“If your bag is delayed, the airline may owe you…

The U.S. Department of Transportation in October clarified an existing rule that carriers cover all expenses incurred by passengers because of lost or delayed luggage up to $3,300 per traveler on domestic flights…

The department noted that several airlines had policies that would reimburse travelers only for essential items bought after 24 hours, and only on the outbound legs of their trips…

“Travelers should not have to pay for toiletries or other necessities while they wait for baggage misplaced by airlines,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a written statement issued then. “We expect airlines to comply with all of our regulations and will take enforcement action if they do not.”

Airlines may also offer travelers whose bags don’t arrive with them some complimentary emergency items. Delta, for instance, will often give passengers a kit containing a toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash.

Despite the federal rules, airlines generally state in their contracts of carriage that they won’t reimburse passengers for the loss of electronics, or other high-value items.

Once a delayed bag arrives, carriers typically deliver it to its owner. But Southwest will give a travel credit that can be used on a future flight if a passenger picks up the bag.” ( via  usatoday.com) by Charisse Jones

Pointswizard.com Spin: Read more about – What airline travelers with lost baggage may be owed

“Working remotely is on the dream list for a lot of people with a sense of wanderlust…

Even if your work isn’t travel related, having a job that lets you move around certainly makes life more enjoyable…

So how do you run your business from anywhere? Here’s a quick guide to the essential tools you’ll need if you want to pick up and run your business from all corners of the globe.

Invest in a good computer

This may sound like a no-brainer, but if you’re serious about running a business that can be executed from anywhere, your computer is going to be one of your main investments.

Some businesses are obviously more computer dependent than others, but at a bare minimum you’re going to need it to do business transactions via the Internet, keep track of your finances, etc. So don’t skimp! Make a list of everything you are going to need your computer to do, and buy accordingly. Invest in insurance for your technology as well; dealing with a computer crash on your own is no business owners dream.

Skype

Skype, the Internet telephone service, is an excellent tool for keeping in touch with business partners and clients. Maintaining more than an email relationship is an important part of business relationships; people want to have real conversations, and taking time to hop on a 30 minute conference call can answer many more questions than a day’s worth of email can.

If your business clients have their own Skype accounts, you can talk for free. Otherwise, invest a few dollars in Skype Out, which allows you to call landlines for inexpensive rates. If you’re running a business where having a telephone number is useful, you can also purchase Skype In, which gives you a phone number that people can call from a regular landline as well as voicemail. You can also conveniently use the service from your iPhone.

Back up

With any work that you’re doing, you’ll want to be sure to back it up. External hard drives have become much less expensive these days and are an excellent investment. You’ll be able to store documents, photos and beyond, ensuring that everything you’ve produced in your business is in a safe place.

A lot of my fellow freelancer and adventurer friends use the LaCie Rugged. You can also use online tools for backing up and storing data like Evault and Ibackup.” ( via  matadorlife.com) by  Anna Brones

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of How to Work From Anywhere

More info on Skype

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Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here for Cancun/Rivera Maya – discount tours and airport transfers

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“I’m a teacher, so can only fly on weekends, major holidays, or at peak times in the summer. I manage to collect points on United, but usually can’t find a way to USE those points. Do you have any ideas as to how a non-elite-level flyer can book a flight with points at peak times?”

Wouldn’t we all like to know? Luckily, FlyerTalk founder Randy Petersen, the world’s leading expert on frequent-flier programs, has the answers and has graciously shared them with us. Here are Randy’s top tips for travelers who want to use their miles for free tickets:

1. Pick up the phone. Call the airline mileage-award-redemption desk. The award-booking tools on airline web sites often don’t display all the award seats that are actually available. Phoning the desk will cost you a few dollars, but that’s a small price to pay if you find a helpful reservations agent who will think creatively, look into alternate routes and partner airlines, and find that available seat you’re looking for.

2. Try to predict which flights will have award seats available. Generally speaking, the emptier a flight, the lower the airfare will be and the more award seats it will have. So look to see which flights during your travel window are priced lowest, since they will be most likely to have award seats. Try using Bing’s Farecast technology for this. If you search for a flight and the “predictor” says “wait” to buy it because the price may drop, then award availability is a possibility.  ”When fares are predicted to go down,” says Randy, “then award seat availability can be predicted to rise.”

3. Know which days of the week offer the most award seats. It varies by destination. For flights to Hawaii, for instance, award seats are most likely to be available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. For flights to Florida, they are most likely to be available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

4. Consider flying into one airport and back from another. A number of programs now offer one-way awards, allowing you to fly into one airport and return from another, which can be very helpful if your destination has more than one airport. Say you want to fly to New York City.  ”Just because Tuesday into JFK isn’t available doesn’t mean that Wednesday into Newark isn’t either,” says Randy. Say you want to fly to Los Angeles. You could fly into LAX and back from Ontario or Orange County airports.

