compensation Archives - Your Mileage May Vary

How You Can Earn Double SkyMiles (Or More) On Your Delta Flight By Checking A Bag

I was recently spending time with a friend who just flew home on Delta from a two-week business trip. He flew from LAX-ATL-MCO and while his flight was delayed over an hour due to a mechanical issue, the biggest grump he had was that it took over 45 minutes for his luggage to arrive after landing.

Now I grew up flying out of Newark Airport so long waits for luggage are nothing new for me. In fact, I was always amazed at how fast my baggage showed up when flying to Orlando compared to what I was accustomed to at home.

Times have changed and Orlando Airport is no longer a small airport in Central Florida. It’s the biggest airport in the state and is going through some growing pains.

While most departing passengers notice the long lines at the TSA checkpoints, Orlando residents know that it’s been taking longer and longer for checked bags to show up at the carousels.

Continue reading “How You Can Earn Double SkyMiles (Or More) On Your Delta Flight By Checking A Bag”

What To Do When Your Flight Is Delayed By The Weather

It’s summertime and that means we’re entering prime leisure travel season in the U.S. Kids are out of school and families are going on trips they planned all year. Unfortunately, this is also the time of the year where the weather can wreak havoc on airline travel on an almost daily basis. Living in Orlando, we’re accustomed to severe weather blowing through all the time. Here’s a picture a friend of ours took looking from one side of the car and then the other.

With sudden changes to the weather being the norm for six months out of the year, we’re used to experiencing weather delays when flying. While we try to take these things in stride, we’ve watched people go through every level of grief over a 45-minute delay. Here are our tips on what you can and should do if your flight is delayed:

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Why Am I Expected To Do The Quality Control For My Hotel Room?

When I get to a hotel room, I like to do a lay of the land. Get comfortable with my surroundings. Look to see if I have a nightstand on my side of the bed. Where’s the clock? Does this room have drawers, closets, baskets or any place else to put my clothes (or will I be living out of my suitcase while I’m there)? The next thing I look for is plugs. USB plugs. Power plug. Anywhere I can plug in a phone, work my computer, where’s a good place for a nightlight for trips to the bathroom.

I’ve taken to hold or keep a notepad nearby when doing this inspection because inevitably, I’m going to find something I’ll need to tell the front desk about. There are even times I took pictures and it might take 1000 words to explain my broken shower, this image sums it up quickly.

Up until now, I felt that if a hotel fixed the problems I reported to them in a timely manner, that was acceptable. I let them know a problem and they resolved the said problem.

But why is it MY job to tell them things are broken/old/worn in THEIR hotel?????? Continue reading “Why Am I Expected To Do The Quality Control For My Hotel Room?”

What To Do When A Rental Car Company Is Out Of Cars

We don’t rent cars all that often. We’ve become much more comfortable taking public transportation to/from the airport in major cities like New York and Chicago and then using Uber/Lyft/Taxi to get around whatever city or town we’re in. We only need a rental car on trips when we’re going to places where public transportation isn’t an option (like when we went to South of the Border).

So why is it that on about 50% of our trips, there are no available cars when we get to the rental car counter/garage? Continue reading “What To Do When A Rental Car Company Is Out Of Cars”