It’s well-known that picking up a rental car at the airport will lead to numerous taxes, surcharges, and fees. The surtaxes can be mindblowing, with local governments soaking out-of-towners to fund expensive capital projects like stadiums with fees extracted from transients who can’t vote in local elections. So how do you avoid the exorbitant fees?

1) Skip the airport
This is the somewhat obvious answer: Take mass transit or a taxi and pick the car up at a downtown location. You’ll avoid the airport concession tax, and you’ll spend a little less time maneuvering in unfamiliar local traffic. Of course, this isn’t always possible, if the airport is poorly connected, or if you have a ton of luggage. Note that dropping off at the airport in the same city you picked up the car is generally not charged a one-way rental fee.

2) The two-rental solution
Let’s say you need to pick up the car at the airport. That doesn’t mean you have to be on that contract the entire time you’re renting. Reserve a car for pickup at the airport and plan for a dropoff the next day downtown. Then start a new rental at the downtown location. You’ll pay airport surcharges for only one day, and pay lower fees for the rest of the rental. The longer your trip, the more you save.

I quickly priced out a sample one-week rental in Dallas at Budget Rent a Car (the results could be replicated, give or take a few bucks, with other brands):

Option 1:
1 week rental, pickup at DFW airport, returning to DFW.
Lowest rate is for an intermediate SUV, total cost with taxes: $347.79.
(FYI: A more fuel-efficient compact car rents for $464.07!)

Option 2:
1 day rental, pickup at DFW, dropoff downtown Dallas.
6 day rental, pickup at downtown Dallas, dropoff at DFW.
Lowest combo: 1-day SUV: $53.69 all-in; 6-day compact: $189.19.
Total: $242.88. (Substituting a compact for the SUV in the 1-day rental raises the cost by $8.93.)
Total savings over Option 1: $104.91.

One major car rental company’s employee reminds me that this can be particularly useful in Europe, where one-way dropoff fees are not as prevalent as in the United States, as long as the car is picked up and dropped off in the same country. (The employee didn’t want to be named or have his company identified, for obvious reasons.) And the taxes are significant: 19% for Frankfurt Airport pickups, for example.

3) Half-day rentals, where available
This is not very widespread yet, but Hertz and others are rolling out half-day car rentals in some European locations. Otherwise, similar to #2 above.

4) Pre-pay
Pre-paying a car rental is much like buying an airline ticket from a consolidator. You give up on flexibility (and take on more onerous change fee policies) in return for a discount. It’s not for everyone. This is obviously not something which business travelers would benefit much from, but for leisure rentals, it’s a viable alternative if your dates are fixed. I’ve had good experiences with Auto Europe in, well, Europe, and with Hotwire in the U.S. The total price quoted has typically been 10 to 30% less than the retail rates quoted by the majors themselves. The car itself has always been provided by one of the big name brands.

Got any other tips for avoiding these fees? Hit the comments!

Related:
- Reader mail: What happened to car rental late-return grace periods?
- Reader roundup: More tips for car rental deals
- Upgrade declined: Travelers turning down car rental upgrades
- Reader mail: Watch your prepaid rental car fees
- Chicago to align short-term car rentals and mass transit

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When I’m at an unfamiliar destination, I tend not to focus on the negative. Sure, I keep my eyes open, and I try to avoid getting hit by traffic, but I don’t obsess about the ways I could be hurt or killed. But the dreadful attacks on the hotels in Mumbai, on top of the bombing of the Islamabad Marriott in September, have made worst-case-scenario mindsets a little more palatable, or even appropriate.

In that vein, allow me to recommend a no-nonsense post by Jeffrey Goldberg in his blog at the Atlantic: “How to Stay Alive in a Terrorized Hotel.”

Importantly, he offers this important reminder: Much like you’re more likely to be killed or injured on the way to the airport than in a plane accident, “it’s foolish even to worry about hotel safety, because the chances of something happening on any particular night in any particular hotel are vanishingly small. The taxi ride to the hotel is invariably more dangerous than the hotel itself.”

