On the Saturday, May 11th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Amtrak is having a sale on many of their long distance trains through May 16th. Save at least 30% on certain classes of service. Business travel is showing a significant rebound, and a study pretends to tell us which day of the week to buy your airline tickets. We have our doubts about the findings. Consumer households are paying, on the average, $1,100 in credit card fees every year. Not late fees for missing a payment, but fees that are added to your purchases by merchants to offset the growing cost of your cash-back and triple rewards cards. Are you getting value from your travel credit cards? Mark was in Chicago and Seattle this past week, scouting hotels, restaurants and attractions for upcoming Sports Leisure Vacations trips. He shares tips for some of the spots he visited, including a dive restaurant under the tracks in Chi-town, made famous in a Saturday Night Live skit and Chicago Cubs baseball history. There's a new vacation rental company joining the fray. We'll tell you a little about "Rentalz," and why they say they are different from the others.
On the Saturday, May 4th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Southwest has a new Wednesday Sale idea that might save you some money on airfares, and Venice's new tourism fees cause confusion on day one. First Time Cruisers and veterans will find something to make them a Smarter Traveler from our pre-cruise departure tip list. Airlines will have to start playing by new rules this July when it comes to refunds. But when do those rules really go into effect, and what do they cover? Plus, we tell you about a part of the new regulations many are overlooking. Ever heard of Gibsons, British Columbia? We hadn't either. It's a ferry ride northwest of Vancouver, and has a unique aquarium. Go off the beaten track with us and discover a cool new attraction.
On the Saturday, April 27th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, we have a double heads up for Swifties heading for Europe for her tour this summer, United Airlines is in hot water over letting passengers into an open door cockpit and we have news on possible changes to seating on Southwest Airlines flights. TSA Pre-Check is a valuable tool for many a road warrior, and even though it's good for five years, ultimately you have to renew your membership. We tell you how and explain Pre-Check to the rookies. None of us like "junk fees," and travelers certainly see more than their fair share. This week brings double good news on that front. A new California law which goes into effect July 1 will eliminate "drip pricing" (where it takes multiples screens to find out the REAL price) and already companies are falling in line to follow the new rules. Plus, the President's office issued two new rules on air travel this week which favor consumers, and force airlines to provide cash refunds instead of vouchers for a variety of offenses. True steps forward. Now we just have to see how the enforcement works. Voices of California is hosting a concert at El Camino High School's Performing Arts Center next weekend. One of their members gave us an update on their Salute to Tony Bennett and a link to tickets can be found on this page. Two Orange County state lawmakers are whining about how the "Clear" lane at the airport allows people to "pay to cut the line." They want to pass a law to do away with the practice. But they forget many companies, Disney and Southwest among them, monetize moving up in line. Mark says the two legislators are way off base.
On the Saturday, April 20th, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In The Travel News, San Francisco reacts to Oakland's decision to change the name of the Oakland Airport to include the words "San Francisco Bay Oakland Airport" and Amsterdam takes a number of steps to try and reduce over-tourism, the latest destination to do so. "Would you trade seats with me," has become a common passenger-to-passenger request on planes. But with airlines charging extra for many seats, it's become a request that doesn't get a positive response more and more often. Mark talks about how to handle both sides of the "seat swap" equation. Personal flying vehicles (cars in the sky) might be closer than we think. Consumer advocate Chris Elliott (www.elliott.org) joins us from Aruba to talk about his recent column on the subject, and to talk a bit about Aruba. Clayton Whitehead joins us to talk about the recent eclipse. He experienced it with 70 Sacramento travelers and offers some fascinating insights.