Mileage award tickets are not truly “free”.  Travelers have come to expect to pay the taxes on award tickets.  Broadly, this comes to $150-200 for a US to Europe roundtrip, and usually less than $100 for a US to Asia roundtrip.  This is widely regarded as a fair arrangement; the miles cover the cost of the airfare, and the passenger pays the government-mandated taxes and fees.

But in recent years, airlines have become addicted to fee revenue.  When oil prices spiked in 2008, airlines began instituting fuel surcharges.  These charges were a way for the airline to collect additional revenue per ticket without actually raising the fare.  While simply raising fares would have been an honest, transparent response to higher fuel costs, airlines chose the low road, hiding these fees under labels like “YQ charge”.

Inevitably, this practice spread from paid tickets to award bookings at some airlines, which brings us back to our honeymoon story. Let’s say our honeymooners were flying from Los Angeles to London in business class.  For simplicity we’ll look just at the flight going to London.  Here’s a screen shot of the total taxes and fees, at $476.20:

But mandatory taxes and fees departing the United States are only $24.20.  That means that $452 of these fees are going to British Airways in the form of a fuel surcharge.  See the breakdown here:

As you can clearly see, the airlines are using these fuel surcharges purely as a way to generate additional revenue at the traveler’s expense.  They are not recouping any government-mandated costs, they are simply addicted to fees.  The net result of these additional costs to the traveler is that frequent flyer miles are less valuable.

Thankfully, US-based airlines have not started imposing fuel surcharges on award tickets (with a few exceptions detailed below). The worst offenders are the British Airways Executive Club and Lufthansa Miles & More programs, where fuel surcharges add many hundreds of dollars to award ticket costs.

Stateside, United does not levy fuel surcharges on any award tickets, and American and Delta charge them only for booking on partners (such as British Airways) that mandate these charges on award tickets.  So while you’d never pay a fuel surcharge using American AAdvantage miles to fly on AA flights, you would have to pay one if using AAdvantage miles to fly on British Airways.

This is devaluation of frequent flyer miles by stealth.

Be aware of these surcharges before you decide which frequent flyer program to use, as they add substantial costs to award travel. If you have a pile of British Airways miles and don’t want to pay the surcharges, I recommend using them for bookings on American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, or other Oneworld alliance partners.  Fuel surcharges will be less (or non-existent) this way.

Unfortunately Miles & More levies the surcharges even on airlines that don’t charge them on award tickets, such as United.  So while redeeming United miles for a United flight would not incur any surcharges, redeeming Lufthansa miles for a United flight would mean having to pay Lufthansa a fuel surcharge.

Most importantly, if any US-based airline were to implement fuel surcharges on award tickets, frequent flyers would have to draw a line in the sand and put a stop to it. Otherwise we’ll see increasing devaluation in the form of both higher award levels and fuel surcharges.  After all, when is the last time you saw an airline fee go down?

Have you paid fuel surcharges on award tickets before?  Do you think these fees are fair for airlines to charge?

Location, location, location

You might call Advantage the Ryanair of the car rental industry.  It’s basic rates are usually among the least expensive, and it’s airport locations leave much to be desired.  Despite a promise of “In Terminal” I found myself on a shuttle bus to an off-airport site.

At airports that have cars in the terminal I’ve never seen an Avis that was off-site.

Rental experience

Renting a car the old fashioned way is a colossal pain in the ass.  The lines, the wait for the rental contract and the attempted insurance upsells had me longing to return to the hassle-free experience I’m used to.  But on balance, Advantage provided exactly what I would have expected from a discount car rental firm: A mediocre vehicle at a low price.

This is not entirely a fair comparison because I have Avis First status, but Avis does just about whatever I ask them to do.  If I don’t like a vehicle, they will swap it out (and upgrade me) at no extra charge.  And while I typically find my car and drive off without talking to anyone, there is a dedicated preferred office available to assist me if I should need help.

