Learn about travel insurance, travel and better living

Frequent fliers: No more free ride

As I’ve written in previous posts (Happy Valentine’s Day From Your Frequent Flier Accounts and Airlines Have New Frequent Flier Fees) the airline are making it more expensive to redeem your Frequent Flier miles.

Now, today 9/8/08, Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer wrote a good article on what effect the higher oil prices are having on the fees to cash in your Frequent Flier miles:

“As a struggling airline industry looks for new ways to alleviate high fuel costs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for passengers to cash in miles and expect them to cover the cost of a ticket.

On Sept. 15, Northwest Airlines (NWA, Fortune 500) is set to impose fuel surcharges on its WorldPerks frequent flier program, including fees of $25 within North America, $50 for trans-Atlantic flights, $100 for trans-Pacific, $75 for flights within Asia and the South Pacific, and $50 for “all other itineraries.”

You can read Aaron Smith’s entire article here.

If you’re traveling with Frequent Flier miles, go here to find out how travel insurance can cover your trip.

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Volunteer with the Italian Olive and Grape Harvests
by Kathy McCabe

Pretty soon, Italy’s olive and grape harvests wil be in full swing. Travelers looking for a hands-on experience often wonder how they can take part in the harvest. Finding a farm where one can volunteer can be daunting because there are strict laws in Italy preventing voluntary labor and the penalties for any farm using such labor can be stiff.

One way to gain legal volunteer status is to join WWOOF Italia. WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farms was started 35 years ago in the United Kingdom by a London woman looking to help out an organic farm for a weekend. An annual membership WWOOF Italia, costing 25 euros, includes a complete list of Italian organic farms seeking help as well as periodic e-mail updates. Membership also includes basic health and accident insurance valid only while you are volunteering at a registered farm.

In exchange for accommodations (anything from a tent to a furnished room) and food, volunteers agree to work up to six hours a day for five and a half days per week. Volunteers coordinate directly with the host farms about length of stay and other details. The work can be grueling and aches and pains are not unheard of at the end of the day.

The organization warns that “WWOOFing is not a cheap holiday and way to travel. It is a voluntary organization set up to teach people about the organic movement and give them hands on experience and to help out organic producers as organic production is very labor intensive.” Still for those willing to put in the time and labor, it is a wonderful opportunity to participate in daily life on an Italian farm.

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I didn’t buy travel insurance from you. The company is ______. I need your help: I needed medical treatment on my cruise, but now the insurer is telling me it wasn’t medically necessary and is denying the claim. Can you help me? The company who sold it to us says we have to deal with the insurance company directly. Lisa

Hi Lisa, I’m sorry to hear what’s happened. I can help a little, but not much.

Unfortunately, the company you bought your travel insurance plan from isn’t one of the selected, trusted, pre-screened travel insurance plans I use. The reason I don’t use them is because I feel they have restrictive medical conditions coverage.

When I say “restrictive medical conditions coverage” - this is my opinion. However, my opinion is the only one that counts at TripInsuranceStore.com.

You might consider contacting the insurance department of the state you live in to see if they can help you since they regulate any insurance company doing business in your state.

Call us next time you’re taking a trip. We watch out for our clients:

“Client” means one that depends on the protection of another, one who leans on another for protection - we will protect you. This means we protect you from getting the wrong policy. If a travel insurance policy won’t cover what you want covered (ie - a waste of your money) we will tell you the truth.

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How To Make A Collect Phone Call

Why do you need to know how to make a collect phone call? Other than it’s a good idea to know how to do things, knowing how to collect phone call can save you a lot of grief and frustration when you are in a foreign country. Especially if you don’t speak the local language.

If you are traveling in a country that uses an automated operator system, you may not be able to complete a collect call without the assistance of an AT&T operator.

Calling Tips:
1. Dial the AT&T access number provided
2. An English-language voice prompt will ask you for the telephone number you are calling
3. Press zero or stay on the line and an AT&T Operator will assist you. Ask them to connect you collect to the appropriate number

And, Do This:
I also suggest you print calling information for all countries on your itinerary prior to your departure. It’s a fair guess that you won’t easily find a comprehensive calling guide in your native language everywhere you will be.

