- I'm Brian Kelly,
travel expert and founder of The Points Guy,
and I'm here today to answer your questions from Twitter.
This is "Travel Support."
[upbeat music]
From @52HzBTS.
We've got a K-Pop fan.
"Which is better, United, Delta or American Airlines?"
We call them the big three.
"I already know Spirit is ass and doesn't operate globally."
Of those three airlines, best? Delta.
If you just wanna look at on-time arrival,
Delta's got the best operation,
and in my opinion, that is the best airline,
the one that will get you to where you're going on time
'cause time is money.
But when it comes to frequent flyer program,
I think United has the best loyalty program.
They are part of the Star Alliance
which is the largest network of airlines.
So you can redeem on partners
like Swiss or Lufthansa or Singapore Airlines.
So in general, I love having United Miles,
but I like flying Delta.
The next one up is from mockdownblues.
And, "Why are so many flights being canceled lately?"
This is due in large part to staffing.
In this summer in 2023,
we're gonna be at pre pandemic levels.
However, staffing across airports
and at air traffic control towers is only at 80%,
and this is creating a huge issue.
The whole system needs to be fundamentally rewired
and brought to the 21st century using technology
and less dependent on humans.
From @queenofyodaddy,
"What's the best site for plane tickets?"
I love Google Flights.
And why I like Google Flights is,
'cause you can actually visualize
by calendar date fair pricing,
and that's how you save money
when looking for plane tickets.
It also has what I love, it's called an explore map feature.
So say you wanna go on vacation somewhere warm.
You can pull up the explore map,
and it'll show you fair prices around the world.
And I love to encourage people,
search out the cheapest deals and plan your trip around it.
Save your cold hard cash, buy the cheap flight
to a cool destination you might have never been to
so that you can spend more money at the destination.
From Jeggedcom, "Why do travel agents still exist?"
It's kind of funny.
Travel agents are booming
because travel is as complex as ever,
especially for people booking expensive trips,
honeymoons, safaris, cruises, but using a travel agent,
you often get the same prices you're gonna get online,
but you're gonna get a whole lot more service.
And throughout the pandemic, we all experienced this.
You couldn't get through to airlines.
You couldn't get a refund.
So when you book your trip through a travel agent,
you don't have to worry about calling the airline.
You call up your agent who's getting a commission on it all
and say, "Hey, my flight was canceled.
I need you to get a refund
and rebook me on a different carrier."
And they do it all for you.
They have secret lines to the airlines.
They can actually change flights themselves
through their ticketing system.
KyleGoesGlobal, "What's your guys travel plans?
Would love recommendations on lesser known European gems
if you have the flexibility."
The Azores, the Azores are just five hours from New York.
They fly nonstop.
They call it, if Hawaii and Ireland had a baby,
it would be the Azores.
And the food is super cheap when you get there
'cause they grow it all on the island.
Also, Madeira Island, which is a Portuguese island
off the coast of Africa, gorgeous, super affordable,
and once again only six hours from the US nonstop.
This is a great question everyone should listen to.
@Blackbridge, "When traveling abroad,
should you pay with the local currency?"
And the answer is yes.
So this is a scam
that is so pervasive everywhere you go now.
When you're using a US credit card, it'll say,
"Oh, do you want to pay in your currency?
Don't worry, we won't charge you any fees."
Always select local currency
and let your bank do the transaction.
Because when you choose pay in your currency,
they will always charge you a horrible exchange rate,
and they're basically stealing from you.
From dyahmoni, "Help! Clear or TSA pre-check?"
Both because Clear gets you to the front
of the TSA pre-check line.
The number one thing I can't live without is Global Entry.
Pre-check is about $85.
Global Entry is $100 so it's $15 more.
Now Global Entry is what gets you
across the US border in 60 seconds.
You also get pre-checked.
And here's the tip with Global Entry.
A lot of people say,
"Well, there's no appointments available
once you get approved."
Well, there's an app called Appointment Scanner for $30.
It's a tool that'll scan every second for open appointments,
and within a day,
you will have an appointment at your airport
at a time that's within the next couple weeks.
Next up from luxurytrash,
"What is the best travel points credit card?"
Drum roll please.
So I'm gonna give you three answers
because you can't compare all credit cards to each other
'cause that would be like saying,
what's better, a Hyundai or a Bentley?
I love the Bilt card because it's no annual fee.
You earn double points on travel, triple on dining,
and get this, you earn one point per dollar on rent.
It is the only credit card that lets you pay rent,
which for so many of us is our biggest monthly expense,
with no fees.
Plus those points transfer to partners
like American, United, Hyatt.
They are the most valuable points currency out there
in my humble opinion.
For the $95 card segment,
I would say Chase Sapphire Preferred
as an all-around solid car
that comes with a big signup bonus.
Points are one thing, but perks are another, right?
