On a related note, for blogs/wesites discussion, there is always this FT subforum:

External Miles and Points Resources

Since my question is not specific to an airline or hotel program I have no idea of the appropriate forum. My basic question is, as you near retirement is it better to bank points or spend as you go? Would love to know where to discuss the merits and negatives of both options.
Thanks!

you can post in the general info desk forum. But the short answer is it's never wise to bank too much given points tend to be devalued over time.

Yes FlyerTalk is big and challenging to navigate
 

I'm still new to posting on Flyertalk. Where can I post a question on what to do on a 12 hour layover in FRA on the way to JNB?

You should search here https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germany-626/
Indeed, the very first thread there right now is about a layover in FRA!

If you expand and read the wikipost on top of this very sticky thread, you shall find links and/or guidelines to locate proper fora for your questions to come. Reading up the sticky threads in every forum normally gives folks a good start.

Welcome to FT!

One way, Edinburgh > Dublin, buy ASAP or during the trip?
 

Newbie here, not sure where to post this, so TIA.

Middle of May, we fly from USA to Edinburgh for a few days. Then to Dublin for a week, then home. We have booked all the flights except for the one-way from Edinburgh to Dublin. Is it a must to book ahead, or can we leave our selves some flexibility in scheduling without paying a lot more?

Walk-up fares are more expensive on nearly every airline, including Aer Lingus and Ryanair, the two airlines that serve that route. It is no different than flying in the U.S. You may get lucky and there will be a ton of unsold seats on a given flight and thus the price will drop, but that is a risk. Ryanair has only a few flights a day and they sometimes sell out.
You may be able to buy a ticket that allows you to standby on an earlier flight for free. The options are pretty clear on the websites, but for discussion of various Aer Lingus fare options, visit https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/aer-lingus-aerclub-718/
For Ryanair, visit https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other-european-airlines/1725496-ryanair-thread-15.html

Adam1222, thanks very much. I also asked about this at Metafilter as well, and got this excellent suggestion there:
I think the SailRail will be the way we'll go. (I tried to post links to the Metafilter post and to the Seat 61 info, but I'm too new a member to add links, which I understand. No bot, me.)

Glad I joined FlyerTalk!

Is there a website that details why a flight was diverted or late (significantly)? I can see that a flight has been delayed on FR24 but not the reason why.

Thanks, Adam1222. Somewhere else I got a recommendation for SailRail, going by train to Holyhead and ferry to Dublin. Not fast but scenic and apparently relaxing.

This is a good site to check for rail/ferry options between the UK and Ireland:
https://www.seat61.com/

Rail/Ferry
 

Best place for a per diem traveler thread?
 

After looking through all of the search results for posts and the wiki, I'm not finding a specific thread for those of us on a per diem system. I'd love to start a thread on this; where would you recommend I post it?

Probably Travel Buzz, but with that topic covering so many hotel forums, as well as the dining forum and even the credit card forum, not sure how much traction it would get as a stand-alone thread. There are prior threads in that forum about expenses and per diem (search term: "per diem" with the quote marks).
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz-176/

Some forums have threads for questions about award travel, presumably for redemptions using that forum’s program. Is there a correct thread to post requests for assistance with booking award travel when one has multiple options for using miles and/or points (i.e. AA, UA, Delta, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards)? Is it considered posting the same post if one asks the same question on more than one of the specific program threads? Thank you.

People tend to post those on info desk, for better or worse. Before doing so, though, try and figure out options yourself and share what work you have done. It is not helpful to say "I have a lot of points and want to go from X to Y what points should I use."

​​​Should not post the same question on multiple threads but if you're asking about how to use United points to travel from Timbuktu to Tokyo in one thread, it's fine to ask about using Amex points for that travel in a different forum. In general though, detailed trip planning services are best obtained through the many paid award booking services out there if the information shared on this site as to.how to search for options etc doesn't sufficiently help.