You can go here to get all our travel insurance plan providers’ 24 hour emergency phone numbers

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America’s 6 Least Visited National Parks
by Everett Potter

If you’re put off by the idea of visiting a national park because you’ve heard they’re crowded, think again. Admittedly, the Great Smoky Mountains received 9.3 million visitors in 2007, while the Grand Canyon welcomed 4.4 million people and Yellowstone had 3.1 million vacationers.

But there are overlooked national parks full of dramatic natural wonders that receive a fraction of those visitors. Start with Big Bend in Texas (above). This 801,000 acre park features canyons, desert and the Chisos Mountain range, yet fewer than 365,000 visitors came last year.

About 400,000 visitors explored Canyonlands National Park in Utah in 2007. It offers an extraordinary landscape of weathered sandstone canyons, mesas and buttes, thanks to centuries of erosion by the Colorado River and the Green Rivers.

In Northeastern California, Lassen Volcanic National Park lies at the southern end of the Cascade Mountains. The tranquil lakes and forest belie a turbulent volcanic landscape that was visited by fewer than 400,000 people last year. They hiked more than 150 miles of trails and drove the park’s much lauded scenic highway to see steam vents, painted dunes and the centerpiece, the 10,457-foot Lassen Peak volcano.

In southern Colorado, North America’s tallest wind-shaped dunes rise more than 750 feet high at Great Sand Dunes National Park. What makes them even more dramatic is the backdrop of the jagged Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This is America’s newest national park, established in 2004, yet only about 286,000 visitors came in 2007.

Just 220,000 people made it to Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota last year, a rocky island-dotted landscape of lakes and ponds. Named for the fur trappers who plied these waters in canoes in the 18th century, the park is best seen by water, making it a haven for canoeists, kayakers and houseboats, as well as tour boats.

Finally, if you really want to get away from the crowds, go paddle and hike in Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park. In 2005, less than 16,0000 people came to the rugged, wooded shoreline of Lake Superior to catch a glimpse of moose and listen for the call of timber wolves. The 850 square mile park is only accessible by boat or float plane, but several ferries will drop off backpackers, paddlers and their boats to explore the watery wilderness. There are 165 miles of scenic hiking trails in a park that’s been designated as a United States Biosphere Reserve. And you won’t find an RV in sight.

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12 Foods You Don’t Have to Buy Organic

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies that protect global and individual health, produces the Shoppers’ Guide to Pesticides in Produce. It is based on the results of nearly 43,000 pesticide tests.

Organic fruits and vegetables are by definition grown without the use of pesticides. But some find the expense of organic foods prohibitive.

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories in the Guide to Pesticides, the following twelve foods had the lowest pesticide load when conventionally grown. Consequently, they are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume:

1. Broccoli
2. Eggplant
3. Cabbage
4. Banana
5. Kiwi
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet peas (frozen)
8. Mango
9. Pineapple
10. Sweet corn (frozen)
11. Avocado
12. Onion

Sources:

DrWeil.com July 30, 2008

FoodNews.org Printable Shopper’s Guide

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I need major surgery, so I booked a trip yesterday to help me handle the stress. I haven’t bought travel insurance, so if I get it and have to cancel will I get a refund on my trip’s cost? Sonya

Well Sonya, the short answer is no. The reason is because the condition you have isn’t medically stable and therefore travel insurance won’t cover that pre-existing medical condition nor anything related to it.

Go here to find out more about pre-existing medical conditions.

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The Little-Known Dangers of Ibuprofen

The parents of a girl who went blind after taking Children’s Motrin have sued Johnson & Johnson, saying the packaging didn’t adequately explain the possible risks. The court case has drawn attention to the possible side effects of a drug most parents view as benign.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome isn’t something that most parents worry about, but it is a potential reaction which can lead to severe problems.

At the top of the list of severe allergic reaction symptoms are hives, facial swelling, asthma, shock, skin reddening, rash and blisters.

Source: LA Times

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Debit Card Purchases Trigger Overdraft Fees Before They Clear

By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY

For years, banks have charged customers hefty fees for overdrawing their checking accounts. Now a growing number of institutions are charging customers such fees even before the transaction overdraws their account.

Bank of America and TD Banknorth started doing it earlier this year. SunTrust, among other banks, has been doing it for a few years.

Here’s how it works: If you pay with your debit card, some banks will now charge you a fee — $35 or more — if you don’t have funds in your account at the time you sign for the purchase.

