Labor Day is traditionally the time of year when Americans pack up the summer stuff and get ready for the fall. It’s not a bad time to do a little travel housekeeping too. Here are four ideas for starters:
1. Plan ahead for Christmas/New Years If you know you are traveling for Thanksgiving, or the Christmas- winter holidays, book now. If you didn’t book yesterday. One constant every year in our office is telling clients who want to fly somewhere Wednesday-Sunday of Thanksgiving week, or most days around Christmas that there just aren’t any seats a month out.
Or at least no seats at a price that isn’t stratospheric. For anyone who has children who are away at college, I always tell them to book flights home as soon they have their class schedule.
2. Check your passport expiration date if you haven’t lately. And, if you travel frequently, check how many empty pages you have. Some countries want a full empty page for visas, other countries require six months validity for entry.
Fall is usually a fast time to get a new passport too, or extra pages.
3. Check your frequent flier mileage balances If you spread travel around between different airlines this is the time to check on how close elite membership may be. Being “elite” these days doesn’t only mean bonus miles and occasional upgrades, it can mean some serious money.
Most carriers exempt their elite members from baggage fees and some premium seat fees. Even if you wouldn’t pay the extra seat fees, it’s hard not to check luggage at some point. In addition, it means higher priority for waitlists, which can come in especially handy if you miss a connecting flight and have to standby for the next one.
If you’re a long way away from “elite level,” that’s one thing, but being a couple thousand miles away in December can be maddening, especially if you had an opportunity to fly that carrier earlier.
4. Check your FF mileage expiration dates. It’s easier than you might think to go 12-18 months without traveling on an airline, and these days, that’s enough to lose all your accredited miles. Especially since most airlines don’t go out of their way to warn you.
Saving your miles doesn’t even have to involve flying the carrier in question, since airlines will allow miles for rental cars, hotels and even online shopping.
None of these “travel housekeeping” items will take that long, with the possible exception of booking holiday flights. But they can save you time and money in the long run.
Photo: © Leocha
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
