Tagged With "Baggage fees"
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Re: Fotografiska, New York's new photography museum
Looks interesting, but the entrance fee is rather steep!
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Re: Fotografiska, New York's new photography museum
Yup, it is pricey. On the other hand, Museum prices have been going up in NYC.
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Re: Free Things to do in Phoenix, Arizona
Never knew there was so much free stuff to do in Phoenix. Seems like you could spent the better part of a week seeing and doing things without paying one admission fee. Thanks for sharing these, Samantha.
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Re: Now an airline charge for NOT flying!
Sadly it seems that the only thing limiting some airlines from charging another fee is their imagination. However, I have faith that they will think out of the box and try to suck more from their passengers.
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Re: Notes and Noticings from the road
Actually, I think the banks have a fairly minimal (as small as I can make it) impact on my currency transactions, in part because I never deal with exchanges; I use bank ATMs. That way, the exchange takes place not on my account, but as an interbank transaction at the base rate banks use with each other. I used to use my ATM card from Citibank, but eventually they began charging a 3% foreign exchange fee even on withdrawals. At that point, I opened an account with Charles Schwab, a brokerage...
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Re: Has the Revolution Started? Ryanair allows 2nd bag and reduces fee
Are you saying that the primary goal is not to sell a mere flight ticket but to sell the whole tamale ? $$$
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Re: Has the Revolution Started? Ryanair allows 2nd bag and reduces fee
The intention is to increase the profitability of Ryanair. For the first half of 2013-14, it announced revenue up 5% to €3.25bn and profit after tax rising 1% to €602m.
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Re: Budget Deal Asks Air Passengers to Pay More
This is a massive tax increase hidden as a "small fee". There are millions of people flying every day and paying already steep prices for tickets. I can't see this helping air travel or the economy in any way.
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Re: Budget Deal Asks Air Passengers to Pay More
I especially don't like it that they call it a fee- so members of Congress can keep their pledge not to raise taxes.The above Forbes link was good to compare it to the gas tax. This reminds me of a Simpson episode where Lisa( in Barts vision) is President. she is told to call a massive tax hike a refund adjustment.
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Re: Has the Revolution Started? Ryanair allows 2nd bag and reduces fee
Ryanair are now selling complete vacation deals - so they've had to move on.
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Re: Has the Revolution Started? Ryanair allows 2nd bag and reduces fee
Ryanair just loves to get its name in the news, no matter what the context.
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Re: Has the Revolution Started? Ryanair allows 2nd bag and reduces fee
The thought of a kinder, friendlier Michael O’Leary makes me all warm and fuzzy. Not. I smell a rat.
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Re: Up, Up and Away: Airline miles cards with big bonuses
I have a Delta American Express Platinum card that has served us well. The fee is higher than the gold card, but we can check two bags free, priority boarding, and a free companion pass yearly. We fly two or three times a year and the value of the waived baggage fee and the companion pass far exceed the $150 annual fee. The card also accrues one mile for each dollar spent and lately has offered cash back incentives. For example: spend $15 at Panera's using the card and receive $5 credit on...
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Re: New 'airline' charges more for carry-on than check-in
$92 for a carry-on bag is an excellent way to ensure you will never be more than a very small airline.
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Re: Southwest Airlines continues its No-Fee Baggage policy
This really is good news! It makes a huge difference when an airline tries to make the customer happy.
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Re: Canadian airline adopts unpopular US fee
Air Canada just announced that it too will have the $25 baggage fee. http://money.ca.msn.com/invest...for-economy-travel-1
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Re: JetBlue makes its fans blue: Less space, more fees
This is very disappointing news. I was hoping JetBlue would stick to its "customers first" mode of business operation, but obviously management has sold us out. That leaves only Southwest in the USA that has a different business model, and hopefully they'll stick to their principles and not succumb to these pressures.
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Re: JetBlue makes its fans blue: Less space, more fees
The very slight bit of good news is that JetBlue still plans on keeping its basic wifi free. More on that story at this link .
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Re: Memphis, Tennessee: 1) Graceland
You've put together an interesting tour DrF. I never knew you got that up close and personal on a tour . You mentioned the 2nd floor. Do the family still live there ? I'm surprised to see there's no mention of his manager. 50% - wow - that's some fee. Heard stories but never knew that was the figure. There have been other cases of artists - of that time - being mis-used too.
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Re: Marriott to offer free wi-fi to all its Rewards member
I think you're exactly right, PortMoresby. For quite some time, we've looked mostly at the inexpensive chains precisely because they offer clear and valuable perks: Free breakfast, free parking, free WiFi. Our occasional high-end hotels through Priceline have sometimes moved the per-room fee down to a lower tier, but after you've paid $20/day for parking, $11.99 a day for WiFi...not so lower! The two-tier WiFi issue is becoming a bug for me, too. I recently stayed at a DoubleTree by Hilton...