Previously, you didn’t get charged this fee unless you were short of cash when the signature debit transaction cleared a few days later. That meant that, while the signature debit transaction was pending, consumers could often deposit money to cover any potential overdraft. (By contrast, PIN transactions typically clear immediately.)

Leslie Parrish, senior researcher at the Center for Responsible Lending, argues that this is “another way (for banks) to manipulate account holders’ balances to spur more overdraft fees.” Banks defend the practice, saying it provides customers with accurate information about account balances.

Banks’ changes come as regulators weigh whether to crack down on overdraft practices. The Federal Reserve has proposed a rule to give customers the right to demand that banks deny transactions that overdraw their account. The Fed has also asked for comments on banks’ processing of transactions from high-to-low dollar amount. This practice, according to USA TODAY research in 2006, often triggers more overdraft fees than if banks paid the transactions in the order they were received.

In 2007, banks collected a record $45.6 billion in overdraft fees from consumers, up 50% from 2001, according to Moebs Services, a consulting firm. To minimize fees, consumers should keep track of their account balances and seek out small banks, which often have lower fees, says firm founder Michael Moebs. Still, he adds, as fees climb, “there’s a point when consumers say enough is enough, and I think they’re saying that now.”

Source: USA Today

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HELP PLEASE - final payment for our South Pacific cruise is next week. My DH (darling husband) had a chainsaw accident last month from which he developed a life threatening infection requiring multiple surgeries/skin grafts. His doctor says he’s “medically stable” and should be able to travel for our cruise (though it might be uncomfortable); does he qualify for pre-existing coverage?

Unfortunately, your husband does not qualify for pre-existing medical condition coverage with a trip cancellation travel insurance plan.

The reason why is that he does not meet a trip cancellation travel insurance plan’s definition of being “medically stable”. What a doctor means and what a travel insurance company means by “medically stable” are oftentimes different.

Here’s what your doctor needs to tell you before you buy travel insurance:

< Your DH is 100% able to travel today if he was leaving on a trip today. He has no medical condition that would require any treatment, prevent him from traveling or will cause him to return home early if he was leaving on a trip today. >

The reason I said “today” is because one of the rules to cover a pre-existing condition is he must be able to travel on the day the insurance is purchased.

It doesn’t matter when the departure date is. He must be 100% able to travel on the day he gets travel insurance.

You need to be careful when getting the answer from his doctor. The wrong answer is “he will be able to travel by the time you leave on your trip”. That’s a different answer from being able to travel today.

Click here to learn more about what a travel insurance plan means by “medically stable”.

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13 Things Your Waiter Won’t Tell You

1. Avoid eating out on holidays and Saturday nights. The volume of customers guarantees that most kitchens will be pushed beyond their ability to produce a high-quality meal.

2. There are almost never any sick days in the restaurant business. A busboy with a child to support isn’t going to stay home and miss out on $100 because he’s got strep throat.

3. When customers make personal attacks, adulterating food or drink is a convenient way for servers to exact covert vengeance. Waiters can and do spit in people’s food.

4. Never say “I’m friends with the owner.” Restaurant owners don’t have friends. This marks you as a clueless poseur the moment you walk in the door.

5. Treat others as you want to be treated.

6. Don’t snap your fingers to get attention.

7. Don’t order meals that aren’t on the menu. You’re forcing the chef to cook something he doesn’t make on a regular basis, and it won’t be as good.

8. Splitting entrées is okay, but don’t ask for water, lemon, and sugar so you can make your own lemonade.

9. If you find a waiter you like, always ask to be seated in his or her section. Tell all your friends so they’ll start asking for that server as well. The server will be grateful and take good care of you.

10. If you can’t afford to leave a tip, you can’t afford to eat in the restaurant.

11. Always examine the check. Sometimes large parties are unaware that a gratuity has been added to the bill, so they tip on top of it. Waiters “facilitate” this error.

12. If you want to hang out, that’s fine. But increase the tip to make up for money the server would have made if he or she had had another seating at that table.

13. Never, ever come in 15 minutes before closing time. While you’re chitchatting over salads, your entrées will be languishing under the heat lamp while the dishwasher is spraying industrial-strength, carcinogenic cleaning solvents in their immediate vicinity.

Source: Reader’s Digest August 2008

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