Dealing with Airlines, Airports, Credit Cards Internationally and Renewing Passports

Anyone who flies regularly knows that there are just things that we have to put up with to get from point A to point B. From trip to trip, those things and situations can vary, some of them are unavoidable no matter how well we plan.

For instance on my flight back from California in May, there was no way to plan around tornadoes shutting down the Denver Airport which necessitated our plane circling the entire central Colorado area for well over an hour before being rerouted to Salt Lake City to refuel and to fly back to Denver for our connections to be stuck on the runway on our way home due to the airport being shutdown again.

On the other hand, there are things we can try to reroute ourselves around when we can, such as no matter how low the price may be, if I can do so, I limit my trips through Atlanta's Airport to no more than two per year. I really get tired of getting lost in an airport that I should not be getting lost in and trying to get help from personnel who act like they would love that I'd become permanently lost.

This article deals with some of the things that we can and can't find alternate routes around, considering the prevailing travel conditions. Where it is possible there are suggestions of how to deal with the situation.

Air Flights:

I presume that most of us have noticed that the airlines have cut back on their flights and destinations due to a huge cut in business travel. Even though business air travel has been picking back up since 2008, the airlines aren't really increasing their number of flights or destinations. They are just adding larger planes and increasing their capacity by flying with fuller planes. The airports that are receiving most of the increase in capacity are the airline's hub airports. The airlines are also bumping more passengers due to more intense overbooking.

Here are some suggestions in dealing with the new reality:

1. I would suggest booking as soon as you know what your travel dates are, the sooner you do, the more choices and therefore more flexibility you will have in your choices.

2. I would also suggest using a discount site rather than the airline's website. You will have more possibilities to choose from.

3. If your destination has several airports serving the area, check all of them out. You may not just get a better price, but also a better time slot and more flights to choose from.

4. Know which airports are the hub airports for the particular airline you are flying with. It might be a helpful piece of information.

5. Make sure to check in on line at the earliest moment that you are allowed to and to arrive at your airport earlier than needed, so that you are in the gate early. I was put in the seat of a passenger who skidded into the gate at the last minute because our entire plane load was transferred to her plane.

If you are reserved ahead of time and for whatever reason are not in the gate, depending upon your airline, some of them will page you over the loudspeakers before they give your seat to someone else. Southwest does that.

Airports:

Some airports, especially the hub airports, are the busiest and the most crowded, causing delays and backlogs in travel.

The most noted in the nation are New York City's LaGuardia and JFK, Newark, Miami, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Atlanta and Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Conventional wisdom suggests to avoid them. However, it depends upon your travel needs. In some cases I practice alternate routes and in other cases I choose the heavily traveled route because it suits my purposes to do so. You need to weigh all of your options in your choice of airports to travel through.

Here are some suggestions to help in your decision making:

1. Even though Newark can be crowded, we prefer Newark over JFK because it's easy to get in and out of and their personnel have been consistently considerate and helpful. The airport is also closer to NY than LaGuardia or JFK. The personnel at JFK tend to have a bit of an attitude, although, they have gotten a bit better. To get to NY, you have to fly into one of these airports.

2. When I found I could use San Jose instead of San Francisco or Oakland, I never looked back. San Francisco is huge and drafty and easy to get lost in. San Jose is better organized and friendlier. Oakland is out the way for me.

3. When I went to Chicago in 2009, I flew into Milwaukee instead of Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Even though the airport is roughly a 1 1/2 hour train ride from Chicago it wasn't that much longer than what it would have taken to take the train in from O'Hare, which is a lot closer in miles but a lot more complicated to get out of. Milwaukee had better time slots and it's also cheaper.

Milwaukee is very organized and friendly with a shuttle that goes directly to the AMTRAK station where a lot of other commuters were doing the same as I.

4. The only way around going through Atlanta is to take another airline which has another hub. Which is what I do. But if you need to go to Atlanta or the region around Atlanta, you're stuck with Atlanta.

It's not just that Atlanta is one of the country's busiest airports, it's also one of the most unnecessarily uncooperative airports that I've ever had the displeasure of being in. It's personnel won't bat an eye at sending a passenger in the wrong direction.

The airport also has unexplainable dead ends which contradict the signs which clearly state that that is the way to a certain gate and the only way out is to go outside the airport and to go back through the extremely long security. It also has hidden signs to the only route to a gate that only insiders would know were there.

5. For the times when I have to go through Atlanta or one of these other airports that I'm not to fond of, I shop the flights for the earliest in the day and with the longest connection times so I have enough time to get lost and found before my flight takes off.

Credit Cards:

I have not encountered this yet in my travels into Europe. But I understand that an increasing number of countries are incorporating a computer chip into their credit cards, requiring a pin when the card is used. It is called a 'Chip and PIN' card.

I've already encountered different situations where I wasn't able to use my cards for a number of reasons, not related to the chip and PIN. I've learned to always have some sort of backup plan for that situation. Cash is always a good backup plan.

1. I would suggest, where possible, save the use of your credit card for the airport and at major venues such as your hotel, major restaurants and department stores.

2. If you do find yourself in a place where they have signs declaring their acceptance of Visa or MasterCard and yet the clerk isn't accepting your card due to the missing chip and PIN, insist on speaking to the manager. Remind them of their agreement with Visa/MasterCard which requires them to accept your card. Also ask them to call their merchant services help number if they need help with the manual override needed to process your card.

3. I would also suggest that if we do encounter these situations in our travels we need to bring this to the attention of our own bankers until they are willing to change the cards to conform with international travel.

When I was in Belgium and London in 2009, I had no problem using my credit card. I used it in the airport and in some of my favorite shops.

Passports:

This is a notice of a rate change in passport and visa fees.

Starting July 13,2010, prices for passports and most visas have gone up in price. The passports have been increased by $35 plus an execution fee of $25 for first time applications for a total of $135. That sounds a bit like charging for a carry on bag. Renewals don't require the $25 fee, so the total price is now $110. Most visas have also increased in price, some are now double what they were.

Sources:

http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2010/06/28/story4.html?b=1277697600^3562691&ana=e_pft

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-34682946

http://blog.thetravelinsider.info/2010/06/what-to-do-if-your-credit-card-is-not-accepted-internationally.html

http://blog.thetravelinsider.info/

http://www.unitedstates.org/passport.php