I got taught a lesson today in exchanging money…

I was at the airport- about to board a flight to the US when I spied an ATM machine for US dollars. This is great- I thought- this way I don’t have to look for a machine when I land. Also, the transaction fee was $3.50 which is a lot for a regular withdrawal but I have found that banks can charge up to five dollars when you use ATM machines in another country.

What I should have noticed was that this was a standalone ATM- not affiliated with any bank- only a company called Direct Cash.

 What was the problem? Firstly the machine didn’t say what exhange rate was used until you actually received the money. When I checked my receipt I was astonished to find out that I got charged a ridiculous rate of 1.12 Cdn to 1 US- when in the real world the canadian dollar is the same value as the US dollar (today the Cdn is actually worth MORE than USD). I think they make more by giving you a crappy exchange rate than they do with the transaction fees.

In all I ended up paying $115 Canadian dollars for $100 US which at my bank would have only been $100. Even at an exchange booth I would have payed around $105.

The moral is to be very careful where you exchange money- and be sure to check the rates.

Too add insult to injury the ATM only gave me $60 instead of $100 so now I have to run after the banks to get back the rest of my money…

A couple of days ago I received a newsletter from Lufthansa.

Usually I would delete the email (except for Aeroplan) but this time I opened it and while reading the latest Lufthansa news I spotted an interesting number in the corner- I actually have 47,000 Miles and More points.

47,000 is not a huge number of points- but it is enough for a free flight in North America- or if I can manage to get 13,000 more I will have enough for a flight to Europe, or 2 flights within North America.

If I had not signed up for the newletter I would have forgotten for sure and the miles would have expired, probably without me even knowing about it. I checked if these miles expire and sure enough they do expire after three years- which gives me only 11 months to use them. Many miles programs expire even sooner than three years.

So this is a reminder to check your old plans- you may get a nice surprise like I did.

If you are traveling somewhere like Africa, for example- you do have to take some additional precautions for your safety- especially in airports. Here is my advice for navigating through the airports in these countries.

1. Have someone meet you at the airport and do not take a lift unless you are completely sure that the driver is from the right organization.

2. Make sure that you have a world phone so you are able to call your local contact/hotel/etc….if you are not sure of the person picking you up.

3. Always carry on you a bunch of US One Dollar Bills. This is especially useful when someone wants to offer you a service such as carrying your bags. If someone does wants to carry your bags- let them. When you get to your bus/taxi- give them a dollar. I have seen people get hassled all the way out of the airport- but if you have a local guy carrying your bags noone will approach you. 

4. Dress down… far down… do not be wearing expensive watches or sunglasses as they attract attention. I am 6′ 4” and 250 pounds so I can’t be hidden- but I don’t stand out.

5. Do not get upset- some things take a lot longer in other countries- especially african ones. Remember that you are the visitor.

The more often you travel off the beaten path, the more used you will get to this. And there are incredible things that you can see and do which make it worthwhile to try sometime.

I have had the good fortune to have had a few of these experiences. I have ridden on a camel around the pyramids in Egypt… There is no way to explain the feeling of this kind of experience but it can really be life changing.

I have just taken my first camping trip of the year so I thought I would share some of my ideas to make the most out of camping

• If you are car camping- bring as much as you can. Food is usually more expensive close to campsites- and even things that you would not expect to cost a lot of money do end up costing a lot. Our example was firewood. We spent a total of sixty dollars for two nights worth of firewood!! If I had a fireplace at home (which I dont), we could have saved that expense.

• Check the weather before you go. Nothing is worse than waking up in torrential rain.

• Get a tent which is easy to set up. There is a wide range of prices and quality of tents- but the most important factor is how the tent is set up. I have an inexpensive tent which I can set up myself in under 5 minutes.

• Do not bring uncooked chicken or pork to eat- whether you are cooking on a camping stove or directly on a fire it is common to cook food unevenly. You do not want to be eating raw chicken or pork.

Let me know if you have other ideas…

I rent cars for my company travel once or twice a mont. This week something happened to me which reminded me of the need to check my car rental receipt.

I had made a three day rental in Houston, Texas and was returning the car in Dallas. When I had made my initial reservation the estimated total was $394. This is a lot for three days, but I justified it to myself with the fact that this included a GPS and a second driver, and that I was returning the car to a different location.

When I dropped off the car in Dallas I was asked if I wanted to charge the rental to the same credit card, I said yes, and was then given a receipt for $650!

I am fortunate in this case to have taken a look at the receipt- normally I just put the receipt in my briefcase to expense it later. Of course I went to customer service to complain, they told me that I had been charged more because I was returning the vehicle to the airport rather than a regular location. This did not really make sense to me- they had changed the daily rate because I was returning it to a different place? I only had a car for three days, and no, it was not a Mercedez, it was a minivan.

The customer service people did change the daily rate and brought the rental down to $420 but said something about taxes that they could not change. I did not have time to stay around and argue but it did leave me thinking that it is a good idea to double check the receipt that they give you when you return a rental car.

I recently redeemed some of my Aeroplan miles for my girlfriend to come and meet me for a weekend in Las Vegas. Here are some tips for Aeroplan miles redemption:

• Be flexible with your dates- and check all of the different combinations. In my particular case the option was to come back on monday which would have cost 40,000 miles, or tuesday which cost only 25,000 miles.
• Check alternative airports if there are other convenient ones you can get to- this could save you money on the taxes you have to pay.
• Make sure that the route is reasonably convenient- sometimes you may have to transfer several times to get to your destination.
• I used to think it was worth it to call air canada to redeem your points- but now that the website has improved I think it is better to redeem online- you have to pay an extra fee if you want to make your reservation by phone.

