Travel Deals That Are Just Too Good to Be True and How to Protect Yourself

Today I got a text message on my phone telling me I had won a free trip to the Caribbeans. To claim my prize all I had to do was phone a number with an 809 area code. I knew this was a scam of some kind, so I checked with AT&T. They told me to be cautions when responding to phone calls from this area code. Even though 809 is a legitimate area code for the Dominican Republic, it has also been used to lure gullible people into paying large international call rates.

And that free trip? There is no such thing. Just like there is no free lunch.

There are as many travel scams as there are con artists. Here are a few of them.

1. The "Cheap flight on a Major Airline" scam
If someone won't tell you what major airline it is, then beware. Those major airlines suddenly turn into minor ones that stop at ten different places enroute to your destination.

My advice: ask for details. If they can't give you specifics, then walk away.

2. The "Fly for only $48" scam
Remember, that's only one way. After they add service charges, processing fees and taxes, the total jumps significantly. And don't forget the other incidentals such as checked baggage fee and seat assignment request fee. To add insult to injury, they won't even give you water for free. Friends of mine bought a $2.00 ticket from Heathrow to Venice, and ended up paying $160 (not bad for a European holiday, but notice the jump in price).

My advice: check the fine print.

3. The "Travel Discount Card" scam
Groups that make these offers are known as "card mills" because they sell cards identifying you as a credentialed travel agent who can travel at free or reduced rates. The problem is that many suppliers of travel do not accept these cards.

My advice: Go to the American Society of Travel Agents website or call them to see if these cards are legitimate.

4. The "Offer Expires at Midnight" scam
This is just a high pressure tactic that travel scammers use to intimidate you into making hasty decisions. They know that this doesn't give you time to do a background check into their company.

My advice: Run a "background check."Vet the travel company on the Better Business Bureau's Web site to see if they are members of ASTA.

5. The "Hollow Suitcase" scam
This happens frequently in train and bus stations. A traveler gets distracted and takes his eyes off his bag. In a flash someone with a hollow suitcase puts it over the traveler's bag and then wheels the suitcase away. A variation of this happens on trains when someone runs through and grabs your case just as the train is pulling away. He hops off and you are stuck on a moving train.

My advice: Get Trip Protection Insurance!

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SCANNER AUDIO - United Flight 93 09/11/2001 3:58

***Download ALL 29 recordings in MP3 FORMAT HERE*** www.mrdutch730.com United Flight 93 09/11/2001 3:58 Minutes. The plane was a Boeing 757-222 on a morning route from Newark International Airport (now known as Newark Liberty International Airport) in Newark, New Jersey, near New York City, to San Francisco International Airport near San Francisco, California (EWR-SFO). It had 182 seats but was carrying only 37 passengers (including the four hijackers) and seven crew members: two pilots, the captain Jason M. Dahl and his first officer, leroy Homer Jr.; and five flight attendants. Because one passenger had booked two seats, some early accounts said there were 38 passengers on board. The four hijackers were seated in first class. A flag flies over Gate A17. United 93 pushed back from this gate at 8.01AM on September 11, 2001. Two hours later it crashed into a field in pennsylvaniathe aircraft was scheduled to depart at 8:00 am but did not lift off until 8:42 due to routine heavy morning traffic.[3] Had the flight departed on time, it would likely have been hijacked around the same time as the other flights, and there is little chance the passengers would have had time to organize a revolt. By 9:02 am, the aircraft reached its cruising altitude of 35000 feet.[1] At 9:24 am Flight 93 received from flight dispatch the warning "Beware any cockpit intrusion—two a/c [aircraft] hit World Trade Center". At 9:26 am the pilot asked for confirmation of the message. That was the last ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUmdDRyD2R0&hl=en

American West Air Travel

Air Line Tickets

It is possible surprises when purchasing air tickets online, how many taxes and fees are to be found, ant trip ticket included. There is a base fare that the airlines decide that a passenger on a particular route depending on free air miles flown by, among other things. But on top of that, many add fees and charges and if you sometimes more than the base fare itself. Overbooked travelers have no choice but to all of these to pay for the trip. Flights, longSecurity lines and lost luggage and no frill services are additional headaches.

Air travel is taxing in more than passengers can only imagine. Travelers pay a short list of the taxes, fees and other charges often invisible even to the experienced traveler.

Will perhaps have some of you already know that our nation's air transit system primarily through federal excise taxes and other charges that are levied by the airline's financesPassengers on the purchase air line tickets. A smaller portion comes from airlines and transportation in the form of fuel and cargo taxes, and these costs are often passed on to our customers.

Here is the list of fees and charges can be observed:

1. A 7.5-percent federal tax is included with each ticket. It is levied by the airlines and passed on to the IRS, the deposits in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.

2. A separate Rural Airport Taxdetected by 7.5 percent, on flights that begin or end in the rural and airports, but passengers will be exempt from the other ticket and the segment tax. Passengers between the continental United States and Alaska or Hawaii pay an additional $ 7.50 in the form of taxes.

3. The passenger flight segment tax, currently $ 3.40, will pay each time a passenger takes off and lands. Passengers on a nonstop segment, additional taxes.

4. Passenger facility charge - A local taxcollected by airlines and paid directly to the airport, where it is collected. It is free and widely used for the construction of airports and other improvements. It could rise soon.

5. International arrival and departure taxes - The tax rate is down from $ 15.10 per passenger on all flights to or from abroad. The fee is tied to the Consumer Price Index and 12.7 percent increased over the past five years.

6. Security for Transportation Security FeesAdministration. This was confirmed by Congress after 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks, these fees cost customers $ 2.50 per boarding school established with a $ 5 maximum per one-way, even with multiple segments.

7. Ticketing fee - the online site or the consolidator can charge from $ 5 to $ 30 on air line tickets

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