Arthur Frommer's Blog

FLASH! Congress Just Eliminated the Need for Flight Controllers to Stay at Home, And Those Infamous Flight Delays Should be Over by Tomorrow

We've just received word (and are passing it on to all our readers) that the House of Representatives have just passed the same amendment to the sequester of funds for the Department of Transportation passed yesterday by the U.S. Senate, which will now avoid the need for flight controllers to go on periodic "furloughs" from their jobs. Since President Obama will obviously sign the legislation--and fast, the situation at the nation's airports should return to normal by tomorrow at the latest. If you've been worried about delays in your own fight times, you should no longer do so.
Turns out that Congress, bless their souls, are occasionally capable of acting sensibly.

It's Florida Drive Out Season! One-Way Rentals for $10/Day, No Strings Attached

[By Jason Cochran]
It's one of the best-kept secrets in vacationing: the annual Florida Drive Out.
This is the time of year when the big rental car companies need to rebalance the distribution of their fleets. To convince customers to help them shift their inventory away from winter vacation destinations by the start of the summer travel season, they mark down their prices to nutty levels. And I mean crazy low.
Normally, one-way rentals, during which you drop off a car in a location far from where you rented it, come with massive extra fees. We're talking prices around $1,000 for even the shortest rental periods. But the Florida Drive Out doesn't just eliminate the one-way rental penalty. It also offers sensational daily rates with unlimited mileage. You can drive to every state in the Lower 48 as long as you get it done in three weeks.
This year, 2013, the offer comes from Hertz and Alamo, which are offering one-way rentals from Florida for $9.95 a day for a vehicle from Economy to Full-size class. For a Midsize car or an SUV, it's $15.95 a day, and for a minivan, it's $25.95. 
At those rates, renting a standard car for the full three-week allowance will cost just $209. It's insane! How can you resist a cross-country drive at that price? Rates that low could be even make it worth it to fly to Florida just to pick up a car and travel.
The usual taxes and fees are added to that, but at that level, they don't amount to much. To bring the cost even lower, pick up your car at non-airport locations, where there are fewer government-mandated surcharges.
Both Hertz and Alamo are offering cheap one-way rates as long as you pick up your car by May 31, so you could be on the road until the third week in June if you plan things correctly. You have to pick up your car in Florida, but you can return it anywhere else in the Continental United States.
For the past two years in May, I myself have ruthlessly exploited the Florida Drive Out to explore up and down the East Coast of the United States, using the maximum three-week rental period to check out every national park, battlefield, and historic site that I always meant to see. 
Last year, I used the super-low minivan rate to transport some family heirloom furniture that would otherwise have cost me thousands of dollars to ship. And because three weeks is plenty of time, I had the pleasure of meandering from discovery to discovery on the scenic back roads of America — and entirely avoiding the monotony of the Interstate Highway System.
To book, go through Hertz's promotional page for the Florida Drive Out, which you can find by clicking here.

For Alamo's deal, click here.


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United Jacks its Change fee to $200. What's the Real Cost?

[By Jason Cochran]

Is the $200 change fee coming? No, it's already here.

United is the first airline to jack up the fee it charges to passengers who need to amend their domestic travel plans. Now it'll hit you for $200 to tweak your flight plans. Until April 18, the fee was $150, already very high, which means the company hiked its penalty by a third.

Other airlines are expected to follow suit. Thanks, United.

In their merciless thirst for ever-increasing ancillary income, the airlines have learned that one of the easiest paths to profit is to hold our plans hostage. Business travelers pay the penalty without flinching, but personal lives take a real hit.

Few of us have ever counted the societal costs of high change fees. They have a real knock-on effect in our lives. How many times in the past few years have you been unable to take advantage of some new opportunity or switch up your plans to include someone you love — just because an airline's change fees were too high?

The bad news is buried, as bad news often is, somewhere you're less likely to notice it. United does not list the current change fee amounts on its fee FAQ, stating instead that the fee is "from $0 to $1,000 per passenger, based on applicable fare rules." Which means the only time you'll see that $200 number laid out in front of you will be under the fare rules that you agree to when you buy your United flight.

United already charges up to $75 per passenger to switch flights on the same day, but if you fly a lot with the carrier and already have Premier status, it will cut you a break.

Every airline will also change you the difference in airfare if you change (which is fair), but that's on top of the fee.

There are now only two ways you can get a carrier to look the other way if you want to change a flight you've booked. The first is to change your plans within 24 hours of booking your reservation. 

The other is to buy an unrestricted ticket, but of course, that usually costs hundreds of dollars more anyway, in which case it's like paying a change fee that you may never use.

Oh — I just thought of a third: Fly Southwest. It still has no change fee.

For years, my standard advice on booking cheap air travel was this: Be flexible.

