Travel Tips & Fun

 Most of the questions I’ve been getting from readers lately concern how to get refunded for a canceled flight. As you may know by now, some of the U.S. airlines had been until recently playing games with passengers (ahem, United and JetBlue). The Department of Transportation (DOT) received so many complaints that it had to come out with an enforcement notice. If your canceled flight was operated by a U.S. carrier, the DOT notice applies to you.

In fact, if your flight was supposed to fly to, from, or within the U.S., it doesn’t matter where the operating airline is based: If it canceled your flight, it needs to give you a full refund, according to the DOT.

But what about flights within Europe? Reader Simon L. asked this question on our “A Trick to Get Your Money Back From Airlines That Canceled Your Flight” post:

“What is the situation with dealing with European airlines? We had one-way tickets from Dubrovnik to London Gatwick with EasyJet for early April. The flight has been canceled. I have requested a full refund from EasyJet citing European regulation 261 but on their website, they are saying they are giving credits only. The tickets were purchased more than 60 days ago so disputing the charge with my CC probably won’t work and, at this point, a voucher is not going to do much good if we don’t get back to Europe this year. Any suggestions?”

Can you get refunded for a canceled European flight? I have to say that I wasn’t 100-percent sure of the answer, so I went searching. I found that the latest on this question—how to get refunded for a canceled European flight—is encouraging.

As written in a recent Reuters story: “Airlines must reimburse customers for flights cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union transport chief said on Wednesday, rejecting calls by carriers to relax EU rules and allow an EU-wide waiver of refund obligations.”

It seems that the airlines are concerned that issuing so many refunds will drain them of money. For now, that isn’t enough to get them out of their obligation to refund (not issue credits to) passengers on flights that have been canceled due to the COVID-19 situation.

Have you tried to get refunded for a canceled European flight? Did the airline give you a hard time? Here’s JohnnyJet.com’s previous advice on pressing for a refund:

1. If an airline cancels your flight, tries to give you a credit, and refuses to give you a refund, ask to speak to a supervisor. Read them this line on your rights from the DOT: “If your flight is canceled and you choose to cancel your trip as a result, you are entitled to a refund for the unused transportation–even for non-refundable tickets. You are also entitled to a refund for any bag fee that you paid, and any extras you may have purchased, such as a seat assignment.”

             2.If the representative still won’t budge, you can hang up and call your        credit card company as long as you purchased your flight in the last 60 days. As Joe Brancatelli, a veteran business-travel expert, recently tweeted: “Credit cards WILL process refunds. Airline rules and DOT boilerplate are irrelevant now.”

The 2020 coronavirus, or COVID-19 pandemic, has been a moving target when it comes to travel. 

Nobody knows how long it will continue, whether and which areas it might hit next, when and where it will plateau and start to ease off, or when the travel world might return to something like normal. The time frame for cases to begin diminishing is unknown. And even once a decrease occurs, it’s worth considering that the virus could return.

The first place travelers should look to for advice on the virus as it relates to travel plans is the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) via this page on destinations with COVID-19 alerts or warnings in place. It’s a good idea to bookmark it for updates, as the situation changes frequently.

 Governments and travel suppliers have reacted by imposing rolling responses, with new cancellations and rule changes often. And with the U.S. State Department assigning a Global Level 4 Health Advisory (do not travel), existing travel plans for the next several weeks (or possibly months) poses a major quandary for many consumers. 

Travelers face three main areas of risk to think about:

• Getting sick: This one is obvious. Whether you catch it before you leave home or while you’re away, being sick with serious COVID-19 is no fun. The fatality risk is small but real. Seniors and those with existing medical problems seem to be at higher risk than the general population. TSA is changing its liquid limits on hand sanitizers for those who need to fly. Here’s what airlines and hotels are changing about cleaning processes during COVID-19.

• Getting quarantined: If you need to travel, you almost certainly face the possibility of immediate quarantine of up to 14 days. If you’re lucky, it could be at home. But it could also place you in a strange city. U.S. citizens returning home from affected areas are being funneled to 13 airports where they will be screened and then asked to self quarantine.

• Canceling: Changing arrangements could entail big cancellation penalties, although many airlines and hotels are currently allowing customers more flexibility to change plans than they usually do. However, the Department of Transportation recently issued a warning to airlines that were not refunding travelers for canceled flights. See Airfarewatchdog’s breakdown of airlines’ waiver options during the pandemic for more on which airlines have been issuing refunds. Your best bet for recouping costs outside of the company you booked with is “cancel for any reason” insurance purchased before COVID-19 was a known event: Read more about travel insurance terms in our Ultimate Guide to Travel Insurance here. Read more about cancel for any reason insurance here.