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Re: Marriott to offer free wi-fi to all its Rewards member
And let us not forget the dreaded "resort fees". Defined as meaning anything the hotel wants it to mean. And charged whether we use the facilities it's said to cover, or not. Look in the dictionary for the definition of "chicken shit" and you'll find "resort fees". If everyone must pay it, it should rightly be included in the room rate. Even my favorite, AirBnB, makes options available for hosts - cleaning fee, security deposit, a charge for more than 1 person and even possibilities for...
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Re: Marriott to offer free wi-fi to all its Rewards member
I will say one thing for Airbnb, as compared to hotel resort fees: With Airbnb, before you click, you see the total of what's included, and what goes to whom. The resort fee and some of the others are often a surprise on arrival...
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Re: Virgin Hotels Promises No Nickel and Diming
If they keep their room rates reasonable, they will be very successful. Especially important to fight that "resort fee" that's creeping up everywhere.
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Re: New trend: airport lounges for non-members
A little pampering after a long flight, especially in steerage, is a good investment in my opinion. While I haven't used these lounges a lot, they make great sense if you have many hours of waiting between flights, even at a fee.
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Re: AirBnB vs New York. Update
I'd love it if they collected the bed tax here. Since they don't, and it's my impression that few here pay it, including it as part of my fee creates an imbalance for me, making it appear as though I'm getting more than I do. I state the breakdown in my listing but hardly anyone actually reads the listings. If they collected it, it would give a fair comparison of the room rate with the taxes added on at the end, as the fees are now. I think, though, despite what seems a good idea from the...
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Re: Delta makes its 20-minute bag guarantee permanent
Nice to hear of something positive for consumers. As you know Alaska Airlines sparked this, as they've done this for at least a decade. But less waiting for a bag is a positive thing for travelers and I applaud them for doing so.
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Re: Whoa! Not so fast on that shrinking baggage size!
That's good news! But rather than saying airline consumers were a lion, I think I'd have used "the sheep have bleated -- loudly"
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Re: Lufthansa: Book with us, or pay 16€ fee
It seems a huge and unfair fee. I can't believe a company with Lufthansa's finances really needs to impose something so draconian. And if they do, I think their business will suffer. As we all know, consumers are very price sensitive.
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Re: And the squeeze goes on: are carry-ons next?
I favor standardizing, but think the seven inches depth is too skimpy. Nothing is more frustrating than having a bag that is okay as a carry-on with one airline, but to large with a connecting airline. Still, overall it looks like we're getting screwed again!
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Re: And the squeeze goes on: are carry-ons next?
Good news for people traveling on Canada's two major airlines, Westjet and Air Canada. They will not adapt these new standards to their markets. The old baggage rules still apply. More on this story in the Vancouver Sun .
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Re: And the squeeze goes on: are carry-ons next?
So far, it appears, all the North American majors are staying out of it. Perhaps if this could be rethought so the depth could stay at 9", and the other two change, it would get more love from us customers...
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Re: Baggage Fees Paid For By Using Luggage with Ads
If there's not a catch to this program, it seems like a great deal for the consumer. Some of the ad bags actually look like they have cool designs.
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Re: Are ATM's at European airport going to cost you more?
Bank ATMs in the UK are all, I believe "no fee", meaning no use fee charged by the owner bank for using their machines. Other machines and other places, I believe, tell us what the fee will be, if any, before we complete the transaction and allow us to abort if it's too much. And we know that the foreign transaction fee charged by our own cards' bank can vary, usually 1-3%, a given to convert currency using a card. Then there's the exchange rate which has always been the best available using...
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Re: Are ATM's at European airport going to cost you more?
I would love to see this series. BTW, AAA is now offering a no fee refillable ATM card to use overseas and avoid the 1-3% charges from yiur home bank.
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Re: Are ATM's at European airport going to cost you more?
I just opened a Capital One checking account, chip & pin debit card, 1% foreign currency conversion fee, rather than the 3% my local bank charges. The 1% is standard for MasterCard branded debit cards, seems no way to avoid it. But Capital One charges no additional. Will check out the AAA card. The series, 'Anatomy of a Trip', will start September 9th, if all goes as planned (does it ever?)
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Re: Are ATM's at European airport going to cost you more?
Jonathan, do you have a link for the AAA card you mention. This is the one I found: http://www.aaa.com/AAA/Financi..._Travel_Card_FAQ.pdf It charges a 3% foreign transaction fee and it can't be used in some countries I plan to visit. Maybe there's a newer version?