Ok. With that caveat out of the way, how do you avoid danger, or how do you save your hide in a worst-case scenario? Goldberg offers a number of suggestions. Avoid big hotels, as they’re big targets. Stay at hotels that have been attacked before — they’re unlikely to be hit again. Order room service, to avoid being off the lobby in an easily-attackable restaurant. Get a room on floors 4, 5, or 6, from which you could potentially survive a jump (umm… this tip I’m not quite comfortable with). Keep shoes, passport, and money handy at all times, in easy reach in the dark. And much, much more. Read the whole thing.

Got any survivalist tips of your own to share? Hit the comments?

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I often get asked about bereavement fares or other last-minute emergency travel discounts. My answers had previously been entirely academic, but this past week, I unfortunately had to learn about bereavement and compassionate airfares for myself.

It’s obviously a trip that I didn’t want to take: My grandmother passed away late last week, just weeks after celebrating her 99th birthday. I flew to her home — in Germany — and was fortunate enough to see her, talk with her, and bid farewell before she passed away. I am very glad I went. I will deeply miss her.

The trip was an education, in more ways than one. But thinking back to this blog’s modus operandi for the moment, let me share what I learned about booking flights under such circumstances. (more…)

The countdown to the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin is on. (T-minus 36 minutes as I type!) In the spirit of the moment, I’m passing along this information for American voters who might be traveling on Election Day (November 4).

The folks from Election Protection, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization supported by 100 different political groups, wrote in to offer their services — free — to those travelers who might be on the road, and away from the ballot box, on November 4.

For starters, there’s the website. Beyond just telling you to apply for an absentee ballot, the site walks you through the voting options, state by state. It’s quite comprehensive.

Or, if you’ve got questions, or problems, you can get a phone consult:

Potential voters can call the 866-OUR VOTE hotline to obtain critical information and advice on how they can beat voter registration deadlines and use early or absentee voting to make sure their vote counts.

However you decide to vote this cycle, don’t lose the opportunity to vote just because you’re traveling. Yay, democracy!

Gary Leff slams Peter Greenberg’s frequent-flyer advice, but is Gary’s advice any better for the common traveler?

Gary argues that Peter’s restatement of the conventional wisdom — that cashing in frequent flyer miles is getting harder, if not impossible — is wrong.

And yet I’ve never failed to redeem for the award I’ve wanted, as I’ve mentioned here several times. In the next 10 weeks I have first class award bookings to South Asia, business class award bookings to Europe, and a domestic award as well. All on the dates I needed.

But I’ve accumulated miles in a variety of accounts, if United doesn’t have availability I can check to see what American (or British Airways) has to offer.

Good for Gary, but let’s face it, not everyone has the luxury (or curse?) of multiple accounts with 6-digit mileage balances.

It’s like saying, “Well, my checking account at Citibank was tapped out, so I just paid for my bills, a vacation, and a new house with the interest I earned in my WaMu account.” It’s easy to be glib when you’re a multi-millionaire.

Most people don’t have that luxury. So Gary’s argument, while factually accurate, is not applicable to most travelers. Certainly not most leisure travelers. And, I’d argue, it’s unlikely to work for many business travelers either, whose loyalties (and corporate travel policies) make accumulation in one program more probable.

There IS potentially one way to follow Gary’s advice without getting a sore butt-bone from flying on dozens of different airlines. My weapon of choice: The Starwood Preferred Guest Program and the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card. You can collect points in the Starwood program, and when the need arises, you can transfer miles to a laundry list of airlines, with no devaluation. (Caveat: Some airlines don’t participate, and some, like United, only accept transfers at a 50% haircut. Stick to the programs that take full-value transfers.)

Reader J writes in, with the excellent subject line “Sidestepping government buffoonery”:

So I was wondering if you know if it’s possible to get a temporary PO box or a similar thing in order to mail your shampoo, cologne and other liquids to yourself at your destination city ahead of time to make sure you know it’s there before you even step on the plane. Are there such services?

