International Travel and Credit Cards

If you are traveling out of the country, be sure to call your credit card company and have them place a note on your account regarding your trip.  If their computers suddently see a bunch of activity internationally it is likely to trigger the fraud alerts.  Letting them know ahead of time won’t guarantee that it won’t get cut off, but it can help.  In my experience American Express is less likely be cut off than Visa or Mastercard.

Controversy over Pay by Pound Flight Idea

In May I asked if readers would be willing to pay by the pound for airline travel. (The idea sounds fair to me.) The comments are pretty interesting to read so I thought I’d point them out for anyone who is interested. Bloomberg has a story about the idea as well.

American Airlines Suitcase Charge

American Airlines is going to start charging an extra $15 if you want to check a suitcase to help with the high cost of fuel.  I’ve heard that some airlines are considering charing passengers “by the pound” so the cost of your ticket better reflects the cost of the fuel required to move you from point A to point B.  What do you think?  Would you mind paying for flights based on your weight?

Simple Tip

When buying electronics, try to get items that can be charged using a standard USB cable. It makes it a lot easier to travel when one charger fits multiple devices.

Noise Canceling Headsets

Many years ago, I was reading a popular science article reviewing the first noise canceling headsets.  (Noise cancellation is done by creating a sound wave exactly the opposite of the ambient noise so the two waves cancel each other out and you hear silence.)  The reviewer noted that he had no jet lag when wearing the headset on a long flight.

Has anyone experienced this?

Tuesday’s Tip: Travel Paper Folder

We have done more than our fair share of traveling. When you are going to another country there is always a certain amount of paperwork you have to take with you. When you are traveling with a pet you have even more requirements.

Years ago, we started a folder for Travel documents that has everything we might need for traveling. If a copy might work, we have several copies in the folder ready to go. That way when we decide to take a trip, we have one place to go for everything we might need including, copies of our birth certificates, marriage license, passports, dog’s immunization records, etc.

Having everything in one place has saved us many hours because we don’t have to think about each individual item and where we keep it. Everything we might need is in one place so we are always prepared with anything immigration might ask for.