Here are some random quick tips for saving money in Paris: 1. If you’re younger than 26 and visiting Paris on the weekend, consider buying a Ticket Jeunes Week-end for the Metro. It’s only 3,65 euro for a one-day pass for zones 1-3, which will make up for itself after 3 rides. A normal metro…
The other day, I booked my first award ticket through a phone reservations office. I wanted to spend 67,500 American Airlines miles to fly from the US to Bangkok in Cathay Pacific first class. Cathay Pacific awards can’t be booked via the AA.com website, so you have to call American at 1-800-433-7300 to book your…
Earlier this year, I booked a roundtrip business class ticket to Europe for only 60,000 US Airways miles. This award no longer exists, unfortunately, but you can still book off-peak economy class tickets to Europe on US Airways for only 35,000 miles (only 30k if you have a US Airways credit card). The only catch…
Bring ExOfficio underwear (this one’s for women). True story: I only brought two pairs of this underwear to Europe for my 10-day trip, and I’m sure I would’ve been fine with only those two pairs for a much longer trip than that. The general idea is that you wash one pair in the sink and…
…or why you should never exchange your money at a exchange bureau (unless you need a lot of cash immediately). I’m rather shocked that exchange bureaus exist since they provide horrid exchange rates for minimal convenience. And yet many people make an exchange counter the first place they stop after landing in a new destination….
Get Global Entry. Global Entry is a trusted traveler program that provides expedited pre-clearance into the US. In other words, you submit your info for a background check, and if you get approved, you get to skip all of the lines when you come back to the US from a trip abroad. It’s magical. The…
…or why I order special meals when possible. Although airlines don’t serve meals in coach on domestic flights anymore, most still serve them on international flights. And if you have the misfortune of sitting near the back of the plane, you won’t get your meal until much later, and you might not get your first…
I hate haggling. It makes me anxious, and I often feel like I get ripped off. But I have a new strategy that I effectively used on my last trip abroad: figure out how much I’m willing to pay before I even ask for a price, and then stay firm to that price. Why does this…
…or why you should read the terms and conditions of your credit cards. I love credit cards. One reason why I love credit cards is because they often come with tons of benefits that most people don’t know about. On my way back to SFO from a recent trip to Austin, my flight was delayed…