So if you want to go to lounges
and get really good customer service,
you can't go wrong with the Amex Platinum.
You get $200 in airline credits, Uber credits.
But in order to get your value back
from that hefty annual fee,
you need to make sure you're actually using those perks.
If you're a once or twice a year flyer,
probably not worth it to get a Platinum card.
We've got kaylajdr.
"Dear Twitter, I have a serious question.
Is flying Spirit/Frontier really that bad?
Signed, a frugal bitch."
I'm not a frugal bitch.
I like to splurge,
and I'll still fly Spirit when it makes sense,
for short flights, LA to Vegas.
It does not make sense to spend $200 extra
to fly United Airlines or American.
It's not that much different.
And when you look at the on-time arrival of Frontier,
it's better than a lot of the bigger airlines.
So there's nothing wrong with flying those airlines.
Now I will say when things go bad
on those low-cost carriers, buckle up.
Understand that like when things go wrong,
you've gotta be able to rebook yourself.
You know, request the refund.
The low-cost carriers are not really gonna take care of you.
From @CultureTrekking, "What are your favorite gadgets
to take with you when traveling?"
I think it's very important when you're traveling
to be able to control your environment.
So I pop on my noise-canceling headphones
right away on a flight.
I love Apple AirPods Max.
I was a Bose QC35 guy for years.
Lots of other cheaper alternatives out there,
but I never leave home without them.
From MissxoxOH, "When planning a trip,
how many days/weeks ahead of time
do most of y'all cop a flight?"
Depends, when I'm paying for a flight,
in general internationally,
you wanna book 3+ months out.
See the airlines, they know the closer to a flight,
the more desperate generally people are.
And those people who book last minute
are often business travelers
who will spend whatever it takes.
Domestic, usually four to six weeks is the sweet spot,
but these days, airlines price dynamically.
So you can still get a fair sale a couple weeks out.
When booking frequent flyer mile tickets,
you generally want to book 10 or 11 months
in advance when possible or last minute.
Why books so far using miles?
Because 10 or 11 months out
are when airlines open up their schedule,
and most airlines release seats on every single flight.
So if you can book far in advance, you can be the first
to snag those frequent flyer mile tickets
at the lowest level.
From @ezTaxReturn,
"We're the most and least affordable places
to visit during the holidays?"
Now this depends what hot holiday you're talking about,
but I'll say from an American perspective, summer holidays,
we're seeing Europe is through the roof, right?
So what I recommend is go to Europe
over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays
where the weather's much more temperate,
and airfares are literally half as much, if not less.
And in general, where do you find cheap holidays?
I recommend look where the US dollar is really strong.
So even if you want to go to Europe in the summer,
Greece is so expensive.
Look at Turkey.
Bodrum is a hotspot and not cheap-cheap,
but much cheaper than Greece, for example.
Even Croatia, Croatia's incredible.
And it's much cheaper than going to Mykonos or Ibiza.
And South Africa, it's one of my favorite places to visit.
The US dollar goes so far.
It's a little expensive to get there, and it's far away.
But once you're there, things are so affordable.
@mchileyo, "When making a purchase for travel,
do you make the decision to buy
based on the rewards points you get?"
So yes and no, right?
Always get the most amount of points possible.
So obviously you get points
for using a credit card that earns points,
but there's also online shopping portals,
and so many people don't know about these.
And the basics of this are,
you can put your frequent flyer number in your browser,
and then when you shop
through that airline or hotel's shopping portal,
they give you extra miles.
If you buy anything online,
always click through a shopping portal.
You're gonna get a separate trache of miles
plus the miles from your credit card.
CashSmarter, "Ever been to Italy on the cheap?"
So Italy, especially in the summer,
it's gonna be peak pricing.
Capri, Amalfi Coast,
it's hard to find real budget accommodations,
but there's so many other more beautiful places
in Italy anyway that are less crowded.
I personally love Puglia.
Puglia is where Italians go on vacation,
and there are lots of really reasonable vacation rentals
and equally as great food, just a whole lot less touristy.
@SannaMadan, "Is travel insurance worth it or a scam?"
So travel insurance can be a lifesaver.
What is a scam is travel protection.
That's what most airlines and hotels offer you
when you're checking out, and they say,
"Hey, wanna add protection to your trip?"
It's generally very expensive
and much less comprehensive than travel insurance.
What I say with travel insurance is,
the devil's in the details.
So always understand what your policy covers.
Ensuremytrip.com is the clearing house.
It's kind of like the place to go to compare policies.
It's always better to compare multiple policies
and get through a third party than booking it directly
with the airline hotel or vacation rentals.
All right, from advemtures.
"Any tips on recovering from jet lag?
'Cause I'm all kinds of messed up."
First off, choose the right flight time.
I go to Europe quite a bit from the East Coast.
Think about it. It's a six-hour flight.
Leaving at 5:00 PM, you're landing at midnight.