I have to amend that. Now it's this: Be flexible before you book, be inflexible after.


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Photo: United

With Its "Pick Two, Get One" Plan, GetGoing.com Has Taken "Blind Bidding" to New Heights--And Obtained Unprecedented Airfare Savings (They Claim) for You

Let's assume you crave a beach vacation in a hot tropical area--but you don't care exactly where that will be.  Or you want to fly to California, but don't care whether your destination is Los Angeles or San Francisco.  Or--and here's a weird one--you crave a cultural vacation but don't care whether it's in New York or New Orleans.

Based on your ardent desire for a type of vacation regardless of where it is to be found, a new website called getgoing.com claims it will save you a great deal of money on airfare--provided, that is, that you let them choose exactly where you will be going.  A weirder--but possibly more effective--method of saving on airfares has rarely before been offered.

Getgoing's premise is based on the claim that airlines are willing to radically lower the price for people who don't have a specific destination in mind.  These are "discretionary" travelers who are looking mainly for a cheap airfare.  They are a world apart from the business traveler who simply has to fly to a specific place on a specific date, and must have a ticket to that destination regardless of its price.

So GetGoing.com asks you to name the kind of vacation in which you're interested.  Once they learn that, they then offer you several flights (on the date you've chosen to fly) to several different cities or islands.  You agree you will go to either of two.  And they then advise you of the place they've chosen for your trip, out of the two trips you've specified.  (I think I've described the plan).

It's like flipping a coin.  Provided you accept the place they have chosen (and "they" are Getgoing.com), you get a remarkable airfare.  It's called "Pick Two, Get One".  You pick two destinations from a list of many more, and they choose one of them for your flight. You "bid blind", and thus enjoy big savings, because you then permit GetGoing.com to make the choice of one of those two desired goals.

I can't vouch for San Francisco-based GetGoing.com.  I have no idea of how well financed they are, or of their record in fulfilling their promise of savings.  I caution you to "caveat emptor."  But I'm intrigued about this unusual new method of connecting airlines to discretionary travelers, to whom the airlines are apparently willing to give big discounts.

You Can Use a Starbucks Card Abroad Without Fees

[By Jason Cochran]
Starbucks junkies may blow the equivalent of a MacBook Pro a year on those pricey morning cappuccinos, but if they're travelers, there may be one tiny benefit to the transaction.
Travelers may use Starbucks cards as payment in other countries — and they can do it without service fees and at the day's exchange rate as determined by the banks. Even credit cards and ATMs usually sock you with penalties. So even though that cup of coffee costs way too much, at least it costs way too much at the best possible exchange rate.
If you doubt it, read Starbucks' own terms and conditions page, which states "No fees or other charges are made to your Starbucks Card for the conversion. … Currency conversions are based on currency exchange rates applicable on the date of the transaction."
Not every store in every country accepts the card, but many do. According to the company's FAQ, customers may debit their accounts interchangeably at most locations in Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom, all of which happen to see heavy visitation from American coffee junkies. You can also reload money onto the card by Web if you tap out, ensuring that at least for your coffee, the good rate will last.
If your card was issued in Greece, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, or Turkey, you're not in such luck. Those are only good there.
I gave it a go on a recent trip to London, and sure enough, I was able to swipe my pre-paid Starbucks card without a hitch, so unlike everything else I purchased on my trip, at least my caffeine didn't sock me for any more than the sticker price.
Good on Starbucks for figuring out how to export their prepaid card privileges. If only it could import my favorite coffee variety, the "flat white," or espresso with steamed milk and microfilm. Invented a quarter century ago in Australia, where it's one of the most common coffee orders, the flat white made it onto to the permanent Starbucks menu in the United Kingdom a few years ago — I Instagrammed the menu at a store on London's Strand as proof. But my beloved flat white has yet to graduate to the boards Stateside.
Hurry up, Starbucks. This is definitely not a case of better latte than never.


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Holiday Inn Pays Guests To Stay At Its Properties... Sort Of

[By Pauline Frommer]

Holiday Inn will be giving a minimum of $25 in gift cards for either gasoline, train discounts or air discounts to those who stay for two-nights between now and June 30th. Stay 3 nights, and the chain will reward you with a $50 gift card, 4 nights nets $75 and if you can bed down for 5 nights, you'll be eligible for a $100 card.

Does that make this a great deal? Not necessarily. Before you spring, do your due diligence and make sure that area hotels of similar quality aren't undercutting HI's rates.

But heck, if you're a loyalty point collector (and you need to be for this program, though joining is free), why not snag a gift card?

To read all the details, go to http://www.ihg.com/holidayinnresorts/hotels/us/en/global/offers/offers/planes-trains-automobiles.

