November 2006

Found today on InflightHQ is a reference to a very interesting article.

There is a new frequent traveler program which is about to be rolled out in the United States. From the article: “Those willing to pay a $100 annual fee will no longer have to take off their shoes before flying, and their photo ID card containing biometric information will allow them to be processed as quickly as 30 seconds” (see the full article here)

I am happy to see that airlines are doing something to try to alleviate the frustration of airport lineups- even if it is a program you have to pay for (though $100 is a bit steep).

This program looks even better if you look at it in combination with the Nexus program which is being implemented to reduce customs waiting times.

Pretty soon airport lineups could be a thing of the past (hopefully).

I wrote an earlier post about Taxis and Limosines. Yesterday I came across a situation where taking a limosine was much better than taking a taxi.

I landed in the middle of the afternoon in New York, at Laguardia airport, expecting to take a taxi into Manhattan.

Unfortunately when we came out of the terminal we encountered what can only be described as a huge lineup for the taxis. There must have been at least two hundred people waiting in line.

As a result of the lineup we went back inside the terminal and asked for a limosine service. We got one which cost us just a few dollars more than a taxi would have, and we waited only five minutes.

So today’s tip is that sometime it makes sense to check the limo service.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Montreal airport has free wifi.

Well this post is from the free wifi there. I have seen rates between 11 Mbps and 1Mbps

Not bad for free.

Once again the guys at Flyertalk are on top of the latest info. They pointed out this week that the CIBC Aerogold Visa is now going to be offering 1.5 Aeroplan miles per dollar spent on groceries, gas, and drug stores. You can find the post from Flyertalk here and info from the CIBC website here.

This is a great improvement for everyday users of this card for collecting Aeroplan points. I currently use the CIBC Aventura card for business and the MBNA SPG Mastercard for personal use but I have been thinking about switching my Aventura back to Aerogold. Now I may switch back to the Aerogold for everyday spending and the MBNA SPG card for business.

It looks like Aeroplan is becoming very agressive with their partnerships. Just recently they also announced that Uniprix is also becoming an Aeroplan partner.

These are good times for Aeroplan collectors.

Flyaway Weblog has an interesting post this week about handling your finances abroad. You can find the post here. I have previously written a post on a similar topic called Accessing money while travelling.

The main point here is that when you need to change money while travelling, check the exchange rate that is used and the service fees that are charged. Sometimes you will get a better exchange rate but have to pay a large service fee which ends up nullifying the better rate.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all exchanges are the same- that thinking can cost you a lot of money. As I mentioned in my other post, I changed the exact same amount of money in two different locations in Scotland and there was a 20 dollar(10 pound) difference. The first place charged me 4% more than the second. On a single transaction maybe this is not a lot, but over several transactions in can add up.

Today I would like to offer another tip about frequent flier miles.

Previously I have talked about collecting frequent flier miles here and here. I have also discussed additional ways to find miles in unexpected places. Today I found another way to find miles. This is something that I have been doing for a while, it just happened to come in handy today.

My tip for the day is to subscribe to the e-mail newsletter of the points program you are a member of.

As I am an avid collector of Aeroplan miles, I get the Aeroplan newsletter sent to me. Every so often I go through my e-mail and scan the newsletters. Today was such a day. I was scanning through a bunch of these e-mails when I saw the title: Stay with Best Western for Triple Aeroplan Miles from an newsletter I received November 10th.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I am travelling to New York next week. What I did not mention is that I happen to be staying in a Best Western hotel. I usually prefer to stay at Marriott hotels but this one is very well located for where I need to be.

I was not a member of the Best Western hotel program. However, upon seeing this e-mail I followed the instructions and joined. The best part is that now I am registered to get three times the number of aeroplan miles that I would normally get. The entire process took less than 5 minutes.

It’s nice to see that sometimes things work out well.

Here is a tip to help you save money with your hotel bookings. If you have made your plans well in advance, double check the hotel rate the week before you travel.

I am going to New York City next week. As I have known the dates of the tradeshow for a long time my hotel was booked a couple of months ago.