Many countries have halted at least some flights, or closed their borders entirely. There are no indications about when normal activities will resume. The U.S. State Department currently assigns a Global Level Four Health Advisory (do not travel) for all international travel. The State Department also said Americans “should not travel by cruise ship.”

If an airline cancels your flight(s), no matter what the airline proposes you can get a full refund on any ticket (see our guide to air passenger rights here). But if you have a ticket for a future flight that is not canceled or you haven’t yet bought a ticket, most major domestic and international airlines are offering some combination of postponement and refund options. Again, see our sister site Airfarewatchdog’s breakdown of airlines’ waiver options during the pandemic for more.

Generally, the options for canceling airfare will include:

• Waiving change penalties for existing tickets—but in many cases, only for flights scheduled within a few weeks.
• Waiving change penalties for newly booked tickets, with booking time frames ranging from a few weeks to a full year.
• Rebooking a ticketed itinerary with no change in fares, but usually for rescheduled departures within a month or two.
• Rebooking a ticketed itinerary with no change penalty, but at then-current fares, for up to a year.

Deadlines for making such changes are rolling; they’ll change from week to week and month to month depending on how the pandemic progresses. See our sister site Cruise Critic’s guide to cancellations for more.

Major hotel chains Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Choice, and Wyndham are refunding travelers and waiving change fees. Travelers who booked through third-party online travel agencies (OTAs) will likely need to go through those agencies’ websites or help lines for refunds. Travelers who booked through independent hotel-type properties will need to go to those properties for refunds. See our guide to which hotels (and airlines) are changing their points and loyalty membership terms to accommodate the pandemic.

If you haven’t yet made any payments and set up any firm arrangements for a spring or summer trip, one obvious choice is to refrain. Given the elevated chance of complications for older COVID-19 victims, if you’re 65 or over and/or have an existing medical condition, according to the CDC it’s smart to wait out new COVID-19 developments at home.

If you need to travel, even domestically, despite the pandemic, you can protect yourself physically by taking CDC advice about hand washing, wearing a mask, employing general hygiene like washing your hands often, and avoiding crowds. You can protect yourself financially by:

• Avoiding as many nonrefundable bookings as possible—or at least making sure that any such bookings are with suppliers that have agreed to waive change penalties. Among other things, that means book direct rather than through agencies. That strategy works pretty well for hotels, but not air tickets. Refundable fares are usually a lot more costly than nonrefundable ones these days.
• Doing as much as you can to stay informed: If you’re outside the country, register with the State Department’s STEP program early on. And no matter where you travel, keep up with the latest news on the road with news alerts and bookmarked resources like the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) travel pages.
• Considering the possibility of a 14-day quarantine: Take enough of your necessary medications to cover an unexpected/extended time away from home, or at least arrange for somebody at home to be able to send you what you need if you’re delayed.
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If you can’t use or don’t like the refund/reschedule options your suppliers offer, your rights to legal recourse are limited:  

• Airline: If your airline’s offer doesn’t work for you, but your flight is still currently scheduled to operate, wait until a week or so before scheduled departure. If the airline cancels any ticketed flight, you’re entitled to a full refund.
• Hotels: If you have a prepaid hotel, your best bet is to wait for the hotel to set a policy. You have essentially no legal and easily enforceable right.
• Cruises: As with hotels, cruise passengers have very few enforceable legal rights. You’re pretty much limited by what the cruise lines offer.
• Travel insurance: If you bought travel insurance before your insurance company’s stated date for the outbreak—January 21 through 27, for most companies—you’re probably due the full benefits of your policy. If not, your recovery is likely to be limited. Check your policy to see just what it covers, and figure you won’t get any more than that.
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In general, any refund you’re due should typically come from the agency where you made your arrangements. Getting refunds from some suppliers may be tough—especially those in foreign countries that don’t have a presence in the U.S. or Canada. Don’t be surprised if you lose some money when you cancel; that loss might be better than the risk of traveling.

 When you travel a lot, it’s natural to develop habits that work for you. For me, the few days before a trip tend always to follow the same pattern: I review my itinerary, make a mental list of what I want to pack, plan accordingly, and make my bed before I leave the house. Unfortunately, I’ve also developed a few bad travel habits along the way.

One habit that’s proven particularly hard to break is refusing to splurge on cabs when I’ll be out all day. Because I try to walk everywhere to save money, my feet are the ones paying the price at the end of the day.

We’ve all got our bad travel habits, but the good news is that you can break them with a little bit of effort. Whether you’re a workaholic walker like me or a packing procrastinator, here are some ways to break even your most persistent travel habits.