5. Look for award seats six months ahead. After years of research, Randy and his team have figured out that six months before your travel date is the time when you’ll find the greatest award-seat availability. If you plan to travel during the peak summer months, the best time to look for award seats is December. ” ( via concierge.com ) by Wendy Perrin

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read more about Get the flights you want with the miles you have.

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Take advantage of the double ticket days. They double all of the tickets you earn on that day up to 1,000.

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“Sending an instant message, watching the latest episode of Lost, listening to the radio or tweeting your lunch are all free online, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Free Long Distance

Sure, you can call someone for free with something like Skype (as long as the person you’re calling is also using Skype), but what if you want to reach out to someone without a computer? There are other services likeTalkster that allow you to call a land line forfree… with a few caveats.  The service supplies their own local numbers that you have to call first, you might have to listen to an ad before your call beings and it’s only free if you’re calling one of some 50-odd countries, but free is free.

Free Faxes

As long as you’re not a power faxer, you can probably ditch the old fax machine in favor of your email inbox. Both Qipit and FaxZero let you send a limited number of free faxes. The catch is relatively benign, the fax cover sheet has the name of the service on it.  Efax Free, a more popular alternative, will let you receive (but not send) a limited number of faxes through their site.” (via moneytalksnews.com ) by Stacy

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of Free Long Distance, Faxes, Books and Musi

“Next time you hit the road, pack these reusable, space-saving, and lightweight items….

It seems like airlines are placing new restrictions on luggage everyday. With bag space at a premium, consider packing items that have more than one use…

Reduce clutter and free up space with these 10 multipurpose items…

1) SHAMPOO…

There is no reason to carry four or five bottles of cleansing liquids such as body wash or shampoo. When you get down to it, it’s all soap. So consolidate by choosing a mild shampoo for all your cleaning needs.

• Body Soap – In addition to using shampoo to wash your hair, you can use it to wash your body and as a facial cleanser.

• Laundry Detergent – Shampoo works just as well for washing clothes…and it smells better, too.

• Dish Washing Liquid – Use it to clean dishes in poorly-stocked hostel kitchens.

2) DENTAL FLOSS

This waxy string is not only great for getting food out of your teeth, it also has other practical uses.

• Clothesline – Double up a length of floss and string it across the room for a place to hang socks and undies.

• Thread – You can use this super-durable string as thread for rips and tears.

• Knife – Dental floss won’t cut through a steak, but it will nicely slice cheese and bread.

3) 5-IN-1 SURVIVAL TOOL

Weighing in at just 50 grams, this superlight tool is great in emergencies. Check out its multipurpose features below:

• Waterproof Matchbox

• Safety Whistle

• Compass

• Signal Mirror

• Fire Starter Flint

4) SARONG

Sarongs are meant to be worn, but there is no limit to other ways this strip of fabric can be used.

• Use it to towel off.

• Hang it as a curtain for privacy.

• Tie the ends to make a bag.

• Use it as a beach mat or picnic blanket.

• Never rent sheets at hostels again.

Swiss Army Pocket Knife

5) SWISS ARMY KNIFE

This go-go gadget is a must for travelers. Swiss Army makes pocket widgets that range from a simple knife to a 34-use mega tool.

Attachments for travelers include:

• Corkscrew

• Bottle opener

• Thermometer

• Compass

• Scissors

• Flashlight

Note that airlines will not allow you to carry on a knife so throw this gadget in your checked luggage. ” ( via matadorgoods.com ) by Rachel Turner

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of 10 Multi-Use Items You Should Consider Packing

“ While awards for the best airports in the world are given out all the time, recently Lonely Planet and Unilever partnered to create a list of the best airports in which to “make a connection” – and not of the aviation kind…

Compiling a list from the world’s 33 busiest airports, the cheeky study looks at which airports are the best for meeting that someone special, and interestingly of the top five airports all are in the United States with Newark Liberty International in New Jersey coming out on top…

The first international airport comes in at number seven and unsurprisingly it goes to the French with the naming of Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

“Making connections while travelling isn’t difficult, you just have to know what rules to follow,” says Robert Reid, Lonely Planet U.S. Travel Editor.

“Sitting in an airport lounge or bar isn’t exactly the same as bumping into someone at a neighbourhood pub,” he continues.  “There is tons of on-hand material for small talk: flight delays, funny people-watching, how bad the bagels are – all which could lead to a deeper conversation.”” ( via  etravelblackboardasia.com )

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to see the top 10 list of airports and to read the rest of the article - Want to meet your perfect match? Try Newark Airport

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“From pastoral dirt roads in Nicaragua to the busy streets of India, without fail, these are the items Samantha Brown needs to bring with her while she shoots take after take of her ever popular travel show.

Two “Pinky” balls

These are sold in just about every toy store. Are you ready to feel the best you’ve have felt on the road?