Yesterday I went to the hotel website just to make sure that they have high speed internet (they do), and just for fun I put in the dates next week that I would be staying there, to see how much more the last-minute planners have to pay.

I was very surprised to see that the price shown on the website to me was cheaper than the price on my original booking. In fact over the 3 days of my stay it is $100 cheaper. And as we have three people from company my staying at this hotel, the time I took to double check (5 minutes) allowed my company to save $300.

So do make it a point to double check your prices- it might save you some money.

Over the last few days I have written about the issues I have had with British Airways- here are some ideas about how to complain effectively. These can be used for pretty much any situation.

1. If you remember just one thing, remember this. Keep copies of all relevant documentation. This includes all e-mails, letters, ticket stubs, receipts, related to the situation.
2. When you call Customer Service, state the facts, and try to get the person you talk to to look at the situation from your point of view.
3. Remember that the job of the Customer Service representative to listen to your issue, but they rarely have any power to resolve the issue. However, they can serve a very important function which is to guide you to the right way to get things done within their company. This can be very important and save you a lot of time.
4. Do not hesitate to ask for names, and to take things to a higher level if you are not satisfied with the answers that you are given.

This post is about the second issue that I have had with British Airways. Strangely enough this is also related to the last trip I had with them.

I must preface this by saying that I have used British Airways for at least one hundred flights during the last few years and have had no problems at all; I consider them to be a better then average airline and I would not hesitate to recommend traveling with them. But until now I have never needed to contact their Customer Service department.

As mentioned in a previous post- I went on a vacation to Scotland in late August. We arrived in Scotland but our bags did not. We were given a reference number at the airport and three days later British Airways did deliver the bags to my aunt’s house.

However, as we only had the clothes we were wearing during our travel, we did need to go and buy some clothes and toiletries.

We did not spend a lot of money, and before beginning our return journey we stopped in at the British Airways lost baggage department. The staff there told us that we should make sure that we kept our receipts and that we should make a claim using the internet form on the BA website.

So a few days after our arrival back in Montreal we sent an e-mail using the online form. We got back a standard form letter saying please give us 6-8 weeks to reply. OK fine. But now it has been 10 weeks.

No contact other than a form letter response.

Once again I feel like we have been let down by BA Customer Service.

I have been a big fan of British airways up until this year.

On my last trip to the UK I had two major problems. The first of which was that BA overcharged me by $1,000 for my return flight.

You would think that this issue would be easily cleared up by calling in to customer service right? Wrong.

A bit of history… I had booked the flights using BA miles. At the end of my vacation when we got to the airport for our return flight the counter staff could not find my reservation, even with the booking reference that they had sent to me.

The counter staff at Glasgow airport sent us to the service counter where I explained the situation- including the fact that I had bought the tickets with points. The staff there gave me paper tickets and told me that everything was fine.

Imagine my surprise next month when my credit card statement arrived and I was charged an extra $1,100 for my return flights.

So, I called the British Airways Customer Service line. After going through the whole story, and spending some time on hold, the agent confirmed that in their system, instead of giving me the rewards ticket that I ordered- they had issued me regular one way tickets for the return.

What this means is that because I unknowingly used the regular fare return tickets, in their system I still have two unused return tickets which were issued on points. Of course my intention was to travel on the points tickets.

The British Airways agent I spoke to agreed that I should be refunded for the regular tickets, but that she couldn’t do anything herself and that I had to send a fax or e-mail to Customer Service.

That seemed reasonable. So I prepared a seven page fax including all relevant information and faxed it to the customer service department.

This was six weeks ago.

I received Nothing. Not even an acknowledgement, reference number, or confirmation.

I have faced many odd situations in my travels before but never this one- so I took it to the experts. And based on recommendations from the great people at Flyertalk; two weeks ago I initiated a charge dispute with my credit card company.

So I called my credit card company, they asked me to fax all of the information I had, and I have already received a letter confirming the complaint and telling me that they will be investigating this issue.

