Popular travel periods, such as the summer or winter holidays, are fantastic opportunities for adventure and relaxation. However, with so many people traveling, rushing and stressing to get away, travel mistakes can happen more frequently during those periods.

This guide will help you make the most of your planned trips — from navigating points and miles to avoiding common travel pitfalls.

Here’s what you need to know to avoid some of the most common travel mistakes we see here at TPG.

Waiting until the last minute during peak times

Summer and winter holiday seasons are some of the busiest times to travel throughout the year. This means that, almost without fail, flights, hotels and popular attractions book up quickly during these times. If you wait until the last minute, you’ll likely face higher prices and fewer options, or worse: no options at all. This is especially true if you’re hoping to use points and miles, as award availability can be extremely limited during peak times.

It seems like tired advice, but we mean it when we say that you can never be overprepared. If you know you’re due to travel during a busy period — because you do it every year — you should book well in advance. If you’re a perennial last-minute traveler, you’ll be astonished at how much less stressful it is in the long run and how much money you can save on your tickets and reservations.?

Set up fare?alerts on Google Flights or other platforms to get notified when prices drop. By booking earlier, you often have a better chance of securing the best deals. If you get a price drop alert after securing your tickets, most airlines allow you to rebook without paying a change fee. Check out this Google Flights guide for more advice.?

For award bookings, you can use tools like ExpertFlyer to monitor seat availability. Alternatively, you could bookmark some wishlist hotels and then periodically check award availability. That way, when the best deals or prices come in, you’ll be ready to pounce immediately.?

Not being flexible with travel options

OK, let’s say that on this occasion, you didn’t have time to plan ahead and book early. What other options do you have? One thing we’d always suggest (even if you’re not booking last minute) is to be flexible with your plans. If you have some leeway between either your travel times or destination, this can be a great way to save money any time of year. Sometimes something as simple as traveling midweek or during off-peak times can lead to lower prices and a much more relaxed experience.?

Use the date grid and calendar features on flight booking websites to compare prices across different days. If you’re using points, try adjusting your travel dates by a few days to see if award availability improves. You might not always get the best deals for exactly when you need them, but it’s always worth checking. It’s amazing how much prices can fluctuate between a few days or weeks.?

Wasting points on low-value redemptions

When cash prices are high, like during the summer, it can be the perfect time to use your points and miles. However, it’s important to ensure you’re getting good value for them. Avoid redeeming points for low-value options that don’t give you the best return.

It’s worth first getting an idea of what the cash price for a flight or hotel reservation will be, then looking at an award redemption for the same booking. You can check the value of most loyalty program points in our monthly valuations here. From there, you can work out whether the points price will save you money and offer the best bang for your buck, or if you’ll end up splashing out an extortionate amount of points for little value compared to the cash price.

Aim for a value of at least 1.5 to 2 cents per point for flights and hotel stays. Use tools like TPG’s awards versus cash calculator to gauge whether you’re getting a good deal. You might also consider leveraging transfer partners of your credit card’s loyalty program to maximize value. Sometimes transferring points to an airline or hotel can unlock better redemption rates by accruing bonus points. This effectively reduces the number of points you would normally use to book the award.?

To keep track of the value of your points, you should bookmark our TPG points valuation guide; if you’re looking to keep track of loyalty point transfer bonuses, you could bookmark our monthly transfer bonus guide.

Overpacking and paying extra fees

Overpacking can lead to unnecessary baggage fees and the hassle of managing heavy luggage at your destination. Let’s be honest: We’ve all been away on vacation and realized on the final day that we only needed half of the things we packed (and then fumed when we realized our surplus packing meant we now didn’t have suitcase space to bring back souvenirs).

That’s not even the worst-case scenario. Spare a thought for the poor souls who reach the airport and have to either pay extra baggage fees or go full Joey from “Friends” and wear two weeks’ worth of clothes on the flight.?

Don’t leave packing for the night before or the morning you travel. Instead, create a packing list based on your itinerary and the weather forecast a week or a few days before you’re due to leave. Take a good hard look at that list and ask: Do I need all of these items? If it helps, pretend you’re judging someone else’s list, so you can be truly objective.

Choose versatile clothing that can be mixed and matched. Consider investing in packing cubes to keep your suitcase organized and maximize space. Don’t forget to check your airline’s baggage policy beforehand to avoid surprise fees, and if possible, stick to a carry-on to bypass baggage claim delays.

Traveling without insurance coverage

Travel insurance can be a lifesaver, covering everything from flight cancellations to lost luggage and medical emergencies. Sure, you may never need to use it, but skipping travel insurance is a gamble that could cost you significantly if something goes wrong. You always need it the most when you don’t have it.?

Review your credit card’s travel insurance benefits before purchasing a separate policy. Premium cards often include trip cancellation or interruption insurance, baggage delay coverage and other emergency benefits. If you’re taking an extended trip, traveling to remote areas or carrying expensive items, consider additional coverage to fill any gaps.

Forgetting to use travel perks and protections

Many travelers overlook the valuable perks and protections that come with their travel credit cards. These benefits can save you money, provide peace of mind and make your journey more comfortable.

Before your trip, familiarize yourself with your card’s benefits, such as lounge access, trip delay reimbursement, rental car insurance, hotel status and many other great perks.

Make sure you’re using a card that maximizes your rewards to earn points or miles on every purchase, along with other perks. For example, the American Express? Gold Card is a great card for travelers. It has no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees); up to $120 in annual Uber Cash per calendar year on U.S. purchases (Amex Gold must be a method of payment in your Uber account and you can redeem with any Amex card); up to $100 in hotel credits per calendar year (with The Hotel Collection*; minimum two night stay required); baggage insurance** of up to $1,250 in coverage for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage; and increased points earning on flights, hotels and restaurants.

*Eligible charges vary by property.

**Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

Being a stereotypical, uninformed tourist

Respecting local cultures and customs is essential for a positive travel experience. Always remember that just because you’re on vacation, not everyone at your location is doing the same. You are, after all, visiting someone else’s home. Being an uninformed tourist can lead to uncomfortable situations or even cause you to offend locals.

