KE
VINMIYAZAKI/THE^ NEWYORK
TI
MES/RED
UX68 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE^ 03/2020
Delta gives you more wiggle
room by allowing you to
cancel a ticket for a full
refund until midnight on
the day after the reservation
was made. Some foreign
carriers that operate to or
from the U.S. only allow
a hold, so don’t pay for the
ticket up front and expect
a refund. Online travel
agencies may offer similar
policies but are not bound
by the same rules as airlines.
Avoid delays. Grab a morning
flight when possible, espe-
cially from non-hub airports.
The plane that will take you
to your destination typically
arrives the night before, ac-
cording to ExpertFlyer.com.
The app TripIt will send
you real-time f light alerts
if you pay for the Pro ver-
sion ($49 per year), or you
can simply type your f light
number into Google for an
instant update. To track and
predict delays, search your
f light number at FlightAware
.com and click “Where is my
plane now.”
Head to the nearest hub. If
your closest airport has few
f light deals, scout airfares
from the nearest hub air-
port. You may need to hop
a f light or drive to the big-
ger airport to snag a deal. If
you can drive to the airport,
find alternatives to pricey
airport garages at www
.parksleepf ly.com, where
you can also reserve a pack-
age that bundles a night in
a hotel, discounted parking
and an airport shuttle.
Buy train tickets early. Am-
trak prices don’t f luctuate
wildly the way airfares do,
REWARDS
California Zephyr. This 52-hour
journey begins in Chicago and
hurtles west across the Rockies,
through canyons and over the
Sierra Nevadas, before pulling
in near San Francisco. The cost
for two people sharing a room-
ette was recently $771 to ride
the entire route in late May.Switzerland. A three-day Swiss
Travel Pass starts at $240 and
offers unlimited travel on regular
trains, buses and boats (you pay
to reserve on premium panorama
trains, but reservations are not
available on most other trains).
You also get free admission to
hundreds of museums and three
mountain excursions. “Even the
suburban trains in Zurich are
tremendously scenic,” says Ted
Blank, of Travel Leaders.DEALS:
Hit the Rails
so it usually makes sense to
book as far in advance as you
can. Amtrak has a light pres-
ence outside of the North-
east Corridor. In many areas
of the U.S., only one train a
day rolls through. For sum-
mer travel, sleeper cars can
sell out 10 to 11 months in
advance, says Ted Blank,
a luxury travel specialist
with Travel Leaders, in
Stillwater, Minn. For an
overnight or even a daylong
trip, consider treating your-
self to a sleeper car. It will
cost more, but you’ll get
meals and some privacy.Take a pass on buying a rail
pass (most of the time).
“People used to buy rail
passes in Europe and poparound as the spirit moved
them,” says Blank. But in
many countries in Europe,
passes no longer make
sense because you can’t
necessarily just show up
and ride, he says. Intercity
high-speed trains often re-
quire a reservation, which
costs extra, and these
trains are often sold out at
peak times. To see what
makes sense, compare the
cost of a pass that covers
your regions and number of
days you want to take the
train, as well as the cost of
paid reservations where
necessary, to point-to-point
tickets. For more informa-
tion, check out Seat61.com,
a site dedicated to train
travel.Think perks, not price cuts.
Cruise lines are pulling
back from steep discounts
and favoring a choose-
your-own-perks approach
instead, such as beverage
packages, prepaid gratuities
or onboard credit. Keep
your eyes peeled for incen-
tives during “wave season,”
which typically lasts from
January to March each year.
A travel adviser can help
you figure out which add-
ons are best suited for you.
“There can be a huge differ-
ence in value, but cruise
lines don’t typically spell
out exactly what the value
of a drinks package or pre-
paid gratuity is,” says Scott
Koepf, vice president of■ THE CALIFORNIA
ZEPHYR ROLLS PAST
STUNNING SCENERY
AS IT TRAVELS FROM
CHICAGO TO THE
SAN FRANCISCO BAY.