10 Most-Visited Caribbean Islands

10 Most-Visited Caribbean Islands

We took the 10 islands that Americans visited most last year and searched for the hidden corners, the spots that make your old standby feel new. Yes, you’ve been here before. But never quite like this.

By David Swanson, Thursday, Jan 5, 2012, 4:00 PM

http://www.budgettravel.com/feature/10-most-visited-caribbean-islands,8085/?wpisrc=newsletter

ST. MARTIN

If there's any complaint about this part-French, part-Dutch island-piled high with nightclubs, restaurants, and resorts-it's that there's too much of everything. But in the wake of the global economic downturn, construction has slowed-and even, in a sense, reversed. A string of hurricane-battered structures at Mullet Bay on the Dutch side was torn down (after 15 years) and replaced by a provisional park. On the French side, the 154-acre private nature reserve Loterie Farm continues to grow, adding poolside cabanas to its zip-line course, hiking trails, and other outdoorsy amenities (loteriefarm.com, hiking $7, zip line $48, pool access $28, 10-person cabana $240). And following a 13-year effort, the Man of War Shoal reef earned certification as a marine park, giving divers new reasons to take the plunge.

ARUBA

There's a reason Aruba's luxury hotels, glitzy casinos, and designer boutiques are concentrated along this Dutch island's western edge: the spectacular sunsets. Yet even a non-morning person might want to sample the sunrise side for its weekly street party called Carubbean Festival, which sprang up this summer (297/582-3777). Every Thursday night, food and drink vendors set up stands to sell regional specialties, primarily to local transplants hungering for a taste of home. This cross-cultural mixer takes place, appropriately enough, in the working-class community of San Nicolas, built to house oil-refinery workers who immigrated here in the 1920s. "Aruba has opened its doors to many other islanders—a lot of Jamaicans, Haitians, Dominicans," says Ruthlene Flemming, an Aruba native and the event's coordinator. "It's our melting pot. And here, you can experience a little bit of the whole Caribbean." The sunrise side is also home to cactus-studded Arikok National Park, which features rebuilt access roads, trails, and a new visitors center, thanks to a $10 million grant from the EU (arubanationalpark.org, adult admission $5). The best budget-hotel option, however, is back on the west side about a $20 cab ride away: MVC Eagle Beach, a 19-room inn with ocean-view terraces, all-white bedding, and dark-wood furniture (mvceaglebeach.com, from $90).

BAHAMAS

Some solitude seekers insist there's a direct relationship between proximity and peace: The farther you travel, the more quiet things get. Then there's Cat Island, a 48-mile-long coral outcrop just 265 miles east of Florida and only 45 minutes from Nassau. SkyBahamas Airlines flies to Cat Island daily from Nassau (skybahamas.net, round-trip from $109), yet of the over 5 million travelers to the Bahamas last year, only a fraction made a call on Cat. What they found here wasn't much, and in a good way: thatch-roof beach bars and empty pink-sand bays, diving and gentle hikes up Mt. Alvernia, the Bahamas's highest point at 206 feet above sea level. There's a new waterfront restaurant in Arthur's Town called Da Smoke Pot that serves sweet-and-sour conch and rum punch, and hosts musicians on the porch playing Bahamian songs on the musical saw (242/354-2094, sweet-and-sour conch $15). Nearby Pigeon Cay Beach Club occupies a three-mile strand with seven simple, stand-alone rental cottages (pigeoncaybahamas.com, from $140).

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

St. Croix, at 82 square miles, is larger than St. Thomas and St. John combined, yet of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, it gets the fewest visitors. Why? It's the most remote and the least developed—good news for the agriculture-rich island's burgeoning food scene. Among the most notable foodie stops are the farmstays and weekend workshops at the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute on the island's certified organic Ridge to Reef Farm (visfi.org, three-day all-inclusive workshop $295), and the annual St. Croix Food & Wine Experience, a festive, weeklong charity event in April that draws big-name chefs such as Top Chef Masters star Graham Elliot Bowles and James Beard award-winner Ana Sortun (stcroixfoodandwine.com, events from $50). Sports culture is also thriving in all that open space. Horseback riding and triathlons are popular, as well as diving and other water sports. One of the newer options: Sea Thru Kayaks VI's tours through the island's two bioluminescent bays (seathrukayaksvi.com, 90-minute tours $50). "Go when the moon isn't full, and you can really see the lights twinkling," says local restaurateur and sommelier Katherine Pugliese, a cofounder of the food festival. "You feel like you're in pixie-land."