Remember- Aeroplan miles do expire after 7 years so it is important to use them before 7 years or face losing them. Aside from flights there are many other things you can exchange your Aeroplan miles for such as gift cards at various stores. Check out all the options at Aeroplan, or on my Getting the most our of Aeroplan page

I take a lot of weekend trips to different places and I am always looking for ways to find the best deal.

After much practice- I now use a three step approach to hotel reservations.

First, if you know the city and area you want to stay at, but not the exact hotel, your best bet is to try one of the big travel websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, or Orbitz. This will help you to narrow down to a few hotels which will meet your requirements in the price range you need. At this point it is not necessary to check all of the sites- just try any one.

Next, once you have a few hotels that think you may want to stay at, go to Tripadvisor and find these hotels. For each of them you should click “Check Rates” and a popup window will appear, where you put in your travel dates. Tripadvisor will then show you a bunch of websites which it will be checking you only have to click on “show next offer” to get the next one- saving you the time of going to each individual website.

The third and final step is very important. When you have chosen the dates of your travel and the hotel you will be staying at. Before you make your reservation on any website, find the website of the hotel you have chosen and see if they have an even better rate- or maybe a special which includes something else, like breakfast for example.

If you find the same price on the hotel’s website or think you may need to change your plans I would reserve directly with the hotel. If you find a better price on another website and are 100% sure that you will not change your travel plans, then go with the other site. It is generally possible to change reservations made directly at the hotel, but extremely difficult any other way. See my previous article Travel Websites.

Hope some of you find this helpful.

Having returned from my second trip to Las Vegas, I thought I would share what I best like about the city of sin. I strongly recommend that everyone go there at least once.

There is no easy way to understand Vegas until you have been there. I guess I consider it a Disneyland for adults.

What are the best parts?

• Choice. Whatever you want to do- it is available. From gambling, dancing, drinking, shopping- whatever you want to do for fun, you can find it.
• Restaurants- there is an incredible variety of food at all different kinds of price levels.
• Atmosphere- I guess because most people are there on vacation everyone is friendly and fun.

What don’t I like about Vegas? There are a couple of things:

• Walking- there is just waay too much walking neccessary, even to go to a hotel which is nearby
• It is very easy to spend a lot of money- especially when you can take cash advances from your credit card without even your pin number
• Be very careful of the fees you pay at machines- I took out money three times while in Vegas- the first two times I had a fee of 4 dollars which I consider high but acceptable. The last time I made a withdrawl the fee was an unbelievable 24 dolars!!! I only noticed when I got the printout of my transaction.
• The TV channel selection in my hotel room was horrible. I know the hotels want you out of the room and in the casinos but they could at least have a couple of decent channels.

If you are planning a trip to Vegas and are on a budget, don’t miss

• Half price show tickets at the big coca-cola bottle next to the MGM- this could save you a lot of money. The only catch is that they do not have seats for all shows.
• The free magazines in every hotel list all of the attractions of all hotels and they also have coupons at the back.
• If you are tired of walking the bus can take you the full length of the strip for only two dollars. If you are staying on the strip this is just as fast as a taxi for a fraction of the price.
• If you are wanting to drink but don’t want to pay a lot, sit and play at a penny lot machine. At most casinos it does not take long for the waitress to come around. Don’t forget to tip her though.
• Free attractions- the hotels on the strip are attractions in themselves, but there are many other attractions which are free such as the volcano at the Mirage, the fountains at the Bellagio, the moving statues at Caesars, etc…

For more Vegas info, the best site I have seen is Cheapo Vegas

As reported in Upgrade- Travel Better, there are two new websites for people wanting to figure out the best deals they can get with their frequent flier miles or hotel points.

MileMaven helps travelers find the most number of frequent flier miles for your flights. PointMaven does the same thing, but for hotel points.

I often find it is difficult to find information about ways to earn extra points and these guys consolidate it pretty well.

There is a lot of info available- check them out!

A quick tip for those of you who, like me, spend a lot of time in Airports.

When you are sitting at an airport and the battery on your laptop is running low, you need to check out the Air Power Wiki. This wiki is dedicated to identifying the location of power outlets in airports. I have used it several times - and have also contributed to it.

It is a very good resource to find those elusive power outlets at airports.

I have had my fair share of complaints about airlines- but today I thought I would share a few tips about how not to be a rude traveler. I see these people all the time- they are the ones who think that everything revolves around them- maybe it’s because I travel a lot- but I spot them all the time- on my latest trip I encountered three of them.

In the first case I don’t think the man was being deliberately rude- but there was certainly something odd about his behavior. I was in line in security at Amsterdam airport, the line was moving pretty well, but as I got close to the front it stopped. I peered ahead and there was an old man checking every single one of his jacket pockets for change- inside pockets and outside pockets- once, twice, three times. Then he just got fed up and took off his jacket. The guy behind me yelled out “what did you check your pockets for if you were going to take off your coat?”. Then the old man started checking his pants pockets…

Why is it that people get to security and all of a sudden realize that they need to take the change out of their pockets? I can understand for first time travelers- but I can bet that most of these people have been on planes before and know what to expect; especially as there are usually huge signs before getting into the security lines.

The second rude traveler I saw on this trip was on the flight from Dubai to New York. This guy was loud and obnoxious, and fortunately not sitting right next to me. Partway through the flight he needed to get out of his seat- but instead of waking up the person next to him and asking him to move, he decided to jump over him. Unfortunately his feet did not make it to the aisle- but they did land on his neighbor’s knees. The other passenger was furious.

