Stretching your miles isn't easy

Airlines and their partners, especially co-branded credit cards, lavish miles on you these days. The challenge isn't accumulating miles; it's in finding ways to use them. And getting full value can be tough.

This biggest barrier — this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone — is that scoring a frequent-flier seat, at the low or "saver" mileage value, where and when you want it is a challenge. IdeaWorks statistics show overall success ranges from a decent 50 to 60 percent for American, Continental and United to a dismal 25 percent or so for Delta and US Airways.

The situation is even worse in business class, said AlphaFlightGuru's Tim Gibson. He and I agree that the best use of frequent-flier miles is for international trips in business class, and here, he said, a typical traveler's initial success rate is less than 10 percent. His company (alphaflightguru.com) specializes in helping business travelers get the most from their miles, and he said his company ultimately can "help 80 percent of the people." But his agents really have to work at it, sometimes mixing and matching airlines within alliances or even using different alliances.

The strategy with the best odds of success, Gibson noted, is to wait to confirm seats until three to seven days before departure. That's the time when airlines finally decide how many seats they really aren't going to sell and release them for frequent fliers. Even when clients have to set firm travel dates well in advance, AlphaFlightGuru helps them by providing highly discounted consolidator tickets when the mileage awards don't become available.

My own experiences confirm Gibson's view, though I've often found even more trouble. Service at my home airport (Medford, Ore.) is almost entirely on regional airlines, so just about anywhere I want to fly requires at least one connection. Getting seats on a single flight is tough enough; getting seats on a decent connection is almost impossible. Right now, for example, Delta's online booking system shows no one-week trips on any dates through June from Medford to Paris at the lowest award level, in economy or business class.

Why is international business class the best use of miles? Because those awards give you the biggest return. Even at a sale price, a round-trip business-class ticket to Europe or Asia is likely to cost somewhere around $5,000. On most lines, that trip would require around 100,000 miles for a "saver" award, so your frequent-flier credit theoretically is worth about 5 cents a mile. By contrast, using 50,000 miles for an economy international ticket you could buy at a sale fare of $750 makes the miles worth a cent and a half. And at the other end of the scale, these days a long-haul domestic coach ticket generally costs less than $500, so if you can score a seat at the typical 25,000 miles, your credit is worth 2 cents a mile or less.

Of course, when you're trying to value your miles realistically, you have to apply a big discount factor to compensate for the difficulty in finding seats. "Get almost any seat" awards generally require at least twice the "saver" requirement — often more — which automatically devalues your miles by 50 percent.

How about using your miles for nontravel purchases, as some airlines now urge? The reason is simple: You realize even less value than using your miles for travel. In most of the programs I've examined, the purchase value is about a half-cent a mile, and I've never seen a deal valuing credit as high as even 1 cent a mile.

Given the problems of scoring seats, I believe that if you aren't interested in overseas business class, you're better off accumulating miles through one of those "bank buys a ticket" credit cards programs or even a straight cash-back card. These days, quite a few cards average around 2 cents for each dollar you charge, and that's usually enough to buy coach tickets without worrying about seat limitations.

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Pick the right international hub

If you're planning an overseas trip this spring or summer, you may well have to change planes at an airline "hub" somewhere. And the choice of where to change can have a big impact on how smooth your trip will be. Here are my suggestions for hubbing.

The best hub is no hub. If you can find a nonstop flight schedule at a reasonable fare, take it, even if it means a little extra driving to a bigger airport at either end. No matter how smooth the process, compared with a nonstop, changing planes adds a minimum of two hours to your flight time and more likely four or five hours. Changing planes also increases your chances of delay, missed connections, misdirected baggage, and other such ills.

These days, you can find plenty of nonstops for most big U.S. cities to most big European and Asia cities, and some nonstops from medium-sized U.S. cities to big overseas cities or from big U.S. cities to medium-size overseas spots. And the chances of finding nonstops will increase as airlines finally start taking delivery of the new 787s, which are designed for long-haul routes with insufficient traffic to support the biggest planes.

Hub to cut costs. Even on routes with nonstops, however, you can sometimes find a lower fare on connecting flights. I just received a press release from Finnair, for example, that promotes round-trips from its U.S. gateways to Moscow, via a Helsinki connection, that are about $200 less than round-trips from those same gateways just to Helsinki. For travel next spring, Polish airline LOT is currently pitching connections to a handful of major European cities through Warsaw that undercut nonstops by as much as $400. These cases illustrate a common situation on long-haul routes. Even though flying you nonstop costs the airline less than making you connect, airlines know that many of you will pay a premium for the convenience of a nonstop. The result: connecting fares that undercut nonstops. You see this quite often on long-haul trips within the U.S. and from the U.S. to Europe. The big airfare search engines are pretty good at posting these deals: On Expedia, for example, the summary box for any trip search often shows lower one-stop fares than nonstop fares.