Why yes!

You’ve got a few options, actually, and as long as you’re packing well and not mailing things that violate postal service regulations, then this could be a great way to avoid checked luggage, avoid the theatrics of the TSA war on moisture, and avoid having to buy stuff at your destination, all in one swoop!

There are essentially three options:

1. Your hotel
   Where you stayin’? Call the hotel, ask if they hold mail for guests, and what the restrictions are. In all likelihood, this will be the most convenient and most reliable way for you to receive packages. Tip: Be sure you include “hotel guest” after your name when you address the package.
2. Post office
   The magic words: “Poste restante,” or “general delivery.” Poste restante is an old fashioned mail-pickup service that most countries’ postal services still provide. Mail is addressed to a person, but in lieu of an address for delivery, the mail is sent to a post office branch, where you pick it up. You’ll usually address mail to Name, Poste Restante, the specific name of the post office (usually the main, central office), that branch’s street location, city, postal code, and country. Of course, you need to KNOW the location you’ll be picking it up from beforehand. Check the website of your destination’s postal service before you ship things off. FYI: The USPS’s sparse info page for general delivery is here.
3. American Express
   American Express cardmembers and travelers’ check holders can have mail sent to an American Express Travel Services office anywhere in the world. I took advantage of this once, and it worked great, but it’s been a while (1994). See here to find an office. Call them before sending them mail, and ask if they receive and hold Amex client mail. Not every office will do it.

In all of these cases, underline the addressee’s last name for good measure, or write it in all caps. It can’t hurt to put a statement like “Hold until (date)” on the front of the envelope or package, too.

There may be some restrictions, such as weight. Take New Zealand’s poste restante rules, for example: Packages under 2kg are stored at no charge. Over that weight, and you’ll pay a fee to pick up the goods. Be sure to check with your destination’s post office rules before you ship stuff off poste restante.

Locations holding your mail won’t hold it forever, either. 30 days in the norm, but it’s not universal. (In Mexico, for example, it might only be 10 days.) When in doubt, call ahead.

And even if you mail things to yourself at your destination, be sure you’re not mailing something you’d be upset to lose. Mail can be slow, or can disappear. If you care about the contents, insure.

So the bottom line: Yes, you CAN mail things ahead of time. But at the end of the day, which is the bigger hassle? Dealing with the TSA, or dealing with the post office?

Related:
- Update: TSA compresses 100ml to 3.0 fluid ounces
- Airport Security: TSA Re-Allows Lighters on Board; Non-Flammable Water Still a Threat to Safety
- Rescuing your prohibited carry-on items from the trash
- Japan and China introduce liquid-explosive detectors: Why can’t the US?
- American Express (aff)

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How to ring in the new year… How about some labor strife?

The Global Traveller runs down a list of seven likely airline and airport strikes (most in Europe) that could affect your travel in coming weeks. He also includes some excellent tips for making the best of a bad situation.

You should read the whole post, but here’s the gist:
- Know alternate routings and carriers before travel begins.
- Be flexible with dates, if you can. (Might cost you a fee.)
- Be flexible with routes/destinations, if you can. (Might cost a fee, again.)
- Consider buying fully refundable tickets on another airline as a Plan B.
- Have contact info handy.
- Confirm flights before departure.
- Keep tabs on the news.
- Don’t panic.

All good suggestions. And two of them (know alternate routings; contact info) are in the tips I offered last week on how to get an edge on other air travelers.

Most interesting to me: The refundable ticket as backup plan. It’s a good idea, but it’s not for everyone. Not everyone has the free cash flow to pay for fully-refundable (read: expensive) tickets. But if it’s must-go travel, this is a great idea. And if travels work out on the original itinerary, you can always get your money back.

I’d add one tip: If you paid via credit card, check to see what travel insurance coverage you have in case of strike. Some cards also offer “concierge” services to help out in cases like this, to help you get rebooked.

Here’s hoping that management and labor come to terms, and that these strikes don’t actually come to fruition. …and happy New Year!

