Some Sweet January Sweeps!

Everyone loves a good give-a-way, so we’ve scoured the web to find some great travel opportunities that won’t cost you a penny – or a point! Good luck!

Where better to spend St. Paddy’s Day than in the mecca of four leaf clovers, Dublin, Ireland? Jameson Irish Whiskey and Pandora have teamed up to offer a 5-night stay for two at a 4-star hotel, plus round-trip airfair, extra spending money, and complimentary access to a number of unique Dublin attractions. Talk about a great Spring get-away. Enter by connecting with Facebook or simply filling in a few lines of contact information here until the 27th of this month, so get a move on!

Try EVRewards for the Best Online Shopping Loyalty Program Rewards

The customer buying experience is a mere exoskeleton of what it once was. Years ago we relied on salespeople and brochures to figure our what we wanted and when to buy it, but today we have all of the information we need right at our fingertips. Unfortunately, there is often so much information out there that figuring out exactly the best bargain can still be a challenge. Enter: EVRewards.

A simple online platform, EVRewards will perform an automatic search of all the available bargains and loyalty programs, including the mile and point conversions for various frequent flyer programs, per online retailer!

For instance, before committing to Best Buy to purchase some new electronics for my niece’s birthday I typed the term “Best Buy” into the search engine and it responded with a complete list of rewards. What I found, among other things, was a promotion code for free shipping and the point/miles per dollar spent conversion for all major airline and hotel programs.With this information at hand, I was able to figure our exactly which card would give me the best bang for my buck.

This may sound a bit confusing but the site could not be more user-friendly. What’s more, this means that you can stop scouring the web for the deals before going to the online retailer’s site. In other words, less time wasted, more money saved!It’s a complete win-win. Try it out here and see for yourself. And FYI, you don’t have to thank us – coming across the site in the first place was gift enough for us!

Guru Tip: It can cost 3 cents or more per mile plus fees (example: $75.25 for 2,000 miles on United) to top off your account from say 98,500 miles to 100,000 miles for your trip. Signup for Netflix for example and earn 1,500 miles, saving you $75.25! That about pays the $8 a month fee, most of a year, or cancel early and you may be able to keep the miles (we hear).

What Does "Inclement Weather" Mean for Your Flight (& Your Wallet)?

Bad weather is a traveller’s enemy. From snowstorms to high wind to volcanic eruptions (a la Iceland’s Grimvotn) – they all mean delays and cancellations. But what about missed connections? We’re always able to get through eventually, but who’s responsible for what when we get there too late for our next flight?

Unsurprisingly, all airlines include a provision against so-called “Acts of God” or problems that arise that they have utterly no control of, like the weather.Essentially, this indicates that the airline has zero responsibility to flyers who miss connections due to weather. That being said, every airline is different and often even the representatives within a given airline will often offer up different responses.

Here’s what we know: typically, if you get booted from a subsequent flight due to nasty weather, most airlines will allow you to rebook a later flight without having to pay the typical rebooking fee. We say most because not all will and, more often than not, you do have to engage a bit of sweet-talking. Sometimes you can even get them to waive the cost difference between tickets - a feat that is much less daunting if you have a paper ticket over an e-ticket. If you cannot get beyond that, you’re unlikely to get all that much love. Hotel stays and food vouchers aren’t offered up willingly unless the delays are unusually long.

If the airline is unwilling to provide you any re-accomodation, you’re booking agent may be able to help. While they typically have similar conditions in their sales contracts that exempt them from fault, their desire to do business again with you may prompt them to eliminate the rebooking fee or offer a discount on a rebooked ticket. Our Guru’s, specifically, are available 24/7 and always right in front of their computer – which means you won’t need to wait as long to rebook. What’s more, we can also often bank your ticket and issue you a new one on a competitive airline in order to get you out faster.

Guru Tip: Go prepared. Always schedule flights so that you have a minimum of one hour in between connections. We suggest checking into some forums to see what other travelers have experienced and what they recommend for connection times at certain airports or for certain routes - or simply ask your Guru.

Beyond that, be familiar with later offerings of your same flight. If you have some idea of the flights you could potentially try and jump on should you miss your connection, you’ll be able to make decisions more quickly and spend less time trying to pull information from sales representatives.

Finally, ask and ye shall receive. Ask for a free change, ask for a flight on another airline (even one that’s not a partner), ask for hotel and food vouchers, ask for an upgraded seat on the next flight, and you just may get it! One client our Guru’s had helped use his miles was stuck due to weather and could not get on his second outbound leg, so by asking, he got a free flight home and a free round-trip to use later - with no fees! You just have to ask, and know its possible.