7 Great Reader Tips & Commentary
Last week I held a contest where I gave away two United Club passes. To enter, I asked readers to leave a tip or trick in the comments. I am a firm believe that no one knows everything and there are always cool new things to learn.
Here are a few cool tips/tricks along with my own commentary and thoughts. I hope you learn something new and feel free to share your own tips in the comments!
Dawn:
Tip: Lose your phone charger while traveling? Go ask at the desk of any big hotel, they usually have a drawer full of left behind chargers and many will just give you one if you ask nicely.
My thoughts: It is amazing what hotels have lying around. Being nice to the front desk agent can prove to be very beneficial.
Kira Cao:
Having booked a non refundable hotel and regretted later? Try call the hotel directly with reasonable excuses and you will get the reservation cancelled and fully refunded, if you do this sooner than later.
My thoughts: Dealing with a hotel directly is always a way to get around policies and rules. Sometimes the corporate entity has their hands tied, but a local manager or front desk agent can help. Oh and elite status helps with this too. Hyatt has waived cancellation fees on reservations that are past the deadline for me as a Diamond.
Jim F.:
Stack your savings whenever possible; e.g., OpenTable reservation + Dining Rewards network + Restaurant.com = significant savings
My thoughts: You can save on just about anything. If you are paying full price for something, then think of ways where you can get your cost down. Someone else probably is getting the same thing at a huge discount. With that said, sometimes you do get what you pay for.
Brandi:
Tip for families travelling in Europe, call/email the hotel directly for family accommodations. Many hotels were willing to upgrade us (no charge) based on status to a room that fit everyone. Saved lots of points.
My thoughts: This is so true. It is difficult to find family friendly rooms in much of Europe. You can also sometimes get cheaper rates by booking with a property directly, especially smaller local hotels. I wrote a post about some of this a couple of years ago that has great advice. It doesn’t always pay to stay with chains either, especially ones with rigid room occupancy policies.
Ann:
Don’t buy expensive water at the airport. Take an empty water bottle through security and fill it up after security.
My thoughts: This is something a lot of people don’t know. The TSA officially allows empty bottles so you don’t have to worry about any hassle when bringing one.
R. Hirsch:
If you need to change a flight at a layover point, you usually can….for free!….if you call from the airport during your layover!
My thoughts: This really depends on the airline, your status and why type of fare you are flying, but there is definitely some flexibility. I have noticed lately that it can be tougher to change flights without a fee, but it can be possible. Also, going to an airline’s lounge is often a good way to get help.
Conclusion
Did you learn anything? Is there a tip you want to share? Go for it in the comments!
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Beside the Denver airport, what are other airports that have refillable stations with filtered water. Also there is a bank of iHeart stations by the Frontier gates.
To avoid paying for bottled water in hotels, bring a reusable bottle and fill it in the hotel’s workout room. Almost all of them have a filtered water dispenser, some even have free bottled water!