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Most travelers head to the airport, check in, and let the airline take care of the rest. That’s not good enough. Especially if anything goes wrong — and things DO go wrong. You need be your own advocate, and you need a game plan, backed up with information and technology.

Here are five ways to get an edge over the more complacent travelers around you: (more…)

Several readers have written in, asking about Points.com’s newly-launched “Global Points Exchange,” which bills itself as a person-to-person frequent-flyer mile marketplace, letting you “trade the miles and points you have, for the miles and points you want.”

Questions are on the skeptical side — “Is this legitimate?” “Is this a ripoff?” “Is GPX legal?” — so let’s look under the hood.

For starters, yes, this is a legal service, despite the airlines’ rules against selling or bartering frequent flyer miles. Points.com has struck deals with each of the participating airlines, so this is an authorized setting for point exchange, not a back-alley deal or an eBay auction.

The principle is a good one: You’ve got miles in one airline’s account, and you want miles in another. So why not trade with someone who has what you want, and who wants what you’ve got to trade?

I’ll tell you why not: Fees!

GPX is plagued with outrageously high transaction costs, costing you as much to exchange your miles as you’d pay to buy those miles outright from the airline.

Is this any surprise? After all, it’s coming from Points.com, which has long converted miles between programs — with hefty devaluations along the way. And according to their latest financial guidance, people are falling for it. The company “transacted more than 10 billion miles and points” in 2007 alone.

The GPX program is currently in beta, and there aren’t a lot of offers on the bid or the ask. Only five airlines currently participate: Air Canada, Alaska, American, Frontier, and… (wait for it) Icelandair!

Fees vary tremendously depending on the airline, but none of them are small. The outgoing account determines the fee you pay. So exchanging 15,000 American AAdvantage miles into another airline currency will cost you $180.00, while exchanging 15,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles will cost $300.00. PLUS the $6.95 processing fee (currently waived.) Extortionary.

No thanks, Points.com. Your GPX is DOA.

Related:
- The value of frequent flyer miles
- Reader mail: Can I transfer points from one airline to another?
- Travelocity soon to let you book travel using points and miles

George Hobica reports on a nasty practice: Delta, apparently unhappy that some of their passengers had booked cheap tickets on nonstop flights, rebooked those customers onto far less convenient connecting flights. Like cell division, one flight had turned into two.

A friend of Hobica’s bought a New York-Denver nonstop around the holidays for a piddly $138, but…

…a couple of weeks ago, Delta called him and told him he was now on a flight leaving JFK around 6 AM, and he’d have to make a connection both coming and going. Worse, Davis is now flying on regional jets, instead of a big jet.

Naturally, he’s not pleased. There are still seats left on the Delta nonstop, but they’re selling for over $600 RT for Davis’ itinerary. It’s pretty clear what happened here: Delta kicked Davis off of the nonstop, and will now sell seats at a much higher fare than he paid to last minute purchasers.

Before anyone says it: Yes, the Delta contract of carriage (pdf) mentions that schedules are subject to change without notice, but that’s not what happened here. The schedule didn’t change, and the flight wasn’t canceled. Only this one ticket changed. The airline simply rebooked him onto a different itinerary at the same price.

Hobica hypothesizes that the airline is pre-bumping the cheap-seat customers to less convenient flights so they can continue to sell higher-priced tickets on the most desirable nonstop routes. And unfortunately, this is highly plausible.

Note that this isn’t the ranting of some crackpot who can’t tell Delta apart from Skybus. The author is a credible travel writer and the founder of the airfarewatchdog.com fare alert site.

And based on the comments of other readers on his site, the case wasn’t isolated. Several readers report the exact same phenomenon. (Several readers miss the point, too, and rant about schedule changes. Frustrating, too, but not the complaint at hand.)

If this ever happens to you, complain. If that doesn’t work, then escalate.

Related:
- Reader mail: The airline changed its schedule, what are my rights?
- Customer service: the nuclear option