Finances

Renters at Advantage should beware of the following: Unlike most rental agencies, Advantage will charge you a damage deposit up front, and then refund it later if you bring the car back in the same condition you rented it.  Most rental agencies simply authorize an additional amount above the rental cost on your card, and then release that hold once the car is returned.  For a one-day rental, Advantage charged me:

$20  Rental fee

$200  Damage deposit

It refunded my $200 damage deposit about a week later.

This is an unusual practice in the rental industry, and one that I disagree with.  While Advantage is often less expensive than Avis, hassle takes time, and time is money.  I’m going to vote with my wallet and continue renting from Avis in the future.

As in most industries, the invention and adoption of internet-based technologies drastically reduced costs for airlines.  Instead of issuing paper tickets, carriers switched to electronic tickets.  Changing tickets became a breeze; a process that previously took time, effort and distribution was now accomplished in a matter of a few keystrokes.

And yet, while these costs declined, ticket change fees continued to rise.

Late last week, United Airlines announced that change fees on discounted economy cabin tickets would rise from $150 to $200.  So far United’s competitors have not matched, but unless the traveling public forces United to roll back this change it’s a safe bet that American, Delta and US Airways will soon match.

Are these change fees – whether at $150 or $200 – fair?  It’s a logical argument that a company should be able to charge a fee for a service to cover its costs.  For voluntary airline changes a fair fee would be $25-$50.  But most airlines have so mismanaged themselves that they now rely on the revenue from these change fees just to break even.  Instead of setting airfares at a sustainable level, airlines have engaged in a race to the bottom when it comes to providing value for money.

Airlines need to stop bleeding us to death with fees and surcharges, get their collective act together, and set fares at levels that don’t cause them to bleed red ink.  Honesty and transparency have been severely lacking in the airline industry, and it’s past time to change that.

Lately, however, there have been some hiccups.

When booking for clients recently, I encountered several instances of phantom award availability.  That is to say, United.com returned partner results (Lufthansa in this case) that would hold up all the way until the booking process completed, and then give an error after the last step.  Calls to the 1K desk were met with the usual hostile response: “There’s no availability for those flights.”

While technical errors do happen, I saw this particular problem persist over about a week long period.  There’s no valid excuse for this, as it borders on false advertising to show flights as available for award tickets, when in reality they are not.  United has never given great priority to its information technology, but in this case the cost cutting is creating angry frequent flyers.  Figure it out, United.  And beware, savvy travelers.

The great tease: Is that award actually available?

Since the agency announced that it would swap out x-ray based backscatter machines for millimeter wave-based scanners, media outlets from around the country have screamed inaccurate headlines such as, “TSA Pulls Plug on Airport Nude Body Scanners“.

Once again, TSA’s greatest achievement is duping the press and uncritical journalists.

Here’s the reality: TSA is merely changing the naked scanners it uses to violate innocent travelers’ privacy.  The millimeter wave scanners, like their retiring backscatter complements, perform a virtual strip search (and an ineffective one at that) on every traveler who steps inside.  While the TSA is adding “privacy software” to automate the scanners ability to detect threats, these are still government-owned machines that are taking a naked picture of you.  Whether or not a pervert in a nearby booth is viewing the picture or not is irrelevant.  Would you let police officers photograph inside your home without a warrant instead of letting them search it?

This swap was a masterful move by TSA to try to mollify the public outrage around the virtual strip search machines.  But health concerns aside (millimeter waves are generally considered safe) the underlying objections to this technology stand:

• It’s an unconstitutional search (read about administrative search doctrine for more on this)
• It is invasive of privacy, even if less so than before
• The machines slow down checkpoint operations while adding no actual security value

This savvy traveler is not fooled by the TSA’s optical illusion, and will continue to opt out every time.