Research your destination beforehand to understand its customs, traditions and social norms. Learn a few basic phrases in the local language, and be mindful of dress codes — especially in religious or conservative areas. Respect local etiquette, such as tipping practices or queueing behavior, to blend in better and show appreciation for the culture.

Forgetting the essentials

There are so many things to remember when traveling, from general timing and logistics to ensuring everyone has their passport. So it can be easy to forget necessities like staying hydrated or having fully charged devices to access GPS or itineraries.?

Carry a reusable water bottle that you can refill throughout the day to stay hydrated. Apply sunscreen regularly, especially if you’re spending time at the beach or hiking. Bring any necessary medications, and consider packing a small first-aid kit for minor injuries.

Download offline maps and travel apps, such as Google Maps and language translation tools. Keep a hard copy of important documents, like your itinerary and hotel reservations, in case your phone dies or you lose internet access. Consider an international phone plan or purchase a local SIM card to stay connected. Also, make sure you have a portable charger to keep your devices powered throughout the day.

Bottom line

Summer travel is filled with excitement and adventure, but it’s also a time when mistakes can happen more easily. By following these dos and don’ts, you can avoid common pitfalls and ensure a smoother, more enjoyable trip. From booking early and packing smart to understanding your credit card benefits and staying prepared for unexpected disruptions, a little foresight can go a long way in making your summer vacation a success. Happy travels!

Related reading:

• The best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare
• Best airline credit cards
• What exactly are airline miles, anyway?
• 6 real-life strategies you can use when your flight is canceled or delayed
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status

For rates and fees of the Amex Gold, click here.

As the saying goes, “Everyone makes mistakes.” This pervades many aspects of life, but it’s especially applicable to using your hotel points. Even the most seasoned award traveler can slip up, resulting in a less comfortable room, extra fees or an inability to travel.

Fortunately, the most common mistakes when booking hotel award stays are easy to avoid. So in this guide, I’ll take you through these errors and explain how to ensure your future redemptions go as planned.

Missing out on bonus nights

This first mistake is common for inexperienced travelers. Hopefully, many of you know that some hotel loyalty programs let you maximize longer stays by using a free night benefit. Here’s a quick rundown of several major loyalty programs that offer this perk:

• IHG One Rewards: All members who hold the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card,?IHG One?Rewards Premier Business Credit Card?or IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card get a?fourth-night reward when redeeming IHG points for stays of four nights or longer.
• Hilton Honors: Hilton elite members get every fifth night free on award stays at all properties (up to a maximum of four free nights per stay). You can easily earn Hilton status through a Hilton credit card.
• Marriott Bonvoy: All Marriott Bonvoy members get the lowest-points-value night free for every five consecutive nights paid with Marriott points, thanks to the “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” perk.

The nice thing is that these discounts show up automatically when you redeem your points online. The mistake comes in planning a shorter stay, not knowing that the next night would be completely (or almost completely, in the case of Marriott) free.

Related: Which hotels count award stays toward elite status?

Ignoring points-and-cash options

Another common refrain I hear is, “I don’t have enough points, so I can’t book an award stay.” This is simply not true, as most hotel loyalty programs allow you to use a combination of money and points to pay for hotel stays. Again, here’s a quick rundown of the most popular programs:

• Hilton Honors: Hilton’s points-and-cash awards are flexible, allowing you to specify the number of points you want to use for an award. The cash copay is adjusted based on the number of points you choose, but you can use any combination of points and money to pay for your stay in increments of 1,000 points, starting at 5,000 points.
• World of Hyatt: Hyatt’s points-and-cash awards let you redeem half of the usual points plus a cash copay. You can redeem 50% of the points required for the stay and get 50% to 70% off the standard rate for your room.
• IHG One Rewards: IHG’s points-and-cash awards let you pay part of your stay in points and the rest in cash. You can use as few as 5,000 points to book.
• Marriott Bonvoy: Marriott’s points-and-cash awards let you book a standard redemption for as little as $55 and 3,500 points.

Always check if these options are available wherever you’re staying, as they might be the best deal.

Related: Your ultimate guide to Hyatt’s hotel brands

Not checking revenue rates

If you’re like me, you want to maximize the value you get out of your points. That’s why it pains me to hear when friends or family members use their points for suboptimal redemptions.

Especially since most hotel loyalty programs now use dynamic award pricing, you’ll usually get decent value when redeeming hotel points for standard rooms. But redeeming for upgraded rooms can range in value from excellent to poor.

TPG’s monthly valuations give you an idea of what to aim for when redeeming your points and miles. Check revenue rates and calculate your redemption rate before booking an award stay. Sometimes, you may find better value by booking a paid stay and saving your points for another trip.

Related:?The inside scoop on how much hotels get paid when you redeem points

Transferring to an airline

Another mistake when it comes to hotel points is transferring them to airline partners.

For the most part, transferring your hotel points to an airline partner is a terrible value proposition. Most hotel loyalty programs give you very poor transfer ratios, and you typically lose close to half (or much more) value through the conversion process.

The one exception is Marriott Bonvoy, which has many unique airline transfer partners and offers reasonable transfer ratios. Even so, you’ll usually get the most value from hotel points when you use them as they were originally intended — for award nights at hotels and resorts.

Related:?Can I transfer points and miles between loyalty programs?

Not searching night-by-night

Another common error occurs when searching for longer stays. I’ve seen many times when hotels don’t have award rooms available for every night of a stay or don’t have the same room type for your entire stay. But you may still be able to use points (or a combination of cash and points) by searching one night at a time.

For example, let’s say you wanted to stay at Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in February 2023 for Valentine’s Day. You can book a standard reward night for 78,000 points on Feb. 13. But the lowest award rate on Feb. 14 is 115,000 points for a premium room. If you search for a two-night stay on those dates, you’re quoted a price of 115,000 points per night because there isn’t standard room award availability on the night of Feb. 14.

