Choosing the Best Credit Card (For Travelers) NYTimes

Are you tired of finding too many "extra charges" in your credit card bills for charges made while abroad? Here's a fantastic new list of suggestions for some of the "best credit cards for travelers", published by the New York Times today, April 24, 2011.

Word for word, these are the cards they recommend:

"For the Occasional Flier

THE CARD Capital One Venture Rewards

THE PERKS No foreign transaction fees and double miles on every purchase (not just hotel stays or airfare), which can be redeemed for monetary credit toward any travel purchase, including plane tickets on any airline, hotel rooms, rental cars and cruises. Just add two zeros to the cost of your travel expense and trade in that number of miles to pay for it. In other words, spending $12,500 earns 25,000 miles, good for a $250 travel credit.

ANNUAL FEE/APR $59; 11.9 to 19.9 percent.

BOTTOM LINE You don’t need to travel to earn miles with this card. And you won’t be tied down to one airline or run into blackout dates when using those miles.

For the Mileage Hound

THE CARD American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card

THE PERKS Points can be used for Starwood hotel stays or be exchanged for miles on many airlines including American, British Airways, Delta, US Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Plus, you get a 5,000-point bonus when you trade in 20,000 points for miles. There is also a sign-on bonus of up to 25,000 points (10,000 points for your first purchase and 15,000 points if you spend $15,000 in six months).

ANNUAL FEE/APR $65; 2.90 percent for the first six months, then 11.99 percent.

BOTTOM LINE You’ll get the equivalent of a domestic ticket for roughly every $20,000 you spend or about 1.25 miles per dollar. That’s “a better earning rate than offered by most airline branded credit cards,” said Tim Winship, an editor for SmarterTravel.com and the publisher of FrequentFlier.com. And unlike those cards, you’re not tied to just one airline. It’s that combination of value and flexibility, added Mr. Winship, “that has long endeared it to frequent travelers.”

For the Worrier

THE CARD Escape by Discover

THE PERKS In addition to the usual secondary collision damage waiver insurance provided by many credit cards, which require travelers to first file a claim under their personal auto policy, this card offers $50,000 in primary collision damage waiver coverage — that means claims do not need to be filed under the traveler’s policy. The card also includes roadside assistance, lost or damaged luggage insurance in case the airlines lose your bags and trip cancellation insurance. It even comes with up to $500,000 in flight accident insurance. Cardholders earn double miles for every $1 spent on purchases, which can be used toward the cost of any trip.

ANNUAL FEE/APR $60; 10.99 to 15.99 percent.

BOTTOM LINE You’ll avoid paying for separate travel insurance for most trips.

For the Penny-Pincher

THE CARD The Chase Freedom Visa

THE PERKS 1 percent cash back on all purchases, plus the opportunity to earn 5 percent cash back on up to $1,500 worth of certain purchases each quarter. For example, April through June of this year is home improvement. There is also a $100 bonus cash back when you spend $500 in the first three months.

ANNUAL FEE/APR None; zero percent for the first six months, then 11.99 to 22.99 percent.

BOTTOM LINE “Miles can be confusing and hard to redeem, but cash has no blackout dates, and everyone understands that value of a dollar,” said John Ulzheimer, president of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com. “If you’re getting reimbursed for your travel expenses and your company pays you back before your due date, this is a no-brainer.”

More on this article in the blue link below. Hope this helps!

Choosing the Best Credit Card - Practical Traveler - NYTimes.com

Photos, courtesy of American Express.

Car Sharing, an alternative to car rental and car ownership – Zipcar

Wow, where have I been while this "Car-Sharing" idea slipped into so many cities in the US and around the world!!! It is such a novel and green concept! To share cars in densely populated cities like London and San Francisco for example, where it's so expensive to store, insure and park one's vehicle and where it would be best to get a car "loaner" to forgo the expense! Brilliant!

That's what Zip Car does. It allows you to select a car from several vehicle models for the amount of time that you wish/need. As a result, you can "borrow" for example, a pick up truck, or an SUV, or perhaps a four door sedan for some business calls? They even have Hybrid cars available! Cool concept no? Just sign up and follow the websites' directions, pay a small annual fee and your ready to borrow away.