Choose the most convenient hub. When you have a choice of hubs -- at roughly the same fares -- try to select the most convenient connecting itinerary.

-- Total flight time usually trumps other reasons for choosing a connecting itinerary. And, contrary to what you might think, the shortest distance usually isn't as big an influence as the connecting time. If you're flying from Chicago to Europe, for example, an Atlanta connection may involve more miles than a connection in New York, but a shorter connecting time may offset the mileage difference.

-- Try to avoid hubs with a bad history of delays. According to a recent trade report, the most delay-prone U.S. international connecting hubs are O'Hare, Miami, Newark, JFK, San Francisco, and Baltimore; the best are Charlotte, Houston Bush, Dulles, and Seattle-Tacoma.

-- Overseas, most travelers give high marks to the big Asian airports. In Europe, most travelers I know avoid London and Paris when they can and instead hub through Amsterdam, Munich, or Zurich. Helsinki is apparently an easy hub, as is Reykjavik on flights to/from Northern Europe. Try to avoid hubs with multiple and separated terminal buildings, especially if you have to connect between two different airlines. You may have to leave and re-enter security.

-- Avoid connecting at a U.S. hub on an inbound international itinerary. Typically, you have to claim your baggage, go through customs, leave the security area and re-enter the check-in system -- baggage and security. By contrast, most big international hubs outside the U.S. let connecting travelers remain in "transit" status without having to check in all over again.

Clearly, you often have limited choice of hubs. In those cases, just make sure you leave enough connecting time to compensate for the occasional delay or glitch.

Send e-mail to Ed Perkins at eperkins@mind.net. Perkins' new book for small business and independent professionals, "Business Travel When It's Your Money," is now available through www.mybusinesstravel.com or www.amazon.com

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Australia to create world's largest marine reserve in Coral Sea

By Associated Press

1:58 p.m. CST, November 25, 2011

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia says it will create the world's largest marine reserve in the Coral Sea.

The Environment Ministry says the area has shallow reefs that support tropical ecosystems with sharks, coral, sponges and many fish species. The proposal includes seas beyond the already protected Great Barrier Reef Marine Park off northeast Australia.

The reserve would cover almost 400,000 square miles (nearly 1 million square kilometers).

Fishing would be allowed in parts of the reserve. Some conservationists raised concern such exceptions would make management of the reserve more difficult.

The proposal announced in a ministry statement Friday is now open for a 90-day comment period.

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Help! My river cruise transfers are sunk

Q: My wife and I are booked on a Viking River Cruise. We plan to go from Washington to Moscow three days early, take the river cruise to St. Petersburg and remain there for three days before going on to a four-day stopover in Paris en route home. It is because of the diversions and deviation that Viking is attempting to set aside its responsibility to comply with what its literature apparently states.

The problem: Viking does not want to be responsible for the ground transfers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, despite the fact that we have purchased a Viking Air Package.

At the outset -- this trip was booked nearly a year ago -- Viking summarily denied any responsibility for transfers and stated that we must make transfer arrangements on our own, even though the cruise line's literature states that if air is not purchased from Viking, transfers may be purchased separately.

Furthermore, it has been difficult to get anyone on the phone at Viking at a level to discuss the matter further. Shouldn't Viking's literature mean what it says? -- Robert Brown, Silver Spring, Md.

A: If Viking includes ground transfers with its air packages, then you should have received them. But I'm not sure if it explicitly promises the transfers.

At the time you made your purchase (the language has since been modified, but I'll get to that in a moment) the promotional copy might have left you with the impression that transfers were included. But anyone with a working knowledge of the cruise industry, like a competent travel agent, would have known that's not necessarily the case.

A closer reading of Viking's terms would have revealed that transfers do not apply on non-embarkation days or dates that don't coincide with tour dates. Nor do they apply to non-Viking-related hotels, such as the properties you planned to visit in Russia.

You had two things in your favor: First, the vagueness of the promotional language, and second, the apparent difficulty you had getting a clear answer to your request.

I think this could have been avoided by reading Viking's terms closely or working with a qualified travel agent, who could have advised you about the transfers. In reviewing your correspondence, I see you spent a fair amount of time on the phone, too. When dealing with this type of request, it's usually best to make your request in writing. That way, you'll have a paper trail if there's ever any disagreement with the company.