If you book the first night separately from the second, you’ll save 37,000 Hilton Honors points (worth $222 based on TPG’s valuations). Plus, if you call Hilton Honors and ask them to link the reservations, the property might let you keep the same room for both nights.

Related:?These promotions will make your next hotel stay more rewarding

Ignoring resort fees

While you aren’t on the hook for regular room taxes on award stays, you may still need to pay a resort fee. Most programs will list resort fees (where applicable) at some point during the award booking process. And you’d be smart to pay attention to them.

Hilton and Hyatt automatically waive resort fees on award stays. But if you’re staying with other programs, resort fees can set you back a significant amount per night (seeing a resort fee of $60 or more isn’t unheard of).

Related:?Marriott Bonvoy members, ask for your resort fee replacement benefit

Forgetting to cancel

Another mistake that can be very costly is forgetting to cancel an award stay within the hotel’s published cancellation window. You might think this isn’t a huge deal, assuming you’ll only forfeit the points you’d redeemed. Unfortunately, that’s not how most hotel loyalty programs operate.

When you don’t cancel an award reservation, most properties will charge you one night plus tax at the best available rate for that date, which could easily be hundreds of dollars. You should pay close attention to each program’s stated cancellation policy when booking an award stay using points.

Related:?Make dynamic pricing work in your favor: How rebooking hotel stays can help you save on award nights

Ignoring credit cards

The final mistake isn’t specific to using your hotel points, but it will still affect your hotel award stays. Many credit cards offer complimentary elite status just for holding the card and (in some cases) paying an annual fee. A credit card that offers elite status as a perk can unlock valuable benefits like room upgrades, premium internet, bonus points and more.

Your card may even unlock a redemption option that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. For example, Hilton’s fifth-night-free benefit is restricted to elite members and IHG’s fourth-night reward is only available to select IHG cardholders.

Here’s a quick rundown of some cobranded cards for each program that provide hotel elite status as a perk:

• Hilton Honors: Get Diamond status as a cardmember of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, Gold status as a cardmember of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass? Card or Silver status as a cardmember of the Hilton Honors American Express Card.
• World of Hyatt: Get Discoverist status as a cardmember of the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
• IHG One Rewards: Get Platinum Elite status as a cardmember of the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card or Silver Elite status as a cardmember of the IHG?One Rewards Traveler Credit Card.
• Marriott Bonvoy: Get Platinum Elite status as a cardmember of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant? American Express? Card or Silver Elite status as a cardmember of the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card (enrollment required).

The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Most Hyatt and Marriott cards give you elite night credits toward earning higher elite status levels. Some cards also offer extra elite night credits or higher status when you reach specific spending thresholds in a calendar year.

Related:?Guide to Marriott and Hilton elite status with the Amex Platinum and Business Platinum

Bottom line

Hotel stays for zero dollars out of pocket can be a wonderful thing. But mistakes can sap some (or most) of the value out of your redemptions. Hopefully, this list has given you some strategies to avoid those mistakes on your next award booking.

Additional reporting by Ehsan Haque.

We’ve all been there.

You have the perfect setup on the couch with your laptop or tablet, and would like nothing more than to avoid getting up as you surf the web, perhaps doing some shopping … or booking a trip. Then a site asks for your credit card, but your wallet is across the room.

Michael Martin found a common solution, though: His browser had his PayPal information stored and available for auto-fill.

“Great!” he thought. He wanted to quickly lock in the deal he’d found as he booked a final portion of his family’s summer trip to Europe, a flight from Spain to Amsterdam on KLM, ahead of the family’s already-booked overseas portion of the trip.

Unfortunately, he now admits this may have prevented him from receiving reimbursement for hundreds of dollars in expenses incurred when his trip got interrupted.

An epic trip through Europe

Like many U.S. tourists, Martin and his family were eager to get to Europe this summer. Along with his wife and daughter, their itinerary took them to Spain and on a river cruise through France, Germany and Switzerland.

The Martins’ trip back to the U.S. involved the aforementioned flight on KLM from Basel Airport (BSL) on the French border with Switzerland to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), followed by a transatlantic flight aboard United Airlines – Martin is a United Premier Platinum member. The flight from Amsterdam would go first to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and then on to their home airport in San Diego.

Because of the separate itineraries, the family would have to exit security in Amsterdam, re-check any bags and clear security again ahead of the United flight.

Martin figured, even with the operational issues at Schiphol Airport over the last few months, that the three-hour window between flights would be sufficient.

As is often the case during summer 2022 travel, though, that three-hour window quickly shrank.

Problem 1: Separate Itineraries meant no easy solutions

The Martins’ itinerary quickly unraveled while awaiting their KLM flight from Basel to Amsterdam. The flight got delayed by 2 1/2 hours, all but ensuring they’d have little hope of making their United flight back to the U.S.

Ultimately, their plane landed at Schiphol Airport just 35 minutes before they were supposed to take off on the next leg of their trip.

The family’s fears they’d miss their flight out of Amsterdam were confirmed when they saw the security line they’d have to stand in, a common sight at the airport recently.

“It went out the door and outside, and down the side of the terminal,” Martin told TPG. “There was no chance of making it.”

Related: Chaos at Amsterdam mars and otherwise fantastic business-class flight

Because the initial delay was on a separate itinerary, airline and alliance, he didn’t have the easy and cost-free option for re-booking like someone would typically have if the first leg of their trip got significantly delayed.

Instead, he found he would have to pay a $125 fee to United in order to change the flights for each of the three members of his traveling party. Their flight back to the U.S. would now be the next day – which meant they’d have to spend the night in Amsterdam.

Martin booked a room for him and his wife, and another for his daughter, at a cost of $350 each.

Quickly, the costs they’d incurred from their flight disruptions totaled more than $1,000. Those expenses stung quite a bit more when Martin realized he might have been able to get a significant portion reimbursed had he approached booking differently.