Zip Car's are now available in many US cities, like Washington DC, Portland, Boston, San Francisco, New York and more. They're also available in London, Vancouver and Toronto.

If you live in one of these "Zip" cities, or plan to visit them any time soon, visit Zip Car's official web site to see is their car-sharing plan suits your needs. Go to www.zipcar.com or click on the enclosed blue link below.

Happy Zipping!

Car Sharing, an alternative to car rental and car ownership – Zipcar

Pretty Locks "On the Go" with Mini Pro

If hair styling when traveling is your thing, courtesy of my dear friend and flying partner Lynn, here is a small and handy hair ceramic styler for your next trip - the Mini Pro by Conair

For those of you who don't know what a "ceramic styler" is (don't feel bad, I did not know either), it's a heated contraption that helps you style your your hair manually, strand by strand, so it ends up looking neat, sleek, shiny and straight or wavy in the ends.

The beauty of this unit for travelers like us, is that it's tiny (see photo enclosed) and "dual voltage", so it can be plugged in overseas.

It's also cheap! Only $19.00 dollars at any Walgreens Pharmacy.

Thanks again Lynn!!! for sharing all this with us!

Interline Travel, Interline Discount, Nonrev Travel - ID90.COM

Attention ID90 Shoppers! Here's a good website for ID90 discounts - www.id90.com.
Visit this website for airline employee deals and let me know if it's worthwhile! For more information, click on the blue link below or head directly to their site.

Thanks Lynn for sharing with us this handy "nonrev" web address. Happy deal shopping to you all!!!

Interline Travel, Interline Discount, Nonrev Travel - ID90.COM

Sterilize Your Tooth Brush While Traveling

Cute, inexpensive and useful. What more can travelers ask for. Steripods, a clever, plastic clip-on contraption that covers your toothbrush to protect it and keep it bacteria free.

Where to get them? At you local pharmacy or in Amazon (link enclosed). They come in three packs, fit regular toothbrushes or electric ones and they sell for $5.99 a pack. All you have to do is "clip the Steripod onto your toothbrush...and the antibacterial system goes to work immediately". It's clinically proven to kill up to 90% bacteria for up to 90 days! Love it!

For more details on this handy product, please visit Steripod's official website at www.steri-pod.com or click on the the enclosed blue link below.

Happy trails traveling partners!

Amazon.com: Steripod Toothbrush Hygiene System (2 Pack Green and Blue): Health & Personal Care

New iPad Travel Applications

I don't own an iPad (yet), and I specially don't own the new, super-duper, extra light, fancy model iPad that is flying off the shelves as we speak (sigh). However, I've noticed that many of you, my travel partners, already own one of these snazzy, gorgeous machines and carry it in your flight bags. This post if for you.

National Geographic recently published a list of some of the "most impressive iPad travel applications on it's April 11th 2011 blog article. I've re-posted word for word from their article the segment with the list. If you wish to read the entire article, please click on the enclosed blue link at the end of this post.

So here it goes, iPad owners and travel partners, read on:

"...some of the more impressive new iPad travel apps...

• iMovie - $4.99
Optimized for the iPad, this app could transform you into a filmmaker. For travel videos, it’s amazing. It makes editing videos simple—little kids could do it. See the section below to read the full review.



• National Geographic National Parks Maps HD App - $4.99
This app pairs hi-res images of points-of-interest within National Geographic HD topo trail maps for 15 parks (Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, and ten others). The iPad’s Digital Compass will locate you within the park when you are ready to start exploring.

• JetSetter - Free
This visually stunning, content-driven travel app lets you discover travel destinations through a gorgeous layout and photography. The stories and editorial reviews will tantalize you to take a trip—and the app even allows you to book a hotel stay with a cool calendar feature. It also has “Flash Sale” limited-time travel deals.



• Word Lens - Free, $9.99 per language
This app utilizes the camera to photograph and translate text. Right now it only works for English to Spanish and Spanish to English. Still it’s a remarkable service on the iPad. It’s not perfect. I tried it on my friend Mark Adam's new book title, Turn Right at Machu Picchu. It came up with “Turno Correcto a Machu Picchu,” which is a little off, but the possibilities are exciting.