I am now more comfortable that this will be resolved soon. But it does highlight an incredible deficiency in the way customer service issues are dealt with at British Airways. They could learn something from credit card companies. 

The last time I was travelling internationally (last week); as I was browsing through the duty free stores I noticed a couple of things. So I thought I would give a couple of tips about Duty Free.

1. Duty Free does not always mean good deal. The price at Duty Free does not include tax but it may be more expensive where you are making the purchase. The solution is to know what a good price is for what you want to buy. In my own case I like scotch. I know roughly what a bottle should cost which allows me to make a good choice.

2. If you have the time, you can find better prices outside of the duty free stores at the airport. Of course you may not want to spend your valuable time looking for things but if you know exactly what you want, ask your hotel concierge, or even better, a taxi driver, where you can find the item at a good price.

3. On your outbound journey keep a copy of the duty free magazine from your seat pocket. Assuming that you are flying the same airline on the way back, they may have better pricing or different selection of duty free items than you will find at the airport stores. Take a look at it just before your return journey so that you know your alternatives when you go to the duty free store.

4. Keep in mind that in some cases you can even collect points on duty free purchases- which can give you other benefits. In this case I am thinking specifically of the BAA Worldpoints program, but I am sure there are others.

Just a quick update on my issues rescheduling a flight with American Airlines which I mentioned earlier this week.

On thursday I had called to try and get a change to flight from one leaving at 5 p.m. to an earlier flight which left around noon. The initial feedback from American Airlines customer service was that I had to pay $500; which even they agreed did not make sense, or that I should go to the airport on friday and fly standby.

As I did not have anything else to do on friday I went to the airport in the morning well before the earlier flight. The American Airlines counter people were very nice. I was put on the earlier flight, given an exit row seat and was not charged anything for the change. Thank you American for the outstanding service.

A little more on problems with airlines… Which airlines do people hate the most? Have a look at the 7 worst airlines from Christopher Elliott’s blog. The article is here. I am actually surprised that Continental is last (not the worst), I would have thought they would be much lower.

Why do I think this? Well, I stopped flying Continental after going on a trip to Florida with them four years ago. This was not the first time that I had flown with them but it was bad enough to get me to stop all together.

The first bad part was the way there. I could not believe that the flight was over four hours long and we only got a muffin and a drink. That’s it. There wasn’t even any food we could buy- I don’t know why.

On our return we encountered the worst check in person I have ever encountered. First of all she was visibly upset with us that our bags were too heavy. We were a few pounds over the limit and we did expect to pay something- but we were charged for every single pound that she could charge us for and in total it cost us $300. I think that if it was legally possible for her to charge us more she would have.

As if that was not enough, this same representative was totally rude when we asked if it was at all possible to change our seat assignments (I think we had 2 middle seats and we wanted one window). We were told that the computer doesn’t allow it. When I asked nicely if they could check again we were told, more slowly  “The computer does not allow it. Do you know how a computer works?”. I could not believe that I was being talked to like I was an idiot.

The result? I fly a lot for business- minimum once or twice every month- and since that trip four years ago I have refused to fly with Continental. There have been several times when company travel agents have initially booked me with that airline and I make sure that they change it.

I don’t know if they have improved since then- and frankly I don’t care. But the point is that airlines should be very aware of how the interaction of their staff with their clients can affect public perception. The worst airlines need to take note…

I am currently on a business trip, and have completed my meetings. I am now trying to reschedule my flight home to an earlier time in the day tomorrow because I was originally on a late flight.

I have found that the best way to get a ticket changed is usually to call the airline directly as they are the ones who will be letting you on the flight you require.

So I call up American Airlines to ask if I can get on the earlier flight tomorrow. Please hold….. I’m sorry sir, that would be $500 plus fees…. then some explanation about the kind of ticket my travel agent booked. I missed the explanation due to my surprise at the price- my full original ticket including 3 flights was only $1000. The person I talked to at American Airlines was actually very nice and recommended that I just go to the airport tomorrow and they will probably get me on the earlier flight just for a small fee, because there are over 60 seats still available.