Problem 2: Not booking with the right card

A frequent traveler and United elite member, Martin told TPG he carries two Chase credit cards: The United Explorer Card, and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card. Each offers travel protections that may have been of assistance in Martin’s situation.

The United Explorer Card can cover up to $500 in expenses like lodging, ground transportation, meals and toiletries for travelers and their traveling companions who get delayed 12 hours or more.

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card will reimburse you for select, otherwise unreimbursed expenses for up to $500 per ticket, when your trip is delayed by more than 12 hours or when it requires an overnight stay.

If you’ll recall, though, Martin booked the KLM flight – the one that got delayed, causing the problems – through PayPal, rather than using one of his travel credit cards.

When he went to look into reimbursement, he found out he likely would not be eligible for reimbursement for the expenses because he had not booked the flight directly with one of his credit cards offering the protection, Martin told TPG. Those protections likely would have covered the hotel rooms, as well as any transit and meals the family had during their unexpected stay in Amsterdam.

“I just wasn’t thinking when I booked the KLM flight,” he told TPG after arriving back in the U.S. “I was kind of in a hurry trying to plan the vacation.”

Related: Should you get travel insurance if you have credit card protection?

Lessons learned

Fortunately, after a night in Amsterdam, it was fairly smooth sailing for the rest of the Martins’ trip. Having seen the long security line the day prior, they arrived hours early to Schiphol – only to breeze through the checkpoint with little wait.

Still, among the “several lessons learned,” Martin said, is: Leave more time than you think you’ll need this summer when changing planes in Amsterdam. He now suggests planning for an overnight stop.

Regardless of where you’re traveling, though, take it from him: Be careful about booking a trip with separate itineraries, and make sure you’re booking with the right card. While there are cases where using a third party app like PayPal, linked to your credit card, can still earn you the points you’re expecting for a purchase, it’s a good idea to just read the terms of your credit card closely to see whether benefits like travel protections still would apply under the particular circumstances.

In Martin’s case, it may have eliminated quite a few of his expenses.

“It was, like they say, the perfect storm,” he said. “All those things came together to [mess] up our return and cost me a bunch of money.”

Featured photo by Nisangha/Getty Images.

A seemingly infinite number of things can go wrong during travel. And while travelers can easily avoid some of these unfortunate situations with a bit of preparation, others appear bewilderingly predestined.

No matter which end of the spectrum your ordeal falls on, it’s informative, instructive and often entertaining to swap cautionary tales with fellow travelers.

This week’s reader mistake story comes from Joshua, who pursued a credit card sign-up bonus using bad information:

“In October of last year, I was excited to sign up for the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card with a 125,000-point sign-up bonus. I’ve signed up for many credit cards before, so I knew the general game plan of meeting a spending requirement in a specific amount of time. I quickly used my card to prepay my cell phone bill for $1,000 and my internet bill for $1,000, and to make a few other purchases. I was happy to have hit the $2,000 threshold in a matter of days, and I patiently waited the specified six to eight weeks after my statement closed for my points to post.

“I continued waiting, but in January I got a bit nervous and decided to email Chase to see what the holdup was. I explained that I had spent $2,953 within three months and met the $2,000 spending requirement. The response I got from Chase the next day showed me that I had made a big mistake: the spending requirement was actually $3,000, and not $2,000 as I had thought initially.  To make matters worse, the last day to meet the spending requirement happened to be the day I emailed them. Chase said it was too late to meet the spending requirement, and I was no longer eligible to receive the 125,000 bonus points. I could not believe I missed something like that.

“I decided to email Chase again to plead with them and see if they could extend a courtesy like a partial bonus. I knew it was a long shot, but the reply was something I totally didn’t expect. Chase offered to extend my spending deadline by two weeks, so all I had to do was spend the remaining $47 in two weeks to be eligible for my bonus. I quickly made a $50 purchase, and a few weeks later the 125,000 bonus points were deposited in my IHG account. The moral of the story for me is to make sure I remember the spending requirements by screenshotting the offer page so I can refer back to it.”

It’s great that Joshua energetically appealed to Chase over this gaffe. And it was also benevolent of Chase to extend the window to meet minimum spending to accommodate Joshua. Credit card issuers like Chase and American Express have been known to occasionally grant mercy in ordeals such as this — but it’s not a sure thing. The bank has no obligation to come to your rescue.

Related: When does the minimum spending clock start on a credit card sign-up bonus?

If you find yourself in this position, take Joshua’s shrewd approach in begging the bank to give you a break (I’ve done this myself once with Amex and achieved similar success to Joshua).

If you’ve previously opened other cards from the same bank, you likely understand their individual habits when it comes to rewards posting to your account. For example:

• Chase posts your sign-up bonus once the billing cycle in which you’ve achieved minimum spending ends. If you’re two weeks into a new billing cycle and you still haven’t received your Chase bonus, something may be wrong.
• American Express tends to post welcome bonus points within days after you’ve met the spending requirement. If you don’t see them after a week or two, you can chat Amex via your online account or in the Amex app.

Whatever the case, be sure to contact the issuing bank long before your spending window closes. You may have thought that something counted toward minimum spending when it in fact did not. For example:

• Credit card annual fees don’t count toward minimum spending.
• Any refunds that post to your card will be deducted from the spending you’ve achieved
• Cash advances and balance transfers don’t count as purchases
• Purchasing some gift cards may not count as purchases

For all these reasons, it’s wise to spend a fair amount of money beyond the minimum spending requirement — just to be safe.

Related: 12 ways to meet the spending requirements and earn the bonus on a new card

You’d also do well to take screenshots of the offers you apply for, as Joshua mentioned. It’s a great reference, so you can remember the exact terms of the offer. Credit card bonuses are changing constantly, so the terms you may find on the card’s application page may be completely different even a week after you’ve applied.

Please email us if you’d like to be featured in our weekly TPG reader mistake story. You’ll receive a $25 gift card if we publish your story!

Featured photo by d3sign/Getty Images.

