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Travel insurance: finally taking a closer look at whether I should get myself covered

Written by on August 25, 2011
Filed Under Travel Tips

One thing I’ve never seriously considered before was taking out travel insurance for all the trips I’ve been taking (although Wez, you might be interested in that insurance site, being an accident prone Aussie and all.) In fact Cover-more may be the insurance provider I’ll be looking into should I travel to Australia (or New Zealand) as they are based there.

I do carry around a healthcare proxy form, so in the event that I get mauled by a bear or an angry woman I tried to be chivalrous with, the doctors will know not to put me on a ventilator.  Unless the bear ate the form too.  Then I might be in trouble.

But do I really need travel insurance?  I always decline the insurance offered when I book a flight (or a hotel at Priceline) because honestly, it does seem to be a bit of a ripoff.  As I understand it though these are specific insurance policies that only cover your stay at a hotel or the duration of a flight, and aren’t like the travel insurance you can buy that actually covers you for an entire trip.   Still, I already have certain policies I’m covered under anyway, like my car insurance, which extends to using rentals, and travel accident insurance from my VISA card, which can be used on the event that I get dismembered.  Covered up to $500,000 too.

…you know, suddenly I’m not so thrilled about getting on a plane now.

But barring any dismemberment as a result of getting sucked into a jet engine, I would guess the best benefit of travel insurance is when unexpected cancellations take place, where having to eat the costs of a trip you never end up taking would have been a really bitter pill to swallow.  Something else I hadn’t considered is reimbursement for hotel stays if a flight gets cancelled.  I have to admit I’ve been spoiled in this regard, refusing to do any flight that involves layovers, so I’ve managed to avoid unpleasant scenarios stemming from cancelled flights or lost baggage since I’ve started flying again.  Still, I can’t expect that I can always fly non-stop everywhere I go, so sooner or later I may have to consider taking out some kind of insurance, especially if I go overseas.

What about you guys though?  Do any of you use travel insurance for your trips, and if you have, are they reputable and have good policies?  Let me know in the comments.

Comments { 10 }

My first experience with Groupon, and why you must, yea, MUST, join frequent flyer programs

Written by on August 7, 2011
Filed Under Travel Tips
2004 Airbus A319-111 - N924FR, Frontier Airlines, at KHOU

"Frontier Airlines, at KHOU" by Christopher Ebdon

Well, ok, you don’t HAVE to join a frequent flyer program for any particular airline, but then again, yeah, you kinda do.

I just spent the past week (and most of last night) researching for the best flights to take from New York to Denver for my Rocky Mountain trip this fall, and after a lot of hand wringing I finally settled on Frontier Airlines.  They offered a few nonstop trips out of LaGuardia for the cheapest prices, so I made plans to book a round trip and finally make it official.  But before I did so I looked at their frequent flyer program (EarlyReturns) and figured, what the heck, might as well sign up so I can earn points for these flights too.  And WOW am I glad I had the presence of mind to do so.

Because EarlyReturns not only offered points for miles traveled, they also offered a nice discount on car rentals by Avis too, plus an additional 500 miles credited toward my frequent flyer miles if I rent the car for more than 5 days.  Nice.  I used the code Frontier provided and sure enough, the price for an Avis rental was $40 cheaper than the original quote.  It easily beat out the Hertz prices too, even with my AAA discount.  I didn’t go through with the rental though, as I want to hold that off until my birthday (sort of like a birthday present to myself.)  But once all that’s in place and I book the hotel too, THEN it will REALLY become official.  Oh my.

While booking my flight I was then given the choice of picking a seat I preferred.  I didn’t know much about the plane, so it was off to SeatGuru and Flyertalk to dig up as much information as I could. I was doing so much research that my booking session kept timing out, and I had to start the booking process all over again. Tee hee.

My obsession had a saving grace though, because by pure happenstance I uncovered a thread mentioning a Groupon special for none other than… Frontier Airlines. You pay $25 and then get a $50 coupon code to use on any one-way flight by Frontier Airlines.

Why hadn’t I seen this deal before?  It was part of Groupon’s getaway deals, but I never saw any mention of it.  As it turns out, the deal was actually emailed specifically to people in the Oklahoma City region.  If you weren’t an Okie resident, well then, it was too bad for you.  Until of course, some kind soul, bless his little heart, posted the link to the deal on the Internet.  God bless us everyone.

This was the first time I was actually redeeming a Groupon coupon, and what struck me about it was how weird it was to actually be buying… a coupon.  Granted, you were paying $25 to get a code worth $50, but still… really?  That’s how we’re doing deals now?

It worked though.  Because the code only applied to one flight at a time, I bought two of them, then booked two one-way flights instead of the round trip I was originally planning, and just like that I shaved another $50 off the airfare.

By the time I return back to New York, I will have already earned over 5,500 miles on Frontier, nearly halfway to earning enough points for a free ticket.

Good times baby.  GOOD.  TIMES.

Comments { 3 }

Comparing car rental rates abroad (no I’m not traveling internationally just yet)

Written by on August 3, 2011
Filed Under Travel Tips
Alfa Romeo Giulia GT

"Alfa Romeo Giulia GT" by RUD66

I’ve been wondering how easy it would be to secure a car rental if I ever decided to visit say, London.  They’d let me drive in the UK, right?  Why wouldn’t they, my American driving record is perfect (except for a few tickets and an accident that was totally not my fault.)