Later on, while everyone was trying to sleep, this guy insisted on watching a movie which had him cackling loudly every few minutes, and the person in the seat in front of him had to turn around several times to ask him to stop shaking his seat. I spent a good part of the flight looking over at the neighbor and shaking my head in sympathy.
The third rude traveler I saw on my latest trip was while I was again waiting to go through security, this time in New York. Just in front of me was a middle aged lady who was going to Italy. There had been some screw up with her ticket which was making her very late and she was concerned about missing her flight. She was discussing with another couple who may have been her friends.

At one point we got pulled into separate lines, the couple in one line, and the complainer in the other, I got into the line of the complainer. As she suddenly had no-one to bitch to (she glanced my way but I ignored her), she pulls out her cell phone and calls someone to complain that she is going to be late for her flight, etc… This goes on for several minutes until she is at the front of the security line. The workers there try to get her off the phone but she doesn’t- so they start sending people around her. When she finally got off the phone she had to wait for a bunch of people to pass through before her- and to top it off she was upset that they made the others pass before her! If she was in such a hurry then could she not have waited to make this call?

I just wanted to share these because I am past the point of getting upset at these people- actually I think about them and get a good laugh.

I am going to Dubai next week- and have just found out that my return journey will include a 14 and a half hour flight!

As such, I thought it was appropriate to share some tips on taking these very long flights.

• If you are flying economy (as I am), try to get a seat near the back of the plane. These are generally the seats that fill up later, and you will have a greater chance of having an empty seat next to you.
• Bring something else to do. This could include books to read, your ipod, sudoku puzzles, etc… Remember that any flight longer than 10 hours is very long and you will have plenty of time to be sick and tired of watching the in-flight movies.
• Don’t forget to make adjustments for different time zones, read Time Zone Tips for more
• Don’t drink too much alcohol- on this length of flight you have enough time to get drunk, sober up, and be hung over!
• I have some other tips which can come in handy: Airplane Tips- Before Flying, and Airplane Tips- On the Plane

Any other ideas?

Yesterday I posted about Rewards Network, the dining program which gives you extra frequent flier miles.

If you are an Air Canada Aeoplan member you probably noticed that they are not part of the rewards network. Why? Because they have their own program.

It is called Advantex and it is done with CIBC. It is a similar idea to Rewards Network only that it works for restaurants in Canada, gives you less benefits (usually 1 or 2 miles per dollar spent) , and you can’t choose which credit card to use; you have to use specific ones- either the CIBC Aerogold card or the CIBC Aventura card.

However, if you do live in or visit Canada a lot- the selection of restaurants in canadian cities is much better than Rewards Network.

If you have the CIBC Aerogold card, the website you can check to learn more about this is http://www.aerogold-advantex.com/

If you have the CIBC Aventura card, the website you can check to learn more about this is http://en.aventuraadvantex.com/

This is a post for those of you who are always looking to increase your frequent flier miles. Take a look at Rewards Network

Rewards Network is a dining program which allows you to get Cash Back or frequent flier miles at many restaurants across the US and canada.

When you join the program you initially qualify for 3 miles per dollar spent, but if you go to a lot of Rewards Network restaurants (more than 12 in one year), you get an incredible 10 points for every dollar spent. This can be a great bonus if you are taking clients out to dinner.

There are three things I really like about this program

1. The extent of points earnings. On the rewards network you can earn points from Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways.

2. The ease of use of the program. Once you are signed up, you give them one or several credit card numbers that you will use at the restaurant- and your points will automatically be sent to the airline of your choice.

3. The range and selection of restaurants. It is very easy to find a restaurant on the rewards network website. The number of member is good, and there is a wide variety of tastes and prices for any occasion.

Try it, it is free. Rewards Network

As I am starting to plan the various trips I will be taking this year, I thought it would be a good time to discuss the best ways of using frequent flier miles.

You have various options for using frequent flier miles- and the nice thing is there are more and more available options for redemption. In many cases you can now redeem your miles for hotel stays, car rentals, and even merchandise.

If you are trying to get the best value for your miles- your best values will usually be for using your miles to redeem for business class tickets. When you compare the cost of purchasing these tickets to the number of miles required for redemption you can get great deal.

If you do not have a lot of miles but you like to travel in style, another good option is to use your miles for upgrading from an economy ticket to a business class ticket. Be careful though, not every class of ticket can be upgraded. Very low fares usually do not qualify for upgrades with miles.

It used to be the case that even if you had enough miles you may not be able to get a seat on the flight you wanted. Airlines have noticed this and are starting to do something about it. If you use Air Canada Aeroplan for example, they have now introduced a program called ClassicPlus Flight Rewards which allows you to use more aeroplan miles get a seat on any flight. For more information on this, scroll down to the ClassicPlus Flights Rewards section on the Aeroplan help page.

For myself, I usually tend to use my miles for travel in economy, this way I can take twice as many trips for the same number of miles.

When you have finally decided what you are going to redeem your miles for I strongly suggest to call the reservation number of the airline. There is usually a fee when you do this, but you are sure of what you are getting. When I have redeemed miles for travel on airline websites directly I have had problems with missing reservations.

This is the fourth and final part of my tips to help your international business. This post is going to address what is the most common problem I see in international dealings- failure to understand foreign business practices.

If you have gone through the first three parts of this, how to address cultural differences, how to address language barriers, and how to address foreign regulations, you are well on your way to more successful international business.