Hi, I've been a lurker here on and off for specific flights. But this question is a little different. I'm wondering my best strategy, my son will be going back and forth between the same routing for college for 4 years. Both airports are in what I'd guess you call secondary cities.
I can give you more details on our situation if you'd like, but my real question is: What is the strategy to this? I am ready to do the legwork, but unlike a one-off trip somewhere, I don't know how to approach it. Nor was I sure which forum to post on since I don't know what airline I want.

Related questions:

• Go cheapest flight every time?
• Figure out the carriers with the best hubs for our route? And how do I do that? Run lots of queries on Kayak repeatedly until I see a pattern?
• Stick with 1 or 2 carriers and build miles?
• Should he get a Visa card with one of the carriers?

Our details--PDX - BNA. He would travel about 4x rt/year. Not counting any trips we might make to visit him. We don't have a lot of miles anywhere. Accounts at Delta, United and Alaska Air.

It's rarely worth it to choose a flight just for miles. (Those who have companies paying for their flights will argue otherwise, but your situation is totally different.) I would just choose the flight that makes the most sense each time, in terms of cost and routing, and make sure you sign up for that program before you fly it.

The more important thing for you is points earning. You want a credit card which is good points earning on airfare, such some Chase cards that are 3x and some AmEx that are 3x or even 5x. And often there does turn out to be one carrier who often has the best route and pricing for you; if that is the case you may want a credit card with that airline in order to get free bags.

But if you did want to build up miles on discounted tickets, your best option would be Alaska which awards miles based on distance flown and not the price of the ticket. They have two flights a day to BNA from SEA (0955, 1650) and two back to SEA (0735, 1725). Looks like connections from/to PDX would work with those.

Alaska, like it's competitors, offers basic economy and regular economy. The basic economy fares are the cheapest and most restricted and come with limited seat assignments (last few rows of coach, otherwise assigned at the gate) and no checked baggage. The basic economy fares are not refundable and cannot be changed at all. You'll need to sort out which type of flyer your son intends to be as you start purchasing tickets.

I use a Chase Sapphire Reserve for 3X on travel, but if you're not going to be able to take advantage of the Priority Pass lounge access that comes with that, that $450 card ($300 in travel rebated), it would not be a good fit for you. Alaska does have its own credit card with a 40K signup bonus with minimum spend, but the only bonus category is airfare (3X). It does come with a $99 companion ticket which you might be able to take advantage of if two of you visit and fly together, as well as a free checked bag for up to 6 passengers on the same booking. If you did get that card, probably best to use it only on airfare for Alaska as other cards have better rewards for other categories. We have a whole forum here on credit cards you might want to look over before deciding the best fit for you.

Tom in Cairns

Thanks to you both for your thoughts.

About the Visa cards... After the 2008 meltdown, I decided to stay away from big banks. And since then, reading about Wells Fargo. They just seem like such sharks. I will read the credit card forum for details.... but briefly, do you feel Chase is any different? If my son opens a Chase card, are there hidden fees and stuff like that? Or are you thinking I should open the card?

Thanks for the tip about Basic Economy. A very good reminder, and yes, I want him to have a checked bag. I saw another family come to the airport with luggage only to find out they had purchased Basic Economy. Ouch.

Finally.... if I'm hunting for best routings, it sounds like there's no shortcut to this or you would have addressed this. As in, I have to just keep running momondo, skyscanner, kayak and see what comes up, correct?

Thanks so much!

Thanks to you both for your replies! Good reminder about Basic Economy. Not a route we'd go.

Curious about the credit cards.... I've avoided big banks since 2008. And now Wells. They feel like sharks to me. Do you have good experiences with Chase?Would you have your young adult open a card there? I'm thinking hidden fees he might not notice... etc.

So just to confirm: there's not a shortcut to figure out the common routings, right? You just started pulling up kayak, momondo, skyscanner etc and looked for patterns.

Thanks again!

You might also consider the US Bank Altitude Reserve card for yourself -- but not necessarily for the young adult.

