Can you book luxury hotels on discount travel sites?

The short answer is yes.  The long answer depends on how you define luxury.  If your quest is for a few nights at a Banyan Tree resort in Asia, the popular travel websites are probably not your best bet.  In fact, you should probably prepare yourself to pay list price.  If you're happy at one of the more mainstream luxury brands, then there is hope for the discount travel sites.

Unfortunately, it usually means shopping around.  I am personally leery of priceline.com's bidding system, only because I like to know with some certainty where I am staying (and my definition of 5-star and theirs doesn't always align).  Beyond that, I would say the best results I've seen come when booking a plane flight and hotel stay together.  The only time I've succeed with any of the sites is at cheaptickets.com. 

Whatever you find on the mainstream sites, I would encourage you to check out the website of the hotel brand before buying.  That tends to be where I find the best deals.  I'm not sure if the big brands are trying to maintain their luxury cache by avoiding the discount sites, or they just don't want to pay a commission to the sites.  Either way, I tend to have better success with high-end hotels, purchasing direct from the hotels.

US Citizens, You Can Register Travel Abroad, Should You

So, I've gotten way behind in posting, but I'm about to do some catch-up.

It certainly feels like the world is becoming increasingly less predictable: Arab Spring, British riots, major natural disasters.  My own world view holds that unpredictability is everywhere, and thus that I'm generally no safer at home than abroad.  So, I will continue to travel with reckless abandon.  That being said, I may leverage a service provided by the US Department of State more often.

One of the positive by products of being an American citizen is that if a country you're visiting falls apart, the US government will generally make a concerted effort to remove you from harm's way.  One step you can take to improve the Marines' chances for a successful extraction is to register your presence with the US Department of State.  You can do so here.  The program is called STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program).  It is a little tedious.  Hopefully you'll never need it, but depending on your destination...might be worth the trouble.

WiFi isn't Free at Hartsfield

I actually like Hartsfield, but that may just be a comfort level attained from having spent my entire life flying from it and watching it grow.  For the being the world's busiest airport (depending on how you measure), I think Hartsfield does a decent job.

Unless you can get into an airline lounge, however, WiFi isn't free.  There is one exception.  The E Concourse food court has a free WiFi hot spot.  E Concourse is the one farthest from the Terminal, so it probably doesn't make sense to take advantage unless, 1) your flight is leaving from E Concourse anyway, or 2) you find yourself with a long layover.  If you do head that way, One Flew South, a restaurant out there is supposed to be very good (I've never tried it). 

Free In-Flight WiFi on Delta in August

I am not personally a huge advocate of joining the WiFi network onboard planes.  There's a certain tranquility for me in that 6-miles above the earth, for my hour or two in the air, my phone won't ring or buzz with an e-mail  I typically use the time to catch up on reading I've fallen behind on or just think through the problem of the day uninterrupted.  But I do occasionally succumb to the need to fire off some e-mails, especially if the flight is long enough.  This month you won't have to pay for the privilege if flying Delta. 

Delta Air Lines has teamed with Diet Coke to offer travellers free WiFi on all flights during the month of August.  The code you'll need is "DIETCOKEGOGO".  I haven't tried it personally having been uncharacteristically grounded for the last couple of weeks.  I've heard it is working though, and I will give it a whirl on a few flights in the week upcoming.

Credit Card: Airline Reward or Hotel Reward?

If you're a habitual traveller, it definitely makes sense to use a credit card that offers travel rewards (if you use a credit card at all).  The rewards, if used effectively, can easily be worth substantially more than a 1% cash back offer.  The two major genre in this field are airline rewards and hotel rewards.  I personally run an overwhelming majority of purchases through my American Express Platinum Delta Sky Miles Card.  It has good benefits if you're a repeat Delta passenger. 

Today, in the mail I received an offer for the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card.  It came with a decent introductory offer of 30,000 points and a waived first year annual fee.  This, of course, just scratches the top layer of the surface.  Almost every airline and hotel chain offers a credit card with rewards.

I personally go the route of the airline card because I almost exclusively fly Delta or another SkyTeam airline (product of living in Atlanta).  And, I like the flexibility of being able to stay at a wide variety of hotels.  That being said, most major hotel chains have some attractive brands these days, such as the St. Regis for Starwood.

Of course, when you're travelling overseas, I go with a card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee (my Delta card does).  See post on the Amex Platinum Card.  There are other considerations too.  Most cards offered tiered rewards, so it is better to maximize your transaction on a single card to capture those bonus benefits.  Then there are unbranded cards that allow you to use your rewards across airlines and hotels, such as the CapitalOne Venture Rewards Card ($59 annual fee, waived first year) and the Amex Platinum.  And of course, if you're getting a new card, make sure you capture a great introductory offer.

Decisions, decisions...

World Mate Travel App

Most of my travel is not of the form described here but rather business trips to Newark, NJ or Tampa, FL with overnight stays at the Embassy Suites or Doubletree.  Paying the mortgage as the saying goes.  My Outlook calendar runneth over with flight information, hotel and rental car confirmations. 

I would like to believe that I am fairly organized.  I cannot remember the last time I missed a flight or arrived in a city without a rental car reservation.  But that is no reason to shun a useful tool.  The WorldMate Travel App is available on most devices.  If you grant it permission it will mine information from your e-mail account, pulling travel information from the confirmations sent by airlines, hotels, and rental car companies.  It organizes this information and overlays it with things like weather information, maps and directions, currency conversion, flight delays, a world clock and more. 

The app integrates well with Outlook.  If I had one complaint it would be that it doesn't always understand the e-mails that arrive from my company's travel agency.  Otherwise it is a great app with some really useful features.  I would recommend it to any frequent traveller. 