PUERTO RICO

San Juan is still numero uno in Puerto Rico, but folks have increasingly begun gazing about 40 miles east-to Vieques. The nearly two-year-old W Hotels resort here has lured celebrity chefs (Alain Ducasse) and guests (Angie Harmon, Ryan Phillippe). But what's drawing more casual types, however, is Vieques's laid-back personality. Hospitality veterans Robin and Marsha Shepherd left their villa-rental business in St. Bart's to open the 10-room Malecón House  here in 2010, amid a row of mom-and-pop inns (maleconhouse.com, from $145).  The most impressive and least crowded of the island's beaches (some of which have hit worldwide top 10 lists) are part of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge, on land the U.S. Navy used as a target-practice center until 2003. Today, it's managed by Puerto Rico's branch of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "If it hadn't been for the Navy and Fish and Wildlife," says Bill Barton, who owns Vieques Sailing (787/508-7245, daylong boat trips including lunch $110, late Feb.-Oct.), "the east end would look like Atlantic City."

BERMUDA

Sitting all alone in the Atlantic Ocean 650 miles east of North Carolina, Bermuda is a true outlier. It's not anywhere near the Caribbean Sea, and its food, architecture, and customs are far more British-colonial than tropical paradise. Still, the island (actually an atoll) has found an easy alliance with its neighbors to the south, sharing in tourism efforts and reaping the benefits of their counterbalanced seasons: The Caribbean booms in the winter, while peak season in Bermuda runs from spring through fall. Though Bermuda is always pricey—four of the five most expensive destinations in the Caribbean are here—visitors traveling now will find lower airfares, reduced golf fees, and hotels that are more than 40 percent off summer rates. It's not quite sunbathing weather: December days average 70 degrees. But it's perfect for touring the island's cultural attractions. This January, the new Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art opens an eight-month exhibition of Bermuda-inspired works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Winslow Homer, and others (bermudamasterworks.com, entry $5). Also in 2012: the 400th anniversary of the settlement of St. George's Town, the 350th anniversary of Warwick Academy, the oldest school in the western hemisphere, and the 200th anniversary of the Bermuda Post Office, which culminates with an April exhibition of stamps from Queen Elizabeth II's private collection. Even the hotels have history: The 200-year-old main house of the Greenbank Guesthouse & Cottages incorporates cedar beams that were used as ballast in transatlantic trading ships (greenbankbermuda.com, from $145).

CAYMAN ISLANDS

The Caymans are practically synonymous with two wealthy pursuits: deep-sea diving and offshore banking. Dive 365, an initiative launched by the islands' Tourism Association, is hoping to make at least one of those more accessible to regular folks (divecayman.ky). The project's goal is to establish and maintain one Cayman dive site mooring for every day of the year, which means adding 79 sites to the existing 286 by the end of 2012. One of the most noteworthy additions is the decommissioned U.S. naval ship Kittiwake, a 251-foot submarine rescue vessel that now sits in 62 feet of water off Seven Mile Beach (kittiwakecayman.com, scuba pass $10, snorkel pass $5). "The Kittiwake has a history that divers can relate to, with recompression chambers and lots of bulkheads to explore," says Nancy Easterbrook of Divetech, a local dive shop that helped to prepare the vessel for her sinking in January 2011 (divetech.com, two-tank boat dives $110). "Because the top is only about eight feet below the surface, you can snorkel the wreck too," she says. Affordable hotels on Grand Cayman are rare, but one good pick is 130-room Sunshine Suites, just a stone's throw from the Ritz-Carlton; each room has a fully equipped kitchen (sunshinesuites.com, from $158).

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

The Dominican Republic is a great place to find affordable all-inclusives, particularly in Punta Cana, on the island's east coast. But along the north shore—famous for its sporty adventure culture—more intimate hotels and house rentals offer a worthy alternative. In Cabarete, the Residencial Casa Linda villas look more like a neighborhood than a resort, though all rental units come with daily housekeeping service (casalindacity.com, two-bedroom villas from $100). The villas are only five miles down the road from Iguana Mama Adventure Tours, which offers trips to the 27 Falls of Damajagua, known for daredevil-quality jumps and slides over the waterfalls (iguanamama.com, full-day tour $89). In recent years, north-coast outfitters have seen an increase in the popularity of-and the competition for-canyoning and cascading excursions. One new arrival, Monkey Jungle Dominicana, located between Cabarete and Sosúa, stands apart for its philanthropic bent (monkeyjungledr.com, zip line $54). All the profits from its zip-line and suspension-bridge tours go to the free on-site medical and dental clinic, which is staffed by volunteers and treats patients who cannot afford health care. Kitesurfing may be Cabarete's most popular outdoor pursuit, and while there's no shortage of local instructors to show you the ropes, it's almost as much fun just to watch the theatrics from the waterfront Nikki Beach lounge (nikkibeach.com, cocktails from $7)—drink in hand, of course.