• TripAdvisor - Free
Thanks to the iPad’s digital compass, TripAdvisor’s vast database of user reviews are made available on Google Street maps. Simply locate yourself via the GPS, then read reviews of nearby restaurants and hotels positioned on a Google Street View map. What’s surprising is all the local information. I always considered TripAdvisor to be best for international hotels. But with the app, I located myself in my apartment in Brooklyn and it showed me all the restaurants and businesses on my street with contact info and user reviews. 



• Fotopedia Heritage - Free
Brilliant photos illustrate the world’s UNESCO World Heritage sites in this app. The Machu Picchu slide show alone has 59 images.



• FlightBoard - $3.99
This app quite simply lets you see the Arrivals and Departures flight boards in any airport. Pretty handy if you are dealing with weather delays.



• AllSubway HD - $.99
This is the first collection of subway maps from the world’s great cities, from Moscow to Munich to Perth. You don’t need a Wi-Fi connection to use it, so subterranean navigation is possible..."



plus..."Starting in May, Apple is going to offer free travel app workshops for consumers at their 200+ U.S. stores. At these workshops, Apple instructors will show the latest and best travel apps available".

I hope this helps all you iPad lovers, to embrace the new technology available through your amazing ipads. Who knows? maybe with some new applications, you can begin to produce memorable clips of your travel adventures with your iPad.

Adventure Travel - National Geographic Adventure Blog

Photo, courtesy of the Mac website. Pass this on. That's how we grow!

BHEESTIE Bag- Helps remove water from a cellphone or other small electronic

Bheestie Bag " It's easy to use and it's always thirsty". I love that line! It's about this pretty handy product that sucks the water out of your electronics if you ever, let's say, drop your phone in water or spill a drink on your camera. Ouch! I discovered this gadget while reading a recent New York Times article on "recommended travel gadgets" by Seth Kugler.

So what exactly does the Bheestie Bag do? it extracts water/moisture from your electronic devices, so if you happen to drop your iPhone in a pool or your camera in a lake while traveling you can save them from "drowning" by dropping the wet electronic device in the Bheestie Bag and puf! like magic, it will extract all the moisture out of the "injured" device and return it to it's former dry, healthy self. Amazing!

If interested, visit Bheestie's official website (link enclosed at end of this post). The bag sells for $20.00 (twenty) dollars and it can be ordered via Bheestie's official website at www.bheestie.com or via www.Amazon.com. You can also purchased it directly from any REI retail store.



I'm enclosing a more detailed description the Bheestie Bag, as per Amazon's website. I'm also including some testimonials from Bheestie's website for your perusal. In addition, aside from the New York Times, the Bheestie Bag has received positive reviews from NPR, the Today Show, ROAD magazine, Fox News and more. Check their website for additional information.

Amazon's description of the Bheestie Bag:
"BHEESTIE keeps personal electronics working better and potentially lasting longer. Can be used for daily maintenance or even to save a wet cellphone, iPod®, camera, etc. BHEESTIE can last up to a year depending on use.Great for use after sports and activities: running, skiing, golfing, boating, travel, gym, walking, beach,
biking, water sports or accidental soakings. BHEESTIE pulls the wet out of your
electronics"

Testimonials from Bheestie's site:
"My cell phone was in my pocket of my blue jeans. They needed to be washed so I threw them in the wash forgetting to grab my phone. All of the sudden I heard a banging noise coming from the washer. It was my cell phone in the washer on the spin cycle. I took it out and put it in a Bheestie bag for 24 hours. My phone was back to normal. Thanks to Bheestie. Katie
"I dropped my cell phone in a coke at an Astros game. It wouldn’t even turn on. After I used Bheestie my phone was back to normal. T.E."

For more information on the Bheestie Bag, please visit their official website - link enclosed. BHEESTIE Bag� - Helps remove water from a cellphone or other small electronic


Happy (dry) trails!

Photos, courtesy of Bheestie Bag.

World "Luxe City Guides" for your iPhone

Wow, I just discovered (courtesy of Jeffries Blackerby from the Travel Section of the New York Times) that my favorite travel guides - The Luxe City Guides - are now available as applications for the iPhone. Hurray!