The last part of this is critical though. You may understand another culture, be familiar with the regulations in their country, and speak clearly, now you just have to understand how to conduct business.

My first tip is to let the other person set the pace. In some countries there is an extensive process of getting to know the other person before business can even be discussed. In other countries it is important to have a coffee, in others it could be a glass of vodka.

Secondly, try to find out what is important to them, and why. In some cultures this may be discussed openly while in others it is not. One time I was working on a contract for a phone company in the Middle East. It was very important for the top management to have training in Canada for their employees, and that there would be a lot of competition for the limited spots. While I understood it was important I only found out when the students came for their class that each student who made it actually got a raise in salary for having been on the class. No wonder it was so important.

Lastly, put yourself in the other person’s shoes. The reason international business is difficult is because it is complicated and risky. Anyone wanting to pursue an international transaction is probably doing so because they cannot find what they need locally (or if they can it is very expensive). The risks must be addressed properly because they apply to both parties. If you are selling something you need to be sure you are going to get paid, and if you are buying something you need to make sure that you will receive the goods. If either party does not live up to their end of the deal, it is incredibly difficult to resolve things. Anything that you can do to reduce the other side’s concerns is important.

When you are dealing in an international environment- one of the big complexities could be the fact that you are not only dealing with the regulations of your own country but that of the other country to.

If you are a manufacturer for example and you want to export your product to Europe you will need CE and RoHS certification. In my field of telecommunications, certain countries require homologation tests on your equipment, and there are many variations of these requirements.

The first and most important thing to get done when you plan to address a foreign market is to find someone who understands the regulations in that market. You may get all of your information from a customer, a distributor, an agent, a local lawyer, a goverment regulator, or maybe even the foreign country’s embassy.  It is no use trying to do business in a foreign market without understanding the constraints or additional costs you may face.

Once you understand the regulatory environment for your product or service, you still have another thing to address- the foreign commercial regulations. These include any banking or legal regulations which you will need to understand. For example, most countries allow for payment of goods or services with Letters of Credit. However, some places will not guarantee on this Letter of Credit. Other countries may not be allowed to pay for things other than in their local currency. This may or may not be a problem, depending on whether there are any restrictions on the export of currency.

All of these issues are not meant to dissuade you for working on international business, rather they illustrate the added level of complexities you will need to thoroughly understand.

I do a lot of travelling for business and as such I get asked by friends and family to help find the best deal for their trips.

Lately I have been using Kayak to find fare information. This has to be one of the best travel websites I have seen in a while. Kayak will compare fares from over 120 websites. I am planning a couple of trips this year, and the prices that I have found from this website are significantly better than anything else I have seen.

Ease of use is incredible the big thing that it offers that the other major travel websites don’t is that it is a sidebar which is incredibly easy use.

Try out this site, you will not be disappointed.

This offer is for a limited time (until February 9th) and it is only for Uniprix Option+ products, but if you are an avid Aeroplan mile collector (as I am). And, you were planning on making some purchases at the local pharmacy, the chance to get double Aeroplan miles may be of interest. More details of the offer can be found on the Aeroplan website.

You will still get 1 Aeroplan mile per dollar spent on any other items you buy, but 2 per dollar on the Option+ brand, which is the Uniprix house brand. The items under the Option+ family range from shampoo, paper towels, vitamins, anything you could usually find under a no name brand. You can see more about these items at the Option+ section of the Uniprix website.

I have one small criticism of Aeroplan. The reason I know about this offer is that I am subscribed to the Aeoplan newsletter. I just received this newsletter today, which is five days after the promotion has started. It would be much better to get this information out before the actual offer begins.

If you are travelling to a foreign country, in many cases there will be language barriers to overcome. We must remember, especially if English is your first language, English may not be the first, or in many cases, even the second language of the person you are talking to. So here are some tips about how to address these language barriers:

• Speak slowly. I have sometimes found that when I am travelling internationally I speak in English at a pace which I would consider very slow- but it is the best way to ensure complete understanding. Remember that the person you are talking to is likely understanding you- translating your language into their own- interpreting the information, thinking about their reply- and translating it back.
• Do not use any slang- even if you are speaking the same language you may not be understood. For example, I could ask where the nearest “dep” is- if you are an english Montrealer you will probably understand me, but not if you are from anywhere else.
• Say exactly what you mean. That is, don’t use any sarcasm or other hidden meanings- in most cases they won’t be understood.
• If you think something is misunderstood, repeat it. 
• Learn some basic phrases in the language of the country you are going to. It is good to know basic greetings and thank you’s, as well as Sorry, I dont speak .

I hope this helps in your travels!

Any time that you are doing business in another place you will find differences between your home and the place you are doing business.

When you then try to do the same thing in another country it becomes more complicated. Cultural differences are one of the most obvious differences. Before you are going to travel to a foreign country, try to learn a little bit about the country’s history, culture, and religion. Wikipedia can be a good starting point. The idea is not to become an expert in the other country, but to familiarize yourself with the basic do’s and don’ts.

Here are a few tips- I will use my experience of Arab Muslim countries since that is what I am most familiar with.

• The first thing you will notice is that in a Muslim country it is common for things to take more time then a westerner will be used to. This is because people genuinely want to develop a personal relationship. The relationships you make then tend to last for a long time. Do ask about someone’s family once you get to know them a little.

• In many Muslim countries there is a call to prayer five times a day, and as religion is a very important part of life, it is not uncommon for people to pray five times a day. So don’t be surprised if your meeting is interrupted for a few minutes while this is done.

