Money tips

There’s a mounting possibility of a big shake-up in how you purchase your airfare, some travel outlets report: Major airlines might soon employ a new technology called dynamic pricing to assign different fares to different types of air passengers without their knowledge.

Although the United Kingdom is one of the closest European destinations to the United States, it’s been out of reach for many Americans for a long time, due to the unfavorable pound to dollar exchange rate.

Editor’s Note: For travel insurance information specific to the current COVID-19 epidemic, see our stories on Travel In the Time of COVID: What You Need to Know; Travel Insurance Coverage: 18 Things Your Policy Won’t Cover; and Cancel for Any Reason Travel Insurance, Explained.

Editor’s Note: For the latest version of this story, see The World’s Most and Least Expensive Cities, Ranked.

Stuck paying for a timeshare you want out of? You’re not alone: Some 85 percent of the nine million timeshare owners in the U.S. are looking to get out of a timeshare contract. This is according to a service that helps people get out of timeshares, called Timeshare Exit Team—which has mixed reviews online with success stories among them, and a favorable rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Every summer, Americans selectively schedule their vacation time, typically taking a week or two to get out and enjoy the sun or a dreamy, far-off destination. But as the midyear heat wanes and the holiday season approaches, more of us should assess the vacation days we’re not using—all 658 million of them.

These days, budget air deals aren’t hard to come by. There are plenty of flash sales and discount carriers to choose from, but not all of them are created equal. It’s become easy to find reasonable flights between big air hubs, but dreamy, far-off islands will almost always cost you more.

Airline fees remain a “pain point” for many travelers, and the pain is getting worse. Despite all the focus, however, you still see some public confusion. The latest exhaustive report (104 pages!) from IdeaWorks presents a good starting point for a dispassionate assessment of the realities and myths of airline fees.

If you’ve ever traveled abroad without a data plan or a portable hotspot, you know how difficult it is to find free Wi-Fi. Many travelers plan their entire trips on their phones and computers, so it’s only natural that most people still rely on the Internet while traveling. Going online for directions and restaurant recommendations is second nature, but finding free Wi-Fi can take valuable time out of a vacation, and using unsecured connections can put your information in danger. For this reason, it’s important to keep an arsenal of travel apps on your phone that don’t need Wi-Fi.

I’ve already told you about Amazon Prime membership’s unknown perks, but I’m especially excited about its latest membership benefit: Prime Samples and Amazon Sample Boxes. I first noticed these on the site yesterday and as a self-proclaimed “subscription box guru,” I was excited to see that Amazon launched its own version of this type of service.

I cringe when the duty-free pitch starts at 35,000 feet, but according to a new study by HSBC, it’s the highlight of the flight for many travelers. HSBC polled thousands of flyers and found that Americans spend an average of $51.32 on in-flight purchases each time they fly, with the bulk of that splurge going to duty-free purchases ($32.53). Other top expenditures were for onboard Wi-Fi ($4.92), food ($11.68), drinks ($4.56), and alcoholic drinks ($4.76).

Travel website, Trippy, has put together an awesome infographic showing prices for food, beer, taxis, and hotels in the most and least expensive countries. And the best part is that it updates daily, so you can see the average price of something when you’re planning a trip or once you’re in the destination.

There’s a silver lining for Britain-bound travelers in the wake of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union: Insanely cheap flights and hotel rates are springing up. Americans in particular have perhaps the biggest advantage in the post-Brexit bookings race thanks to a strong U.S. dollar and low oil prices.

Tipping for services is a tricky part of traveling—and one that could cost you undue money (or some awkward encounters) if you don’t do your research. But it’s now easier than ever to find out how to tip in your next destination. One guide to tipping even lays it all out in one interactive map; bookmark it for those moments when you’re wondering how much to leave.

Infrequent travelers often say cheap car rentals are the best way to get off the beaten path while abroad. They’re usually wrong.

Not everyone believes that taxes are as inevitable as death. In addition to the I-won’t-pay crowd, there’s the I-can’t-pay contingent, and the I-forgot-to-pay group. Whatever their reasons, they’re all considered delinquent taxpayers by the IRS. And that delinquency can now jeopardize their ability to fly.

First-class seats aren’t exactly meant for the average leisure traveler. Their expensive perks (unlimited drinks, hot towels, lie-flat seats) aren’t must-haves for most people. But what happens when a low-cost U.S. airline adopts their own first-class experience? I tried flying JetBlue Mint to find out.

InterContinental Hotels Group’s lowest-price guarantee used to be pretty straightforward.

Think overnight train trips in your own cabin cost a fortune? Not with Amtrak’s latest flash sale. Book an Amtrak roomette for one and get the companion ticket free if you buy by June 26. The deal is valid for travel this August 20 through February 15, 2019, with only a single blackout date: November 25, 2018.

If you like the idea of using a travel agent to ensure you’re getting the best hotel deal, but hate the idea of contacting one and waiting for their search to end, SnapTravel may be the site you’ve been waiting for. It’s a half-bot, half-human hotel booking service that can secure some of the lowest negotiated hotel deals around, and it sends them right to your Facebook Messenger inbox.

Warren Buffett, one of the world’s best known and most successful investors, has a wildly variable relationship with the airline industry, dating back to his ill-timed investment in USAir, in 1989, which underperformed his return-on-investment expectations. He’s been a fierce critic of the industry ever since, regularly fulminating against airline investments, as he did in this 2002 interview with The Telegraph: