TSA's Secure Flight Takes Off

TSA's latest security measure - Secure Flight, began rolling out to the airlines earlier this year. Although most of the legwork in behind the scenes between the airlines and TSA, some work is required by passengers - in advance, to avoid possible inconveniences at the airport.

How it works: Airlines collect additional information for each passenger and pass this information on to the government. Once received, names are reviewed to ensure those on government no fly lists don't make it on board, and to determine which travelers who for enhanced airport screening. This information is then transmitted back to the airlines.

Information you will need to provide the airline: Full name, as it appears on government-issued I.D when traveling; Date of Birth; Gender; Redress number (if applicable).

Secure Flight is currently being phased in with each of the airlines - not all airlines require it yet. But if you have upcoming reservations it's a good idea to check those itineraries and provide any requested information in advance.

Here's a 90 second clip from TSA with more information on the program.

San Francisco to Lima $332 RT "all in"

American Airlines offering SFO-Lima, Peru for just $332 roundtrip, including all taxes and fees. Valid for travel thru May 2010. Search using travel tools along the left column.

San Francisco to Madrid $605 Roundtrip w/tax

Fly San Francisco to Madrid, Spain for just $605 roundtrip, including all taxes & fees. Valid for outbound travel through most of March on both Delta and Continental. Click here and search by "flexible dates."

Note - other airlines have lower base fares, but Delta and Continental price out lowest (at time of posting) when adding in taxes & fees.

Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' Takes First Flight

After more than two years of delays, Boeing officially took its 787 'Dreamliner' into the skies today. Today's four hour flight around the Washington state area will allow a two member crew to perform basic tests and system checks of the aircraft. Japan's All Nippon Airlines is expected to take delivery of the first Boeing 787 later next year. Complete coverage from MSNBC.

30,000 Feet: Frequent Flyer - Join the Club

Check out this short PBS documentary on -really- frequent flyers who do it for the love of flying, the love of miles, and occasionally the love of the cities they visit - even if for 30-minutes. Filmmaker Gabriel Leigh (Cal-Grad!)does marvelous work here discussing how to maximize earning potential and the resulting payouts, such as first class seating and lounge access.

Meanwhile, Randy Peterson, founder Flyertalk, a popular online community of frequent flyer enthusiasts, describes how people who take the time can learn the tricks to reap the most benefits, often with minimum ongoing financial investment. Sounds like some of the spam messages I get in my inbox everyday! But - Randy is absolutely right! My own experience as a "mileage runner" and member of Flyertalk have taught me the tricks of the trade, how to cash-in on obvious and not so obvious travel opportunities, and how to help others do the same. OK, OK, - I'll save my story for another day. On with the show!

BART Board Approves People-Mover to Oakland Airport

BART directors approved a measure today that would provide a driverless train system for passengers traveling between Oakland Airport and BART. Construction on the $440 million contract will begin next Summer, with full operation of the people-mover by 2013. Currently AirBART provides shuttle bus service between Oakland's MacArthur Station and Oakland Airport.

The "Cooling Off" Period When Purchasing Airline Tickets

By Mike Grasso

www.inFLIGHTout.com

Sale airfares come and go within a few days, while unadvertised drops in fares usually last just a matter of hours. Take some relatively recent examples such as Los Angeles to Fiji for a few hundred bucks, and San Francisco to upstate New York for $2 bucks. One minute you see them, next minute - poof, fare be gone. You're craving a vacation and the "deal of the century" is right before your eyes, but you're not sure how your significant other & work will feel about you taking more time away. How do you break free of your ambivalence to book?

While I don't have the perfect answer to that question, but perhaps more time to think it over will help! Most airlines offer some form of a "cooling off" period. They don't officially call it that, but essentially it allows you to purchase a ticket on their website and then later decide (usually within 24 hours) to cancel and receive a full refund, giving you plenty of time to chat up the S.O and Boss. This policy can can also be helpful if, for example, after booking you realized you selected the wrong date of departure, giving you an opportunity to make the correction at no charge.

A variation to the refund scenario is a 24-hour hold policy, whereby after you build a reservation on the airline website, you can place it on hold for up to 24-hours. Airlines offer a refund or hold - not both. Below I've outlined and linked the policies of major U.S. carriers. These policies are subject to change, and may not apply to every specific scenario, but do provide a general rule to follow when booking with the different airlines.

