. Can’t beat the price.

7) Tried A "Round-The-World" Fare?

Editor — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:52:00 +0000

One of our member care volunteer families has just purchased a special airfare from Raptim that lets you pick virtually any airports around the world so long as the next destination keeps traveling in the same direction. So our new volunteers are starting in Indy, stopping at 8 different int’l airports. Their itinerary includes some pretty exotic destinations — and the final price came out to about $3700 each. That’s a great deal considering the value they’re getting. So if you have a number of destinations to visit, give it a try. The only real limitation is that the destinations must each continue to be in the same general direction. (For example, each airport must be west of the previous airport.)

Contact Raptim at…
http://www.raptimusa.com/

9) E.T. Wishes It Would Have Been This Easy To Phone Home

Editor — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:51:00 +0000

If you’re from the USA and you run on a network that isn’t global (like — Sprint maybe?), you’ll likely need to pick up a different phone for travel. Why buy when you can rent one for just the handful of days you’ll be gone? What’s your favorite vendor? Here’s one such vendor that Brigada participant, Tim, likes…

http://www.globalcellularrental.com/

They pretty much take care of everything, including shipping your phone to you the day before you leave. These are true global phones: they’ll work pretty much everywhere, with roaming rates up to 80% less than your home-based plan would have cost you. They also rent satphones which will work basically anywhere in the world as long as you’re outside.

Another Brigada user, with a great first name (“Doug”), likes
http://www.mobal.com/
They have a worldphone that you buy for $99 on a pay-as-you-go plan. No contracts, no hassles. Just prepay.

If you already own a GSM phone, just ask for a free SIM chip from Mobal. They’ll manage your relationships with virtually every country in the world (170, to be exact), allowing you to talk and recharge with one vendor. They make a strong case for their product at:

http://www.mobal.com/gsm/sim.asp

However, their rates seem higher than the vendor I’ve been using. See their USA landing page at:

http://www.gosim.com/?gosimusa

Got a favorite vendor for communications devices like these? Please recommend them by clicking “Comment” after this item on the web at…

4) Fly Round-Trip In Africa For A Song

Editor — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:55:00 +0000

OK, maybe more than a song, but not much. Thanks to Brigada user Greg for tipping us on the fact that you can fly round trip anywhere within Africa that Kenya Airways goes (and they go all over the continent) for only 25,000 frequent flier miles (and about $70-80 reg fee) from any of the following airlines: Aeroflot, Aeroméxico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern, Continental Airlines, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines, Air Europa, Copa Airlines and Kenya Airways. According to Greg, “Seats are easy to get and supporters can book flights for you.” (Thanks again Greg!)