JAMAICA

It's easy to get to Jamaica (flights are frequent and relatively cheap) and easier still to find a resort destination for just about every type of traveler: romantic Negril for honeymooners, family-friendly Montego Bay, busy Ocho Rios for cruisers. What's harder is finding an all-inclusive hotel that doesn't sequester you in its own cocoon at the expense of exploring the Jamaican culture beyond. Treasure Beach, on the south coast, is home to just a handful of hotels, all of them small-scale and dedicated to opening their doors to the community. At Marblue Villas Suites, an eight-suite hotel with custom-made local cedar furniture, guests often stray into the nearby fishing villages for coffee, dinner, or drinks (marblue.com, from $139). Jason Henzell's Jakes Hotel, which evokes Moroccan riads with arched doorways and colorful tapestries, is one of the area's largest properties, with 49 rooms, two restaurants, and a spa (jakeshotel.com, from $95). Henzell is committed to helping interested guests connect with their surroundings. On working farms in the nearby Pedro Plains area, the hotel runs a monthly series of organic, local-food dinners, which are drawing Jamaican residents and visitors alike (four-course meal $95 including drinks and transportation). "There's a vibrancy that leaks into every aspect of life here," says Liz Solms, an NGO veteran who works with local growers to supply the produce for the meal. "It's there in the spiciness and richness of the food, and even in the way people communicate with one another."

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Tobago is like Trinidad's backyard, a 116-square-mile haven just a 20-minute flight on Caribbean Airlines from its bigger, noisier sibling (caribbean-airlines.com, round-trip flights from $48). Where Trinidad has restaurants, nightclubs, and 96 percent of the country's population, Tobago has empty beaches, calm bays, and spectacular brain-coral reefs. There are also almost three times the number of exotic bird species as there are hotels, and the birds have free rein in the Main Ridge Forest Reserve, one of the oldest protected forests in the western hemisphere. When it comes to human nesting, it doesn't get more peaceful than the four-room Gloucester Place Guest House in Parlatuvier, on the island's north coast (gloucesterplace.com, from $100). Shaded by coconut palms and mango trees, the guesthouse even has its own natural waterfall and an infinity pool overlooking the Caribbean.

8 Most Complicated Countries to Visit

8 Most Complicated Countries to Visit

Bureaucracy is a hassle, but it shouldn't stop you from seeing the world. That's why we've compiled a list of places—some more surprising than others—that require serious planning to visit. Read this before you book your next flight.

By Fran Golden, Wednesday, Oct 26, 2011, 3:00 PM

http://www.budgettravel.com/feature/8-most-complicated-countries-to-visit,7963/?wpisrc=newsletter

Some tourist visa applications are easy—an Australian visa, for example, can be acquired in a few minutes via the Internet. Others, however, can take weeks, if not months to procure. The following eight countries, including China, India, and Brazil, are especially tricky to visit if you're a U.S. citizen. To ease the process, we enlisted the help of an expert, Medhy Habimana, director of operations for visa service VisaHQ. Habimana walks us through how far in advance you should begin the visa process, the amount of money you should plan to pay for the paperwork, and what you can expect once you arrive. While you can apply for visas closer to your trip than we recommend, delaying may mean extra fees for expedited service. But whatever you do, if you're planning a trip to one of these destinations, call the embassy to verify the visa process before you solidify your travel plans. Visa requirements change often, and the last thing you want is to think that you're all set to travel—only to find out that you're not. On the other hand, some of these places are well worth the effort.

INDIA
Apply at least one month in advance.
Fee: $76

Why Go: The urban energy of Mumbai and Bollywood, the tiger reserves of Rajasthan, the elegance of the Taj Mahal…India's allure is easy to understand.

Why It's Complicated: It's not that it's difficult per se to get a visa in India—more than 8 million Americans visit the country each year—it's more that the process is time-consuming. If you're not expecting the lengthy application exercise, the visa can come as a surprise—and potentially delay your vacation.

What to Do: First, you need to apply to Travisa Visa Outsourcing, the contractor that handles processing for the Government of India. Travisa will let you know which embassy or consulate has jurisdiction where you live. Then you have to provide proof of residency, such as a photocopy of your driver's license and of a major utility bill—water, gas, or electric is OK; cable or cell phone is not. (Reach out to your consulate to confirm the kind of paperwork they will request as requirements change frequently.) And talk about picky: Travisa Visa Outsourcing says on its website, "Do not cut your driver's license copy down to a smaller size. Please leave the copy on regular sized paper." If you don't submit a copy, they will make a photocopy for you for $2. 

