Hi, My final payment on my cruise is due tomorrow, but I have not bought airfare yet. Do I need to buy the airfare before buying the travel insurance and does insurance need to be bought before final payment? Thank you, Kimberly

Hi Kimberly, You didn’t say, but if you need pre-existing medical conditions coverage your deadline is no later than 24 Hours after your final trip payment with a CSA plan or an HTH plan.

Otherwise, you can get any of our plans at any time until the day before you leave on the trip.

As for buying the airfare, you can estimate the cost of the airfare and include it in the trip cost you insure. That gives you the freedom to get your airfare when you want to get it.

Unless you live close to the airport (meaning you can easily get a ride there), it’s usually expensive to park your car there.

That’s why I appreciate having an inexpensive and safe place to park my car when I travel. Yes, I can find someone to take us to the airport, but I value my friends’ time, so I’m happy to drive and park my car there.

Just how cheap is it? I’m going on a 5 day trip in March. The total cost for my parking was $30.75! I always get my pre-reserved parking from ParkRideFlyUSA.com.

Plus, their courteous and friendly staff handles all my luggage and will take us to and from the airport, “curb-to-curb”, in their comfortable, convenient, complimentary airport shuttle.

I highly recommend ParkRideFlyUSA.com.

Do you match price for the same coverage offered at a better price elsewhere? I purchased a policy from you last night. Tonight I stumbled on another website and put in the same trip and it gave me a quote for about $45 less - for the same plan. Madeline

Hi Madeline, All travel insurance plans are the same cost for the same plan no matter where you buy it from. The only things that could change the price are your ages, per person trip cost & if the trip’s over 30 or 31 days in length.

Some of my competitor’s websites give you the option of using your total trip cost. They then divide it by the number of travelers. I think this is sloppy. And, if you wanted to cover a pre-existing condition, it would disqualify you because you’d end up under-insuring your trip cost (thus breaking most plans’ rules).

Here’s how Madeline’s situation turned out:

In Madeline’s case, the trip cost was $1980 each for 2 people and $805 each for 2 people. And this is how it ought to be insured (we’d round the trip cost up, too). On those other sites, you’d end up insuring up to $1500 each on all 4 people.

You might say, “isn’t the claim is 100% of total trip cost?”. The answer’s no, because when you file a trip cancellation or interruption claim the insurance co. will want proof of the per person trip cost. And then they’ll pay a maximum of up to the person’s insured amount. If you have one total price on one invoice, you can divide it by the number of travelers. But if you have a cruise where the 1st 2 people in a cabin pay more that the 3rd & 4th, you have to insure the trip on a per person basis.

Back to Madeline’s trip: unknown to her, that site divided $5570 (1980+1980+805+805) by 4 and covered them at $1392.50 each which is wrong. And at claim time, she would’ve lost up to $960. OUCH!

You may belong to what’s known in business parlance as an “affinity group,” an organization or club — such as an auto club, a retiree organization, or a wholesale shopping club — that offers its members discount rates on hotels, rental cars, airline tickets, etc.

Usually you’ll save anywhere from 5 to 20 percent off the standard rate by taking advantage of your affiliation with these groups. The tricky part is that the standard rate changes from one day to the next - in some cases, from one hour to the next - so the discount rate you are receiving might not always be the best rate available to you.

To make sure you are getting the best deal, try booking without identifying yourself as an affinity group member, and then inquire again using your discount. Depending on the time of year and the demand (slower travel times, such as the lull between summer and fall, are when standard rates drop substantially) you might save money by not using your affinity group discount.

I’m not much of a typist, though I am finally going to make the effort to get better at typing. I was using Mavis Beacon’s typing course in 2001, but once TripInsuranceStore.com took off, it seems like I haven’t had the time to learn to type. Truth be told, I have had the time, but this hasn’t been a priority (it was never even on my list).

