Tricks of the Trade: How to Upgrade Your Airline Seat

Ramsey Qubein is Travelin' Light's on-the-road correspondent.

Scoring an award seat with frequent flyer miles can seem like a crap shoot, but it is more like a scientific experiment. Most airlines prefer that you visit their web sites to make your award reservations, but the secret to bagging an award is calling the airline directly. But, calling the airline without a plan is useless. Passengers are still charged with finding the seat online and then coaxing the agent into finding and reserving the seat on their behalf as most partner carriers cannot be booked online.

Numerous tools are available to the savvy traveler depending on the airline alliance with which one is traveling. For travelers on SkyTeam, visit www.nwa.com/jp to search for expanded award availability and then for Star Alliance, one can visit ANA (All Nippon Airways) www.ana.com and sign up for their frequent flyer program. Once a member, the airline offers award availability for most Star Alliance carriers with the notable exception of Swiss International Airlines and United Airlines.

By doing a bit of homework before calling the airline, award seats are easy to snag if one is flexible with dates and routings. Plus when airlines launch a new route, it is more likely that they will offer increased award availability on it as it catches hold with the traveling public. So don’t fret, your award miles are not useless. They offer incredible potential if one is willing to do some advance preparation and pay the small fee incurred to book over the phone.

Tips for traveling in a bad economy

Ramsey Qubein is Travelin' Light's on-the-road correspondent.

If your travels follow the direction of your bank statement, then read quickly and look South. The economic instability of the United States is not isolated to this great land. Over the past few weeks, the long-inflated Euro (to the dollar) has softened providing an ease on the pocketbook for American travelers while the Southern Hemisphere has become an amazing bargain seemingly overnight.

But, there are other destinations that provide more bang for the buck. While they require a bit more effort to reach, they can prove to be big money savers once one arrives. South African Airways and Delta Air Lines both fly nonstop to the African continent and frequently offer discounts (especially from Washington DC and New York where the competition is intense). South America often sees deals emerging from New York and Miami among other cities.

South Africa is the perfect example. As I write this post, the rand is 10 to the dollar, providing an incredible value. We’re talking an entire steak dinner (including an obligatory South African Meritage) for under $10!!! Add up local transportation costs, local hotel rates, and souvenirs and you arrive at a reasonable figure that competes with a European vacation while offering the cache and distinction of a more exotic locale. Imagine perusing the safari lands outside Johannesburg or strolling the V&A Waterfront of Cape Town for only a fraction of the cost. Now is the time to go.

Try a side trip to Namibia for the day or even for a few nights. The local currency is equally priced, and the locals are amazingly welcoming.

Another locale is the incredibly romantic confines of Buenos Aires where the economic instability has yet to catch up leaving prices severely undercut for the American traveler. The Australian Dollar is similar with record lows to the dollar equaling huge savings for Americans.

Even sunny Aruba has gotten in on the action with discounted fares and creative packages to lure Americans closer. They count on almost 70% of their inbound tourism as Americans meaning that when the USA has a cold, Aruba can quickly develop pneumonia so look south for vacation plans this year!

A First Hand Account of Typhoon Jang Mi in Taiwan

Ramsey Qubein is Travelin' Light's on-the-road correspondent; he also experience the terrors of Jang Mi first hand. Here's his account.

You’ve never really experienced a destination (I mean, truly experience the culture) until you’ve undergone a national crisis with the people. During my recent explorations of Taiwan for Northstar Travel Media as a hotel correspondent for StarServiceOnline.com, I became trapped in Taipei during Typhoon Jangmi. For North American readers, the rest of the world calls a hurricane a typhoon, and Jangmi was a big mama.

It became clear a few days into my trip that the storm would be barreling down on the city, but I never expected it would reach such an intense magnitude. Initially, I had thought I would escape it altogether so I never even thought of canceling my trip, but as the storm changed speed, I soon realized I was in for another fate.

Hatchened up in my plush quarters at the Shangri-La Taipei, I naively asked (as they were boarding up the windows) why were they not evacuating people as they would have in the United States. The cordial reply from the perfected staff came in a distinct and overly simple way. “We have nowhere to go; we’re an island,” she said.

Well, why didn’t I think of that! What is the government going to do; evacuate the whole country? So I hunkered down with the best of them. As the windows bellowed back and forth (yes, the glass was literally bending), and the building swayed (yes, we could feel it moving to the point of nausea), I sat in anticipation of what was to happen. But, the feeling was misplaced.

The Taiwanese gathered in the lobby for drinks; others laughed merrily in the cigar lounge. Tourists hobknobbed with employees in the concierge lounge amid the window and ceiling leaks and the constant gusts that could move a cow. I soon felt a feeling of calm; almost a serene camaraderie with the locals as we endured this natural disaster together. And while the building in Taipei was safe, thousands farther south in the shantytowns lost their homes and belongings.

A friend of mine was actually in Mumbai on the day of the recent terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008. He said that the media did a good job of keeping people informed, but it was his cell phone that allowed him to connect with facebook and email where he shared his whereabouts with concerned family and friends. His impression of the event was shaped by the reaction and genuine concern of locals.

The way our world communicates is evolving so quickly. Experiencing a mass event like a hurricane or even a terrorist bombing like the Mumbai attacks can be some of the finest opportunities to truly understand a culture and how they react to adverse circumstances.

All of a sudden, the art of travel is no longer about visiting tourist sites from a check list, but more about connecting on a personal level with a culture’s human emotions. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if all travelers could seek this same type of experience? I just wish it wouldn’t take a national news headline to make that happen.