RUSSIA
Apply 90 days in advance. 
Fee: $140

Why Go: Russia is persnickety, but cultural treasures like the Hermitage, the Bolshoi Ballet, and the historic brick towers of the Kremlin make enduring the wearisome visa process worthwhile.

Why It's Complicated: To begin with, you'll need an invitation letter. Your sponsor can be a Russia-based hotel or tour operator registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia. Alternatively, you can work with a visa agency such as VisaHQ, Travisa, or A Briggs to get a letter. And securing a letter is only the beginning. The U.S. State Department advises you have someone who reads Russian check your visa before you leave the U.S. to make sure it reflects your intended dates, hotel, and activities. Once you get approval (in the form of a voucher number), you need to deliver your visa application in person (or hire a visa service to do so) at one of five consulate offices in the U.S.

What to Do: The process takes time, so you should "apply as early as you can," Habimana advises. (The consulate will allow you to apply up to 60 days in advance of your trip.) Once you get to Russia, don't overstay your welcome (the duration of the Russian tourist visa cannot be longer than one month). Do so, and you'll find yourself stuck in Russia until a new visa is approved—a process that can take up to 20 days.

CHINA
Apply one month in advance.
Fee: $130

Why Go: Many a bucket list includes walking on the Great Wall, embracing history at the Forbidden City, gasping at the Terra Cotta Warriors, and exploring glorious Shanghai.

Why It's Complicated: China is not unfamiliar with American visitors, so its visa process is pretty straightforward but makes the list for both the detail required on the application—expanded in January 2011 from two pages to four—and a steep $130 fee.

What to Do: According to Habimana, you need to list where you'll be staying in a time sequence, your nationality and occupation, all your major family members along with their nationality and occupation, and any countries you've visited in the past year (plus the purpose of those visits). Mailing your application is out of the question. Either you or your visa rep (defined as "someone else or a travel/visa agent") need to drop off your application at the embassy or consulate that holds jurisdiction over the state where you live. There are six consulates in the U.S. (you can find them on the embassy's website) and some are more convenient than others (if you live in Wyoming or Montana, for example, you'll need to travel to D.C. to hand over your application). Special permits are also required if you want to go to certain regions, such as Tibet and other remote areas. While the processing time is only four working days, the visa application will be rejected if not filled out correctly online.

BRAZIL
Apply at least a month in advance.
Fee: $140

Why Go: Rio de Janeiro being named site of the 2016 Olympics and the Christ the Redeemer Statue making the list of New 7 Wonders of the World have helped boost Brazil's status as a must-do tourism destination—as if the giant party that is Carnival in Rio, the rain forests of the Amazon, and the amazing Iguazú Falls weren't enough.

Why It's Complicated: When it comes to visas, Brazil has a process made confusing by the fact that each of its consular and visa-services offices around the U.S. can set their own rules (you have to go to the office that covers the jurisdiction where you live—the list is on the embassy's website). For instance, the Los Angeles office, according Habimana, has been known to ask married travelers making a solo trip to São Paulo to provide a letter from their spouse saying it's OK for them to make the journey. That rule doesn't apply in Atlanta, but the Atlanta office is known as one of the slowest—Habimana has seen visa processing take up to 24 working days there.

What to Do: First, call your consular office to find out what their specific requirements are for procuring a visa. Then give yourself at least a month to go through the process. The Brazilian visa is also among the priciest—$140, plus $20 if you don't present your application in person.

BHUTAN
Apply three months in advance.
Fee: $20 upon entry to the country

Why Go: Trekking the stunningly beautiful Himalayas in Bhutan might sound like a dream come true—the country's marketing slogan is "Happiness is a place"—but the process for getting there is pretty involved.

Why It's Complicated: You need to go through a licensed tour agency in Bhutan, and among other things you need to prove you can afford to visit—all visitors commit to spending a set daily minimum amount, currently $200. This money goes toward accommodations, food, transportation, the overseas-agent commission, and guide services (a requirement for Bhutan). Note: On January 1, the rates are going up to $250 (for March to May, September to November) and $200 (for January, February, June to August, December). There are additional surcharges if you are traveling solo ($40 per day) or as a couple ($30 per person per day).

What to Do: Find a licensed tour agency that will work with you to organize your trip and obtain your visa—there is a directory at the Tourism Council of Bhutan website. Once approved, you don't get a visa stamp until you arrive in the country and pay $20.

