Money tips

Beginning on April 2, many travelers will be charged an extra $10 for their new passport books or cards.

UPDATE: According to Straight To The Points, Singapore has dropped the policy, even before its effect date, in response to negative pushback from customers. Nevertheless, it’s a policy that other airlines are surely considering.

You know that old saying “there’s a sucker born every minute”? Don’t be one of them. Stay ahead of these surprisingly effective travel scams to keep your vacation plans from falling apart. The schemes below may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to travel cons, but preparing yourself for these common swindles is a good place to start.

Less than two years after beginning what has become a wholesale change from free to paid hotel parking in Las Vegas, MGM is already charging hotel visitors even more to park.

Southwest has announced it will increase its EarlyBird Check-In fees for select flights starting August 29.

With strong demand in most parts of the world, the cost of travel has only one place to go: up. No big surprise there. If there’s anything surprising about the price creep, it’s how modest at least one analyst expects it to be.

Although frequent flyer point programs usually get more attention, hotel loyalty program benefits are an important element of hotel choice among lots of travelers. And if you’re not sure which program is “best,” the folks at WalletHub have calculated ratings for all the major hotel chain programs.

Most frequent travelers know that to find flash sales and other great deals on economy-class air tickets through alerts, you don’t have to look far: Our sister site AirfareWatchdog, for example, is a leader in the field. Lots of online travel agencies and metasearch systems offer up standard airfare alerts—but finding one that will flag premium airfare deals requires a little bit more insider knowledge, and some cash.

JetBlue has announced it will join American, Delta, and United in offering bare-bones “basic economy” fares beginning in 2019. The new, no-frills fares will still include the line’s standard free on-board Wi-Fi, snacks and soft drinks, and a full-size carry-on bag plus personal item, the airline said. But basic economy passengers can expect to see fees for things like picking a seat and changing their reservation—JetBlue hasn’t yet said what exactly will change.

JetBlue announced that it was increasing fees for checked baggage: from $25 to $30 for the first bag, $35 to $40 for the second. And the line also increased the top ticket change fee from $150 to $200, although fees on cheap tickets remain less than the maximum. The new fees have already gone into effect. JetBlue didn’t charge bag fees until 2015 but now has already increased its prices.

Comfortable and trendy shoes are a must-have in today’s footwear industry, but what if you could wear a shoe that was as stylish as it was revolutionary?

SpaceX has announced that Yusaku Maezawa, a young Japanese entrepreneur and billionaire art collector, will be the first paying passenger to take a trip around the moon. Maezawa purchased a private journey in Elon Musk’s newest BFR spaceship, which is tentatively scheduled for 2023.

Score a free gift with your Amazon order from December 11 through December 17. The complimentary items are a surprise, but will range from expensive presents like Bose speakers to more basic household items, Delish.com reports.

Singapore is the best country in the world to live as an expatriate for the fourth year in a row, according to a new report from HSBC Bank. The study is based on survey results of more than 22,000 expats from many different home countries who live and work abroad. Ranking for each country is based on three overall factor groups: experience (quality of life, safety, etc.), economics (income, politics, etc.), and families (education, healthcare, etc.)

Do you like NFL football? Do you like to travel? Do you also enjoy receiving normally expensive things for free?

Choosing a destination can be a difficult decision when you’re looking to maximize your travel budget. By choosing a destination with a favorable exchange rate and strong U.S. dollar, you can make the most of every penny spent in 2019.

If you want to stay at the best hotel in the United States, head to the French Quarter Inn in Charleston, South Carolina. And if you’re looking for the best bargain hotel stay in the world, it’s in a small town in northern Spain. That’s according to TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards, which just shared the best hotel ratings for multiple categories heading into 2019.

On its newly-delivered planes, Spirit Airlines says it’s installing new seats that are improved over the airlines’ old ones. That’s probably right, given that the old seats represent the lowest bar in the industry, but even the new seats still aren’t up to the general industry standards: Spirit’s seats have long been about an inch narrower than the average airline seat.

Most car rental companies have long required that their customers use a credit card when reserving a car. Renting a car with a debit card has always meant incurring restrictions and extra fees. But thanks to the rising number of frugal customers who don’t have or don’t want to use credit cards, that’s finally changing.

If you’re looking to find the least expensive accommodations in a destination regardless of what kind of accommodation it is, you might be surprised to learn that Airbnb isn’t always the cheapest. A new study from Compare the Market shows that hotels can sometimes beat Airbnb prices. The study covered the average Airbnb vs. hotel rates (per night) in 52 important destinations around the world.

As any seasoned traveler knows, your dollar goes much further in some places than it does in others. I’ll never forget reviewing my credit card account after my first trip to Copenhagen and realizing all those to-go cups of coffee came to $6 each. Or, conversely, how affordable a beer is in Berlin.