I guess the question I am asking myself today is- how can it be over $500 to reschedule a flight one day, then $50 or $100 less than 24 hrs later. Does this make a lot of sense?

 This is exactly the kind of thing that people hate about airlines.

Once you have collected some miles there is the question of what to spend the points on. Hopefully you went through some of this process when you started to collect points. To make sure you are getting the best value for your points you need to figure out what they are worth. How to do this? There is some excellent information on how to value your frequent flier miles or points on Gary Steiger’s website freefrequentfliermiles

Using the formula Gary recommends, I end up with my British Airways and Aeroplan miles being worth 2 cents each, my airmiles miles at 12.5 cents each, and my Marriott points at 1 cent each. This is going to be helpful for the next time I look at whether or not to use my points for something.

I find that having points is like collecting change in a piggy bank, it takes a while to get anything useful, but over time it is definitely possible. In most cases it is worth using the miles when you can because the managers of these loyalty programs can, and do, change the rules at any time.

Having just commented on how long the lineups are at airports- I just had one of the best airport experiences I have ever had.

Denver International airport is so well organized, the only other place I can compare it to is Dubai airport. This is what I just experienced:

I arrived at the airport 50 minutes before my flight was scheduled to depart. I know this is very late but it was unavoidable. First, upon disembarking from the rental car shuttle bus, I was greeted by a United attendant who checked my bag and gave me my boarding pass. One person in front of me in line, so maybe 2 minutes wait.

I decided to go through security immediately nbecause you never know how long that will take, it was very fast. Maybe 5-10 minutes I and was through.

Denver airport is pretty big, so you do have to take a train to your concourse. But I actually managed to get to my gate within 20-25 minutes of my initial arrival at the airport. This is incredible, especially considering that I had been initially worried about missing my flight. 

A few years back I had a similar experience in Dubai airport. My flights had me landing in Dubai and leaving on a connecting flight 45 minutes later. I was concerned that this would not give me time to reach my next flight, but my travel agent said that the system allowed the booking so it should be ok. When I got off of the first flight I was directed to a counter where I was issued the boarding pass for my second flight, and told where the gate was. In less than 20 minutes I was at the gate for my second flight, just at the beginning of boarding.

Now I ask myself- if some airports can be this efficient, why can’t the rest of them take some notes from the good ones?

As I was passing through Montreal airport this morning I wondered to myself what the airports could do to make things more convenient for passengers. I spend a lot of times waiting at airports which gives me a lot of times to think about this. Here is what happened today:

I go to the airport an hour and a half before my flight, which is about the latest I could get there. There is a lot of waiting at airports. And waiting in line happens to be one of my pet peeves.

This morning I counted that I had to wait no less then four times.

1. First you have waiting in line just to do self check in.
2. Next you wait to get a luggage tag.
3. Thirdly you wait waiting to pass through US customs, and
4. You wait to pass through the security check

I would have experienced a fifth wait- the waiting prior to boarding at the gate, but on this occasion by the time I actually got through security I just had enough time to get to my gate and I ended being one of the last passengers to board the plane.

What really amazed me is that my luggage was put onto a conveyor belt just before I entered the security zone. This was about half an hour before my flight was departing, between my third and fourth lineups. I thought that my luggage wouldnt get on the plane, but lo and behold, my luggage was off the plane and on the conveyor at my destination when I got there.

If they can do this for luggage they must be able to do something for people. I am not saying that it will be possible to eliminate all waiting, but I think that someone smart should take a look at how to minimize some of these waits.

One of the things I always tell people is to always keep some cash on you while traveling, because you never know when you will come across a situation when you will need it.

I broke my own rules today.

I wasn’t traveling- but I am leaving on a one week business trip tomorrow. I usually keep some cash on me but in this case I thought to myself never mind, I will use credit cards today, and for the rest of the week I will be in the United States so there is no need for Canadian cash.