Since then, the membership-based evacuation and repatriation company, founded in 2020 specifically to provide medical evacuations during the pandemic without a hospitalization requirement, has sometimes struggled to keep up with the demand of patients asking for evacuations during the omicron wave and its devastating impact on the holiday travel season.

“In commercial travel we saw over 8,000 flights canceled for weather and crews getting COVID. Our air ambulances experienced the same difficulties over the holiday period,” Covac Global CEO Ross Thompson told me via email. “Many of our aircrews were impacted by covid – causing us to scramble at the last minute to find new crews or providers to get to our members quickly. Weather in other areas meant that we had delays as well.”

During this time period, Covac Global executed more than 52 evacuations via private air ambulance over the course of 12 days. These evacuations were for members running the gamut from those who experienced little or no symptoms to those who “required critical medical intervention.”

Thompson confirmed some members experienced “mild delays” of one to three days, which he attributed in part to a “finite number of air ambulances.”

There have been some reports of alleged issues experienced by a few clients who used Covac Global. No one was willing to go on the record.

Some users have complained online, including on Reddit and in the below thread on FlyerTalk, a popular online forum.

Thompson placed responsibility for the reported problems on the “many attempts at abuse of the system.” In one case, Thompson said the company notified a member there would be a delay in getting them home over the holidays, and the member “announced this was unacceptable as [they] would miss a New Year’s Eve party then decided to cancel the evacuation as the symptoms suddenly cleared.”

He also claimed an “unfortunate amount” of members “falsely” reported “observable symptoms in hopes of not having to spend a few inconvenient days at their choice of hotel.”

Although Thompson declined to comment on specific allegations, the CEO said some delays in service or other limitations were due to “the restrictions of certain host countries” and the fluid nature of country-by-country COVID-19 regulations.

“Countries … such as Italy, require by law, [that] we utilize isolation measures when departing their airspace. These measures are required by mandate and Covac Global must abide by these rules and regulations,” he said. “Variants change rapidly as do local laws and COVID-19 regulations. We do not skirt the laws for any member no matter how inconvenienced they may be. All members are transported home safely and in the direct company of highly trained and caring medical professionals.”

Covac recently changed the terms and conditions of its Global COVID-19 Evacuation and Repatriation service.

All members must now fulfill two requirements in order to trigger the COVID-19 evacuation service to avoid hospitalization.

The first new requirement is proof of a positive PCR test. The previous requirement was only to claim one self-reported symptom.

Additionally, both a “local attending qualified medical professional” and the Covac medical director must sign off on the decision to evacuate in the name of “medical prudence,” as now outlined in the 2022 COVID-19 Evacuation Membership Services Agreement. Below is an agreement that Covac sent out to members before the updated language.

“Medically Prudent to Avoid Hospitalization — Determination by the local attending qualified medical professional and the COVAC Global medical director that member cannot safely remain in quarantine due to such conditions or potential conditions that could result in the member requiring possible medical intervention or local hospitalization,” reads the agreement, which was shared with TPG by a Covac member.

While those are the two most significant changes of note, all Covac members are now required to either purchase the membership 14 days prior to departure or present results of a negative PCR test taken within seven days of departure.

Additionally, Covac no longer provides COVID-19 evacuation services in 22 countries, including Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Maldives and South Africa. A full list is available below and online.

Related: 5 things that should be in your COVID-19 travel contingency plan

To be clear, Covac Global is a membership program marketed as insurance but is not regulated in the way travel insurance is.

Related: Why I’m still buying travel insurance for international vacations — even if it isn’t required

Featured image courtesy of Covac Global.

Generally speaking, most airlines allow you to make ticket name corrections. So, if you made a typo when entering your name, there’s no need to worry. However, if you want to give your ticket to a completely different person, that’s an entirely different story.

Today, we’re going to focus on the former. Here’s what to do if you accidentally misspelled your name on a ticket and still intend to be the one traveling.

Have an upcoming vacation in mind? See how close you are to paying for it with points with the free TPG App!

Airline ticket name corrections

For the most part, you shouldn’t have trouble making minor name corrections. However, you’ll want to act as soon as you notice the error. If you notice the mistake within 24 hours of booking and the ticket price hasn’t changed, the easiest option would be to cancel your ticket for a refund and rebook. Otherwise, you’ll need to get in touch with the airline or whoever you booked through.

In most cases, you’ll need to reach out over the phone, though some airlines may be able to help through social media or live chat via their mobile apps. A select few airlines, such as Southwest, even allow you to fix misspelled names directly on their site.

Related: How to quickly reach an airline customer service agent

Most major U.S. airlines allow you to make minor changes like correcting typos, changing a name from the nickname and correcting inverted first and last names for free. This even includes some ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit. Although middle names generally don’t matter much (at least when traveling domestically), airlines will also let you delete or add an initial or middle name. You just can’t make changes to the date of birth and gender in conjunction with a name correction. The point is that you must still be the one traveling.

Related: Using the wrong name cost me $500 — reader mistake story

Although most airline tickets now come with “free changes,” this generally doesn’t include name changes. The value of the ticket must be used by the originally ticketed passenger, so you can’t simply give your ticket away to a family member or friend.

If you’re still the one traveling but need to make a more substantial name change — because you got recently married, for instance — then you should still be fine, though you may need to provide some documentation at the airport. For more on this subject, see our guide on updating travel documents after a name change.

Finally, even if you’re making a minor correction, you should still be aware of some other restrictions. For instance, airlines generally only allow you to make one name correction — anything more and it will be considered a name change. Although typically still possible, name corrections are a bit more complicated when there are multiple carriers involved. Also, some itineraries might not allow name changes altogether — for instance, Delta can’t make name changes or name corrections for travel between the U.S. and China.

Related: How to book travel during a name change

How to avoid typos on bookings

As you can see, there’s no panic if you misspell your name on an airline ticket. That said, there’s an easy way to avoid typos altogether.

Make sure all of your frequent flyer accounts are up to date with the correct spelling of your name. Then whenever you make a new booking while signed in to your account, all of your personal information, including your name, will automatically populate. Many frequent flyer programs also let you store the information of companions you frequently travel with.