The 8 most exciting amusement park additions of 2013

[By Jason Cochran]
Sorry, springtime! Our long, hideous winter stole most of your mojo. Summer is quickly approaching, but with spring buds arriving so late, many Americans haven't been prompted to make summer plans yet.
Not at the nation's theme parks. They've been beavering away all winter to make sure their big new attractions are ready for their ribbon-cuttings. Pre-season is also the time to snag the best deals on season passes, since many parks hike admission prices once school lets out. 
Seasonal parks, including the venerable Kennywood in Pittsburgh, halt admission in mid-September, so buying passes early also enables more playtime.
Six Flags' many national properties already have their season pass Web pages up and selling, and right now, they're offering fat discounts for those who buy early. For example, Six Flags over Georgia, outside Atlanta, is selling passes for $57 for adults, and for $65, it will throw in unlimited admission to any Six Flags theme park across the country. Considering a single-day adult ticket costs $57 if you walk up to the front gate, for anyone who intends to visit a Six Flags more than once, the savings can be locked in today. 
Just about every park is adding something designed to entice the domestic vacationer, but here are eight highlights:
SeaWorld OrlandoOrlando, FLSeaWorld.comMore than 250 penguins (you got your rockhopper, you got your gentoo…) share the newly built Antarctica — Empire of the Penguin pavilion that takes up the largest footprint in the park's history. The penguin habitat is two degrees below freezing, and that provides the chills, but the thrills come with the attached ride, which breaks ground by using a trackless computer-navigated system that allows boarding families to select both the intensity and the path of their ride.

Cedar PointSandusky, OHcedarpoint.comOnce again, coaster powerhouse Cedar Point goes for broke with its new GateKeeper wing coaster, which is promoted as smashing five world records, including longest track, longest drop, and tallest inversion. It threads itself right through the front gate.

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Mt. Olympus Water & Theme ParkWisconsin Dells, WImtolympuspark.comThe wooden beast known as Hades was already a take-no-prisoners coaster that both rocketed high in the air and ducked underground. Now it has gone and added some upside-down moments — yes, on a wooden coaster — to up the ante nearly past endurance (and physics).
Universal StudiosOrlando, FLuniversalorlando.comLike a supersized version of its now-legendary Spider-Man ride, the Transformers ride-through simulator debuts on the East Coast. Think 45-foot-tall screens, state-of-the-art 3-D visuals, and a sound system that can blow your hair back. But that's nothing compared to the next big area now under construction: Universal won't confirm it, but it's an open secret that Harry Potter is eventually expanding into the area where the Jaws ride once stood.
Six Flags over GeorgiaAustell, GAsixflags.com/overgeorgiaThe park adds SkyScreamer, a 242-foot-tall swing carousel.  The same ride has gone into other Six Flags properties lately, but the addition is particularly nostalgic here. Locals grieved in 2005 when the park removed The Great Gasp, the iconic parachute tower that signalled the property for miles around, but with the new tower, Atlanta's amusement skyline is restored.
The Legoland HotelCarlsbad, CALegolandHotel.comLegoland does theme parks for little kids like few other brands can, and it extends is meticulous brick-themed decor to a custom-built 250-room property. It's a bit more expensive than the surrounding motels, but the point of difference is it immerses each room in ebulliently playful themes such as pirates and knights, and the grounds are studded with stupefyingly detailed Lego constructions. It's like sleeping inside a toy chest.
Six Flags Fiesta TexasSan Antonio, TXSixFlags.com/FiestaTexasThe old Rattler wooden coaster closed after 20 years to be refitted with steel rails as the reinvented Iron Rattler. The metal construction enables the reborn coaster to perform some gnarly new barrel rolls and steepen the first drop to a virtually vertical 81 degrees.

Silver Dollar City
Branson, MO
SilverDollarCity.com
Probably the hottest new roller coaster in the country, the $10 million Outlaw Run is billed as featuring the world's only double barrel roll on a wood coaster and as being the only wood coaster to twist upside down three times. It is also the second-fastest wooden coaster, hitting a splintering 68 mph. The proprietors assure us that it's all perfectly safe.

Upcoming Flight Delays, Upcoming Free Admission to National Parks, and Upcoming Cancellations of the Carnival Triumph: The Miscellany of Travel

[This is a guest post by Pauline Frommer]

Head OutsideNational Parks Week kicks off tomorrow, presenting a wonderful opportunity to get reacquainted with some of American's greatest wonders: Alcatraz, Arches National Park, Acadia National Park... and those are just the "A's."  April 20th will be "Junior Ranger" day, meaning lots of special activities for the young 'uns. National Volunteer Day falls April 19th, a good chance to give back. There should be additional special events happening throughout the Parks System, all of it free for a week, including entrance fees to the parks. And go to http://www.nps.gov/ for complete information.