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Re: Are ATM's at European airport going to cost you more?
My computer is not going to the AAA site, but, in looking back at the email, it was a "no purchase fee" card, so that is what I get for not reading the fine print.
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Re: U.S. taxes on flying among world's highest
Oh, darn. I thought this was about paying a fee to sit in a section with our fellow stoned passengers.
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Re: Have you a reservation, sir? Thailand considers selling tickets to country!
I think this idea will backfire. A dollar or so a day fee will not discourage anyone from visiting as a sex tourist. A $16 fee might discourage some from even visiting the kingdom. So the sex tourists will likely still fly in for their weekend jaunts. Good serious tourists, say young backpackers on a budget, might be offended by the extra fee and bypass Thailand for one of its neighbors.
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Re: Have you a reservation, sir? Thailand considers selling tickets to country!
I consider it infinitely better to pay a relatively small fee to enter the country than to go through hoops & bother for a visa as we must for a number of Asian countries. Thailand was the first, and I think the only country, where I was required to stop at a booth to pay a departure tax upon leaving the country by air so what possible difference if we pay coming or going (or both?). And I actually prefer the idea of an up front fee rather than having it buried as taxes that can increase...
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Re: Gate-to-Gate WiFi joins Gate-to-Gate devices
Probably a smart move for Southwest, who has so many business people traveling with them. They are charging an $ 8 per day fee to use the WiFi. I know that they have costs but it does seem a little outside of the Southwest spirit to have a fee. Then again, fees have been creeping into Southwest http://www.southwest.com/html/...ice/travel-fees.html
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Re: Spirit's New Plan: Higher 'Rush Hour' Bag Fees!
New Yorker cartoon, flight attendant announcing, "In case of a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop down in front of you for two dollars".
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Re: Spirit's New Plan: Higher 'Rush Hour' Bag Fees!
Thanks...that's definitely the "spirit!"
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Re: The least loved airline fee is...
I think you're right that unavoidability is a big factor in the hatred of bag fees. As you point out, not everyone cancels or bothers to pay a seat fee, and many people carry their own food. The other factor is the sheer size of the fee. A couple with two suitcases, round-trip, have added $100 to their cost (regardless of distance). If they decide to take a bigger case and share it, they save $50, but are now condemned to drag an oversize bag as they go. No wonder some of the loyalty credit...
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Re: Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, Redux
Hi Garry, and thanks for your comment. The active areas within the National Park are off limits because of toxic fume levels, not so much because of lava. The roads to the Pahoe area (outside the park) of actively flowing lava are closed and access is theoretically restricted. For a fee, one of the locals will guide you to the flowing lava. Remember this is thick fairly slowly flowing lava, not unlike moving pancake batter. But it is hot and you have to be careful. Shoes can melt and worse...
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Re: Airlines investing big in airport lounges
Worth noting also that some of the high-bonus (and high annual fee for some) credit cards include varying forms of lounge access for cardholders, even when traveling in cattle class. I've got one now that provides Lounge Club, whose members are only occasionally airline-operated, and another that provides AA Admiral's Club. I'm looking forward to trying that one out!
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Re: $6 BILLION in bag and change fees!
I'm not sure if it's a great business model to make most of your profits by annoying your customers. I think many have gotten their heads around the baggage fee (note coincidentally the increase in the number and size of bags rolling onto a plane), but some of the airline change fees are obscene. I point to Southwest airlines as one that still does the right thing. You get to check one bag without a fee. And ff you can't make your flight, they give you a credit on the airfare good up to one...
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Re: United Campaign: Enforce carry-on limits, reduce complaints and crowding
I hope this effort is a real and continuing one and that other companies follow. Carrying everything onto the plane, to my way of thinking, is like any trend where if enough people say it's a good idea, even when it's not, hoards fall right into step, like lemmings. If I was offered valet service for a nominal fee to have someone carry my suitcase for me and I wouldn't have to touch it from the time I arrived at the airport until the time I was leaving at my destination, I'd jump at the...
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Re: Dynamic Currency Conversion: The Little Nibble That Can Eat Your Vacation Budget
Very good advice. In many countries, if not all, merchants are required by law to give us a choice. But as you experienced, and I did once when this practice began, they slip it in on us and simply charge us in our home currency. I suspect some merchants have instructed their employees to do it while others are as oblivious to the consequences as their customers. But it really amounts to the same thing as going to the corner currency exchange, like in the old days before ATMs, drawn in by...
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More Frequent Flier changes in the air
The world of award travel and elite perks continues to shake and shift. Delta, which like United, has switched for next year to awarding flight miles based not on distance but on price paid for ticket—a move that hurts many frequent...