Bottom line

Airlines are generally understanding when it comes to correcting misspelling or legal name changes on tickets. However, you’ll want to fix the issue sooner rather than later. Although some people have successfully flown on tickets with a slightly different first name — i.e., Benji versus Benjamin — it’s not guaranteed to work and could cause issues with getting your TSA PreCheck status and claiming miles for the flight.

It’s also important to remember that name corrections are very different from name changes. Whether or not a ticket is changeable, it’s always non-transferable, so you can’t simply give your ticket to someone else.

Featured photo by Buena Vista Images/Getty Images.

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

My five-year-old and I were recently running late for dance recital picture day. I had my arms full of extra costume pieces, tap shoes, bows, snacks and … my iPhone.

Despite the ticking clock and my overstuffed arms, my kiddo looked way too cute to not snap a quick picture before we loaded up in the car for the dance studio. She did a pose, I leaned over clicked a picture on my phone and then, as I was getting up, I fully and completely lost control of everything I was holding, including the iPhone.

The tutus, and dance shoes and phone tumbled down to the unforgiving concrete driveway.

The extra hot pink tutu was fine, but not surprisingly, even though I do have a case on the phone, the screen cracked after that direct hit.

After mumbling a few inappropriate-for-dance-class bad words to myself, I shrugged it off as just a minor annoyance to fix since I charge my monthly cell phone bill to a credit card that offers built-in protections against damage or theft — or so I thought.

Spoiler alert: Inadvertently using the wrong credit card to pay for my cell phone bill cost me $300 that day.

Credit cards that offer cell phone coverage

Before we get into my costly error, here are the basics on how to protect yourself from large repairs and replacement charges if your phone takes a fall or is otherwise damaged or stolen.

Multiple types of credit cards and banks now offer some level of cell phone protection if you charge your monthly cell phone bill to that card. Typically, protections require the bill must be paid with that card for the prior month before benefits kick in.

Also, there is typically a deductible of $50 – $100 per claim and a max threshold for the claim which is likely to fall between $600 – $1,000 with some yearly maximums. Often, cosmetic damage is not usually covered, though cracks on the phone’s screen can absolutely rise to the level of being more than cosmetic. The newly added Amex cell phone protection does specifically call out screen damage as covered.

TPG has a whole guide to the best credit cards for cell phone protection, which gets into more details on the eligible cards and specific benefits, but here are a few examples of popular cards that offer cell phone benefits.

• The Platinum Card? from American Express*
• The Business Platinum Card? from American Express*
• Delta SkyMiles? Platinum American Express Card*
• Delta SkyMiles? Platinum Business American Express Card*
• Delta SkyMiles? Reserve American Express Card*
• Delta SkyMiles? Reserve Business American Express Card*
• Citi Prestige? Card
• Ink Business Preferred? Credit Card

The information for the Citi Prestige card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

*Eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

If you have several of these and aren’t sure which card to use for your cell phone bill, I recommend comparing protection levels and going with the one that offers the highest amount of coverage and the lowest deductible. If you still need a coin-flip decision, keep in mind that some of the cobranded Amex small business travel cards are offering monthly cell phone statement credits.

This means that the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Amex ($15 per month) or Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Amex ($20 per month) can get you coverage and some cash back in your pocket through the end of 2021.

My mistake

For years I have had both an Ink Business Plus card (no longer available) and an Ink Business Preferred card. It’s likely duplicative to have both, but I do as they have some different earning categories — and protections.

Long ago, I started earning 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar by auto charging my cell phone bill to the Ink Business Plus. For a family plan cell phone bill that is usually at least $250 per month, that action alone nets at least 15,000 easy Ultimate Reward points each year. That’s about $300 in annual value according to TPG valuations.

The Ink Business Preferred only awards 3x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on cell phone bill charges (up to $150,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year), so it wasn’t the card I originally used to pay my bill, but I thought I had moved the bill over there after that card added cell protection benefits a few years ago.

While the cards have similar names and looks in my online Chase account, once I went to make the cell phone protection claim online, it was quickly pretty apparent I had made a costly error.

My memory regarding moving the bill from the Ink Plus to Ink Preferred was wrong. I was in fact still charging my cell bill to my Ink Business Plus, so I had no cell protections at all. That over $300 screen repair at Apple that I thought would be fully covered, minus a deductible, wasn’t covered at all despite me having multiple credit cards in my wallet that do indeed provide cell phone protection benefits.

Bottom line

Luckily, this time it was just a cracked screen instead of an entirely broken phone, so you could say I got off easy with this lesson.

Since I clearly need to move my cell phone bill to a different card anyway, I’ll go ahead and move it to one of my eligible Amex cards to get up to $800 in protection per incident with just a $50 deductible.

My hope is that someone will learn from my mistake and go ahead and switch how they pay their cell phone bill before you’re left sitting with a costly repair or replacement that costs hundreds of dollars and instead could have been just $50 – $100 thanks to a card you may already have in your wallet.

If you don’t yet have a card that offers these benefits, now is a great time to factor that into your next card application, especially while so many of these cards are offering increased welcome bonuses.

The Platinum Card from Amex has an offer of 80,000 points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the card in the first six months of card membership (there’s also a targeted higher 80k-125k intro offer on CardMatch; offer subject to change at anytime) and the Business Platinum Amex with a welcome offer of 120,000 points after spending $15,000 in eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership.

But whether you have a card you can use for cell protections now, or you need to add one to your line-up, don’t just rely on memory, double-check the bill is indeed charging to the correct card each month now, before it’s too late later.

Featured image by Irina Dobrolyubova / Getty Images

Unfortunately, hidden fees and unanticipated add-ons are increasingly common in travel, especially with hotels. In addition to resort fees, we’ve encountered hidden fees for things like having extra guests or even housekeeping. We’ve also seen some hotels impose strict cancellation policies for bookings that are supposed to be flexible.