Now my 10 year old’s learning typing in school and he’s at 35 wpm. I, on the other hand, just took a typing test and, without looking at the keys when I type (as I’m doing right now), I’m at 11 wpm with 12 errors which means my “calculated speed” is 0!

The website they use at his school is FreeTypingGame.net. It’s easy to use and if you need to get better at typing, it’s a good place to start.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s website calls itself “Your source for science you can use”. I started reading this site just a few days ago & it’s interesting what kind of information you can find at www.usgs.gov

It was that 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Nevada on Thursday, February 21, 2008 that piqued my curiosity. It was originally reported as if it was a non-event, but in the days since more details have emerged. I like to see my tax dollars at work and that’s what led me to the USGS website.

I was living in Mexico in Sept. 1985 when the Mexico City earthquakes happened. I ended up working with the Red Cross for a few weeks following that disaster. And in Feb. 1986 I was staying with friends in Xela, Guatemala when the largest quake happened there since the 1976 Guatemala quake. If you’ve ever been in a powerful earthquake you know what I mean when I say “It was frightening”.

Go here to see the recent quakes anywhere in the world. You can see a map of recent magnitude 4+ quakes in the world and magnitude 1+ quakes in the USA.

Hello, Students from our school are going to Jamaica and we need Travel Health Insurance. Can you help me? Thanks, Morgan

Morgan brings up a need that sounds simple enough on the surface, but it’s really more complicated because US & Canadian residents with fixed travel dates have 2 choices for Travel Health Insurance:

1) Using what’s commonly known as a Travel Health Insurance plan. These plans have 3 drawbacks: deductibles, copays and restrictive pre-existing conditions coverage. You can learn more about Travel Health Insurance plans here.

2) Get a trip cancellation / interruption plan. These plans have no deductibles nor copays. And they have good pre-existing conditions coverage.

The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 occurs tonight (2-20-08), with cameo appearances by Saturn and the bright star Regulus on either side of the veiled full moon. And in August 2008, there will be a total solar eclipse and a partial lunar eclipse.

I wrote more about this total lunar eclipse on 2-7-08, too.

Read Sky & Telescope’s article about the Total Eclipse here.

Christopher Elliott recently wrote a helpful article called “5 Travel Traps Lurking in the Fine Print”. There are some seemingly common-sense situations that could cause you a loss on a trip you’d think would, of course, be covered by the travel supplier. Not surprisingly, the companies aren’t always on your side.

One of these traps, “Your airline isn’t responsible for your checked luggage” can be covered by travel insurance. There are limits to the value of specific items that can be covered, so a good backup plan for covering your luggage is to have your valuables specially scheduled on your Homeowner’s Insurance policy.

Christopher’s last paragraphs give you some good tips:

“Beyond studying the fine print, there’s only one way to not become a victim of these clever traps. Fight them. When a travel company invokes one of its ridiculous rules, let them know you don’t think these provisions are right, and that if they disagree, you’re not afraid to ask a court for a second opinion.

Experts say some contract language is on less-than-solid legal ground and could be challenged. Now that’s something you won’t find in the fine print.”

Go here to read Christopher’s entire article.

When you file a medical claim on your travel insurance it’s important to have the correct paperwork. I suggest you review the bills & documentation the medical facility gives you when you get them. Don’t just put them in your bags and look at them when you return home.

Our family and 2 other families went on Royal Caribbean’s The Mariner of the Seas in Dec. 2006. While on this cruise my son got sick with a severe sore throat. I took him to the medical facility because our friends’ daughter got strep throat a day earlier. Thankfully my son didn’t have that.

I got the bills & documentation from the medical facility the next day. They hadn’t filled in the diagnosis (that’s important) plus they said they gave him 2 medications (they didn’t). Had I waited until I got home & used those forms to file the claim, it would’ve been turned down. Plus, I doubt I would have been able to even track down and get the doctor on The Mariner of the Seas to correct the bills after what would have been a month since being treated.