This afternoon we decided to go and find a small honey farm outside of Montreal. The farm sells over 40 different kinds of honey, and when we went to pay they said sorry, we only take cash. I had seen a back one kilometer back down the road so I excused myself to go and get some money. The machine was not working. The problem when you are out in the country is that you really don’t know how far the next bank is going to be, and I had never been to this area before so I just started to drive. I passed a couple of gas stations and considered going in and asking where the nearest bank was but, I am a man, and in any case, I know what banks look like so there was no real need to do that, it would waste valuable driving time. I eventually found a street which looked like it had commercial buildings and I found my bank machine and made my way back to the honey farm- my entire trip to get some cash taking me 40 kilometers and close to an hour.

This is a prime example of why you should always keep some cash on you.

As I mentioned in another post these days it is a good idea to have a couple of small gifts handy when you are travelling. This can be especially useful in some situations. As a person from North America, it not always customary to bring gift for clients and it can also be seen as some sort of influencing. However, in some cultures it is required protocol, and in fact can be considered as extremely rude if you do not have a gift for the people you are meeting. Just as you would not go over to someones house for dinner without bringing wine or dessert, you should always be ready to offer a gift if it is necessary.

So, here are some ideas about getting gifts.

The first question is what to get. I myself usually like to bring a get a gift which is local from you live, and as such would be difficult for the recipient to get themselves. As I live in Canada, I often bring something related to maple. This could be something like maple syrup or maple candy. Sometimes, if I know that the person that I will visit may drink, I will being Sortilege which is a maple whisky liquor which is made here in Quebec. Or, I may choose to bring some local artisanry like an Inuit carving, made from wood or stone. If I know that I will meet a lot of people then I may being small things like pens or key chains.

One important thing to keep in mind is to be very aware of the culture of the people you are visiting, in some cases (more in the Western world), offering gifts can be seen as influencing, but in some, like in the Middle East for example, it is very common an part of normal practice. In fact, I have been at meetings where my local partner asked if I had any gifts for the people I was meeting, while I was visiting. I was very surprised as he had not asked me in advance if I had brought anything. Has I not been ready, it may have resulted in a very embarrasing situation.

Another point to remember is that it is good to have a couple of different gifts. This way, if one person is more important or higher ranking, they get a better gift.

Finally, if you have some kind of an ongoing relationship with the person that you will visit, try to keep a mental note of what they like- I had one client in the Middle East who had told me that his wife loved chocolate, so every time I would come I would make sure to bring a box for her.

Keep these ideas in mind and I’m sure your gift giving will go well.

I just ran across what must be the definitive list airport wifi access over at travelpost.com. They also have a listing of the airports with free wifi access here

A few of the airports on the free list are in Canada and my home town Montreal is mentioned as one. I have never bothered to try connecting there but as it happens I will be passing through this airport twice in the next two weeks, so I will be checking it out.

For those of you who are just starting to travel for business, here are a few pointers to make your business travel easier. When I was in Scouts I was told to “be prepared” and hopefully this will help you.

1. Bring wrinkle-free clothes. If your clothes are not wrinkle free you can have them pressed by most hotels for a small fee.
2. Always be ready for the common situations. In my own case, as I am in sales, I am often asked to give a presentation. These presentations can last anywhere from 5 minutes to two hours, so I am always keep my computer pre-loaded with them which allows me to start anytime when asked. The second thing that I get asked all of the time, because I am in sales, is for pricing. So I keep a copy of our price list taped to the inside cover of my notebook. 
3. If you are renting a car- rent one with a GPS. The additional few dollars a day is well worth it in order to guarantee that you are not late to an important meeting.
4. Always have one or two small gifts with you. This is maybe not as common in North America, but in many countries you will be given a gift and it is important to be able to return the favour

I just commented a couple of days ago about why lounges can’t provide free wifi access, and it looks like there is hope. At least one lounge is offering free wifi- the Continental lounge in Boston Logan:

from an article in Roadgladiator

The FCC has finally ruled that “Continental Airlines can continue to offer free Wi-Fi access through Continental’s own selected carrier in its Presidents Club Lounges, including the lounge at Boston’s Logan International Airport“.

I have checked, and I can use my Priority Pass there. Sweet.