A little bit of research can go a long way when booking travel. Here are five things to look out for specifically before booking your next hotel stay to avoid any surprises.

Amenity fees

One of the most common surcharges nowadays is amenity fees — oftentimes referred to as resort fees, facilities fees or destination fees. These are mandatory charges added to your final bill for every night of your stay. While you typically don’t pay these fees until checkout, they should be disclosed at the time of booking.

These ancillary charges, which range from $5 to $40 or even upwards of $100 per night, are allegedly in place to provide access to amenities like the gym, pool, beach chairs and Wi-Fi. We’ve even seen properties, such as the Staybridge Suites Times Square, charge extra for housekeeping, and properties like the Harborside Resort at Atlantis charge utility service fees. Some resorts, including Atlantis, also charge mandatory gratuities on top of the other fees.

Fortunately, you can usually avoid these fees when booking award stays with Hilton and World of Hyatt. Marriott Bonvoy and IHG, on the other hand, still pass them on when booking with points.

Related: How to avoid resort fees

Extra guest fees

It’s important to always specify the correct number of guests when making a reservation or you could face extra fees.  These fees are usually between $5 to $10 and are charged for the third and fourth guests, though outside North America, it’s also common to be charged for the second guest. That said, the fees can sometimes be much higher than that — especially at all-inclusive properties.

A TPG reader recently reached out to share that the North Island Resort in Seychelles — a private-island resort you can book with Marriott points —  tried to charge them an extra $1,210 per additional guest per night. Even worse, the extra guest fee wasn’t disclosed anywhere at the time of booking. Also, this isn’t an all-inclusive property, so the guests weren’t receiving any additional benefits.

Related: Booking the wrong number of hotel guests

Extra strict cancellation policies

Typically, when you book a flexible rate or an award stay, you can cancel your stay for a refund up to 24 to 72 hours before check-in. However, this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. It’s vital to review the cancelation policy of every hotel booking you make as some properties have much stricter policies.

Ski resorts, in particular, tend to have more punitive cancellation policies. For instance, winter stays at The St. Regis Aspen Resort come with a 60-day cancellation penalty. The same is normally true for The St. Regis Deer Valley, though it appears it will give guests a 30-day cancellation deadline for the upcoming season.

Some beach resorts, such as the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Hawaii and The St. Regis Maldives, require you to cancel your stay at least two weeks before arrival. Meanwhile, the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort requires at least 21 days’ notice.

Related: Your guide to booking refundable travel

Award hold fees

In addition to strict cancellation policies, some properties impose deposits for booking awards. If you cancel your stay outside of the grace period, you’ll be charged a cash penalty, as opposed to losing your points. These fees — which aren’t always clearly disclosed — are sometimes equivalent to the cash rate of your stay, so you could potentially be on the hook for hundreds or thousands of dollars. While it appears that these properties have done away with these fees during the pandemic, properties known for imposing award hold fees include the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, the Westin Rusutsu Resort and the W Koh Samui.

Exclusions at all-inclusives

If you’re booking an all-inclusive resort, it’s important to review what is and isn’t included. For instance, there may be extra fees for certain restaurants, activities, premium alcohol and room service. As discussed above, resort fees and mandatory gratuities are common at all-inclusive properties.

Related: 13 mistakes to avoid at all-inclusive resorts

Bottom line

Before booking your next hotel stay, do your research to see what extra fees you might incur and if there are any punitive policies you need to be aware of. While most major hotel chains and online travel agencies have gotten better at disclosing these things, every property is unique, so you should always read the fine print. If there’s a fee that lurks up on your final bill and truly wasn’t listed anywhere on the hotel’s site, you can try to get it waived at check-out.

Featured photo by Becca Manheimer/The Points Guy.

Well, that’s exactly what is happening with many OpenTable Rewards members recently. Despite a March 31 expiration date, many members were surprised to find their points had disappeared two weeks earlier. The good news is that Open Table is remedying the situation. TPG reader Charles got the following email after inquiring about his expired points:

Hello,

Due to an unexpected surge in email requests related to points expiration and redemption, response times are longer than usual. If you are receiving this email, please know that we have received your original inquiry and are ensuring that your points don’t expire on March 31st or that any recently expired points are reinstated. Given our current quantity of requests, it may take more than one week for us to process your request.

Once we have finalized processing your request, you will receive a confirmation email.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Cheers,
The OpenTable Support Team

The OpenTable points expiration saga

Let’s take a step back and start with a quick refresher. Whenever you book and honor a dining reservation with OpenTable, you can earn 100 points for a standard reservation or 1,000 points for a bonus table. You can also earn up to 350 points for booking flights through Kayak and up to 10,000 points on hotel bookings. You can then redeem these points for Dining Rewards at OpenTable partner restaurants, Amazon gift cards, magazine subscriptions or discounts on hotels booked through Kayak.

Points expire three years from the end of the calendar quarter in which they were earned. The quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of each year.

So, if you have any unredeemed points that were earned before March 31, 2018, you should have recently received one or more reminder emails from OpenTable that your points will expire on March 31, 2021. The email should have the subject line “Reminder: you have Dining points expiring.”

However, a number of members reported that their points had expired almost two weeks earlier.

While points are supposed to expire three years after they were earned, there’s a caveat. You must keep your account active by making (and honoring) a reservation once every 12 months; otherwise, you forfeit all of your points.

Due to the pandemic, many people haven’t dined out in more than a year. So their points began expiring earlier than expected. Since the reminder emails only listed the March 31 expiration dates, people thought that was the only date they had to worry about.

An OpenTable spokesperson confirmed to TPG that this is the reason members are noticing zero-point balances: “points expire after 12 months of inactivity and three years from issuance.”

Related: 12 restaurant loyalty programs that are worth joining

What you should do

If you’re among those who had their points expire, your best bet would be to reach out to OpenTable’s customer service team. They are reinstating points, even ones that have already expired. Just keep in mind that it may take a week or longer for your request to be processed.

