March 31, 2010
What a fantastic contest! Thank you to everyone who entered. There were so many wonderful tips and I truly wish everyone could have won.
BoardingArea selected the Grand Prize winner and it is…
Istvan, who entered on Dan Webb’s Things in the Sky blog. Congratulations to both of them.
Istvan won an awesome free trip for two to Australia! Now Istvan and a lucky partner are off on an incredible trip of a lifetime. As the blogger who hosted the winning entry, Dan wins a new iPad. The other runner-up finalists on the blogs will receive a consolation prize: $25 Starbucks gift card. My blog finalist was Laura S., who will be contacted by email. By the way, there was no consolation prize in the rules so this simply comes from the generosity of Randy Petersen. Believe me, he would love to give that free trip to everyone who entered.
Again, many thanks to BoardingArea and American Express for sponsoring this contest. It would not have been possible without you.
Of course, we will be there with Istvan on that wonderful journey … in spirit, anyway.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs |
March 30, 2010
Now wait, I am not announcing the Grand Prize winner. This is the entry from Pearls of Travel Wisdom. First, I want to explain how it was selected.
We had a choice to select either the best tip received, our favorite tip, or simply a random drawing. As I expected, there were so many good tips that it would have been impossible to select the ‘best’ one. While I could have chosen my favorite, again there were so many that I would have fretted about this for days.
This is why I chose the random option. At the close of the contest, I assigned a number to each of the qualifying entries. There were more than 400 entries, each with its own number.
Next, Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs |
March 29, 2010
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday Mar. 22nd - Google’s GOOG-411 is great for travelers. It’s simple, fast, totally free. Just store 800-GOOG-411 (800-466-4411) in your mobile phone. Provide the location (city and state) and business information by speaking clearly into the phone. Once the information is obtained, Google provides three options to users: Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
March 25, 2010
I have had lots of questions and emails about winning the free trip to Australia so I thought I would answer them all in one place:
* How do I enter?
It really is as simple as it sounds. Just leave a comment on the participating blogs offering a tip for earning and using loyalty points. You can even use the same tip on each of the blogs, increasing your chances of winning.
* Does it have to be a tip about using airline miles? Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs |
March 23, 2010
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday Mar. 15th – Find cheaper tickets and book faster when you have availability by booking class at your fingertips onSeatCounter.Find cheaper tickets and book faster when you have availability by booking class at your fingertips on SeatCounter.
At a glance, you can see what fare classes are available by flight by airline for the day and time that you want to fly. Locate the flight with the lower class of fares available. Green indicates high availability; red equals no availability, with several shades between. SeatCounter also indicates that it displays award ticket availability. Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
March 22, 2010
Thanks to the generosity of American Express and Boarding Area, I am pleased to offer this contest to readers of Pearls of Travel Wisdom. You have an excellent chance to win a 7-day trip for two to Down Under. Total value of this contest is about $13,000.
To enter, simply post a comment here answering this question: What’s your top tip for travelers who want to earn and use their loyalty points?
Increase your chances of winning by posting a comment on all of the 20 participating blogs. Each blog offers great content with a different perspective on travel, all worth a regular read. Keep an eye out for their posts about the contest.
Also, you can follow the blogs with an RSS feed. If you use Twitter, a great source to keep up to date on all the Boarding Area blogs is @BoardingArea and feel free to follow me on Twitter, @smartwomentrav.
Please hurry, the last day to enter is Sunday, March 28, 2010.
The contest is open to anyone who is a US resident at least 18 years old. Very sorry, but this does not apply in Canada, US Territories, or the rest of the planet.
One lucky random winner will be chosen from all qualifying entries. Complete rules and details are here.
Again, many thanks to American Express and Boarding Area for offering this opportunity to my readers. Best of luck to each and every one of you winning what will be the trip of a lifetime!
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs |
March 17, 2010
I’ve loved the saying of “Success Leaves Clues” for a long time. Here’s a new saying along that same line: “Luggage Leaves Clues.” What exactly am I talking about?
As I’m settling down to write this, I’ve just gotten into my comfy clothes…sweatpants and a t-shirt. Not just any old t-shirt, but a genuine SkyTeam t-shirt. I donned my slippers with the fancy ‘F’ on them – my comfy Fairmont slippers. I put my book to the side (I’m reading Tim Ferriss’s updated version of The 4-Hour Workweek), marking my page with my Continental boarding pass.
This got me thinking about all of the travel-related items that I carry. Someone who went wandering through my bags could tell a lot about me just by these items.
In this week’s bag I have: Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Random Thoughts, Travel |
March 15, 2010
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday Mar. 8th- When looking for the best deal at a hotel, ask for the concierge floor or bed and breakfast rate. While it may be $50 more a night or so, it will include breakfast, perhaps a light dinner and complimentary water and soft drinks. When traveling with a spouse or children, this can save a lot in meals and beverages. Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
March 11, 2010
An article by INC Magazine on Why Women Secretly Enjoy Business Travel shares survey results on the things that both women and men miss when they travel (men miss a home-cooked meal, women miss their own bed), along with what items travelers may sneak into their bags from a hotel.
I have yet to take any towels, sheets or bathrobes, but you will always find me wearing a soft pair of Fairmont Hotel slippers no matter where I stay (they just fell into my bag …. seriously!).
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs |
March 9, 2010
Each Monday through Friday, a Travel Gem of the Day will be posted at SmartWomenTravelers.com. These Travel Gems are tips that will help a traveler travel smarter, safer, handle home issues, be prepared and enjoy their journeys.
Here are last week’s Travel Gems:
Monday Mar. 1st - Avoid missed flights and getting stuck in a middle seat. Always confirm your flight info the night before your trip – better yet, a few days before. When booking your flight weeks in advance, the departure time may change from what you originally booked. You do not want to arrive at the airport only to find your flight left earlier than you thought.
The plane configuration may also change, resulting in a middle seat that you did not expect! (Tip: many frequent fliers get upgraded into first class in the few days before a flight, so you may have a chance to move out of a middle seat as their coach seats become available.)
Validating your flight a day or more ahead of time gives you a chance to contact the airline online or via telephone to address any seating, timing or other ticket issues. Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
March 5, 2010
I am starting to have as many suitcases as I do laptop bags! I feel like Goldilocks and The 4 Bags – trying out each bag to find the one that is just right. Though the ‘right’ luggage is different depending on the length of my trip. Here’s my collection of bags and when I use each one, along with what I like (and not like) about each. This week I’m using my brand new Hartman 22” Tweed Mobile Traveler (compliments of Delta for my million-miler gift). Beautiful in design and functionality… just way too heavy for me to get into the overhead bin. Will Goldilocks ever find the perfect luggage?
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living |