A Slow Down of the Slow Down?A major rumble has erupted between the major U.S. airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration! The former have banded together in a group called Airlines for America, and are suing the FAA, contending its plans to furlough air traffic controllers, due to sequester cuts, are unnecessary. It was estimated that these furloughs would cause massive delays and flight cancellations across the United States. The furloughs were supposed to start this Sunday. Secretary Ray La Hood issued a statement that since 70% of the FAA's budget goes to personnel costs, furloughs are the only way to make up for the $647 million the agency lost. I hope the airlines are putting aside a little money to lobby congress to end this crazy sequester.

More Carnival CancellationsUSA Today is reporting that the Carnival Triumph will not be getting passengers as soon as expected. There's still more work to do, apparently, so the June 3 and 8 sailings have been eliminated. Passengers will receive a full refund and 25% off their next cruise. Is that enough to get them to try Carnival again? It's an open question.

Pay Just $110 Per Night for a Lovely, Manhattan Hotel This Spring (No That's Not a Misprint)

[This is a guest post by Pauline Frommer]

Views of the Hudson river (from some rooms), fluffy duvets, larger-than-normal rooms, a primo location, free wifi, a useable gym and a genuinely friendly staff--these are the elements that make the Belleclaire Hotel in NYC a top pick, even during the periods that it's charging $239-and-up for its rooms.

Yes, it's an older property but in this case that's going to work in travelers' favor. To celebrate the hotels 110th anniversary, it will be charging just $110 a night for its rooms for stays between April 19th and Labor Day.

The catch? You have to get old-fashioned and use the phone. But those who call the hotel at 877-468-3522 between the noon on April 19 and midnight on April 20th, mentioning the "Belleclaire birthday promotion" are in for some lovely, and cheap, sleeps.

My advice: Call early in the afternoon on the 19th. I'm guessing this one's going to sell out.

Supporting Boston: Why We Should All Return to This Spectacular City

[This is a guest post by Pauline Frommer]

London. Madrid. New York City. Mumbai. Bali. Washington, DC.

This is just a short list of the great world destinations that have been hit by devastating terrorist attacks in the last decade-and-a-half. All are thriving today, and all remain among the top places in the world for tourism.

But that “happy ending” didn’t come all at once in some cases. Both Bali and New York City, in particular, saw serious drops in their tourist numbers after events that made them synonymous with terror in some would-be visitor’s minds.

It’s too soon to know whether Boston will suffer the same fate, though it is telling to note that the major airlines that service the city, offered customers the ability to change their tickets without fee yesterday, though service was going forward as scheduled. I’m guessing airline execs assumed a lot of people would be rethinking whether to visit this important city.

So why should you visit Boston now? Here are my top reasons.

1)    Do hugs appeal to you? Visitors will be embraced, both literally and figuratively, by thankful locals. They understand that choosing to spend your vacation dollars in Boston today is an act of solidarity, and they’ll be grateful for the gesture.

2)    Public celebrations of numerous milestones. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the acclaimed Boston Ballet, meaning inventive programming, a higher level of excitement at performances and special galas. The Old State House, arguably the most historic building in this highly historic town (the Declaration of Independence was read from its balcony), will be turning 300 with a splashy array of special museum exhibits, lectures and programs. And for the little ones, the Boston Children’s Museum is celebrating its 100th year with all-new exhibits, lots of kid-friendly parties and special events.

3)    For the Art of the Place: Not only are the colonial structures of central Boston a happy eye-full, the city boasts two of the finest art museums in this hemisphere. The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum, an exquisite collection housed in the former home of its patroness, was significantly (and gorgeously) expanded in 2012, with a new addition by Renzo Piano. Its famed Titians, Rembrandts, Botticellis and John Singer Sargent works still take pride of place (most particularly Europa by Titian, considered by some to be the finest Renaissance work in North America). And the Museum of Fine Arts continues to dazzle with visitors flocking to its fairly recent (2010) new Americas wing as well as its magnificent collection of Impressionist works.

4)    It’s right next to Cambridge: Which means two really unique destinations in one. Head to Cambridge for strolls in fabled Harvard Yard; free tours, led by students, explore the history of the campus, though you can ask these young geniuses anything you like about student life. A warning: they bristle when you ask if Harvard was accurately portrayed in “The Social Network”. The Mount Auburn Cemetary is also worth a look-see (it’s one of the prettiest and most notables-filled in the Americas), as is the Peabody Museum and Harvard Natural History Museum. And heck, pretending you’re still a student in Harvard Square is a hoot.

These are just a handful of reasons to go. But probably the most important is: to do a good deed. Boston needs your support. And it could be a heckuva lot of fun to give it!