Well, I got an email about a site called Compare Car Hire that purports to help me do just this, a booking site that compares hundreds of car rental prices at many popular (and not so popular) destinations.  I never realized so many of the brands I’m familiar with here were overseas as well.  In addition to Car Hire UK, which serves the UK region, there’s also Car Hire Spain (for Spain of course) and many other subpages all catering to different destinations in Europe.  Pretty informative, although they could really do away with the orange look.  Bleh.

Before I started researching about this I always assumed I would have to use the Eurorail (or my own two feet) if I expected to get anywhere in Europe, but I was surprised to learn as long as I get an international driving permit from AAA, that, along with my regular license would enough to for me to drive pretty much anywhere I’d like.  Probably not Russia though.

I eminently prefer driving over other means of transport, because I love the open road and the autonomy of going anywhere I please, rather than being stuck on a train or at the mercy of a cab (or horse carriage, depending on where I am.)  It’s exhilarating to think that I could potentially do a road trip in Europe almost as easily as I do road trips here at home, provided I have the budget to cover such an endeavor, but of course.

Some day, baby…  Some day…

Comments { 11 }

Finding the stars again

Written by on July 18, 2011
Filed Under Travel Tips
Our Galactic Neighborhood

Our Galactic Neighborhood

While tentatively planning my trip to the Rockies, one thing that hadn’t occurred to me was just how different night viewing would be compared to home, where noise pollution is so overwhelming even the Martians could see Manhattan without a telescope.  I haven’t seen the Milky Way with my bare eyes since I was 8 years old, and I would very much like that streak to end.

Which is why I’m glad I found this site:  Dark Sky Finder.  It’s a user driven site that presents the level of noise pollution overlayed on a Google map, along with user suggestions on places to go around the country for a great viewing of the sky.  I already have it bookmarked and plan to utilize the info here so I can assure myself at least one night of unbridled heavenly joy.

Comments { 4 }

An Otterbox Slideout Solution Case for the iPhone 4

Written by on June 14, 2011
Filed Under Travel Tips

Note: Otterbox sent me a complimentary Reflex case in exchange for this review.

One of the downsides to having a beefy case to protect your iPhone is that it can be a real pain trying to dock it to an accessory, the most problematic being speaker docks. I’ve been using the Otterbox Defender with a dock extender to get around this issue, but Otterbox was kind enough to send me an alternative case called The Reflex to see how that fared in comparison.

It’s not as protective as the Defender is, yet it’s still a little beefier than your run of the mill case you’d typically find for $20 or less at the local Best Buy. Before the Defender, I had purchased a Griffin case to at least give it a mild outer layer of protection. It had a plastic, cheap feel to it, and almost every time I dropped it, the case itself would split open and send my iPhone 4 flying. Ugh. Despite a good fit too, all kinds of particles and dust kept seeping in anyway, which made it virtually pointless as a protective solution.

Otterbox Reflex for iPhone 4 - with Griffin case next to it

My iPhone now protected by the Reflex. The old Griffin case can be seen in the baqckground.

With the Otterbox Reflex, it was easy as pie to snap the 2 pieces in place. Some people have been complaining about poor fits and screen bubbling, which hasn’t been my experience, BUT it’s worth noting that instead of using the included screen protector, I’m using PowerSupport’s crystal film instead. Since the film had been on my iPhone for a few months now, it was just a matter of snapping the 2 halves together. For those interested in a case like this, I would opt for a 3rd party screen protector as this isn’t Otterbox’s strong suit (which is understandable since their focus is on the quality of the case itself), and because I was using tougher film to protect the screen, I think it gave the phone just enough padding that the case feels nice and secure.

I have a feeling now that this dual solution will do a far better job of keeping the dust out than the Griffin did. Another thing I REALLY like about the Reflex is that it has a tough, yet far smoother feel to it than the Defender does, making it a lot easier to pull in and out of my pockets.

Otterbox Reflex for iPhone 4 - with battery attached

Battery still attaches fine, no need to remove any part of the case.

Despite being designed for easy removal so users can dock their iPhones without caseless (or with only the top half on), I had no need to pull the bottom half of my case off to dock it to any of my current accessories. My battery pack could still snap on without issue, and I was able to dock it to my Logitech speakers as well. For all my intents and purposes, my dock extender was now no longer needed.

Otterbox Reflex for iPhone 4 - docked to Logitech Speakers

Was able to dock it to my speakers as well without having to remove the case.

Otterbox Reflex for iPhone 4 - bottom half removed for speakers

Removed the bottom half to dock it this time for comparison.

It also easily fits into my car dock, and since I use a recharging cable, I haven’t had a need to use a recharging dock in my car that could only fit the iPhone 4 when it’s caseless.

Otterbox Reflex for iPhone 4 - docked in the car

Still docks perfectly in the car!

Now with this new case, I no longer have to revolve my iPhone accessory purchasing around the issue of whether such an accessory can fit an encased iPhone or not. I definitely think this case is far better suited for my travel blogging, the smooth rubber texture now making it much easier to pull out of my pockets for those quick Instagram shots, along with the versatility of quickly being able to de-case my iPhone anytime I need to dock it to an accessory where a perfect case-less fit is required.

Overall, I’m pleased to see Otterbox include an alternative case like this in their already excellent line-up of protective cases for the iPhone.

Comments { 0 }
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