Southwest Airlines: (no link) 24 hour cancellation policy. Beyond 24 hours, Southwest does not charge a change fee, allowing you to hold as travel credit up to a year from date of purchase.

Continental Airlines: 24-hour cancellation policy

U.S Airways: 24-hour HOLD & cancellation policy

Virgin America: 24-hour cancellation policy

Delta Airlines: Cancellation until midnight the next day.

United Airlines: 24-hour cancellation policy

American Airlines: 24-hour HOLD policy.

Redeem 5,000 Delta Miles for a $50 Gift Card

-See updates below-

The most obvious way of redeeming air miles is to use them for "free" award flights. But, if you can't find award availability, or you just don't have the minimum required for a flight, Delta has a new option: Redeem them for gift cards.

You can select a $50 gift card for every 5,000 miles redeemed. That's a 1:1 ratio, a fairly good value for the consumer. Select from a variety of familiar brands, such as Macy's, Barnes and Noble and Old Navy. Visit marketplace.delta.com for more information and to redeem.

Update- Got a few emails on this; the system was down for "maintenance" Tuesday evening, and it's now back up. Surprise: Seems they also upped the redemption's to 8,000 miles for a $50 gift card. Unsure if the discount was temporary, or if they became overwhelmed with redemption's since the deal was posted on sites such as fatwallet and ebates. This is definitely not as good of an offer as before.

$20 Rooms at Select Howard Johnson Hotels

(Update: Rates gone as of 4:55 PM)

HOT! A price mistake, or just a great deal?

$20 rooms are available at hojo.com for select properties throughout the U.S. Many cities do not have HoJo hotels, and/or not included in the $20/night results.

Here are a few of the cities we have found @ the $20 rate.

San Francisco Airport, Orange County, Torrance, Washington D.C., Clearwater, Florida, Anchorage, Alaska, and my favorite so far: Howard Johnson Inn Plaza de Armas in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Complimentary WiFi and/or breakfast are available at many hotels.

HoJo properties vary in quality! Some are rather amazing, others...not so much. Check TripAdvisor reviews before making your purchase.

To maximize this deal, link thru click on ebates and earn 1.5% cash back. Hurry, these prices won't last long.

Save 10% on American Airlines Flights

This deal requires about five minutes of work (playing a game) in order to claim the discount coupon. Basically, play an online soccer game for three minutes, then you get sent a 10% systemwide American Airlines discount code, valid for travel through February 28, 2010. There are a few blackout dates around the holidays, otherwise it's a pretty solid coupon that can save you a good amount of money.

Step 1: Visit aa.com/soccer
Step 2: Register, and play the short game
Step 3: Upon completing the game, click on the promotion code tab
Step 4: A password will be emailed to you, enter the PW at the designated location
Step 5: An American 10% off e-cert will be immediately sent to you.
Step 6: Book & Fly

I went through these steps and the 10% discount code worked just fine. Enjoy!

Snow Likely in on the Valley Floor Monday

The National Weather Service continues to predict snow in parts of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley's, including in Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto. The snow is expected to begin early Monday morning and last through early afternoon, with total accumulations of 1-3 inches possible. Those of you familiar with the area know, snow is a rare in the Sacramento area.

Not all models are in agreement for this snow event, but if it does pan out, could be a record - as the most significant snowstorm hit Sacramento back way back in 1888, where 2.5 inches of snow fell.

Travelers through Sacramento (SMF) should stay tuned for changing weather conditions.

Elsewhere, snow levels around the Bay Area are expected to drop to 1,000 feet Monday, locally lower in any heavy downpours.

Swiss Airlines to Launch Flights Between San Francisco and Zurich

Swiss Airlines confirmed this week they plan to launch flight between San Francisco and Zurich, Switzerland beginning June 2, 2010. The flight will operate 6 days a week on a 3-cabin Airbus 340 aircraft.

The schedule is as follows:

SFO - ZRH Departs 7:25 PM, arrives 3:40 PM the next day.

ZRH -SFO Departs 1:15 PM, arrives 4:30 PM the same day.

Swiss is a member of the Star Alliance network.

Discounted Parking at Bay Area Airports

How about a few bucks savings (per day!) for airport parking this holiday season? longtermparking.com lists some of the private parking facilities around Bay Area airports (and beyond) offering discounted parking deals. If you already use any of these facilities, this is a no brainer: clip the coupon and go. If you plan on parking for an extended period of time, consider Park & Fly options at participating airport hotels, where paying for a 1-night hotel stay can net you several days of free parking.

In addition to the offers above, also consider Park SFO, one of my favorites, located just a few minutes from the airport with frequent shuttle runs and friendly staff. Park SFO coupons.

Cyber Monday Airfare Deals Available Today Only

United and JetBlue are both offering some decent "Cyber Monday" airfare deals. Here are some examples:

United:

San Francisco to Los Angeles/San Diego/Orange County/Seattle - $39/each way

San Francisco to New York-JFK/Boston/Washington-Dulles - $99/each way

San Francisco to Fort. Lauderdale - $94/each way

-Purchase by tonight at Midnight, for travel January 5- February 11, 2010.

JetBlue:

San Francisco to Austin $69/each way

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose to Long Beach $39/each way

San Francisco/Oakland to New York-JFK/Boston/Washington-Dulles - $99 each way

-Purchase by tonight at Midnight, for travel December 1-December 16, 2009.

British Airways to Pay Expenses in Fare Foul-Up

The U.S. Department of Transportation said that British Airways has agreed to compensate consumers for cancellation penalties and other expenses incurred due to the carrier's erroneous offer of $40 fare between the United States and India. The carrier realized its error nearly immediately and removed the fare within minutes from its own website, but it remained on the websites of certain on-line travel agents for about two hours. During this time, more than 1,200 bookings were made covering approximately 2,200 passengers.

British Airways cancelled the bookings of all passengers who purchased the fare and, before the Enforcement Office began its review of the matter, offered all affected passengers a travel voucher valued at $300. Now British Airways also has agreed to reimburse passengers resulting from having relied on the erroneous $40 fare. These could include fees for cancelling flights or cancelling hotels, rental cars or other ground arrangements, as well as additional costs incurred in rebooking flights due to fare increases on previously held flights that were cancelled in order to book the $40 fare.

"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." - W.J. Cameron

Purchase a $100 Best Western Gift Card, Get a $10 Gift Card & More

For a limited time, purchase a $100 Best Western gift card and you will receive a $10 gift card bonus from a choice of merchants, including AMC, Starbucks and Macys. Plus, if you purchase the gift card through FatWallet you may earn 3% cash back (I don't see where gift card purchases are excluded in the t&c's-but you should take a peak yourself). And, use a high yielding rewards credit card to make the purchase, and earn between a 1-5% rebate.

Possibly the Best Airline Credit Card Offers Available

By Mike Grasso

It's new, it's hot, and it's all the buzz over in the Flyertalk and FatWallet forums. We're talking about British Airways Visa Signature Card from Chase - where you can earn 50,000 miles for using the card once, 100,000 for spending $2000 within 90 days. But, there are strings attached.

According to the offer, new BA Visa Signature cardholders will earn 50,000 British Airways miles upon first use of the card - enough for a free roundtrip ticket to Europe. Then earn another 50,000 miles when you spend atleast $2000 within 3 months of account opening - which scores you a second roundtrip ticket. Wowie wow!

And now the strings: As with most award ticket redemption's, the customer is responsible for paying all applicable taxes, fees and fuel surcharges. Unfortunately British Airways is notorious for being the "industry leader" in tagging these charges on. So be aware that your award ticket redemption may set you back up to $250 if flying British Airways. Also, British Airways offers limited service to/from the Bay Area, so availability for award seats, which are capacity controlled, may be slim pickins. Finally, keep in mind there is an annual fee on the card of $75.

But here's some good news: You can redeem BA miles on partner airlines, such as Japan, Qantas, and Cathay Pacific, from 50,000 miles. Or choose to use the miles for domestic trips on U.S.-based partners, American and Alaska from 25,000 miles, and the fees would likely be fairly insignificant compared to flying internationally. Something else to be all jazzed about: British Airways has a pretty robust search engine for searching award availability with partner airlines, which helps limit the need to contact the airline directly for bookings.

Overall, this offer impresses me, and may very well be one of the best deals out there. I just received my approval this week and will report back any difficulties. If you are interested in applying, do it soon as word has it the offer may be pulled by months-end.