This is some additional info from yesterday’s post, airplane tips- but here are some tips while you are actually on the plane.

1. Take off your shoes- your entire body swells up when you are flying and is not a good idea to keep your feet or any other part of your body constricted.
2. Drink lots of water- it is well known fact is that you dehydrate more rapidly while flying.
3. If you are going on a trip more than three hours long- buy a portable headrest- these are U shaped pillows that fit around your neck. They are inexpensive and can be found at most airports. There come in a few different versions- I have tried the inflatable and the beanbag versions of these- while the beanbag versions are a bit more comfortable, the additional bulkiness to carry around is not worth it for me.

I have been on many long flights, the worst of which was a direct New York to Johannesburg flight- a 14 and a half hour journey.

Here are some ideas for making your flights easier- especially for long haul flights.

1. Before checking in, take a look at a seating site such as seatguru to make sure that you are sitting in the best possible seat on the plane for your class of ticket.
2. Check in early- the earlier you check in, the better chance of getting a good seat. Many airlines are now offering the possibility of checking in online, 24 hours before your light. Ideally you want your seat confirmed before you go to the airport.
3. Try to get a seat in the emergency exit row. Exit rows offer slightly more legroom then regular seats- this is so well known that they are usually booked by other frequent fliers but it is worth a try to get one when you check in.
4. If you cannot get an exit row seat, get a window seat. On a long trip I always try to get a window seat so I can lean the pillow on my window to sleep. The only exception to this is in the last few rows of the plane, because the fuselage of the plane curves inward giving less room to the window seats in the last rows.

This is written for those of you who bring far too much luggage with you when you travel- you know who you are.

Before I start packing for trip I do think about the type of trip I am going on (business or personal) , and the destination. These are the two things that make a big difference in determining what I will be needing. When I say need I mean actually will definitely use- not what I might use.

Bringing too much can also cost you money. I was formerly a person who brought far too much on while traveling. And I have found out that not only can it be a nuisance to travel with a lot of extra items, it can actually cost you. On one occasion I brought a lot of luggage on a 2-week trip to Florida. During my trip I took advantage of the great prices and bought lots of clothes on sale or discounted; only to get charged $300 at the airport for excess luggage on my return flight. This didnt make the clothing deals seem that great.

Most people bring far too many items on a trip- if you are taking a road trip for a week and you are two people in a large minivan- go ahead, take that extra lounge chair- but for most situations less is better. The truth is, there are very few times where you will be somewhere and it is impossible to get what you need, or find an equivalent alternative. On my last trip to Venezuela I opened up my suitcase on the first day only to find that I did not have any bathing suit for a week at the beach. So in this case I bought another one- not the kind of bathing suit that I would normally wear but it worked for me for that week. I also had just broken my digital camera just before leaving, so I bought a disposable one- again. This was not an ideal replacement, but the disposable camera did have some advantages over the digital one: it made me much more relaxed about losing or damaging the camera.

My favorite item to bring while traveling is a couple of plastic bags. It is a good idea to use them to put some clothes or valuables in. I have seen suitcases show up at their destination very wet, on several occasions. This is especially important if you use a suitcase made of material since water will soak through the case.

So my advice is, bring only what you are 100 percent sure you will use, and always have some plastic bags with you.

There are a lot of ways to save money when buying something, this applies when you are travelling but I guess this can also apply for buying something at home too… Here are a couple of things to keep in mind…

1. When buying something, try to do your research so you know what the value of the object is. It is usually more difficult when you travel to know if you are getting a fair price, but you can always try several places offering the same item, or ideally, find someone local who can give an idea. In my experience the best source of information in most cities are taxi drivers. They tend to know the best places for whatever it is you are looking for. Second place would be your hotel concierges. It is their job to able to find anything, but I personally find their service hit and miss; some are very good and others not so.
2. You should always try to negotiate, especially on more expensive things. Don’t accept the first price they give you. I was in India one time wanting to buy a carpet, the seller started off at $1200 for the carpet I liked. I let him talk and only started negotiating when he talked himself down to $750. I ended up paying around $500 for the carpet.
3. If you are buying something internationally, do not forget to consider the taxes you may have to pay when you bring the item back through customs at home. Of course this mainly applies if it is an item you can actually find at home.

