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Lloyd's Travel Letter July 1995, Issue 8 Serving the Very Frequent Traveler In This Issue: Page 1....Safety on the Road Page 2....Changing Primary Carriers Page 3....Editorials & Letters Page 4....Currency Exchange Rates Page 4....Travel Vendor Partnerships Page 9....Tidbits Safety on the Road In this special report we give eighteen hints on how to stay safe when traveling. Safety is frequently a matter of common sense. However, it pays to reinforce this common sense now and then. Our first section of tips discusses safety at airports. We then review automobile safety. And conclude with general safety tips for the traveler. Airport Safety 1. You should never allow a non-uniformed stranger to carry your luggage. 2. Make sure you keep your money, ATM and credit cards, passport and airline tickets on you at all times. This makes them much more difficult to steal than if they were in your luggage. 3. Never let your luggage leave your sight. Unattended bags can be stolen or carted off by airport security as a potential bomb. 4. Report any suspicious packages or luggage that appear ownerless. 5. Airline tickets are just like cash. They can be redeemed for cash, used as cash to buy other tickets, and unfortunately stolen just like cash. Be aware of this, and keep your airline tickets in a safe place. Losing or having your tickets stolen is an expensive, time consuming affair. If your tickets are missing, contact all carriers involved as soon as possible. It is possible to get most of your purchase price back, but it will take awhile and you will have to wade through a pile of paperwork. The airline will have you fill out a lost ticket report and pay a lost ticket fee which varies by airline (but usually runs about $60). You will then have the honor of repurchasing your ticket at whatever the current going rate may be. Once the airline has verified that your original ticket has not been used, a process that can take months, you will receive a refund. So, treat your tickets like cash and keep them with you at all times. Automobile Safety 6. If you have to stop your car in a strange place, choose a well lit, well traveled place. If you are parking in daylight and must return after dark, be aware of the parking lot lighting. 7. If you are stopping to use a public facility such as a pay phone or gas station, try to park in a place where the station attendant or another motorist can see you. 8. Keep your vehicle locked and the windows rolled up. If you can not keep the windows closed because of hot weather, at least roll them up enough so it will be more difficult for someone to reach in and take your purse, wallet, or keys. 9. Be careful after a minor rear end accident. If you are bumped from behind and you do not feel comfortable getting out of your vehicle, motion to the other driver and drive to the nearest police station, 24 hour store or service station, hospital or fire station. 10. When approaching your parked car in a strange place, have your keys in hand and ready. Check the interior of your vehicle before unlocking your doors and getting in the car. 11. Avoid locking your computer, briefcase or other valuable items in a car trunk and then leaving the car. Thieves may be watching, and they might figure that anything worth locking in the truck is worth stealing. Thieves sometime stakeout parking lots. Better to carry your things with you, or put them in the trunk ahead of time before your reach your destination. General Safety 12. Always lock and bolt the chain of your hotel room. Why take chances. 13. When you first arrive somewhere, find the emergency exits. Whether your are in a hotel or an airplane, knowing where the closest exit is, before an emergency happens can save precious moment should that emergency arise. 14. In a hotel fire, even a small fire, hallways will fill quickly with smoke. Immediately after hearing the fire alarm, check your door for heat and if there is none, vacate your room and proceed quickly to the emergency staircase. Do not use the elevator, which may fail if the hotel's electrical systems fail. If the smoke is thick, crawl to the exit. The air next to the floor will be less smoky. 15. In the rare airplane crashes that have occurred, many people have survived the impact of the accident. The key to survival has been how quickly the passengers get out of the plane. Smoke or water can quickly engulf the aircraft. Know where the closest exit is, keeping in mind that it could be behind you. In larger aircraft, floor level lights will usually illuminate the way. Also, in many aircraft if you run your hands along the edge of the overhead compartment, you will notice that the exit rows are marked by bumps. People who sit in exit rows have the responsibility of getting the doors open. In the United States they are required to be able to read, understand, and give commands in English, have the strength to get the sometimes heavy doors open, be at least 15 year of age and have no responsibility for any other passenger. 16. Be careful when using an ATM machine on the road. Whenever possible, avoid using an ATM at night. If you do use one after dark, choose one that is in a well lit area. After your transaction, do not count your money at the ATM. Wait until you are inside your locked car. 17. Never display or loudly speak your name or hotel room number in public. Thieves or people making harassing phone calls can use this information. 