Round The World fares can provide excellent value if you’re willing to live with their rules and restrictions.  These rules can be complex, byzantine and occasionally bizarre.  One of the main concepts of this fare is that it is discounted – you are receiving a discount relative to buying a series of point-to-point tickets.  To compensate for this, Star Alliance limits the fare somewhat, meaning that you can’t simply book any available seat on a given flight. There are specific fare buckets (typically the same bucket as discounted business or first class) that must be available.  For instance, if you wanted to fly in business class between Singapore and Sydney on June 30, you would need to find a flight that has “D” class available.  Using the ExpertFlyer tool, you would see that the overnight flight has the following availability:

R4 F4 P4 A2 Z4 C4 J4 D4 S9 Y9 B9 E9M9 H9 W9 Q0 N9 U0 G0 L0 K0

As you can see, there are at least four seats in D class.  Knowing this, you would call United’s RTW desk expecting to confirm a seat on this flight.  But United might tell you that there are no D seats available on the flight.  What’s going on?

Airlines don’t use a single system to report available fares to travel agents and other vendors.  Essentially, while one system might show seats available in D class, another might not.  If you were to call Singapore Airlines, they would confirm that D seats are available. The problem is that the United agents may not be able to see them.  And if they can’t see them, they can’t sell them.  Obviously this creates major issues, as you’re simply following the RTW ticket rules and have found an eligible flight, only to be told that you can’t book it.

Until recently there was a workaround, and I still recommend trying this with United agents on the off chance it will work.  If you’ve found a flight with D class but the United agent can’t confirm it, have her put you on the waitlist for the flight.  Singapore will come back immediately and confirm you on the flight (since D class actually is available despite what the United agent can see).  A recent memo directed United agents to stop this practice, so this workaround is likely of limited use going forward.

Unfortunately there are no other workarounds, and if you find yourself in this situation you will probably have to use an alternate flight or routing.  United has never given much priority to investing in information technology, so hopes that it will communicate better with its partners are wishful thinking for now.

For us consumers of travel, this is simply one more frustration and product devaluation that we have to deal with.  Many Savvy Traveler clients are finding it less and less useful to attempt booking RTW tickets because of fare availability issues like this one.

Daylight yields sunrays reflected from a gold-covered surface.  In nighttime it is otherworldly, an illuminated beacon to draw in gawkers and worshippers alike.  Shwedagon is a special place at any time of day, but the transition from night into dawn is not to be missed.

The temple engages your senses.  Leave enough time to put your camera and notebook away and simply wander around the outskirts, allowing the experience to infiltrate each one of your senses.

Sight

Shwedagon is striking.  It sits in a low-rise neighborhood to the north of central Yangon, and is by far the most prominent aspect of the city’s skyline.  Adjectives to describe it are clichés, but when you’re standing in front of it, imposing, majestic and powerful come to mind.

Smell

Shwedagon is a temple, and while tourists come to ogle, the Burmese come to pray.  Incense permeates the air around the temple, infusing the outdoor setting with the feel of an intimate place of worship.

Touch

Before you enter the complex you must remove your shoes and socks.  Remember that it’s a holy place to the Burmese, so be respectful.  And watch where you’re walking, as you’ll be sharing the space with some of nature’s creatures.

Hearing

There’s a constant chorus of birds around the pagoda.  Their songs are not always musical, but they’re a reminder that nature is an important part of the Shwedagon experience.

Taste

In the early morning hours, worshippers bring breakfast and sit down in front of the pagoda to eat and pray, nourishing both body and soul.  Respect the site by cleaning up anything you bring with you.

If you’re only transiting Yangon and have limited time, this is how you should spend it.  Besides, how many of your friends have checked in to the Shwedagon Pagoda on Foursquare?