In one of my earlier posts I talked about mandatory documentation when you travel. In this post I would like to address what I call “secondary documentation”. This is the kind of thing which will could cause you some difficulty if you do not have it, but will not ruin your trip.

1. Maps (especially for road trips). I am often one of the first to give out advice to others, and also one of the first to ignore my own advice. The last time My girlfriend and I went to New York city I thought I just needed to print out a Google map of where we needed to go. Google maps are pretty good if you are going to a familiar area- the big problem with the directions that you get from Google Maps is that it often does not show surrounding streets. What ends up happening on a long trip is that if you miss one exit, you have to backtrack until you can find the latest reference point. Unless you are familiar with the place you are going- bring a street map if you are driving, or a train schedule if you are taking the train, etc…. So what happened when we went to new york? Well, let’s just say that a drive from New York to Montreal which normally takes 8 hours took us 15.
2. Copies of your frequent flier numbers. It has happened so many times to me that I have checked in for a flight, or checked into a hotel, and they do not have my number in with the reservation. Now I keep a card in my wallet with the most common ones written down. You can always collect miles /points later if they do not get posted to your account but I find it much easier to ask the question when I check in.
3. Receipts- reason #1. if you are traveling internationally, you may need these when you are coming back into your home country, to prove the prices that you paid. It is helpful when the customs duty does not believe the great deal you just got on an item purchased outside. I am not sure about other countries, but here in Canada if you owe tax on an item purchased outside of the country I have seen two things happen. Sometimes they will charge you tax on the price you actually paid, other times they use the standard tax value of what you would have paid for this item in Canada.
4. Receipts- reason#2. In many cases you can also claim tax back by submitting your receipts. Sometimes this only works for things you are bringing back to your home country but in other cases it can include things like hotel bills too. Tax refund forms can be found at most airports and must be handed in before you leave to go to your home country.
5. Receipts reason#3. If the airlines lose your luggage (as British Airways did on my last trip), you may need the receipts to claim back money for replacement items you purchased.

Any thoughts on this?

As I mentioned in my last post, Marriott does not currently have a parner credit card in canada.

However, the word from the Flyertalk forums is that one is coming soon…

GregWTravels writes that he got the following info from Marriott Customer Service

“…We should be announcing a Chase Marriott Rewards Visa available to the residence of Canada with in the next couple of months. Please watch the mail for this announcement. It will also be posted on the Marriott website at Marriott.com….”

You can check out the entire thread here

This is definitely very interesting… I am a big Marriott fan, but I have found that one of their limitations has been the fact that I cannot collect points with a credit card (as I can with Starwood)

In my last post I discussed one of my favorite hotel programs- Marriott Rewards.

In this post I would like to point out the advantages of my next favorite hotel program: Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG).

Starwood has fewer properties than Marriott (around 800 compared to Mariott’s 2,700), but on average I think they are nicer hotels.

There is one huge benefit to Starwood’s Preferred Guest Program. In terms of flexibility to exchange points for airmiles, you will not find a better program than SPG. You can transfer 20,000 points into 25,000 airmiles on most major airlines . This is incredibly useful if you need a few extra points to take a free trip somewhere.

Additionally, even though there have been rumours about one, Marriott does not have a partner credit card in Canada. For Canadians, MBNA has a Starwood Preferred Guest Mastercard. Here are the features of this card:

For a credit card with No Annual Fee this adds up to a lot of bonuses on this card. If you spend a total of $30,000 per year on the card, you will end up with 35,000 points the first year, and 30,000 points in subsequent years. As you can usually fly anywhere in North America for 25,000 miles, you can exchange your points for 3 flights in North America every 2 years.

In fact- if you were to get this credit card and use it just once, it woudl be well worth it, because on your first use you get 5,000 points which is enough for a free night at a category 2 hotel.