Michelle Higgins of The New York Times has a good article on why it’s getting harder to redeem Frequent Flier miles. You are losing the value of your miles with award-ticket inflation. Plus, many airlines have also imposed shorter expiration dates. You can read Michelle Higgins’ entire article here.

Hey Steve, You must hear of luxury travel websites from your clients & from your own research. Can you share some with me? Sid

You’re right Sid, I do have one luxury travel website I hear good things about. And there are 2 more mentioned below.

The one website I regulary hear about is Luxury Link. Luxury Link has luxury hotels and luxury resorts at auction. Here’s their link: Luxury Link. I’ve heard numerous good things about it.

Another good site if you want a very nice All-Inclusive in Mexico is Palladium Addict - this is the forum for the Grand Palladium Resort and Spa which is an all inclusive 5 star resort located in the Riviera Maya region of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. A lady named Brenda founded this website. I myself participate regularly in their Monday Night chat.

And here’s another one I found: Globorati - breaking luxury travel news. Visit Globorati here. Globorati’s articles are very well written and cover a number of topics. See for yourself.

If you have favorites, send them to me here and I’ll include them in future articles.

The reasons I think cruising is a good value are:

- You get lodging and meals as part of the total cost
- You get to go somewhere (actually a few different places)
- You get to relax without having to find a place to relax (like on deck) while enroute to your next port

However, this doesn’t mean everything is free once you get on the ship. For example, the staff aren’t quite having the same relaxing experience you’re having. After all, it’s their job. Even though they get to “see the world”, they still are working. And it’s not a 9 to 5 job either. It’s a fairly difficult job.

So, if you’re tempted to complain about having to pay extra for tips and other “add-ons”, don’t go there. Personally, we prefer to tip extra to anyone who’s helpful to us. It’s our way of giving more “foreign aid” to the people directly and we enjoy blessing others when we can.

I am 75. My trip is to Thailand leaving March 3 and return March 26. Since Medicare does not cover me outside the US, looking for medical coverage during trip if a hospital is needed. I don’t need any pre-existing conditions coverage. Also, will a hospital accept this insurance or must I pay and submit bills to the insurance? Thanks, Lee

Hi Lee,

None of our travel insurance plans have any deductibles or copays. You just have to get the plan no later than the day before you leave on your trip and have fixed travel dates like you have. You can get a quote here.

As far as I know, all travel insurance plans require you to pay up front & be reimbursed later, though some of our plans can guarantee payment to a medical facility in order to secure your admission.

It’s easy to assume that all Travel Insurance Policies work the same way, but this is a big mistake.

First, as you may or may not know, we only offer Travel Insurance policies from a handful of companies. I wrote more on this in an earlier post here. So, immediately you can see that I don’t believe the idea that all policies are the same.

Next, I believe the key to understanding any travel insurance policy is to know what’s not covered. We spend a lot of time explaining to potential clients what isn’t coverd by travel insurance. The problem is that most travel insurance sellers focus on what’s covered and in turn fail to adequately explain those “pesky” exclusions. Add to that the fact many travelers don’t ever read their policy and you have a potentially bad claim experience.

So, take the time to actually read your travel insurance policy. You can read or download any of them from us before you buy the policy. Plus you have 10 days after you buy a plan to return it for your money back.

I like astronomy and anything to do with the Space Program. I was 12 years old when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Later, on Dec. 7, 1972 I got to go to Florida to see Apollo 17’s night time launch. It was spectacular!

Now, there’s a Total Eclipse of the Moon on February 20, 2008:

The full Moon is going to get totally eclipsed on the night of February 20–21, putting on a gorgeous show as it glides through Earth’s shadow. Skywatchers in nearly the entire Western Hemisphere will get an excellent view.

Read Sky & Telescope’s article about the Total Eclipse here.

Here are 3 Quick Travel Tips one of our clients emailed me:

Dry air in hotel rooms? To combat dry air in the hotel room, fill the bathtub with hot water and keep the bathroom door open - this will allow moisture to escape to the whole hotel suite.