What you need to know – Expiration policies

Alaska Airlines – 24 months

American Airlines – 18 months

Delta Air Lines – No expiration

JetBlue Airlines – 12 months (must earn by flying or credit card use)

Southwest Airlines – 24 months (must have flight or partner earning activity)

United Airlines – 18 months

US Airways – 18 months

Virgin America – 18 months

Ideas to keep your mileage balances alive

If you find a balance that is approaching expiration, there are many things you can do to keep it alive.  For most airlines, earning or spending miles in any amount is enough to extend the life of your entire account balance.  For jetBlue and Southwest (see above) you will need to earn miles, either by flying or partner earning activity.  Other than taking a flight, here are some ideas to help you extend the life of your mileage assets:

* Credit a hotel stay to your account
* Credit a car rental to your account
* Register for a mileage dining program and have a meal out
* Shop through an airline mileage mall
* Open an airline co-branded mileage credit card
* Transfer points from American Express or Starwood Preferred Guest
* Buy a small amount of miles

Keeping your mileage balances alive is easy.  If you don’t fly much with some airlines, keep track of expiration dates with a spreadsheet and check periodically to make sure you don’t allow valuable miles to expire.

Have you ever had miles expire?  What are your strategies to keep your balances alive?

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Picture this: You arrive at the airport an hour before your international flight.  Boarding pass in hand, you glide through an expedited security line, leaving the hassle behind with enough spare time to pop into the airline lounge for a quick drink.

Since you’re in international business class, you can board early or late without worrying about having to fight fellow travelers for space in the overhead bin.  As you settle into your seat for the 14-hour flight to Hong Kong, an attendant offers you the drink of your choice.  After reaching cruising altitude, you watch a tv show on the video-on-demand system while dining, and then recline your seat to a flat bed for a proper night of sleep on the way to Asia.

This doesn’t sound like your typical travel experience, does it?  Sadly, the travel experience has diminished in quality considerably since the airline bankruptcies of the last decade.  While much of our travel feels like the opposite of what is described above, there is plenty we can do to help ourselves reach those fabled shores of travel nirvana.

1. Consolidate your travel. You might think that buying the least expensive ticket every time will save you money, but in the long run you’ll just be hurting yourself.  Pick a single airline alliance and build status with the carrier you fly the most.  It seems obvious, but it’s critical.  Having top-tier status on a single airline is an exponential improvement over low-tier status on three airlines.

2. Sleep, eat and breathe miles and points.  Did you know you can earn miles for opening brokerage accounts?  Or for dining out?  Or for a Netflix subscription?  The possibilities are many, and if you’re not planning well you are literally leaving money on the table – something few entrepreneurs can afford to do.

3. Spend your miles wisely.  Do you think that saving $250 by getting a free ticket for your mother-in-law from Miami to New York is a good use of 25,000 miles?  If you do, talk to a professional miles junkie.  A good benchmark for redeeming miles is getting a value of five cents or more per mile.  25,000 miles for a $250 ticket yields all of one cent per mile.  That’s a mileage sin.

If leveraged correctly, loyalty programs can provide tremendous value for frequent fliers.  That effortless travel experience in the first paragraph?  I’ve personally had it dozens of times, from a first class cabin to myself on Cathay Pacific to screaming across the Atlantic in the Concorde.  Maximizing your miles and points won’t just save you money, it will save you time and hassle while you travel in comfort.

Cape Town is moderately expensive, but the dollar-to-rand conversion means that you can live well and enjoy the city on a budget.  Here are seven attractions that will give you a flavor of South Africa’s crown jewel without forcing you to sell your own:

1. Table Mountain National Park

As one of Cape Town’s top tourist attractions, you’ll have to fight off hoards of camera-wielding tourists from around the globe.  If you don’t have a car, you’ll need to take a taxi or tour bus up to the cableway base station.  From there you’ll ride up to the peak on the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway.

I try to avoid using travel clichés, but there’s no other way to describe the view than breathtaking.  Pictures are fine for friends back home don’t really do it justice.

The top of the mountain is far more than just the viewing area; there are miles of hiking trails that provide Instagram-worthy views in every direction.

