Tag: Alaska

Airline Boarding Groups: The Master List (Updated October 2019)

When you check-in for a flight, either by printing a boarding pass on your computer or by using a mobile device, you’re provided with a boarding group. This lets you know when you’ll be getting on the plane. Getting group 3 on one airline might be great but could be terrible for another airline.

Regardless of that number, just know you’re not getting on the plane when the boarding process starts unless you’re a super-elite frequent flyer or a disabled passenger in a wheelchair. The passengers with some sort of loyalty with the airline or one of their partners and the passengers who paid for first-class will go next. Why not stay seated until your group (or at least the one right before it is called) cause you’re gonna have a long wait just to have your ticket scanned and all you’re going to is stand on the jet bridge for a while before getting on the plane.

Just be patient and don’t be like the people in this video from JetBlue

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How To Avoid Extra Credit Card Fees During International Travel

Going on an international trip is very exciting but it can also be very expensive. Using a credit card to pay for purchases when traveling internationally is often the best way to get a good exchange rate and the rate your bank gets will be better than the one you’ll get on your own if you exchange cash. Using a card also means that you don’t have to carry around a bunch of cash with you. However, many cards will add on a “foreign transaction fee” to any transactions made with anything except your home currency. Here’s an easy way to keep from paying that extra 2-3 percent on all of your purchases while away.

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Happy 420! So, Can You Fly With Weed Now, Or What?

The rules regarding marijuana have been rapidly evolving so it can be confusing to understand the restrictions on flying with what may be a legal amount of weed from where you are leaving from.

If you would have asked, “Can you fly with pot?” to a group of friends I once booked a trip with, the answer to the question would have been “Of course you can, we just did!” I should have known when the first place we stopped after leaving the airport was somewhere to buy rolling papers but I was naive and when I walked into their hotel room they said I should leave because, I “have a real job.” I’m so glad I had friends who had my best interests in mind while they got high in the hotel room that I booked for them under my name.

As it turns out, if we took that trip today instead of twenty years ago, the circumstances might have been different, depending on where we were leaving from and where we were going.

Please know that I am no expert on flying in the United States with marijuana or any CBD products. Don’t take my article as legal advice and definitely do your own research before deciding if your activities are legal under state and federal law.

There are now 10 states where recreational marijuana usage is now legal:

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Nevada
  • Oregon
  • Vermont
  • Washington
  • Washington D.C.

Even more states, 33 in total, have allowed the use of marijuana for medicinal uses. That’s in addition to the entire country of Canada, which legalized the recreational use of cannabis in 2018.

However, the U.S. Federal Government still views cannabis as an illegal substance. So if you want to go on vacation and bring your weed with you, what’s the rules?

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Should You Earn Rental Credits Or Frequent Flyer Miles For National Car Rentals?

I’m a big fan of National Car Rental’s Emerald Aisle program. I’ve been a member for 20 years now (Ugh, Really? 20 years?) (Note from Sharon – when did I marry such an old man? LOLOL!). For all that time and for all those rentals, I’ve never earned a single rental credit with National. I’ve earned frequent flyer miles for my rentals instead. For my travels, I just don’t rent cars often enough so it would take me forever to earn a free rental day.

National gives you 1 rental credit for each rental and if you rent a car for more than a week, you can earn extra credits. Here’s a breakdown of the earning for longer rentals since this information isn’t easily found on National’s website. It took some digging and I’m not surprised they want to keep it a secret: Continue reading “Should You Earn Rental Credits Or Frequent Flyer Miles For National Car Rentals?”

Whole Lotta Airline Sales Goin’ On – Four Different Airlines!

When it rains, it pours and four different airlines currently have sales on flights right now. Most end pretty soon, so I wouldn’t wait too long to book.

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