2 Delta Sky Clubs at Hartsfield Off the Beaten Path

If you're a frequent Delta traveller there's a better than even money chance you regularly pass through Hartsfield in Atlanta.  If you're a Diamond Medallion/Sky Club member, American Express Platinum Card holder, or willing to shell out the $25/$50, then you've probably had this experience: walk into the SkyClub to find a mile long line at the bar and not a seat anywhere in sight. 

My preference is definitely for the self-service Sky Club (LAX has a nice one).  Unfortunately, there are none at Hartsfield (that I know of).  There are, however, a couple off the beaten path of the concourse.  One is on the A Concourse.  As soon as you come up from the "travel loft," head towards the Chili's upstairs.  It's a marked improvement from the club down near 17.  The other is out in the E concourse.  Keep walking past the first Sky Club like you're going to gates E14-E17; it will materialize on the right.  They may not be ideal if pressed for time, otherwise they are worth a stopover.

Read your Destination

I cannot claim credit for this bit of travel wisdom, and confess that I am somewhat embarrassed that I'm only now embracing it.  The credit belongs to fellow traveller and one much smarter than I.  The idea is simple enough, prior to reaching your destination read something selected from your destination.

Not the Lonely Planet Guide, though I am a fan, but rather a piece of fiction from a native author.  Prior to travelling to Russia, my sager companion read The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.  I regrettably didn't partake until after returning, but even then it provided some amazing flavor and context.  In the future, I'm definitely setting aside some plane time to enjoy a bit of local fiction.  I would recommend the same for any traveller looking to enrich their journey.

Sky Team Business Class Travel? Go Air France

Are you getting ready to book business class airfare on Sky Team?  Give serious consideration to Air France if it doesn't have adverse consequences for your itinerary.  Delta is in the process of upgrading its business class, and on those planes where the upgrade is complete their cabin is very competitive.  I flown the Atlanta to London-Heathrow route on an upgraded Delta B767-400 and was very impressed with the experience.

Delta's old fleet, however, is woefully behind Air France's flat-bed seats.  I personally find Air France's food and wine service marginally better.  There is a definite trade-off in that you're almost certainly doomed to transfer through Paris-Charles de Gaulle, without question the most confounding of man's creations.  Otherwise, you will accrue SkyMiles on the exact same schedule as if you'd flown Delta (usually a little slower to credit).  I also find the Air France lounges (salons in AF parlance) to outpace the Delta's Sky Clubs.  Though a small thing, it annoys me that Delta did away with mainstream magazines in its Sky Clubs.

If you're connecting anyway, I think you'll appreciate the difference in equipment between Delta's old cabin layout and the Air France configuration.  Note that Delta has currently upgraded its B767-400 fleet and its B777-200LR fleet.  You can view the type of aircraft when booking, or if you view the seats when booking you'll notice the cabins equiped with flat-bed seats only have four seats per row of seating.

Of course none of this helps, if you book a ticket on Air France only to have the flight cancelled and your travel moved over to Delta equipment...can't complain too much, going to make my connection.

Safe travels.

You Can't Avoid Some Travel Disruptions, At Least Know About Them in Advance

I'm not sure that the world is presently any crazier than it has been historically.  Without question, however, information moves much quicker.  When travelling far afield there is a certain heightened exposure by virtue of distance from most of your resources, perhaps language barrier and certainly a lower familiarity with surroundings. 

If you travel enough, eventually you're certain to get trapped in something unpleasant.  Often times, though, you can spare yourself some unneeded complications by knowing the situation before arriving or perhaps not arriving at all.  I receive a daily e-mail from Medex, a global travel insurance and safety firm.  It's free to sign up for here.  It contains information by country on anything likely to disrupt or interfere with travel, things as disparate as a government shelling its own people and a taxi driver's strike.  It also rebroadcasts any consular warnings being issued by Western nations and provides a listing of upcoming national holidays around the world.  [Knocking on Wood]  I've never had to use the information to adjust travel plans, but if I have a trip upcoming I always peruse it for a week or so in advance and while I'm in country.  It's also a decent additional source of news information on the political goings on around the world. 

So, if I need to arrange a car from the hotel because cabs won't be running or to acquire some Kevlar and a helmet because the local military is getting itchy, then hopefully I'll have some forewarning.  Not perfect, but worth the two minutes it takes to sign up and glance at the e-mail before travelling.

Bank Rolling Your Travel: Loyalty Programs

If you've ever been to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and looked around, you'll notice there are 400 gates belonging to Delta Air Lines and 4 for everyone else.  As such I'm a SkyMiles member.  With sum of recent travel for work, play and school I've amassed 130,564 status miles year to date, catapulting me into the highest tier of Delta customer loyalty rewards and leaving me wondering what value I saw in buying in a condo in Atlanta. 

Anyway, my point is only that even if you constantly jump around airlines don't neglect the frequent flier programs (or those for hotels, cars...).  The travel industry is rife with loyalty rewards, and the reality is that you needn't be that loyal to capture the benefits.  The ability to move points/miles/credits between members of airline alliances (SkyTeam, OneWorld, Star Alliance...) or between hotel programs and airline programs leaves almost any points with some value, even if you never see yourself on US Air ever again after that flight.

You can use the loyalty rewards to travel in style, minimize your cash outlay or both.  The Points Guy is a great reference for loyalty programs and worth checking out to make sure you aren't leaving your valuable loyalty on the table.  These programs ultimately make money for most companies that have them, because other companies (predominantly credit card companies) buy the points to distribute them to card users or customers.  I scored 4,000 SkyMiles for renewing my subscription to The Economist just last week.  I was going to do it anyway, but why not take some miles?  I also get miles via SkyMiles Dining for eating out and using my American Express card.  Don't neglect the loyalty programs.  Save your money and travel well too.