Useful Travel Planning Resources

Planning a trip? Here's my roundup of useful travel planning resources:

(1) Making Reservations:

• Voyij.com (aggregates deals from other sites, e.g., Kayak, Priceline, Hotwire, etc.)
• 10 Ways to Cut Your Travel Costs This Year (NYTimes)

(2) Travel Planning:

• GetSetApp: Comparing the cost of travel by air, bus or car
  
• Frugal Traveler's Review of Travel Websites
  
• Frugal Traveling Strategies
• Buy Now or Later? Planning for Summer Travel

(3) Exchange Rates & ATM Fees

• Exchange Rate Surcharges and ATM Fees for the International Traveler

(4) Trains

• Germany's DB Bahn English Book Site

(5) Taxis & Cabs

• World Taximeter: International Taxi Fare Calculator
  
• Resources for Calculating Cab Fares & Booking Cabs

(6) Hotels:

• Hotel Rewards Cheat Sheet (NerdWallet.com)
  
• 7 Strategies for Hotel Upgrades (CNN.com)
• HotelChatter's Annual WiFi Report (find out which hotels offer the best/free wifi, which hotels offer the worst wifi before you book your hotel stay)
  
• Hostelling International New York (cheap lodging in New York City)
  

(7) Air Travel

• Resources for Planning Your Air Travel
• Tips On Finding A Comfortable Coach Seat Without Upgrading
• Saving Money On Your Summer Air Travel
• How to Get The Best Seat on the Plane

(8) Packing

• Fly Safe, Fly Smart: Pack Like the Pros
  
• One-Page Checklist: Packing Everything into One Bag

(9) Useful Information:

• Live Train Map for the London Underground
• Traveling? Find the Best Spots in New Cities with these Tools (Lifehacker)

Resources for Planning Your Air Travel

My round up of useful air travel planning resources:

(1) Airfares:

• Whatever You Do, Don't Buy an Airline Ticket On... (Wall Street Journal)
  
• What is the best day to buy cheap airfare? (ABCNews) FareCompare's Rick Seaney shares his 10 things you should know to get the best flight deals -- Highly Recommended
  
• Airline Ticket Surcharges for Peak Domestic Travel – Avoid the Most Expensive Days(FareCompare) -- Highly Recommended
  
• The Frequent Flier's Guide to Finding Cheap Airfare (Lifehacker) -- Highly Recommended
  
• Booking a Flight the Frugal Way (NYTimes.com) -- Highly Recommended
  

• Hipmunk.com - a new flight search engine that provides search results in easy-to-read charts -- Highly Recommended
  
• ITA Matrix Lets You Find Cheap Airfare, Plus Advanced Routing Codes, Minus Ad Clatter(Consumerist.com)
  

• Cheap Airfare Links & Bookmarks (MyMoneyBlog.com) - useful list of links
  
• Fly for Less (Kiplinger.com) -- good advice on how to land a cheap air fare
  
• Voyij.com (aggregates deals from other sites, e.g., Kayak, Priceline, Hotwire, etc.)
• Frugal Traveling Strategies
• Delta Airlines Fare Chart
• United Airlines Fare Chart

(2) Airline Fees:

• A Staggering Look at Baggage Fees (Hipmunk Blog)
  
• Your Complete Big-Ass Guide To Annoying Airline Fees (Consumerist)
  
• Airline Baggage Fees (DansDeals.com)
  
• Useful Table of Airline Fees (Kayak.com)

(3) Searching for Best Seats:

• How to Get Exit Row Seats (includes chart of airline policies)
  
• How to Get The Best Seat on the Plane
• Tips On Finding A Comfortable Coach Seat Without Upgrading

(4) Packing

• Fly Safe, Fly Smart: Pack Like the Pros
  
• One-Page Checklist: Packing Everything into One Bag

(5) Tracking Your Flights

• Live Flight Tracker: Flightlite

(6) At the Airport:

• Security Checkpoint Secrets: How to Dodge the Lines at Top US Airports(Frommers.com) -- Highly recommended!

(7) Flight Cancellations:

• 3 Reasons You're Doing It Wrong When Your Flight Is Cancelled (Hipmunk.com)
  
• Airlines Play The No-Fault Card (New York Times Practical Traveler) - excellent article on your options in the event your flight is cancelled.
• 10 tips for avoiding delayed/cancelled flights and what to do if all else fails(airfarewatchdog)
  

(8) Getting Bumped:

• Fly Safe, Fly Smart: An Expert's Guide to Getting Bumped (Frommers.com)
• How I scored 4 free flights last year - all without using frequent flyer miles(MoneyCrashers.com)
  

(9) Airline Customer Service, Lost Luggage & Filing Complaints:

• Fly Safe, Fly Smart: What To Do About Lost Luggage (Frommers.com)
  
• If an airline loses your luggage, get compensation (Consumerist)
  
• How to Deal With Lost Luggage (FoxNews)

(10) Airline Customer Service & Filing Complaints:

• Fly Safe, Fly Smart: How to Complain to the Airlines (Frommers.com)
  
• On Your Side: Phone Numbers & Emails of Executives
• When all else fails: Filing a complaint wih the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Office
  

(11) Miscellaneous

• Fly Safe, Fly Smart: How to Beat Jet Lag (Frommers.com)
  

See also my previous blog postings:

• Saving Money On Your Summer Air Travel
  
• Frugal Traveler's Review of Travel Websites
  
• Buy Now or Later? Planning for Summer Travel

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Avoid Moving Scams & Finding a Reputable Moving Company

If you are thinking of moving or relocating, the website movingscam.com offers advice on how to avoid being taken for a ride by unscrupulous moving companies, as well as how to find a reputable moving company.

Also, check out: Summer is the season of moving. Don't get scammed (SF Chronicle)
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