18. Remember the primary rule: If a gunman wants your possessions, give them to him. The loss of money, vehicle, or other possession is not worth risking your life. Changing Primary Carriers The time may come when you change your primary airline. This airline may no longer offer convenient flights. You could move and have to fly out of a different hub. Perhaps you do not like your current carrier's policy of having miles expire. Or, there is a customer service issue that was not resolved to your satisfaction. If any of these occur, it might be time for a switch, time to choose a new airline. After you choose a new primary carrier, you could start from scratch earning the needed miles to become a premier member on this new airline. Or you could follow the smart travelers primary law, "Negotiate everything". Very frequent flyers are a valuable commodity that airlines are eager to possess. You should contact the new airline and inquire as to whether or not there might be a way to quickly gain premier status. When American vacated its Raleigh-Durham hub, both Delta and US Air stepped up to the plate and offered less stringent memberships guidelines for Medallion and Priority Gold for members who had been at top levels in the American program. TWA apparently has a nationwide policy of accepting other programs elite customers who want to switch. To make the switch, get in contact with a marketing representative of the new carrier. You will need proof of your current premier status on your old airline. You will also need to estimate your level of business with the new carrier. If this level of business is significant, both you and the new carrier will win and you should quickly receive your new premier status. Staff: Editor - Max Lloyd Managing Editor - Denise Wilson Lloyd's Travel Letter is published quarterly by Lloyd's Travel, PO Box 13842, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Contents copyrighted * 1995 by Lloyd's Travel. All rights reserved. Small quotations allowed if reference to Lloyd's Travel Letter is included. For advertising information and address changes, write to the above address. Subscription rates: Single issue price: $2.75. One year (four issues) subscription $10. Canadian yearly subscription: $14 in US funds. All others: $20 in US funds. Fax and E-mail subscriptions are also available. Editorial Musingss Northwest honors AirScrip. Northwest Airlines, which had stated that they would not accept other airlines AirScrip, has quietly change their minds. Most of the AirScrip that was the result of the Airline Antitrust Litigation settlement was good on other carriers. Northwest which reached a separate settlement had their own script. However, the cost to the airlines of accepting the script is very small. Apparently Northwest felt it would gain more in customer satisfaction than it would lose on the AirScrip and is now accepting all AirScrip. Once again showing that the settlement was good for the lawyers, good for the airlines, and nothing more than a source of small discount coupons for the real victims, the frequent traveler. You must be kidding. The city of Savannah Airport Commission now requires taxis to take the long route into town because it is more scenic. The cost of this long route is $3 more than the short route. Don't lose your Continental miles. Continental has been closing some accounts of flyers who have not had a flight in the past 18 months. This is basically the same policy that Delta has. While this is a better policy than American and United which have mileage expiration. It is certainly a situation you should be aware of. Delta rumor. There is speculation that Delta may soon announce an affinity credit card or charge card similar to those of other airlines. Delta is the largest U.S. carrier that does not have an affinity card. The long awaited arrival of First Class on Midway Airlines may be a bit of a disappointment. The leg-room in First Class will be an average 36 inches, however those inches are being stolen from coach class leg room which will see a decrease from 34 to 32 inches. Letters to the Editor Dear LTL, I was reading the January issue of Lloyd's Travel Letter and I noticed that you had graded various frequent flyer programs. How would you grade the program for Alaska Airlines? Matt via CompuServe Dear Matt, We did not have enough information to rate the program from Alaska Airlines. A few years back when I was doing a lot of trips in the Northwest I remember thinking very highly of the Alaskan program. However, this program has the same problem that American and United have with mileage expiration. Max Lloyd's Travel Letter welcomes editorials and letters to the editor. Letters may be edited for brevity, clarity, etc. Address correspondence to LTL, Editorials, PO Box 13842, Research Triangle Park NC 27709. You can also reach us on American Online at L L Max and on CompuServe at 74710,1177. Currency Exchange Rates The following table lists the exchange rates per US Dollar on July 13, 1995. Currency Per US $ -------- -------- Australian Dollar 1.3629 Austrian Schilling 9.7825 Belgian Franc 28.579 British Pound .6253 Canadian Dollar 1.3625 Danish Krone 5.4160 Dutch Guilder 1.5565 French Franc 4.8457 German Mark 1.3891 Greek Drachma 225.44 Hong Kong Dollar 7.7382 Irish Punt .6092 Israeli Shekel 2.9428 Italian Lira 1616.00 Japanese Yen 87.43 Mexican Peso 6.02 Norwegian Krone 6.1790 Singapore Dollar 1.3973 South Korean Won 756.95 Spanish Peseta 119.73 Swedish Krona 7.1587 Swiss Franc 1.160 Taiwan Dollar 26.195 Travel Vendor Partnerships The following table gives partnerships between travel vendors in three categories: airline, hotel, and rental car. You may find it handy to carry this list with you when you travel. This is a partial list for the largest vendors as of July 1995. The data is believed to be accurate, but check with the vendor for complete details. Vendors can send updated information to Lloyd's Travel. Doubletree hotels has dropped out of the TWA and Canadian programs. Thrifty Car Rental has joined TWA's frequent traveler program. You can earn 500 miles per rental, flight not required. With a TWA flight you can earn 750 miles per rental. Marriott joined the United Mileage Plus plan on June 1. Because miles awarded for long distance service can significantly and consistently benefit our readers, we have added major long distance partners to our table. TABLE IN SUBSCRIPTION VERSION OF LLOYD'S TRAVEL LETTER Introducing the latest software from Lloyd's Travel Weather for Windows, version 2.0 Priced at only $25 Weather for Windows quickly and easily gives you the average historic high and low temperatures for hundreds of major cities, along with expected rainfall. You can view information in either standard or metric formats and even graph the temperatures to get a visual overview. Use Weather to plan and pack appropriately for your trips. Requires Windows 3.1 or higher. 