• In these countries, Friday/Saturday, Thursday/Friday, or sometimes just Friday are the days off. People tend to work in the morning- take a long break in the middle of the day (when it is very hot), come back after supper and work late into the evening. I have had meetings start at 8 p.m. and last until midnight.

• During the month of Ramadan there is no drinking or eating from Sunup until Sundown- so things tend to go more slowly during this time of year. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

• Alcohol is also forbidden by the religion, however, depending on the country, alcohol may be available for foreigners. My recommendation- don’t drink alcohol even if it is available. If you are dining with a strict Muslim this will be considered offensive.

Going a little bit off from the travel path, I will be discussing the complexities of international business for the next few posts.

International business is much more complex than doing the same business domestically. My experiences in North America are significantly different to my experiences in the Middle East, which is different than Europe, which is different than Africa.

So, in an international business environment- what are the main complexities to address? I think there are four main ones:

1. Cultural differences

2. Language barriers

3. Foreign Regulations

4. Business Practices

Each of these will be discussed in posts over the next week, along with tips on how you can address these issues.

I have done a lot of business dealings in many different countries. This post is not related to travel, but it is related to business.

My tip for the day is that the single most important thing to remember in international business is to understand that when you deal with a foreign company, what is important to you (or your company) is not necessarily what is important to them.

The more information you have about what is important to them - the better chance you have of your business dealings being successful-  because the more you understand what is important to them, the more you can sympathize with and inspire trust in the other person.In international dealings, trust is the key.

Here in North America we are used to complex legal arrangements because it is relatively easy to go after someone if they do not fulfill an agreement. However, in international environments the contract itself is less important then the trust between the parties for resolving any issues that will come up during the agreement. This is because if either party does not want to fulfill their end of the agreement- they can easily just stop doing what they are supposed to. At that point, if you want to take the legal route it is very complicated and expensive to begin proceedings in another country, and it is usually not worth the effort.

The fact is, in many projects or contracts you will encounter situations which are not catered for in the legal document so it is extremely important to have a good relationship and understanding with the other company you are working with. It is less important to have something written down then it is to understand what is important to the other company and to have a mutual understanding of how to work together.

Since I am planning my first business trips of the New Year- I thought I would share a couple of tips about business travel.

1. Always have some cash. This is especially important when you are travelling to other countries for two reasons. Firstly, not every hotel or restaurant takes credit cards. Secondly, even when they do, you may have problems with international transactions. I typically carry 100-200 dollars on me at all times when I travel.
2. Speaking of credit cards, have more than one of the major cards on you because you never know when somewhere will not take it. I always have a Mastercard and a Visa card on me. I was reminded of this recently when I went to a restaurant near where I live in Montreal and I tried to pay with my Mastercard. Unfortunately this particular restaurant only accepted Visa.
3. Always arrive early. On my last trip to Colorado the main highway from Denver to Vail was closed on the morning I was supposed to return to Denver due to a snowstorm. Because I checked out of my hotel six hours before my flight, I had the chance to drive a totally seperate route around the storm. This route took me a full six hours and I just made it to the plane on time- but if I had left the hotel in the afternoon I would have never been able to make it.
4. Look around tripinform.com. You will find many more ideas on this site

Here are a couple of ideas related to planning and booking your next vacation, as submitted by one of my faithful readers:

1. I try to always book hotels directly on their own website once I have been to expedia to check out hotels and prices in the area I’m going to. The BIG advantage is that your credit card is not charged until you check out of the hotel. All the travel companies charge the credit card immediately.
2. Another tip is to use google earth to see exactly where the hotel is especially for holidays as “on the beach” can be a stretch. This way I choose the location first and then find hotels in the vicinity. Also I always check a hotel in a new location with Tripadvisor.com as they normally have comments from guests that are current.

Thanks to my father for these tips.

Having done a lot of international travel, my first question before planning a trip to a foreign country is do I need a visa?

Here are the steps you need to follow in order to get your visa.

1. Find the Embassy of the country you will be visiting located in your own country- these days, many of them have websites so it should be easy to find.
2. The website will have a section called Consular services- or something similar. Go to that section to find out the exact requirements you will need
3. Print out the requirements. It is very important to follow them exactly. If you submit your package with any single omission it is likely that it will be refused.
4. As an additional precaution- call the Embassy to verify the requirements. Fee structures sometimes change without notice.
5. Submit your documents to the Embassy with the appropriate fee. Note that most embassies do not accept cash or personal cheques.

Some countries, such as Russia, will require a letter from a tour operator. If you are not going on an organized tour, don’t worry, check around your local travel agents and online to see how to get such a letter. They are usually available for a fee. I have used the website Visa to Russia to get invitation letters sent to me for visits to Russia.

Other countries, such as Libya, will have special requirements such as requiring your passport to be translated. For this kind of service it is best to call the embassy to ask how to get it done. The last time I had it done someone met me outside the embassy and with an an official stamp, made the translation- for a fee.

Prior to my last trip to Moscow I was in line at the Russian Consulate in Montreal and the person in front of me was very frustrated, telling me that this was the fourth time they had come back. The only reason that this would happen is if something was missing from the package. Once again you must have everything required or your application will be refused.

For those of you traveling during the holidays please remember this one thing:

Take extra time to get anywhere you need to go- because more people are traveling during this time of year. And remember to have extra patience because the people working at customs, airlines, and airports don’t want to be there over the holidays any more than you do.

Many years ago when I was a University student I was on a bus going to Daytona beach for a week of Spring Break partying. When we stopped at the US border, one of the other guys on the bus, not the sharpest tool in the shed, decided to speak up loudly while the customs officer was asking passengers for ID. The guy was trying to be cool, saying “What’s taking so long? These guys are so slow”, and others on the bus were laughing.

