Travelers Carrying AmEx Face Tough Changes
Posted on 02/26/2015, 3:45 PM
It's been a tumultuous month for American Express, and that turbulence is about to be transferred to travelers who use the credit cards. Many travelers choose the card because of its long history with overseas service and thanks to its allowances for no foreign transactions, but its benefits are about to erode. * Most importantly, the card issuer has summarily raised rates by an average of 2....
Anglophiles, Rejoice: Business Finds Loophole in Hershey's Chocolate Ban (Updated)
Posted on 02/19/2015, 3:00 PM
Frommer's readers recently learned, to their considerable horror, that candy maker Hershey's figured out a way to prevent businesses from importing competing British chocolate bars to American consumers, breaking the hearts of anglophiles across America (Read about that ugly truth here.) Happily, at least one homegrown business has figured out a way around it. “We were amazed that in ou...
Free Wi-Fi at All Hyatts Now (With a Catch)
Posted on 02/13/2015, 3:30 PM
Another hotel brand, Hyatt, has decided it should change the way it approaches Wi-Fi access. Everyone staying at any Hyatt hotel after today can access the Web for free. But there's a catch. Like many other hotels, Hyatt has figured out a way to monetize "free." In this case, the bandwidth of standard Wi-Fi will not be fast enough for guests to watch videos. A Hyatt representative described t...
World's Best Museums Ban Selfie Sticks
Posted on 02/10/2015, 9:15 PM
Leave the selfie stick at home. Attractions across the world are banishing the selfie stick for being so awful. Britain's Telegraph reports that institutions everywhere are telling visitors they no longer tolerate the telescoping, hand-held smartphone holders. Why? Basically, because people can be so terrible with them. The museums are worried that careless tourists could damage the ar...
Hot Deals On Flights to Europe From the U.S. (And One Is For Business Class!)
Posted on 02/09/2015, 10:15 PM
Not only is the U.S. Dollar continuing to crush the Euro, airfares across the pond are now a better value, per mile, than flights within the continental United States. Three examples: WOW Airlines quickly sold out its inaugural offer of $99 one-way fares to Iceland (including taxes!) from Boston and Washington, DC. But even its current "higher" rates are usually lower than anything you'll fin...
Exellent Trips on a Lean Budget? Say YES to Mooching
Posted on 02/06/2015, 4:00 PM
Mooching can be an art. Sure, it’s lacking in dignity, but it can be quite effective, as anyone with, well, relatives knows. Travel mooches can be a particularly canny way of not just saving money, but having real adventures when one hits the road. Here are some of my favorites: 1) Free beds: Beyond hitting up friends and family, there are now organizations of uber-social people who love ...
Marriott Gives Up Trying to Block Your Wi-Fi—Other Hotels Better Not Try, Either
Posted on 01/30/2015, 5:30 PM
Marriott tried very hard to get the government to allow it to block your Wi-Fi signal. The hotel brand attempted to justify the act as a "security" measure, but in practice, doing so forced guests to purchase its own expensive signal if they wanted to get online while on Marriott premises. Last fall, the federal government has slapped Marriott with a $600,000 fine for blocking guest Internet ...
Bad News, Anglophiles: Hershey's Bars British Cadbury
Posted on 01/25/2015, 3:15 PM
British Cadbury bars are officially something you can only buy on vacation. Those of us who got a taste for British chocolate on our trips to the U.K. have enjoyed the ability to re-live our travels through our taste buds by purchasing British-made Cadbury Dairy Milk, creme eggs, and other sweets across America, brought here by a specialized importer. But the New York Times reports that Her...
Newscast Blows the Lid off Fake Online Reviews
Posted on 01/21/2015, 5:00 PM
Do you trust the reviews you find online? You shouldn't. Watch as PBS' NewsHour exposes user-generated review sites—that is, sites where you primarily find reviews written by past customers and not by assigned experts. In a world where a few positive reviews can make a business' reputation, people are easily tempted into stuffing the ballot box with fake reviews, and there's a booming shadow...
The World's First Drone Film Festival is Actually a Travel Film Festival
Posted on 01/14/2015, 3:00 PM
Everyone talks about drones—those small unmanned flying robot cameras—as if they're predominately a technology story. But when you look at the sort of footage that comes out of them, it's very apparent that drone filming is actually a travel trend. Most people who own drones use them as surrogates for human exploration or as extensions of the self that can fly to where human bodies cannot reach...