For those of you who are not familiar with these amazing travel guides, you can check my earlier post on the paper travel guide version via this link. POSTCARDS FROM THE AIR: TRAVEL GEAR - The Irreverently Hip "Luxe City Guides"



The folks at Luxe City Guides now have twenty city guides ready for downloading for your iPhone via iTunes for $5.99 each - half their usual price until February 2011!!!

I haven't purchased one yet, but right after posting this, I will do a quick search to see what cities they have published thus far. These guides promise to be "cheeky", "funny" and "irreverent". Plus, they now come loaded with handy GPS enabled maps, automatic downloads and the ability to build your own personalized itineraries based on your favorite selections.


Also, for you Balckberry users, I hear that the applications are on the works and being tested as we speak, so keep checking for availability. They're on the way!

Tilley Endurables - The Finest Hats and Travel Clothing in the World

Great, foldable, washable, "best in the world" travel hats by Tilley Endurables. They come in a variety of materials, sizes and shapes. Check out their website and pick the one that fits you best.

I'm enclosing a copy of a hat description found on Tilley's website. All their hats sound amazing. See what you think -

TILLEY HATS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED 'THE BEST IN THE WORLD.'

APPEARANCE AND COMFORT:
To protect you from the sun and rain, Tilleys fit lower than other hats. This also tends to give one a rather dashing appearance!

For your comfort, they're held on by gravity, not painful pressure on your forehead. On a hot muggy day, you'll especially appreciate this!

Even though they fit gently, Tilleys won't fly off because when there's a breeze, you use one or both parts of the tuckaway Wind Cord (see TIES ON below).

GUARANTEED FOR LIFE:
Tilleys are replaced free if they ever wear out, shrink or fall apart. They're so carefully handcrafted by us in Canada, and made of such strong materials, that many outlive their owners. Final words in the Owner's Manual? "Pass it on!"

INSURED AGAINST LOSS:
We understand the anguish of losing this reliable companion, or of having your dog terminally gnaw it. Should that happen, we'll replace your late, lamented Tilley at half the catalogue price.

With your Hat, you'll be provided with "The Straight-Shooter's Statement of Loss of a Tilley Hat" insurance policy. The insurance is for two years, all perils, 50% deductible, and is not issued by Lloyds.

FLOATS:
A layer of closed-cell foam in the crown, and sometimes in the brim, provides the Tilley's positive buoyancy. This is a boon to boaters and fishermen/women/people. Good grief!

People have told us that this foam layer has helped save their lives. Double your money back if it doesn't save yours. Apply personally....

TIES ON:
The Tilley comes with a tuckaway, adjustable, fore 'n' aft Wind Cord. When it's calm, the Wind Cord stays hidden in the crown. When there's a breeze, place the part with the sliding knots behind your head. When it's windy or you're sailing, use the chin part too.

See COMFORT above, and the Owner's Manual, which accompanies each Hat, for amplification.

REPELS RAIN:
Not perfectly but usually quite adequately. Happily, the brims of the cotton-duck Tilleys actually become stiffer when they get wet, not floppier, helping to protect your neck, face and glasses.

The Lighterweight Nylon and Nylamtium ® Tilleys are excellent at repelling rain.

WON'T SHRINK:
They, in 1980: "Alex, you can't make a cotton hat that won't shrink!"
Me: "But what if we boiled the material first? Mercilessly preshrunk it?"
They: "Well, I guess that would work."
It did and does.

HYDROFIL® ANTI-SWEAT BAND:
Soft and comfortable, it picks up sweat from your forehead and wicks it away to your temple area where it evaporates.

CERTIFIED SUN PROTECTION:
The fabric of all Tilley Hats have been certified to block 98 percent of harmful UVA/UVB radiation and deliver an ultraviolet factor (UPF) of 50+, the maximum rating given.

For more on these amazing hats (and other travel items) by Tilley Endurables, please click on the enclosed link. Tilley Endurables - The Finest Hats and Travel Clothing in the World

Photos, courtesy of Tilley's website

Dry Lips No More!