Make friends with a bus driver! A Bus Driver May be Better than a Concierge! - Make friends with any regular bus drivers around your hotel. They’re better equipped to make suggestions than most concierges, and are very familiar with local customs / secrets. A good public bus driver can make an entire vacation!

Ziplock Bags… The Essential Travel Item. I bring them in a variety of sizes. Useful for packing snacks (can’t tell you how much money I’ve saved just by being able to throw an extra muffin or two from a B&B into a bag), wet laundry, trash, organizing film, keeping a camera dry, etc.

I use the internet all the time. In fact, if you ever get an email from me that’s timestamped in the middle of the night, there’s nothing wrong with your email’s settings.

A few years ago I read that many large retailers use pricing software (”yield management” programs) that time sales, set prices and even raise prices when it’s least likely to be noticed. So, it comes as no surprise to me that an airline might track a flight I’m pricing with the intention of raising the price when I return to buy it (even in just a few minutes).

Miami Herald Travel Editor Jane Wooldridge exposes this and gives good ideas to help you. Here’s her article: Booking a flight online? Change your browser!

If you found this helpful email Steve here.

We have a lot of NWA Frequent Flier miles. We’ve been lucky using them as we have gotten some great free flights over the past 8 years. But our luck seems to have run out.

Ten months ago we tried to plan a family vacation via the NWA website, but no matter how hard we tried, the best we could do was to get 3 tickets on the same flight (we needed 4). After much frustration we called NWA where the agent was happy to help us (for a $60 fee). She got the flights in just a few minutes!

Here’s some additional important information from Joe Brancatelli , too: Frequent Flier Fallacies

And, if you do get a trip with Frequent Flier miles, here’s how Frequent Flier miles are covered with travel insurance.

Does a “Cancel For Any Reason” Travel Insurance Plan Cover Me If I Want To Return Home Early? Thanks, Roy

No, The “Cancel For Any Reason” is just that - cancelling a trip. It’s not “Interrupt For Any Reason”.

That said, I can see why Roy asks this question. There’s a lot of discussion out there about “Cancel For Any Reason” plans. And I’m sure we’ll have a few more companies come up with their own plans in the near future.

And, as seems to be a common occurrence, there’s confusion over what is covered. Plus the terms “Cancellation” & “Interruption” are used interchangeably. Remember, insurance is a legal contract, so if the terms “Cancellation” & “Interruption” are used, they do not mean the same thing.

“Trip Cancellation” means before you leave on your trip. “Trip Interruption” means while you are on your trip.

Go here to learn more about “Cancel For Any Reason” plans.

We’d like to reserve a trip to China with a Chinese Tour agency. They are asking us for full payment in advance but we’re a little bit unsure about the reliability of the company. Does your travel insurance cover us if the company won’t accomplish what we agreed? Thanks a lot, Mattia R.

No, travel insurance plans don’t cover this risk. One common exclusion with all travel insurance plans is “Failure of any tour operator, Common Carrier, person or agency to provide the bargained-for travel arrangements”.

Different policies say this in their own ways, but the essence is that you aren’t covered if you don’t get what you expect to get from the travel supplier.

Go here to find out about other Exclusions.

PS - this is different from Financial Default.

Repositioning cruises refer to when ships are shifted from one area of the world to another. For example, one hemisphere to another. Ships often move from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean in April or to Alaska in May. These ships usually return to the Caribbean in September.

Repositioning cruises are a good value, too. If you love cruising and have the time, consider a repositioning cruise:

- You can cruise from two to three weeks and sometimes for as long as a month
- You will enjoy many relaxing days on transatlantic and transpacific cruises. Being in open water means there are no ports of call. But, you won’t get bored because the cruise lines provide many activities like: seminars by guest speakers, movies, games, demonstrations (such as cooking) and activities designed specifically for that cruise.