Sure enough, when the customs officer got to him, he was asked to step off the bus and the next thing we saw were his bags being removed. He never made it for the vacation which he had already paid for.

I think about this when I feel myself getting impatient with customs or airport staff.

Have a great and safe holiday season.

There was a good article in the New York Times this week explaining how the major hotel chains are increasing the points required for a free room stay by as much as 40%!!

Basically it is showing how several of the major hotel chains are increasing the number of points required to redeem for a hotel room across their locations. So for people saving their hotel points for a vacation- it may end up taking them a lot longer than they expected.

The article specifically mentions that Starwood, Hyatt, and Hiltons hotels are doing this. It does not mention Marriott. Way to go Marriott!

This has already happened in the airline industry- it cost me 80,000 Aeroplan miles to get from Canada to Scotland earlier this year when it used to be a lot less.

I don’t understand how large companies think that this is a good practice as the biggest collectors of hotel points are usually the hotel chains’ best and most frequent guests. Everybody understands an increase, but not a huge one as seems to be the case.

My tip for today is to count the points you have and use as soon as needed, because if you wait- your next chance to use them may cost you more.

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Today I got home and have received an Aeroplan newsletter in the mail. Snail mail. The Newsletter is dated November 8th so does that mean it took almost six weeks to get to my house— in downtown Montreal?

In any case I was surprised because I often get notices in my e-mail but it is rare to get a hard copy of information. But I guess not everybody reads the e-mails…

So what’ new for Aeroplan (not all of this is new, but it is in the newsletter)?

• If you get insurance at ING or at Belairdirect you can get 1 Aeroplan mile for every 2 dollars of insurance
• As I have previously mentioned you can now get 1 Aeroplan mile for every 1 dollar spent at Uniprix
• You can now get Aeroplan miles with XM radio plans
• For a limited time (until January 2nd 2007) you can get Aeroplan miles when you are buying or leasing a Chrysler or Jeep
• Though the Aeroplan partnership with Esso, but until December 31st,  you can get 400 extra miles if you link your aeroplan number to your speedpass.
• There was also a reminder that you can get Aeroplan miles through paying your Bell bill.

If you are use or are planning on buying or using any of these goods or services it could be an easy opportunity to add to your Aeroplan miles total.

Just a quick comment on something I mentioned in a previous post.

A couple of weeks ago I gave a tip about how important it is to subscribe to the newsletters of the points programs you are member of. Today I got a chance to confirm this tip again. 

Just a couple of days ago I was thinking about how much I need a card scanner. Today I was checking the prices on several models on Tigerdirect, and later on in the evening I was looking through my e-mail. Well, I got a recent airmiles newsletter which showed me how I could get double airmiles until December 31st at Tigerdirect!

I didn’t even know that I could collect airmiles at that Tigerdirect but now that I know, and even better, that I can get double airmiles, it is much more likely that I will buy my card scanner from them.

Futher to my Gas Points post, I have been taking a more detailed look at the savings comparing the Esso Extra and Canadian Tire programs which I use regularly. Unsurprisingly I found that the Canadian Tire program was better than Esso Extra, but I was surprised to the degree of how much better.

On every 60 Litre fillup at Canadian tire I get between 2 and 4 dollars in Canadian tire money, which means that I get between a 3.3% and 6.6% value for refuelling at Canadian Tire, which I use at a later date for oil changes.

Because there are fewer Canadian Tire Gas stations then there are Esso ones I also use Esso points.

However, On a 60 Litre fillup at Esso extra I get 60 Esso Extra points. I would need 1800 points to get a coupon for $10 worth of gas. This means that each point is worth .05%. I typically trade these points in for a car wash which costs 599 points. This means that I can spend 600 dollars at Esso to get a free car wash. Or spend the same 600 dollars at Canadian Tire to get an average of $30 back in Canadian Tire money- worth much more than a car wash.

While I was doing these calculations I also remembered that I had just joined the CAA- and that they have some kind of program to save money on gas also. I checked it out and sure enough they have a deal where you get a 2% back in CAA-Quebec Dollars on everything you buy. If I can use my CAA card at a Canadian Tire gas station I should be able to get an total of CAA-Quebec dollars and Canadian Tire Money worth up to 8.6% of what I spend.

Over a one year period this represents around $250. The $250 doesn’t come directly as cash but they can save money on useful things. I already get all of my oil changes for free at Canadian Tire- but if I can get these CAA dollars to get my next CAA membership discounted- why not do it?

As such, I think that I will be using Esso a lot less in the future.

By the way, if you want to find the cheapest gas prices in your area (in North America), check out Gas Buddy.

Here is my tip for the day. This one is about renting cars.

If you are renting a car in a city which you are unfamiliar with, consider renting a car with GPS.

I am notoriously bad with directions and by now being able to rent cars which have GPS units, I can now travel without needing a map. This is especially useful if I am travelling alone.

GPS units are not very expensive, typically you can rent these units for around ten dollars a day- and they are very easy to use. You input your address and the unit will calculate the most direct rouet to your destination.

If you have never used one, the best thing about this technology is that if you miss a turn, the system automatically calculates a new route to your destination. This is the big advantage of using GPS over traditional maps.

One other advantage is that the system will give you an approximate idea of the time it will take to reach your destination- which is good to know if you have an appointment at a certain time.

One downside is that it does not always take you exactly to where you need. You may be close, but the place you are going to may actually be across the street for example.