Let's face it, if one flies enough like we Flight Attendant do, one has dry lips. It's an occupational hazard. To address this ongoing (inflight) problem, I have discovered a couple of lip products that offer both, color and lip hydration in one lip balm/lipstick. These products work so well, they have me smiling lately on my flights. So what small lip miracles are these?

My first recommendation is Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer- A natural lip balm that feels delicious on dry lips, tastes minty and comes in eleven lovely colors. My personal fav's are the Fig and Rhubarb colors. These lipstick/lipbalm combination sticks sell in most drugstores for about five dollars each. They taste amazing, look wonderful on lips and last forever!

My second recommendation is the Nivea Lip Balm with color called Nivea Lip Care - A Kiss of Flavor Cherry Tinted Lip . This colored lip balm also sells in most drugstores for about three dollars a stick. Despite it's humble price, it packs a huge punch - SPF 10 and UVA protection, Jojoba oils and Shea butter to moisturize the lips, a fruity taste plus a lovely cherry color for your lips. A perfect, healthy, rosy, summer lip color!

My last recommendation, the most uptown option, is - The Bobbi Brown Treatment Lip Shine. It comes in gorgeous colors with SPF 15 protection and extra moisturizing elements for your lips. I purchased the Rosy 7 color and it feels incredible on my lips plus the color is amazing and the stain is made to last a long time on your lips. Perfect for our inflight demands. This Lipstick goes for $22.00 and it can be found at any Bobbi Brown cosmetic counter in most upscale department stores. By the way, this Bobbi Brown lipstick was featured in the September 2010 edition of More Magazine.

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think about them? Can you add any additional recommendations?

iPhone Travel Application - Tipping Tips

Tipping Tips is a very useful and easy to use travel application for your iPhone. It provides you with detailed tipping advice for over 100 international destinations. Pretty handy information for any international flying crew member.

Tipping Tips Features:

-provides an easy to use calculator
-it allows you split the check with up to 8 people
-includes a flashlight in case the restaurant is too dark to see the bill
-lists detailed tipping instructions/customs for 108 countries
-it only costs $.99 cents

If you wish to read more about this applications, please visit their home site at
http://www.snappapp.com/Tipping or check the application description in iTunes.

Do you have any favorite travel applications you'd like to share with us? If you do, just write to us at postcards@me.com and we will gladly publish your story.

Free and Cheap Alternatives to Expensive Hotel Wi-Fi

Ok, I admit it, I'm not the most techno-savvy traveler around but I'm all for reducing the high costs of hotel Wi-Fi while traveling abroad. With some hotel's charging around 10 to 20 Euros or more per day! for Internet access, let's face it, we need all the help we can get. So take a minute to look at Gadling's easy suggestions to reduce your costs of hotel Internet access and let us know what you think.

To read the list of suggestions, please visit Gadling's website at www.gadling.com or click on the following link - Five free and cheap alternatives to expensive hotel Wi-Fi | Gadling.com

ps- In addition to the Gadling suggestions, I also recommend the free Skype iPhone application that can be downloaded from iTunes from the Application button on your iPhone. Once you download it, you can make free calls directly from your iPhone when you're in any free Wi-Fi zone in the world.

Do you have any technical suggestions for making cheap phone calls or for accessing the Web? if you do, please leave a comment or write to us at postcards@me.com and pass this information on!

10 Annoying Things you Might not Realize you're Doing on the Airplane

This is too funny and right on. A list of the 10 most annoying things "you might not realize you're doing on the airplane" published by Gadling, a popular air travel information website.

Some of the obvious ones, like get out of the aisle when people are boarding, or pull your shade down when it's light outside are listed with some other ones you will want to read.

To see the full list, please go to Gadling's website (www.gadling.com) or click on the following link.
10 annoying things you might not realize you're doing on the airplane | Gadling.com

Can you think of any more "annoying things" we can add to this list? leave your comments and pass it on!

More Flight Attendant Travel Blogs!

Here are two great crew travel blogs written by Flight Attendants. Both contain useful travel information for our trips, each written in it's own special way. Take a minute to visit these sites and support the work of your Flight Attendant co-workers. Don't forget to save the links for future reference. Once you're done, pass the information on. That's how we help them grow.