If you frequently land in a new country and realize you never learned how to say hello or thank you, you’re probably with familiar with how silly it makes you feel. Learning new languages is difficult and might not seem worth it if you’re passing through many different countries or staying for a short amount of time, but knowing the basics can make all the difference when it comes to how comfortable you feel and how well you connect with local people.

Solution: Of course, there are plenty of language apps and tutorials you can use to learn a language, but there’s an easier solution if you don’t think you’ll have time to practice. Instead, make it a point to look up the basic words of the new language at least once before your trip and write them down. Keep them somewhere handy, like saved on a note on your phone, and when you get there, you’ll have them at your fingertips.

You can tell yourself that you’re waiting for the prices to drop, but unless you’re very flexible, that can backfire: The longer you wait, the fewer options you’ll have. Whether you’re booking flights, accommodation, or a tour, you’re almost always better off booking well in advance and having everything organized before your trip.

Solution: If you still want to hold out for low rates, set a “book by” date for yourself at least a week or two before you leave for your trip. Consider it a self-imposed deadline and do whatever you need to do to hold yourself accountable. I like to schedule my personal deadlines into my calendar to make them feel more official. 

If you’ve got packing problems, it’s likely you’re a repeat procrastinator. This is one of the most common travel habits and it can be tough to break when life is busy. If packing lists have no effect on you, there’s one thing you can do that you probably have to do anyway.

Solution: A few days before you leave, do your laundry. Instead of putting your clothes away in your closet, pack the fresh clothes right into your suitcase. Not only will this ensure that the clothes you wear most often are fresh and clean, but it will also help you get a start on planning your outfits before and during your trip. After you put in your first load, pull out your luggage and start researching the essential items for your destination.

If you’re a chronic overpacker, you’ve probably had your fair share of struggles with the check-in luggage scale and bags that just won’t close. You might think you need to take advantage of your airline’s full luggage allowance, but the truth is you shouldn’t be filling up your luggage just because you can.

Solution: Use a smaller suitcase. Take into account how long you’ll be traveling and how many of your outfits can be reused, and then find the appropriately sized luggage for the length of your trip. You’d be surprised how little you’ll need.

This one varies from traveler to traveler, but everyone has that one thing they hate to spend money on. Personally, I’m very stubborn when it comes to paying for cabs or public transportation and often choose walking instead. The downside of this is that I’m often too tired to enjoy a night out or I suffer from aching feet. For others, being too stubborn to spend might mean booking accommodation far from the center of town or missing out on a special food because it’s a little pricey.

 Solution: Give yourself a budget to splurge. This small act of premeditation can make a huge difference in your travel experience. Knowing you’ll have a little money set aside to live a little will help you feel more comfortable spending spontaneously. Remember, this should be a set budget totally separate from your emergency fund to remove any guilt you might have. 

If this is one of your bad travel habits, you’ve probably found yourself wondering over and over again if you’re paying a fair price whenever you’re confronted with a new currency.

Solution: Keep a currency exchange app on your phone. Take out all the uncertainty at the cash register by keeping a reference ready. What’s great about the apps is that they are constantly updating, which means you’ll always know the most recent rate.

Ever feel like you need a vacation after your vacation? It’s probably because you’re signing on for too much. When you’ve only got a set number of days somewhere, it’s tempting to try and do it all, but that’s no reason to treat your vacation like one long to-do list.

Solution: Make peace with not being able to see everything. And if you can’t do that, make a list, identify your priorities, and book only those priorities. Leave everything else up to the moment. Trust me: That cooking class probably won’t seem like such a good idea after you’ve actually completed the three-hour walking tour. 

 Sometimes there is nothing you can do to avoid paying more than you’d like for airfare, but there are a few things you can try to keep from paying more than you should. To help you sidestep the most common errors that even sophisticated travelers make, here are seven flight booking mistakes to avoid before your next trip.

Many major cities have more than one good-sized airport, but by searching only on a specific one, you won’t see potentially better fares to other nearby gateways. A couple of classic U.S. examples are Newark vs. JFK vs. LaGuardia, or Long Beach vs. LAX; overseas a good example is Gatwick vs. Heathrow in London.

To get these airports into the mix, choose the “All Airports” option shown on many airline and flight booking sites that includes a city code instead of an airport code. So when traveling to or from New York, sites like Expedia allow you to use NYC instead of JFK or EWR, and will return fares from all area airports. In Los Angeles, the code for all airports is QLA (instead of the more limited LAX).