IRAN
Apply at least three months in advance.
Fee: $27

Why Go: Iran has a big image problem, but it also has remains of the Persian Empire, which once controlled much of the Middle East and nearly conquered Greece. They include the impressive ruins of Persepolis (a thriving city about 2,500 years ago and a UNESCO World Heritage Site); and stunning architecture in the frenetic cities of Tehran and Isfahan, the former capital of what was once Persia and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country today.

Why It's Complicated: It's not an easy place to visit. Start with the fact that all U.S. citizens get fingerprinted on entry. Add to that the U.S. State Department's Travel Warning that advises against travel to Iran.

What to Do: If you still want to go, you need to have a sponsor (an Iran-based travel agency, such as Let's Go Iran, will do) and they need to get approval for your visit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran, which issues a reference number that is then forwarded with your visa application to the Iranian Interests Section in Washington, D.C. Here's the kicker: Passport photos for female travelers must adhere to Islamic dress code (you need to cover your head and dress modestly). The process takes a "very long time," according to Habimana. And even if you follow all of the instructions and earn a visa, that doesn't guarantee you'll gain entry. "Some U.S. citizen travelers with valid visas have been refused entry at the border without explanation," says the State Department. 

KAZAKHSTAN
Apply a month in advance.
Fee: $40

Why Go: Fictional Borat may have put Kazakhstan on the map, but it's actually the ninth-largest country in the world by size and a place that combines Islamic, Western, and Soviet culture into an unusual mix. Adventure seekers come for the many mountains, which provide both trekking and skiing opportunities. Others come to explore the nomadic past of the Kazakhs and to see UNESCO World Heritage attractions, including petroglyphs and nature reserves that are home to such species as the rare Siberian white crane.

Why It's Complicated: When it comes to visas, all the "Stans" can be tough, according to Habimana. For Kazakhstan, for instance, you need to write a personal letter of intent to the embassy in Washington, D.C., stating the purpose of your trip, the places you plan to visit, and your dates.

What to Do: Follow the instructions on the embassy's website, and apply a month out from your trip (approval takes a couple of weeks). While the government enacted new rules in 2010 to try to simplify the process, what that means for tourists remains to be seen. Fans of bureaucratic garble will appreciate the official description of the changes, which are "aimed at further liberalization and streamlining of Kazakhstan's visa regime."

SAUDI ARABIA
If you can get one at all…
Fee: $500 for a hajj (religious tourism) visa

Why Go: The holy Muslim cities of Mecca, to which all able Muslims must undertake a pilgrimage, and Medina are the country's big tourist calling cards. There are other sights of interest, too, including the ancient elaborately carved tombs of Madain Saleh, Saudi Arabia's version of Petra (as in Jordan, the temples at Madain Saleh were carved by the Nabataeans).

Why It's Complicated: But good luck going to see these amazing sites—Saudi Arabia discourages visits by U.S. citizens and is currently not issuing standard tourist visas.

What to Do: The embassy will occasionally make an exception for religious tourism, but you must apply through a licensed U.S. travel agency representing the consulate, and the prices are high ($500 to $600 per visa if you're approved). If you are visiting as a business traveler, you need to have an invitation from a local company you are doing business with and visas can take months to process. Women visitors traveling alone need to be met by sponsors at the airport or may face delays in entering the country, according to the U.S. State Department. And overstaying your welcome is also not looked upon kindly—go beyond the dates on your visa, and you may face a $2,667 fine and incarceration. 

Consider a Visa Service

For some countries, it may be easier to get your visa via a service such as VisaHQ, though of course a fee is involved (prices usually start at around $45). Here are the main reasons to consider professional help:

1.     If you don't live in a city with an embassy or a consulate, the service will represent you so that you don't have to travel to the embassy or consulate yourself.

2.     Some visa-service professionals provide real-time updates, sending you reassuring messages that your passport is in proper hands and the like.

3.     Once your paperwork is ready, they have people who speak the language who can review the documents and make sure everything is in order.

4.     Visa services are very knowledgeable about country-specific quirks, such as special holidays when embassies and consulates close (for example, the Indian consulates close for Dussehra), and that some countries including Iran and Saudi Arabia won't admit you if you have an Israeli stamp (requiring you to get a second U.S. passport without a stamp).

5 Credit Cards Every Traveler Should Consider

By Bridget Gleeson

http://www.budgettravel.com/feature/5-credit-cards-every-traveler-should-consider,7594/

You and your credit card have been through a lot together. You used it to buy your new laptop and your vacation to France, to pay the electricity bill and support your weekly Whole Foods habit. There have been good times, of course, like when your card provided insurance for your rental car. But ask yourself, what has it really done for you lately? Hiked its Annual Percentage Rate, added mysterious fees, punished you for 'foreign transactions' on your trip to Mexico? It's time to put your spending power into a credit card program that values—and rewards—your wanderlust.