Do you ever sleep from six to midnight at home?
Like your body's not ready to sleep?
So I always recommend to taking that 11:00 PM flight.
Exhaust yourself during the day
so the minute you get on that plane you are able to sleep.
All right, @jimmydouglas,
"What's the best last minute hotel booking website?"
I love HotelTonight for last minute,
but don't always assume that that's the best rate.
Often hotels will actually match those rates
if you book directly.
And this matters because when you book a hotel directly,
you can earn their valuable loyalty points.
If you have elite status, you can get extra points.
So this is what I would do.
You can find the cheap hotel online,
but call the hotel directly and say,
"Hey, I can book you using one of these third parties,
but can you match or beat the price
and give me extra perks?"
And many times, that's a great deal for both parties
'cause the hotel doesn't have to pay 20% or more
to that third party.
They can shower you with the money that they save,
and you both win.
@rubwehv, "When traveling, how do you deal with the anxiety
of not speaking the language
of the country you're visiting?"
Great question.
I always learn core, basic phrases
in the language I'm going to.
It makes a difference.
People are so willing to help you, and apps are amazing.
Make sure you have a phone that has international coverage.
There are apps that'll translate in real time,
but overall, if you're friendly and cool, you'll be fine.
Next up, from sadlyoddisfying,
"How do these status things work?
Do you fly one airline and get status for life or what?"
Airline status used to be based on how much you flew,
hence frequent flyer program.
However, airline status programs these days
are frequent buyer programs.
What do I mean by that?
Airline now don't really care how much you fly.
They care about how much you spend on the airline
and on its partners, including on the airline credit card.
So this is a good thing for people
who spend a lot of money on your credit cards
'cause you can get airline status
easier today than ever before.
So why would someone want to go jump through all these hoops
to get status?
Well, in general, the airlines treat those frequent flyers
with status a whole lot better than everyone else.
You see in the airport
when there's a hundred people lined up
waiting to get re-booked.
Those are people without status.
Because when you have airline status,
you call a secret number, and they'll take care of you.
In fact, when your flight's canceled,
I often will get a text from the airline.
"Mr. Kelly, you've been re-booked on the next flight out."
@flaviamorii, "I need to know what points everyone's using
in these TikTok videos to get cheap flights
to travel the world because WTF have I been doing?"
Hear me out.
The most valuable points in general
are not any specific airline or hotel.
The most valuable points are what we call in the biz
transferable points currencies.
So this is Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards,
Capital One Venture and Bilt Rewards.
So you accrue on those credit cards into these programs,
and then they allow you to transfer
to a number of different partners.
And why this is amazing is that,
if you accrue only your favorite airline,
say you love JetBlue, you can really only redeem
on JetBlue and a couple other partners,
and it's pegged to the price of the ticket.
So if you want some $10,000 first-class ticket,
like you're seeing all these TikTokers do,
you're gonna want to have transferable credit card points.
Just like investing with stock, you want to hedge your bets
and get a currency that is super flexible and valuable
and will meet the needs wherever you want to go.
Next up from VictoriaPinder, "Trains, planes or automobiles,
what's the best way to travel through Europe?"
Absolutely trains, if the trains go to where you're going,
and let's be honest,
trains are a lot better for the environment,
especially for short hops.
In fact, some countries are even banning short flights
and making people take trains,
which I'm not necessarily against.
@xuikuun says, "About to brace for a 20-hour flight journey.
Tips for long flights, anyone?"
So I'm guessing she's going New York to Singapore,
which is the world's longest flight.
I have a lot of friends in the industry
who travel quite a bit, and they will tell you,
make sure that you get up and walk.
If you're sitting in economy sitting upright,
make sure you have compression socks.
Make sure you drink tons of water.
I always bring an eye mask with me.
Earplugs, I put earplugs in my noise-canceling headphone.
I always bring protein bars and snacks with me.
Some airlines run really hot.
A lot of the Asian airlines crank that heat, baby.
And you can be roasting, and here's the tip.
So many of us, if you're roasting on a flight,
you can actually ask a flight attendant.
They have a panel,
and they can change it around the zone of your seat
while leaving the rest of the cabin as is.
So never hurts to ask.
From JamesLNeiman, "Thinking about starting
to plan a family vacation on a cruise.
Anyone out there who's been on one
or knows how to get a good deal?"
Sometimes going to a cruise specialist,
a travel agent that specializes in cruises
can get you not only the best deal
but a ton of extra perks on board.
And if you're a member of Costco,
Costco cruises can be a great way to save money.
Before you're pulling the trigger though,
just make sure you comparison shop.
Make sure you evaluate not just the cost
but also the perks that you're getting.
All right, that's it for "Travel Support" today.
I hope you learn something, and even though
travel can be a little bit difficult these days,
I encourage all of you to get out there
and have safe travels. [upbeat jazzy music]