In the case of densely populated areas, you can sometimes fly into an entirely different city altogether. For example, San Diego is about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles (depending on traffic, of course); that makes it a somewhat reasonable alternative to Los Angeles, especially if your trip takes you to areas south of L.A. like Newport Beach, San Clemente, and the like. Similarly, Chicago and Milwaukee are about 90 miles apart, and Tampa and Orlando are separated by about 85 miles.

If your booking site does not allow this (for example, CheapFlights.com seems to accept NYC, but not QLA), or you’re not sure what your other options are, another way to discover nearby airports is to do a search on Kayak and select the “Include nearby” option, which will show results for other airports within 70 miles of the one you entered. You can also consult this cool chart from Johnny Jet that lists nearby airports in the U.S. by miles from your departure or destination airport.

It’s long been suspected that airlines and booking engines may show higher fares on routes that you have previously searched. If you are researching an upcoming trip from Chicago to Paris, for example, and have checked airfares on the route frequently in recent days or weeks, the site “knows” you really want these fares, and “guesses” that you might be willing to pay a bit more for them.

I have not been able to duplicate this myself, and Ricky Radka, an airfare analyst at Airfarewatchdog, SmarterTravel’s sister site, hasn’t found any evidence that airlines raise fares if you’ve previously searched for a given itinerary. A recent study found that fares do differ on occasion, but you’re actually more likely to see lower fares if you’re logged into a given booking site rather than searching on a browser with no previous history of researching that route.

Because of this uncertainty, it’s worth trying your search both ways—on your normal browser (preferably while logged into your favorite booking site) and on an incognito browser where your searches aren’t tracked.

Unless you are booking travel for work, it is obviously most convenient to shop for and purchase airfares over the weekend, when you have more free time. However, Airfarewatchdog reports that many airlines release sales early in the week, making Tuesday and Wednesday a good time to catch low fares. 

FareCompare narrows it down even further, reporting that the best time to book U.S. domestic flights is Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern.

This varies somewhat for international flights, as might be expected with airlines based in a variety of countries with different fare updating patterns, so you will want to be a bit more vigilant for international fares. I recommend checking prices throughout the week or signing up for fare alerts from Airfarewatchdog.

Keep in mind, too, that prices for last-minute flights are almost always higher than those booked further in advance. You’re typically better off booking at least six weeks before a U.S. domestic flight, and even further in advance for international itineraries.

Airlines tend to jack up airfares for Friday and Sunday flights for the simple reason that these are the most likely days leisure travelers and vacationers are going to travel. The number of travelers also gets pushed up on Fridays by business travelers racing home, so this can be a particularly pricey day. Mondays can also be pricey thanks to their popularity with business travelers.

The cheapest days to fly tend to be Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Thursdays and Saturdays costing a little more. That means that if your departure or return flight falls on a Monday, Friday, or Sunday, you’re likely paying more than you need to. It may take some creative use of your vacation time—such as a trip that runs Tuesday to Tuesday rather than Sunday to Sunday—but what you lose in flexibility you more than make up for in savings. For more on this, see The Best and Worst Days to Fly.

Like a lot of us, over the years I have accumulated some booking engine loyalties, but they’re not strong enough to keep me from checking fares on multiple sites, especially as I get closer to making the actual booking. There are some great search engines out there that allow you to compare flight prices on multiple sites at once. But relying on any one of them alone would be a mistake. Each site employs slightly different search algorithms, and as a result can sometimes return different prices—and flight times and combinations as well, which certainly adds value.

A good starting point is our list of The Best Flight Search Sites for Booking Cheap Airfare. To make this easier and semi-automated, you may want to set up multiple email alerts, too. It can take significant time to check a whole heap of sites every day, but if you sign up for fare alerts, you’ll be notified when a price goes down.

 And unless you’re aiming for elite status on a specific airline—which generally requires a minimum of 25,000 air miles flown per calendar year, as well as a minimum amount spent—it doesn’t make a lot of sense to base your purchasing decisions around loyalty to an airline or its frequent-flyer program. Shop around on all of the major online travel agencies (OTAs) and directly with the low-cost carriers (like Southwest) whose best fares are nowhere to be found on OTAs. 

Fifty minutes might seem like long enough to get from one gate to another on a domestic flight, but what happens if your first flight is delayed by half an hour? On international flights, have you allowed enough time to go through customs, reclaim your bags, and wait through another security line—even if your first flight doesn’t arrive on time?

Avoid booking domestic connections that are less than an hour, particularly if you know your connecting airport is large and has terminals spread out, or if you’re flying different legs on separate carriers that may not share gate areas and/or terminals. On international flights, allow at least two hours.