 

Citi Gold/AAdvantage Visa Signature Card

Best for: domestic travelers who often fly to the same destination
So you visit your grandmother twice a year in Cincinnati and fly home to Santa Barbara on all major holidays? This Visa card features a 'Reduced Mileage Awards' program that allows cardholders to fly to select AA destinations for 7,500 fewer miles on a round-trip ticket. If you spend just $750 on the card in the first four months, American Airlines will award you 25,000 bonus miles, enough for a domestic round-trip flight. You'll earn one AAdvantage mile for every dollar spent, and there are no blackout dates for travel on American Airlines or their American Eagle and American Connection domestic carriers. Annual fee after first year - $50.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Best for: globetrotters
Let's say it together now: no foreign transaction fees. That means you won't be charged extra for using your card anywhere overseas, a crucial benefit for international travelers. The Chase Sapphire Preferred also lets you turn your points into miles with a 1:1 exchange into United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Korean Air, and British Airways, or other travel programs like Amtrak Guest Rewards, Hyatt Gold Passport, Marriott Rewards, Priority Club Rewards, and Ritz-Carlton Rewards. The introductory offer is tempting: spend $3,000 in the first three months and you'll earn 40,000 miles, roughly $500 towards travel rewards. Annual fee after first year - $95

 

Starwood Preferred Guest/American Express

Best for: hotel connoisseurs and travelers to Latin America
Always wanted to stay at the W Barcelona or the St. Regis New York? Starpoints earned on this card can be redeemed at over 1,000 hotels in nearly 100 countries. The first time you use your card, you'll earn 10,000 Starpoints, enough for a free night at a 4-star property. You can also transfer your Starpoints on a 1:1 basis into more than 30 frequent flier programs. Travelers to Central and South America win especially big with this card—Starpoints are instantly doubled if you transfer them into LAN's frequent flier program. Annual fee after first year - $65

 

American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card

Best for: big spenders
Do you put more than $2,000 a month on your credit card? This program will triple your points when you buy a plane ticket and double your points when you spend on gas and groceries. Because the annual fee is on the steep side, this card is a much better deal if you rack up a lot of charges on your card each month. Your earned points never expire; use them on any airline, anytime, by reserving a flight through American Express Travel, or transfer them into your preferred frequent flyer program—points can also be redeemed for retail and dining gift cards. Annual fee after first year - $175

 

United MileagePlus Explorer Card

Best for: United frequent flyers
In addition to giving you two miles per dollar spent on United Airlines tickets, the United MileagePlus Explorer Card offers cardholders a free checked bag on any flight in the system (United charges $25 for the first checked bag, saving you up to $100 on baggage fees for a round-trip flight since this benefit is also extended to one companion on the same reservation), and a 30,000-mile bonus when you spend $1,000 in the first three months. Miles will never expire as long as your account remains active, and cardholders can book award travel on any United Airlines flight at any time. You'll also get two free United Club passes per year (a $100 value) and enjoy priority boarding on all flights operated by United. Annual fee after first year - $95

8 Things an Airline Would Never Tell You

 By Alexander Basek, 

http://www.budgettravel.com/feature/090903_AirlineSecrets,4477/

1. "Airport luggage scales often lie." It's bad enough that the airlines charge a fee for overweight luggage, varying from $39 to $300 per bag industrywide. But it's galling that they may also hit you with the fee by mistake. At JFK last November, New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs found that 14 percent of the airport's scales were not properly calibrated. At Boston's Logan airport, 10 percent of the scales recently inspected gave incorrect readings. The South Florida Sun–Sentinel has discovered numerous busted scales at area airports. And the list goes on. What to do? Stand up for yourself, especially when a scale barely tips the balance into the "overweight" category. Brandon Macsata, executive editor of the D.C.-based lobbying group Association for Airline Passenger Rights advises passengers to weigh their bags at home first, and if the airport scale comes up with a different number, insist that your bags be weighed on a different scale. Yes, it's come to that. 

2. "Our air may make you sick." The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether potentially harmful fumes have been circulating in airplane cabins. Between 1999 and 2008, air became contaminated on 926 flights, reports the FAA, without specifying any possible health risks. Currently, the agency is looking at a particular type of "fume event" that involves "bleed air," or air that's been compressed by the airplane's engines. If there's a malfunction in plane equipment, the air that's fed into the cabin can be contaminated with chemical residues from engine oil—specifically TCP, or tricresyl phosphate. "Passengers may have symptoms like tremors," says Clement Furlong, a research professor of genome sciences and medicine at the University of Washington. So far, federal reviews of the research have been inconclusive about whether bleed air actually endangers the health of passengers and flight crews, though two civil lawsuits about fume events are under way.