But when you compare the price of renting a GPS to the price of getting lost and being late for appointments- this is a must have technology.

I will not rent a car without it.

Gas can be a lucrative source of points- because people tend to use a lot of gas in their vehicles, in a lot of cases due to work they do not have a choice. I myself will average around 60 Liters of gas in my car every week- with gas prices at around a dollar per liter here in Montreal, it costs me $60 to fill up. So I spend around $3,000 per year just on fuel for my car.

For this reason I try to take a look at the best bonus I can get for my spending on gas My approach is to get what I can without modifying my existing purchasing habits. As such, there are 2 main programs which I use, due to where I would normally buy gas. In my own case this happens to be the Esso gas station near my house and the Canadian Tire gas station near to my work.

I am a big believer in using points programs, but I am not a believer in changing your buying habits just to get the benefits. The programs are most effective when you are using them for purchases you would be making anyway.

So here is some more detail on the ones I use:

1. Esso Extra. This is a program which gives you 1 Esso extra point per dollar spent. These points can be used for various items at the station such as car washes- or even gift certificates. Esso will also offer you Aeroplan points, but at the lower value of 1 point per 3 dollars spent. I have used this program and have not paid for a car was in several years- and when my points balance is high enough for a few car washes I switch to earning Aeroplan miles.
2. Canadian tire with gas multiplier. This is my personal favorite, although Canadian Tire gas stations are harder to find than Esso.. At Canadian tire gas bars you get back Canadian tire money which can be used for purchases at any Canadian tire store. Every week there is a multiplier, which gives you 5-10 times the basic money back when you buy gas. This gives me back between 2 and 4 dollars on a 60L fill up. There are 2 ways to get the multiplier- you can clip the coupon in the weekly flyer or you can use the Canadian tire options MasterCard. I use the options card then use the Canadian tire money earned on the card to pay for maintenance such as oil changes on my car- so far it has worked out that by the time I need an oil change I have the enough of a balance so that the oil change is free.

I am aware of other programs with PetroCanada, Ultramar, shell (airmiles) etc… My sister swears by the Ultramar CAA program which she rarely pays for her CAA membership anymore. For me it is no use however, as I rarely see Ultramar stations in my day to day travel around my neighborhood.

The key, as with all points programs is to use them consistently.

I had the unfortunate experience of not being able to start my car last week.

The car battery had died and I could not get it started so I called and joined CAA.

One thing I did not realize when I joined is that there are all sorts of discounts you can get with your membership. Some of these are travel related, but others are for everyday items.

For example, with this card I can get a 2% discount at any Couche Tard (a convenience store)- including those with gas stations. I don’t spend very much money at convenience stores- but I do buy around $60 in gas every week.

I am going to take a close look at what else I can save with the CAA card.

So you are thinking about visiting Canada? Where can you get the best information?

We have here many different regions which offer different activities, cultures, and sceneries. In fact, each canadian province has its own flavour.

The best way to get good information is though the various websites of the province you will visit. On each of these sites you can get lots of information. And you can even sign up or call them to send you a free package full of maps and attraction information.

To make it easy, here are the links to each of Canada’s province and territory tourism associations:

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon

The best advice I can give when you are planning out a vacation is to contact the tourist information of the place you will be visiting.

The best place to find this information is the website that the local government puts together- here you can often sign up to get sent a package of information which can include maps, hotel and restaurant discounts, and a lot of information about the place you are going. Best of all, the information package is free.

I have done this prior to a vacation across several provinces in the maritimes last year, and found it to be incredibly useful. This year, we were planning on taking a trip across western Canada, so I did the same thing and I received several packages of free information mailed directly to my house.

Tomorrow I will provide a list of the major links for tourist information in Canada

I have been looking for a while to buy a digital camera and I figured that New York would probably be a good place, since I was going to be there last week.

As I previously had a Canon camera which I liked, after some research I settled on the Canon SD600.

I did want to make sure to buy from a reputable store because I have heard of rip offs in New York so from my hotel room one evening I checked bestbuy.com which had the camera at 249 dollars. I thought that if I could not find it cheaper I would go with that.

Luckily, the next day I went to Macy’s and in the basement they have an electronics store offering that same camera for 214 dollars. I bought a 2 Gig memory card at the same time for 29 dollar, so I effectively got the memory card for the same price as the camera only from Best Buy.

Now that I am back in Canada with my new toy I just checked the Futureshop website to see if they have it in the same pricerange. They actually have the camera at 289 dollars, and they have a package including the camera and a 512 Mb card at 499 dollars.

So from the lowest price I could find to the highest price there was a difference of 300 dollars.

This shows the importance of knowing your prices.

When leaving New York yesterday I had an interesting experience which I thought I would share. When I left the convention centre, needing to go directly to the airport there were guys standing around, asking if we needed a ride.

The first price we got was $120 Each (for 2 people)! We told them it was too much. So the guys came down to $80 each, then went to $55 per person, but only if we would go with a third person in the car.

As we felt like we were being ripped off, we walked further down the street and caught a taxi which cost $55. This was still more than the way in to town- but a lot cheaper than what the others were quoting. As I mentioned in another post, I had taken a limo coming into town which cost approximately $30.

So here a couple of tips about taxi negotiation.

1. Have an idea of what the ride should cost.
2. Don’t accept the first price you are given.
3. If you think someone is giving outragous prices- they probably are- just walk away.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

The 2 hotel point programs that I have used to a good extent are Marriott and Starwood. Each of them has their own individual advantages and disadvantages.

In this post I will go over some of the important aspects of Marriott points.