Sometimes the money you save on a cheaper airfare is absorbed almost instantly by other expenses you incur. Make sure you check to see if the rates you’re excited about include all taxes and fees, including baggage fees for checked or even carry-on bags. For example, a $200 round-trip flight on American will cost you $260 if you check a bag. That same $200 flight on Southwest will cost you … $200.

Consider other sneaky travel expenses as well: the need to stay in an airport hotel for a really early flight, seat selection fees on a discount airline, or gas and tolls to a more distant airport. Other potential costs might include an extra day in a kennel for your pet or more expensive airport meals on the road when saving by booking connections.

You may also want to check whether one airline has better entertainment options, seatback screens vs. overhead (or none), a better seat layout, more legroom, or better meal service. Price aside, these are all factors that can make a big difference in how pleasant—or miserable—your flight might be.

A good friend recently booked his family on a very early flight out of San Antonio, and at around 7:00 a.m. posted a photo on Twitter of his bleary-eyed teenage daughter dragging herself through the airport. The caption: “Thank you to my daughter for getting up at 3:30 a.m. so we could save $30 on airfare.” Ouch.

• Don’t book a trip to the wrong airport. Make sure you know your airport codes; you don’t want to end up in South Dakota when you meant to go to Hawaii (it’s possible).
• Don’t dismiss the travel agent option—especially if you’ve got complicated, multi-stop flights. If you’ve got an agent you love and who loves you, you’ll quickly see the perks pile up.
• Don’t ignore any follow-up emails or calls from your travel provider. Be sure to update your spam filters to ensure these messages don’t end up in the trash folder. Otherwise, you might miss flight time changes or other important notifications.
• Don’t confuse direct and nonstop flights. A nonstop flight is exactly what it sounds like, while a direct flight may include a few stops along the way to drop off and pick up passengers. You may want to pay the extra fare to get the nonstop (read: faster) trip.

 Getting comfortable on long plane rides is easier said than done—and it’s different for everyone. Depending on your height, medical history, seat preference, and other factors, you’ll need particular adjustments to maximize comfort. Frequent-flying travel experts, however, have just the airplane seat hacks for you.

From minor, on-the-fly adjustments to packing your own seat-comfort accessory, here are the airplane seat hacks that work for experts including a traveling sports medicine chiropractor and SmarterTravel’s own travel editors.

The unsung hero of long flights for many travel experts is makeshift lumbar support. Simply placing a rolled up jacket or blanket across the lower seatback can support the natural curve of the spine in a way that C-shaped airplane seats don’t. And Dr. Norman Eng, Olympic sports medicine chiropractor to Team USA during the 2016 Olympic Games, tells me it’s his  airplane seat hack. 

 “I always try to roll up a blanket or towel and place at the low back region to give some low back support that’s needed,” Eng said. He also advises travelers to “try to get a massage and adjusted before a flight, as it can lessen the potential for neck and low back pain.” 

 I’m sure you’ve all seen the insane immigration lines at the screening 13 airports where passengers waited hours in cattle-like lines, which definitely didn’t follow today’s protocol of social distancing. If I was scheduled to fly home, I would probably wait a few days until airports worked this chaos out.

If you’re considering canceling or still need to fly, here’s one rule TSA is changing, and another thing to consider:

Per the TSA website, “TSA is allowing passengers to bring liquid hand sanitizer containers up to 12 ounces to be permitted in carry-on bags until further notice. Passengers can expect that these containers larger than the standard allowance of 3.4 ounces of liquids permitted through a checkpoint will need to be screened separately, which will add some time to their checkpoint screening experience. Please keep in mind that all other liquids, gels and aerosols brought to a checkpoint continue to be allowed at the limit of 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters carried in a one quart-size bag.”

2. If you’re trying to cancel a future flight, hold off:

More importantly (as hopefully most people aren’t flying unless they truly have to), if you’re trying to cancel a flight and it’s not in the next couple of days, don’t call the airlines. They’re swamped with people scrambling to get home from Europe. Instead, wait a few days if you can. Many airlines are even accepting cancelations online. 

“Our phones are busy. We understand it’s frustrating to wait, but if you’re not traveling in the next 72 hours, please wait until closer to your trip to call. You can cancel your flight online now and call any time before December 31, 2020 to rebook. Please contact your travel agent for help if you didn’t book directly with us.”

Hawaiian Airlines shared a similar message in an email and on its website: “Due to the high call volumes we’re experiencing, we ask that you please refrain from calling us unless you are traveling within the next 72 hours so that we may focus on guests with the most immediate travel needs. For guests who would like to only cancel their flights and are traveling between March 1 – April 30, 2020, you may do so by completing” a form online at HawaiianAirlines.com.”