I've been with Chase for decades and never any issues. When you apply for any credit card, it's important to read the fine print, particularly as to what you need in spend over what time for signup bonuses, and whether the annual fee is waiver the first year or not. Some cards waive the fee in year one, others do not. I wouldn't say the fees are hidden as much as they are in the small print that you need to read and understand - things like late fees, lost of points if you miss a payment, interest rates. Take the time to know what you're getting into, no matter what the credit card. If you want to stay away from credit cards associated with an airline or hotel, there's plenty of cash rebate cards out there. I have a Citu Double Cash card that rebates 2%, and I use that for domestic purchases when bonus categories like travel and dining are not in play.

You want to know about any surcharges for foreign transaction if your son plans summer travel outside the U.S. (can range from 0% to 3% depending on card - the cards I have with 3% stay home - and you really do need a backup card should something happen to your primary card while traveling), and you want to avoid getting hit with Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) outside of the country. This is a profitable system where a merchant offers to let you pay in your home country currency without letting you know the exchange rate will be unfavorable and you'll pay 3-5% additional built into the exchange rate they use. Insist on paying in the local currency when you travel outside the U.S.

Tom in Melbourne, Australia this morning

I have been trying to find a flight from NYC to MAD leaving near the end of August to just before Christmas and the prices are quite high. I have checked numerous sites and I keep running into the issue where the ticket says "Economy" for example for British Airways but there is Basic Economy and Economy. The problem is you can't tell one form the other. I need to check a bag so is there a way to tell if the ticket includes a checked bag or if there is an additional charge. On Google Flights, the only option I can find is an option for Carry On bag. Ive looked at Skyscanner, Momondo, StudentUniverse etc At this point I may need to buy a Basic Economy ticket and then pay $60 each way for the checked bag. Is there a better way to search? I need to find the least expensive option. I have spent hours searching and am becoming frustrated at the ambiguity. Thanks for your help!

No one can predict with any certainty. You might, you might not. There are numerous threads about connecting at ATL in the Delta forum.

Where to find information about Air Asia?
 

I'm flying them next week. Was interested in see what people are talking about - but I can't find a single post. Given they are such a big airline in Asia, I wondered why. Does nobody fly Air Asia? How can I search for threads? I typed "Air Asia" and just got everything but.

The posts would be in this forum (I see 11 just this year)
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/othe...-airlines-470/

Try searching within this specific forum.

I was searching in that forum. But then it just seemed to give me results all over the place, none of which actdually related to Air Asia. So I manually scroll through the forum only?

When I searched within that forum for "Air Asia" (in quotes), the first page of topics has Air Asia in the topic description 11 times. I don't know why you're not seeing what I'm seeing. My screen displays a maximum of 25 topics at a time and they're rather hard to miss. Here's the first 3 of 11:

Air Asia Aggravation [Seats]

my review of Air Asia

Air Asia

I think I've figured it out. There are (confusingly) two search boxes. I was assume there was an option with in the main search box to search in a particular forum and not seeing it. I realise now I had to use an entirely different box.

Info on best way to book 5 people from MSY to BUD June 2020
 

Thanks

Unfortunately this isnt a travel agency. You can post in the main information desk as to what you have found when looking for yourself, whether you intend to be using cash or points, what points you have and what availability you have found, etc. Unfortunately, if you are expecting to find five business class transatlantic seats using points for June 2020, you are about 3 or 4 months too late to even have had a chance.

You could set up flight alerts on Google flight explorer. Here's a sample one for a 10 day trip in June in economy. Tweak it if you're looking at other fare classes or specific airlines. You'll see an icon to "track prices" at the top of the page once it's fully loaded.
https://www.google.com/flights?hl=en...D;e:1;sd:1;t:f

Where could I ask about the best way to fly from city A to city B?

Context: I'm looking to fly SEA/YVR - CDG in Business class, and looking to see how I can compare the cabins for the various airlines that fly this route (e.g. Lufthansa, Delta, BA, AF, etc)

seems like easyjet replaced their "inclusive" fare with "standard plus" fare, im just wondering if standard plus fare has the same farecode with inclusive fare which is farecode B?

Easyjet is discussed in this subforum. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/othe...-airlines-469/

where do i ask for good US based websites to read about business class bargain fares?