3. "That nonstop flight you booked? We can add a layover to it—without explanation." Think you scored a sweet fare on that transcontinental flight? Think again. You may be making a previously unscheduled layover. Airlines can cancel your nonstop and rebook passengers onto flights with connections, which are obviously less desirable. Advises Brett Snyder, author of The Cranky Flier and a former pricing analyst at America West: As soon as you find out that your nonstop flight has been canceled, check to see if there's another nonstop option. If there is, call the airline and ask—nicely—to be put on it. But if nonstop service on the route has disappeared, threaten to switch to another carrier for the trip. Major airlines will typically agree to refund your money without any fees if you refuse to accept a new, multistop flight that will arrive at your destination more than two hours later than you were originally scheduled.

4. "We wouldn't tell you right away if there's an emergency." The FAA leaves it up to the airline to decide if it wants to tell passengers about an engine failure or other significant crisis. And many flight crews opt to keep their lips sealed. The reason? Flight crews don't want to scare passengers or say something they'll regret later. "In one recent emergency, the cockpit crew was faulted for making a public announcement before some of the required procedures were accomplished," explains Kent Wien, a pilot for a U.S. carrier. So attendants tend to err on the side of being secretive to avoid trouble. Last June, passengers traveling from Brussels to Newark on Continental Airlines were not informed when the captain died during the flight. The plane continued along its scheduled route with nary a peep from the rest of the crew, beyond a cryptic question: "Is there a doctor on board?"

5. "When we let you pick your seat assignment, we were only joking." As the airlines decrease the number of seats they fly in an attempt to eke out a profit, they're swapping out larger planes for smaller ones more often. Whenever fliers are put on a new plane, seat assignments are scrambled. A traveler may end up in a middle seat he or she would never have selected. If it happens to you, there's not much you can do—airlines aren't obligated to honor any seat assignment. "Passengers are actually purchasing a fare and not a seat," says Macsata of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights. Checking in online 24 hours prior to departure is often the best you can do to boost your chances of getting the seat assignment you want. Print your boarding pass with your seat assignment on it before you get to the airport as proof in case you need to argue with a gate agent over a last-minute switcheroo.

6. "Our planes are antiques." Compared to the rest of the world, we're flying the airplane equivalent of grandma's Cutlass Supreme—except Uncle Sam isn't interested in paying cash for these clunkers. American owns 268 MD-80 class airplanes, with an average age of 18 years old. Meanwhile, thanks to a geriatric fleet of DC-9s, Delta and Northwest's average fleet age is 13 years old. In contrast, Emirates has an average fleet age of about 5 years. Singapore Air's is 6 years. And, while Ryanair is often faulted for lacking basic amenities, its planes average less than 3 years of age. Luckily, U.S. airlines aren't having problems maintaining their aging aircraft from a safety standpoint, notes Bill Voss, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation. "There's no real indication of anyone cutting corners," says Voss. "Planes don't age like wine, but they do remain flight-worthy with proper maintenance." The FAA doesn't have a maximum age limit for planes, though it does require more frequent inspections for planes that have flown for more than 14 years. But aside from safety there's just plain old comfort. If you've ever wished you had a personal seatback flat-screen TV instead of having to share a view of a cathode-ray tube in the aisle—well, now you know the reason.

7. "Our crew is totally exhausted." Airline jobs are famously hard on the Circadian rhythms, and flight crews simply aren't getting enough rest. Pilot fatigue has been a factor in crashes that have led to over 250 fatalities in the past 16 years, including the recent crash of a Colgan Air flight to Buffalo, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The night before that accident, the copilot commuted from the West Coast to Newark while the pilot slept on a couch in a crew lounge at the airport. Crews on reserve (that is, crews readily available for service on short notice) don't have it much better. "On reserve, we don't have control over what we're doing," says Heather Poole, a flight attendant for a U.S. carrier and a contributor to travel blog Gadling. "One day we're flying a 5 a.m. departure, and the next day we're working a red-eye. Do this for a few trips in a row—add the delays in there—and that's when it gets bad." Working reserve can stretch crews to the limit. "Once during a terrible reserve month, I remember staring at my emergency exit door, thinking, Is it armed? Is it armed? Is it armed? I could see that it was, indeed, armed (the evacuation slide was attached to the door properly). But it wasn't clicking in my brain because I was so tired."