Place two balls next to each other on the floor. Lie down on the balls so that they are at the base of your neck and aligned with your spine.

Bend your knees and push so that the balls roll down your back, over your buttocks, and down your legs.

For deep knots, just hang out putting all your weight on the balls – pure bliss.

Now where’s that Enya CD?

A Jar of Peanut Butter

I’ve been traveling with peanut butter for years.

With my empty stomach, I can go from a grown, mature woman to a grumpy six year old in 10 minutes.

Armed with peanut butter, I can easily buy pretzels, crackers, or carrots (and in emergency cases, just dip my finger in the jar).

Peanut Butter is not only healthy, but also keeps you satiated.

I’ve just stumbled on a company called P.B. Loco where you can order online flavors like European Café Mocha, Sumatra Cinnamon and Raisin, and CoCo Banana!

A Sweater or Sweatshirt

Even if you are going to Hawai’i, I recommend bringing one.

We over air-condition everything.

When I’m in a 55 degree restaurant, I’m always wondering, ”Isn’t this the cool weather I was trying to escape?”

Earplugs

Foam Ear Plugs

You don’t need $250 noise canceling headphones worn by the band members of Fortune 500.

Just the run-of-the-mill, bright orange, foamy kind will do.

They won’t shut out all the noise, but just enough to take the edge off of listening to your three-year-old’s favorite children’s CD for the 700th time.

It also allows you to psychologically be in your own private space, even if that is only in a two foot wide seat of a mini-van or airplane.” (via matadorgoods.com  ) by Juliane Huang

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of What’s In Your Backpack, Samantha Brown, Travel Channel Host

From a post on Timeshareforums.com …

How worthless is the new Delta SkyMiles?…  Some on FlyerTalk call it SkyPiles, and for good reason…

I was once a DL SkyMiles Gold Medallion before Rob Borden gutted the program, when I bailed out to NW…

Now that DL has taken over NW, some of my NW Worldperks miles that I had not been able to burn have been involuntarily converted to SkyPiles, and the Jeff Robertson version of SkyPiles is much worse than the Borden version…

I recently checked several TATL (trans-Atlantic) itineraries on the DL and NW websites for award availbility. At NW and in the Borden and pre-Borden days at DL there was reasonable TATL availibility at normal miles, even if you were flexible a few weeks out in high season. Ten months out, almost everything was availible. That has all changed.

After checking US to Dublin for a relative and finding nothing at anything but high miles (and with their unique and disadvantageous 3-tier award system, high means sky high) over multiple months, I checked US to Bucharest over the entire upcoming ten months and found nothing but high miles seats the whole time, including low season. This really stinks.

And DL raised the minimum number of miles for TATL award tickets to 60K, although those seem to be extreme rarities these days. Usually, one has to part with far more miles than that on DL. On AA, in comparision, a low or shoulder season TATL award ticket is 40K miles and they are actually availible at that level. On BMI they are 45K miles all year and they are actually availible.

BMI has even got me one way award tickets KIV to VIE on their partner Austrian airlines’ Friday afternoon flights that are usually sold out and often oversold for a mere 6K miles on several occaisions a month or two before the flight.

FF programs are all about incentives. DL has certainly given me an incentive to avoid buying tickets on it or its partners like the plague. They have stolen my NW miles and they will not get any of my cash or my employers cash for my work related travel in the future.

DELTA = Driving Every Loyal Traveller Away

Carolinian – member

——-

We have found Delta charges more than other airlines. We used ours to fly to Hawaii last summer. It cost 52,000 miles per person, while my parents, daughter, son-in-law, son and daughter-in-law only used 40,000 flying United. We booked ours as soon as we could as did they. This year we used United. 40,000. At the same time Delta was 78,000. I just checked and Delta is now down to 62,000. We cancelled our American Express Sky Miles Card and are using our United card only. When we talked to American Express, they asked why we were cancelling. We told them two reasons, your fee went up $15 and it was not easy getting flights to where we wanted to go.

The three tier can be a joke. We tried high, medium and low, different days, they were the same amount. Maybe it was just when we tried, but it did not leave a good feeling. A high out and a medium back. No difference. Same with a high out and a low back. It was so crazy, we thought what the heck, try first class. It was marked LOW when economy was marked HIGH. The first class ticket was only 2000 miles more.

We talked to an agent, “We just can’t give our product away”. Had to remind her, that American Express pays for those miles, so the flights are not exactly free using the credit card miles.

d1950m -Member

——————-

Delta indeed seems to have far fewer point saver award tickets for FF’s. If they weren’t cheaper than everyone else we probably wouldn’t fly them. Unfortunately, since all airlines are about at bad as the other, price wins the day, even if we have a tough time spending those miles

dougp26364 – Member

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to follow this thread on Timeshareforums.com

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