Globetrek - (www.globetrek.org) - This crew travel blog was started by Robert Roach, a DCA based Flight Attendant. Robert, a self described travel photo journalist, publishes articles about his own travel experiences around the world and illustrates them with his own photos. The photos, by the way, can be purchased right from his site. Don't miss the photo gallery. There are some wonderful shots.

His blog also includes helpful links for travel, like currency conversion charts, weather reports, travel movies, etc. Feel free to browse through Roberts blog by clicking here or by following him through his Globetrek Facebook page.

Thanks Robert for sharing your travel adventures with us!

Airline Layovers - (www.airlinelayovers.com) - Our second crew-site, "airline layovers" was created by one of our own Flight Attendants based in DCA, but she chooses to remain anonymous. Her blog, which she claims it's really not a blog, but just an information site, provides brief "Cheat Sheets" with place specific information about some of our international layover, destinations.

What kind of valuable information do the sheets include? they have directions to the nearest reasonably priced restaurant to your layover hotel, to the nearest ATM or supermarket, cultural details about the city, like the language that is spoken and the currency that is used plus much, much more.

So next time you find yourself racing to your next international layover with out a clue about your destination, hit the computer before your briefing and visit this site. Access the necessary quick "life-line" or information sheet about the city you're about to visit and rest assured, you'll have at least some idea about the basics for your destination before you get there.

To reach her site to take a look now, click here and remember, once you visit, pass the information on so we can support her research and work.

Thank you miss "airline layovers" for providing us with such valuable help for our layovers!

Sweet Dreams - zzzzz- Pant Hangers to block Light???

Next time you find your self in one of those hotel rooms with curtains that do not close completely, letting too much sun light into the room as you're trying to sleep? Look in your closet for the solution.

Grab a set of pant hangers, the ones with clips, and use the clipper parts of the hanger to "clip " the rebellious curtain segments together. Work with it until you can properly block the offending light completely. Voila! Sweet darkness will reign again in your room. Time to go back to sleep.

Shower Caps for your Shoes, huh?

I recently ran into my old friend Diane ( a very senior flight attendant from San Francisco, with 30+ years of seniority and travel experience ) in Beijing. It had been a while since we both saw each other, so we headed to her room to chi-chat.

While we talked and she packed her bag for her return flight, I watched her casually grab a couple of the hotel's shower caps to cover the bottom of her running shoes before packing them in her bag.

Wow! I thought, what a clever idea!! So simple and useful, all in one. A perfect solution for toxic shoes, specially after walking the streets of China. I immediately loved the idea! So I decided to make a mental note and share it with you.

So, next time you pack your bag, remember to first head for the hotel bathroom to grab a couple of shower caps. They'll fit nicely over your offending soles. Who knew they could be so handy.

Thanks Diane!!!

DID U KNOW? - Feathers make me Sneeze...

Are you allergic to feathers, like me? did you know that if your hotel bed-set has feather covers and pillows, you can request a "non-allergenic" replacement from the hotel's Housekeeping department at no extra cost?

So next time you find "feathers" in your bed, don't suffer in silence. Call Housekeeping immediately and have them change it, so you can have a good night sleep.

Sweet Dreams!

DID U KNOW? - Dirty Hotel Room?

Do you know the areas in your hotel room, that can be the dirtiest, most contaminated?

Well, believe it or not, one of these, is not the bathroom. The most "contaminated" item in your hotel room, more than likely is the TV remote control (Yuc!), followed closely by the bed cover (which seldom gets changed or cleaned). Then you have the cups and glasses left for your drinks (which only get washed or changed once in a while) followed by the phone receivers, dialing pads, door knobs and light switches (which get tons of use, but never get disinfected).

Last, lets not forget the furniture - the chair and sofa "seat areas" , often test positive to traces of fecal matter - eew!!! I think you can figure that one out with out my help.

So what can you do? Well, you can wipe all these surfaces with disinfecting, disposable towelettes (like Sani-Hands - which kill 99.9% germs) that can be found in most super market or pharmacy cleaning sections. Don't ever, if you can help it, use the bed cover. Better ask for an extra blanket if you feel cold. For that "suspect" furniture, just to be on the safe side, throw a clean towel over the sitting areas, before you sit.



Happy Trails!