8. "Your ticket might not be with the airline you booked." Two airlines may sell seats on the same flight, a sales strategy called code sharing. You may think you'll be traveling on one airline, but you actually fly on another. The situation seems harmless enough but can cause major headaches for passengers. For example, most major airlines farm out their short, commuter flights to regional airlines. "By and large, you haven't heard of Chautauqua or Republic, but you may be flying them when you click to buy a ticket on Continental," explains Randy Petersen, publisher of InsideFlyer. "With two airlines involved, there's a constant passing of the buck. Worse, many regional carriers operating on code shares are exempt from reporting their on-time statistics. And God forbid if you need to file a claim with them for lost baggage."

Airports Are Being Stripped of Controversial Scanners

by Danielle Contray

http://www.budgettravel.com/blog/airports-losing-controversial-scanners,12756/?wpisrc=newsletter

When body image scanners made their way into airports in 2010, travelers raised concerns over privacy violations and radiation exposure. Now, three years later, those scanners are being removed from airports around the country.

According to an article in Bloomberg, the reason behind the removal is that OSI Systems, who manufactures the machines, has not been able to meet a congressional deadline to make the produced images less revealing. The company reported that it wouldn't be able to perfect the technology until 2014, and the TSA chose to void the $5 million contract. The 174 machines now in use will be taken out of airports and used at other government agencies.

There will still be some body scanners in use, though. The Bloomberg article states that the TSA will continue use 60 machines manufactured by L-3 Communications Holdings. These machines use radio frequencies (instead of the X-ray radiation used by the OSI Systems machines) and have been producing less revealing images since 2011.

8 Items You Never Pack...But Should

By Sean O'Neill, Thursday, Oct 13, 2011, 5:00 PM

http://www.budgettravel.com/slideshow/8-items-you-never-packbut-should,7820/

Chances are, you already own most of the things on this list (or can pick them up for as little as $3)—you just never realized how useful they can be for navigating unexpected travel snags.

 

No matter where you're traveling next, there are a few things you can add to your grab-and-go bag that will make everything run a little more smoothly. Meet eight items that will turn you into the MacGyver of the vacation set.

 

 

 

 

Power Strip Outlet shortage at the airport? A multi-socket power strip helps share the juice from a single public outlet. Forgot your charging iPod in your hotel room? By plugging all of your electronics into the same place, you'll be less likely to leave one behind. One catch: Abroad, you'll need to use an adapter and a converter. Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger, $12.

Bandana

The list of obvious uses for a bandanna is long—hand towel, lens cleaner, eye mask, hair tie, headband, scarf, cooling device (when dampened)—but this versatile carry-on can also work in a pinch as a pillow when you tie it around a bundled-up sweater, as a sling for a sprained arm, and even as a hobo handbag to tote your belongings.

Duct Tape From bandaging up exploded luggage to removing lint from clothing, duct tape earns its all-purpose reputation. Carry a small roll (about $5) with you to patch tears in shoes, bags, or clothing; baby-proof your hotel room by covering outlets and securing
drawers shut; hold together a well-worn guidebook when the spine gives out; and more.



















Travel Mug To prevent damage, transport sunglasses or delicate souvenirs in an empty travel mug with a wide mouth—just make sure it's got a secure screw top. During your trip, the mug can be an ecofriendly to-go cup or a great decoy for stashing valuables in your hotel room (a coffee-stained thermos is an unlikely target for thieves). OXO Good Grips LiquiSeal Travel Mug, $20.




Moist Towelettes They aren't just for babies! Not only can you sanitize your hands and kill germs on tray tables, doorknobs, tabletops, and other public places, you can also use them as a refreshing face cloth after a day spent in transit. The alcohol in many wet wipes helps remove ink stains in a pinch, too. (For guaranteed stain-protection, pack a few Shout Wipes, about $6 for 12.)











Silicone Travel Bottles TSA-approved mini bottles are old news to an experienced traveler like you. But their rigid plastic shells waste expensive moisturizer, sunscreen, and hair products that can't be squeezed out. Enter squishy travel bottles made out of transparent, soft silicone: easy to clean, more flexible to pack, and good 'til the last drop. GoToob bottles, from $5.
Safety Pins The safety pin: a multifunctional travel tool. Clasp the zippers of your day pack together to deter thieves; use in place of a missing button, zipper pull, or to mend other wardrobe malfunctions; tack kids' pant legs up when hiking through mucky terrain; even prevent static cling in a dress or skirt by slipping the safety pin into the seam of your slip (the metal has repelling properties).
Tote Bag Many shops abroad charge extra for single-use plastic bags, so BYO bag with an expandable tote like the Baggu, shown ($8). Bring one that's tough enough to toss around as a carry-on and handle farmers market, picnic, and beach items, too. At trip's end, cordon off the dirty laundry inside your suitcase to preserve the freshness of any clean clothes that are left.