3.5" diskettes will be shipped Add $4 for shipping and handling. Send a check for $29 to along with your name and address to: Lloyd's Travel PO Box 13842 Drawer N1 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Tidbits... Saturday stay-over blues. Those budget minded flyers who buy cheap Saturday night stay- over fares will be dismayed to find that the fee to change the return on these tickets has been raised from $35 to $50 on the major carriers. Business travelers who buy back-to-backs and frequently change the back-ends will pay the most. At least 40 more jetliners have been ordered by United. The order, to replace older aircraft, totals more than $2 billion. Large Boeing 757, 767, and the new 777 models make up the purchase. United is also looking to purchase additional smaller plans in a later purchase. New online services are available for the traveler. Alamo joined the Internet with a new home page. You can reach it at http://www.freeways.com. United will now let travelers book their own travel on CompuServe. Go United to access this service. Furthermore, United is offering an extra 500 frequent flyer miles for your first 10 flight reservations made on CompuServe Kansas City International Airport (MCI) gets new service. Western Pacific Airlines is now offering two flights a day into its Colorado Springs hub. US Air's flight attendants have reached an agreement with the airline. The tentative accord trades pay cuts for ownership in the carrier. US Air's flight attendants currently make an average of $33,871 and have agreed to nearly a 5% pay decrease. Wyndam Hotels is offering a special promotion for each stay through September 30. You will receive double American Miles as well as assorted upgrades when stay at a Wyndam. Earn double American AAdvantage miles by renting from National between June 15 and August 15. Lloyd's Travel, the publishers of this newsletter announce the availability of Expense Reporter for Windows. This simple, inexpensive software lets travelers easily submit their expense reports. You can use this software with a laptop computer to enter expenses on the day they occur. If you find yourself in the Raleigh- Durham Airport's (RDU) Terminal A there are two unique businesses you should check out. The Book Cellar has a huge collection of used books for sale at very reasonable rates, perfect for getting reading materiel for your flight. PC Vend is a computer software vending machine. Put your money and a diskette into the machine and choose from a list of hundreds of software titles. Thailand relaxes travel restrictions. Travelers from the US and 55 other countries can now visit for up to 30 days without a Visa. The Jewish National Fund may be the first charity to give frequent flyer miles. For each dollar donated, donors can receive one airline mile. Other awards are also available. For more details, call (800) 76-AWARD. The FAA is looking for ways to improve runway safety. Look for moves to track aircraft ground movements with radar and country-wide standards for runway signs. If you are looking for someone to track all of your frequent flyer miles, Frequent Flyer Club at (800) 333-5937 offers such a service for $124 a year. Voyager's Collection offers a nice shopping service for travelers visiting 29 New York City hotels. Orders made from the 36 page competitively priced catalog by midnight will be delivered by 6 am. Buy bricks, earn miles. Delta is supporting the Olympic effort by giving 1000 SkyMiles to people who purchase an Olympic commemorative brick for $35. There does not seem to be a limit on the number of bricks you can buy. To order call (800) 496-BRICK. US Air Shuttle flyers who fly at least 6 flights before August 31 will earn an additional 5000 frequent flyer miles. Long connections at Denver. The new Denver (DIA) airport is built on 53 square miles. That is twice the size of Manhattan and nearly double the size of the second largest airport, Dallas-Ft. Worth at 28 square miles. In Upcoming Issues: -The Real Value of Miles and Points -Comparing Frequent Stayer Programs -Business Travelers Guide to Major Cities -Playing the Travel Game -Airport Art The ten most expensive cities according to Runzheimer International are listed below along with their average price of a day's stay: 1) Tokyo, Japan $464 2) Hong Kong $348 3) Paris, France $342 4) New York, NY $338 5) Moscow, Russia $319 6) London, England $316 7) Damascus, Syria $313 8) Taipei, Taiwan $304 9) Buenos Aires, Argentina $298 10) Vienna, Austria $287 Get the most from life on the road Subscribe to Lloyd's Travel Letter ! 4 issues (one year) for $10 8 issues (two years) for only $19 Let LTL's advice and valuable tips save you money, increase your comfort and productivity, and show you how to earn those extra miles. To get your subscription, send a check along with your name and address to: Lloyd's Travel PO Box 13842 Drawer N1 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Also, a great gift for friends or family who travel.