What do I like about Marriott?

Firstly they have over 2,600 locations so you can find one almost anywhere. Internationally this is not always the case, but I have found these hotels in a lot of places that I have travelled to.

Secondly, they have a wide range of properties ranging from the higher end Marriott hotels to the lower end Courthouse and Residence inn chains of hotels.

Thirdly it is pretty easy to earn enough points for free nights. After having spent 10 nights in a year at a Marriott hotel you get Silver status. This does not give you much in terms of service, though it can sometimes get you access to a special club lounge. The important point is that it gives you an additional 20% of points earned.

The most important tip I can offer about Marriott points is that you must make sure to always sign up for the bonuses on the hotel website. There is always some kind of promotion going on, and it is very easy to sign up. You just go to the rewards section on the Marriott website, and click on the promotion to sign up.

As an example, the current promotion is something called Mega bonus, which gives you an extra 5,000 points for every third stay that you pay for with a Visa card. Last week, I stayed last week at three different Marriott hotels, over a five-night period, and during this time I earned enough points for a free night at a category three hotel (or two free nights at a Category one hotel).

One of the most common problems you will face while traveling across times zones is jet-lag. Because your body is not accustomed to the new time you will feel tired and worn down for a couple days. If you are traveling to a different time zone, here are a couple of tips that can help to ease the suffering of jet-lag…..

1. Try and get your body on to the new time one or 2 days before your travel. I typically go to bed around midnight. As I am five hours behind U.K. time, when I travel to the UK, I try to go to bed at 7 p.m. for one or two nights before I set off, and start my day at three or four a.m. This way, my body has already started to adjust to the new time by the time I get to my destination. Similarly, while I am in the U.K.; before I begin my return to Canada, I try to stay up until 4 or 5 a.m., so that my body is already starting to adjust back to the right time by the time I get back home.  

2. Try anti jet-lag pills- you can find these in many pharmacies and in airports, though they cost more at the airport. I have found them to be quite effective. 

3. Take advantage of early check-in. nowadays most airlines will let you check in to your flight online 24hrs before you fly. This can get you a better seat and will speed up your process at the airport. Better seat= more comfortable travel= more rest= less jetlag.

4. Before you check-in early, in order to help you evaluate which seats are better than others, have a look at http://www.seatguru.com/.

Airports used to be a relaxed place to spend some time before you travel or while you transit…. but due to recent events they are fast becoming some of the most miserable places to spend a few precious hours of your life…. Here are six tips to help you take the stress out of airports.

1. Firstly, take advantage of early check-in. nowadays most airlines will let you check in to your flight online 24hrs before you fly. This can get you a better seat and will speed up your process at the airport.
2. Check in everything that you can unless you really need the item during the flight - I have seen so many people carrying large bags all around airport, what for? Airports are big places which typically require a lot of walking- you will often have to carry you bag for a while, so make it as light as possible. Ideally in many cases I don’t have any carry-on bags at all. Whenever you are passing through an airport, try to wear a coat with pockets, you can carry small things in it (I usually have a book), and it will also make your life a lot easier passing through the security check.
3. When you pass through the security screening, you then only have to take your items from your pants pockets and put them into your coat. Do not forget to take your watch off as that may also set off the metal detector. I constantly see people waiting in line for 10 minutes in order to start emptying their pockets when they arrive at the front and they are surprised when they have to pass back through the detector three or four times because they forget to take everything out.
4. Another tip about the security screening- try to wear the right type of shoes- this usually means shoes with soles that have been glued- not nailed, or shoes that do not have large metal lace hooks- both of which can set off the metal detector. Many airports now ask everybody to remove their shoes.
5. If you have lounge access- use it. As a minimum you can use the lounge to get free bottles of water. If you do not have lounge access try to find a comfortable corner of the airport to relax. I have a Priority Pass, which gives me lounge access in almost any airport. As a frequent traveler it has been very worthwhile.
6. Lastly, remember that you do not need to be the first one on the plane… as long are in the waiting area at the right time, the plane is not going to leave without you - if the airline cannot find you they actually have to unpack your luggage from the plane. They do not want to do this so they give people a good chance to arrive before they would not let you on. It never ceases to amaze me that many people will wait in line eagerly to get to their seat as soon as possible- then have to wait for everybody else.

I hope these few ideas help your next airport visit.

In my last post I talked about frequent flier miles and some basic rules to consider. Aside from the obvious, which is collecting frequent flier miles directly from the airlines, there are many other ways to collect miles. Here are a couple of ideas:

• Car rental agencies have their own programs, but they will often also give you frequent flier points as a bonus for renting with them.
• Credit card companies are probably the best way to collect additional miles; many cards will allow you to collect one mile per dollar spent on the card. If you travel for business this can add up to a lot of miles. I have averaged 50,000 spending per year in the last few years which is enough for 2 short haul flights in North America or one flight to Europe ever year. Even if you do not travel for business if you put most of your expenses on credit cards it will add up to a lot.
• There is a third category which will also give you miles but in actual fact you are probably better off signing up to their own programs and that is hotels. Hotels usually have points programs of their own which can be very useful. Starwood hotels has a very good program called preferred guest which allows you to collect points to use for hotel rooms, but it has one other special feature- these points can also be converted to points on most major airlines- so if you are missing some points for your next reward ticket you can transfer it from your preferred guest account.

If you get a credit card which is partnered with Starwood preferred guest you have the best of all worlds- you will collect a lot of points for hotels which can be transferred to airlines if needed. In Canada we have the MBNA MasterCard and in the United States there is the American Express for this.