Hanging out with gentle giants: Elephant art experience
When you are loyal to one airline alliance, it makes it easier to collect reward points. The major ones are Star Alliance (with 28 member airlines), SkyTeam (with 20 members), and OneWorld (16 members). It is worth taking a look each network to see which carriers you fly with most often, then trying to use the carriers in that alliance whenever possible.
Some discount carriers and other airlines also have their own reward programmes but you have to fly with that particular airline only. Still, if you fly one particular route frequently, it may make sense to join their reward programme.
The 24-hour flight booking rule
This rule only applies to flights booked from the US, but it is a handy regulation that few people know about. By order of the Department of Transportation, passengers are able to hold a reservation without payment, or cancel a booking without penalty, for 24 hours after the reservation is made, if they make the reservation one week or more prior to a flight’s departure date.
That means that if a fare drops, you can cancel and rebook the fare at the cheaper price, so it is worth checking prices again with 24 hours of booking. After that, there will be a fee to change your ticket in most cases.
Double check your airline’s specific interpretation of that rule, as the timing can be longer in some cases, and the way airlines handle ticket changes (rather than refunds) can vary.
Research before you arrive
There is nothing worse than arriving at the airport to find the information desk is closed, and overpaying for transportation since you have no other choice but a taxi. Do your research ahead of time, and be sure to avoid these other travel mistakes.
Now that you have booked your flight in minutes and saved hundreds, you can put your newfound time and extra money into planning your adventures upon arrival. — yahoo travel.