I contacted Viking on your behalf. In addition to taking care of your transfers as "an exception" to its policy, a spokeswoman told me Viking is reviewing its terms and conditions as it applies to transfers and will "update it accordingly to ensure the verbiage is as clear as possible."

Christopher Elliott is the author of "Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals" (Wiley). He's also the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the co-founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for travelers. Read more tips on his blog, elliott.org or e-mail him at chris@elliott.org. Christopher Elliott receives a great deal of reader mail, and though he answers them as quickly as possible, your story may not be published for several months because of a backlog of cases.

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First ladies gowns go off view for 3 weeks as Smithsonian prepares new exhibit at museum

BRETT ZONGKER Associated Press

7:52 a.m. CDT, November 1, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Smithsonian is taking the first ladies' gowns off display for about three weeks as the National Museum of American History prepares a new home for the popular dresses in Washington.

The "First Ladies at the Smithsonian" exhibit is closed beginning Tuesday. A new exhibit, "The First Ladies," opens Nov. 19 in a new gallery.

A spokeswoman says the new gallery will feature more than 24 gowns, including those of Michelle Obama, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan and Jacqueline Kennedy. Part of the exhibit looks at how first ladies have shaped their roles as the role of women in society has changed.

The museum is preparing to renovate its west wing with new permanent exhibits on the presidency, first ladies and other political topics. Construction is scheduled to begin next year.

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9-foot statue of Reagan to be unveiled at airport; travelers warned of delays during ceremony

By Associated Press

8:03 a.m. CDT, November 1, 2011

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A 9-foot-tall statue honoring Ronald Reagan will be unveiled at the airport that now bears his name.

The airport just outside the nation's capital has borne Reagan's name since 1998, following the passage of Congressional legislation that was opposed by some who were not enamored of Reagan's legacy.

Airport officials are warning travelers that Tuesday's unveiling ceremony could cause traffic delays outside the airport. Between 11 a.m. and noon, car traffic heading for the airport's departures and arrivals ramps will be reduced from four lanes to one and will then be detoured around the event site.

The airport suggests using Metro or the airport's parking garages rather than driving up to the terminals between 11 a.m. and noon.

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Disney's a class act, so what went wrong?

We recently purchased 350 points in Disney Vacation Club, Disney's time-share program. New members of Disney Vacation Club are given help with their first reservation, and salespeople can go into Disney's inventory, if necessary, to get a better selection.

About six weeks ago our salesperson promised to help us with our second reservation as soon as we had our dates decided, because we had booked our first reservation on our own.

When we called, we found out he is on indefinite medical leave and were directed to speak with another salesperson about the reservation. The second salesperson said she couldn't help because Disney offers to help only on the first reservation.

We tried to appeal to a supervisor, but she also refused to help. And her tone on the phone was not what one expects of a Disney representative — very negative and condescending. It is not our fault that our salesperson is on medical leave, and we feel Disney should honor what he told us. The longer they delay, the less chance any villas will be available. Can you help us get that magic that we expected from Disney?

— David Willard, Newtown, Pa.

A: Disney's policy may be to give priority to first-time reservations, but it is not something that is openly promoted, as far as I can tell. Nonetheless, if your time-share salesman promised you could use your first-reservation credit on your second reservation, it's something Disney should make good on.

I've attended the Disney Vacation Club presentation here in Orlando, and it's a pretty impressive program. Disney offers a lot of properties, and the rates were reasonable enough that I even considered buying in. Why didn't I? Like a lot of Americans, I don't have nearly enough vacation time to use it.

The problem with the agreement you had with your first sales representative is that it was verbal. Of course, you had no way of knowing that he would go on indefinite medical leave just when you were trying to make your reservation, but what happened to you underscores the importance of getting absolutely everything in writing.

Even a brief email from Disney, agreeing to help you with the second reservation, would have prevented this from taking away the magic of your vacation. If you didn't have something in writing, you could have started a paper trail — or in your case, an email trail — with your request. Disney would have been compelled to respond to you by email, and it may have answered differently (and almost certainly without the attitude you got from the supervisor).

I think the Vacation Club staff you dealt with could have done better, from finding a new salesperson who had been properly briefed on your needs to ensuring that all of the promises he made to you were being kept, even if the promises weren't necessarily in line with company policy. And, of course, there's no excuse for being unpleasant with a customer — ever.

I contacted Disney Vacation Club on your behalf. A representative called you and helped you make a reservation at the time-share you wanted.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and a co-founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for travelers. Read more tips on his blog, elliott.org, or e-mail him at chris@elliott.org.

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