You’ll need to go on a clear day to fully appreciate what the park has to offer.  Go early, as the weather tends to change for the worse late in the afternoon, especially during summer.  If you hear the “hooter” go off, that’s a warning that high winds are approaching and the cableway will close soon.  Head back to the station immediately.

The adventurous and in-shape can hike down from the top to the base station, weather permitting.

Price: $24 roundtrip.  Save 10 percent if you purchase tickets online.

2. Day pass on the City Sightseeing Cape Town bus

It’s a little hokey, but the hop-on, hop-off City Sightseeing bus is a great way to get around to popular parts of the city (including the Aerial Cableway base station) and experience the most popular attractions.  The passes are a great value for the transport alone.

There are two lines: Red and Blue.  The Red line takes you around the city center and popular neighborhoods such as Camps Bay.  The Blue line goes a bit farther afield, allowing time to visit sites including the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and a township.

Even if you’re not a big fan of organized tours, this is worth doing.  Since you make your own schedule and itinerary, it’s about as laid back as a tour gets.  If you plan to sit up top, wear sunscreen.

Price: $14 – 27 for a one or two-day pass.  The two-day pass includes a wine tour.

3. District Six Museum

In the 1960s and 1970s – under the apartheid government of the day – non-whites were forcibly relocated from this part of central Cape Town.  The District Six Museum is of good quality, but the story it tells of this terrible period in South African history is the compelling reason you’ll want to spend several hours here.

While District Six would be a medium walk from most downtown hotels, be sure to take a taxi or other transportation to and from the museum (the City Sightseeing bus has a stop just out front).  Sadly, the neighborhood – like much of South Africa – continues to bear the scars of the apartheid era.  In the case of District Six, this means crime, prostitution and drug use.  If you are white and walking around on your own you will likely be hassled.  Be smart and pre-plan your transport.

Price: Donations accepted.

4. Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

While Lonely Planet and other guidebooks refer to this as the “Victoria and Albert” Waterfront, it’s actually Victoria and Alfred, named after Queen Victoria’s second son, not her husband.

The Waterfront is filled with enough shops and restaurants to keep a bored tourist busy for a day.  When your stomach is full and wallet empty, head outside to the central plaza and watch local performers ply their craft in seek of tips.  Many are very entertaining, and if you enjoy their performance it’s courteous to share a few rand.

Price: Free to explore, and meals are reasonably priced considering the location.

5. Sail the harbor

While you’re at the Waterfront, take a walk along the pier and pick out a boat for an evening champagne cruise on Table Bay.  The two-hour cruise will give you a new perspective on the City Bowl, Table Mountain and the surrounding area.

A plan for a lovely evening is dinner at the Waterfront followed by a few hours out on the water.  Bring a long-sleeved shirt or light jacket, as it can get chilly on the water even during summer.

Price: $25

6. Camps Bay

Camps Bay is Cape Town’s SoHo or West End.  It’s full of beautiful people, lavish hotels, expensive homes and trendy bars and restaurants.  It also has a gorgeous (and very popular) beach scene.

If you really want to splurge, stay a few nights at The Bay Hotel.  Infinity pools and cabanas await, but it will cost you.  Peak season rates start at about $425 per night.  But if you want to rub elbows with South African movie stars, this is the place to do it.

The main road that runs through Camps Bay is lined with shops, restaurants and bars.  Take an afternoon, discover some good eats and soak up a little of the good life.

Price: Free to explore, moderate to eat, expensive to drink and stay.

7. Day trip to Stellenbosch

An easy day trip from Cape Town, Stellenbosch is a university town in the Western Cape with a distinctly European feel.  Beyond the charms of the town, the big draw in the Stellenbosch area is wine.

For ambitious wine tasters, plan to spend a night or two in town to allow enough time to enjoy what the vineyards have to offer.

Price: You can get there for as little as $1.50 on the train.  Travel during the day to be safer.  If you have a rental car it’s about an hour’s drive.