If you have OpenTable points set to expire after March 31, your best bet would be to redeem them right away. Fortunately, there’s a variety of rewards that can be redeemed for use now or later.

Here’s how the redemption possibilities break down:

Related: Points are still expiring in the pandemic — How I just lost 48,000 of them

If your points aren’t expiring soon, but you didn’t make a reservation in a while, you should still redeem your points now if you don’t plan on dining out soon.

For the future, keep in mind that OpenTable isn’t the only program that rewards you for making restaurant reservations. For instance, you can get up to 30% back in rewards when you make reservations through the app Seated. Amex also previously ran a promotion where you could earn Membership Rewards points for using Resy. Finally, don’t forget to use a card that maximizes your spending on dining.

Featured photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

While the new requirement presents logistical challenges, many destinations worked quickly to make the process as seamless as possible, in a bid to avoid having travelers cancel their plans, or avoid making new ones, despite clear warnings against international travel.

The testing mandate is intended to limit the number of people traveling while actively infected with COVID-19. It’s still going to happen — even more reliable PCR tests are hardly foolproof — but the new program has surely caught some would-be flyers, including one reader currently in Mexico, who shared his experience with TPG.

This reader, who requested anonymity, lives in the southeastern U.S., and believes he contracted COVID-19 while dining inside a restaurant with friends before traveling to a resort in Riviera Maya via Cancun (CUN) with his wife and daughter.

While many people have avoided indoor dining entirely during the pandemic, that certainly isn’t the case for everyone. In the southeast, where mid-pandemic restaurant dining is far more common than it is in some parts of the country, this reader estimates that he’s eaten inside restaurants 60 times since July 2020.

Most of the dining rooms have had significant spacing between tables, he said, but that wasn’t the case for one dinner he enjoyed with two friends before the Mexico trip — one of whom has since tested positive as well.

While he was feeling a bit more tired than usual when they arrived in Mexico, most of the trip went off without a hitch. Before their planned flight home, the TPG reader and his family took rapid tests, hoping to be cleared to return to the U.S. Things moved quickly from there.

While his wife and daughter tested negative, his rapid test came back positive, and a second rapid test did as well. A third test — the more reliable PCR version — was also positive.

His wife and daughter moved to another room at the hotel, and flew back to the U.S. the next day, wearing KN95 masks for the flight home, just as they did on the journey to Mexico. Notably, his wife has since tested positive, after returning to the U.S., while his daughter’s test was negative.

Both of their tests had been negative before their flight, so they were compliant with the CDC order, though they may have encountered some trouble checking in with certain airlines — United, for example, requires passengers to declare that they haven’t had close contact with someone who tested positive in the last 14 days.

At the same time, he began his solo quarantine in a spacious villa — at his own expense. Some hotels are offering a free quarantine after a positive test, and even though this resort reduced the room rate and cost of room service by 50%, after taxes, fees and food, he’s still looking at about $800 per night.

Still, it you have to quarantine, it doesn’t sound like a bad place to do it. He has a separate living room, a private plunge pool and a jungle view. Most important of all, there’s Wi-Fi, and he’s fortunate enough to be able to work remotely, so there hasn’t been any impact on the productivity front.

His COVID-19 symptoms have been manageable as well. He was tired for the first few days, and while he’s feeling more energetic, he’s lost his sense of taste and smell — foods that were once spicy or rich or sweet are now simply “hot” or “cold.” “You don’t want to eat because you can’t taste it,” he said. “It’s just kind of bizarre.”

The resort has been especially accommodating, too. His stay is hardly free, but the 50% discount helps, and the staff has been calling to check on him regularly, in addition to providing a distanced delivery during mealtimes. Still, testing positive in Mexico hadn’t been part of the plan.

There are a few key takeaways from this reader’s experience. First, if you can avoid traveling internationally right now, that certainly seems like the prudent move. If you do need to fly abroad, before you leave the United States, here’s what I’d recommend:

1. Ensure that testing is easily accessible at your destination
2. Before you book a hotel, confirm pricing for quarantine stays, and confirm that you’ll be able to stay in your room if you test positive
3. Isolate as best you can, at least for the two weeks leading up to your trip
4. Take a test (and receive results) as close to your U.S. departure as possible
5. Prepare to be away from the U.S. for the duration of your trip, plus two additional weeks
6. Wear a proper mask (ideally an N95) throughout your entire journey

And after you arrive at your destination country:

1. Continue wearing an N95 mask whenever near other people indoors
2. Avoid any activities where you must remove your mask, including indoor dining
3. Test regularly, if possible, and isolate and test immediately if you begin to feel COVID-19 symptoms

If you do test positive, make sure you’re properly wearing your mask and go directly to your hotel room. Call the front desk from your room phone, and ask about your options. If your travel companions test negative, consider booking them into a separate room, and prepare for everyone to quarantine in their hotel rooms for the required time — in some cases, as many as 14 days after a positive test.

If you do test positive and need to isolate, it may be helpful to come up with a daily schedule, to help keep your mind and body fit. In the case of this reader, having a lot of private space has certainly helped make that easier.

Each morning, he’s been starting the day with pilates on a workout app, walking back and forth in his plunge pool — even though it’s only six steps wide — and walking laps inside his villa at least once an hour. “If I was staying in a [regular hotel room], I don’t think I’d be a happy camper right now,” he said.

Bottom line

While the financial burden of a hotel quarantine is definitely worth keeping in mind, it should hardly be your only concern. COVID-19 is a highly contagious, lethal disease — limiting the spread should always be top of mind, so if you have even the slightest inkling that you might have been infected, it’s essential to isolate from others until you’re able to get a test.

For now, it may be best to limit international travel, especially if you haven’t yet been vaccinated. If you do intend to travel, you may want to consider purchasing insurance that includes COVID-19 coverage — head over to our comprehensive guide to independent travel insurance to learn more about your options.

Ultimately, this reader got off very easy, with symptoms limited to fatigue and a loss of taste and smell. It sounds like he wore a mask and distanced from others throughout the trip, but many tourists in Mexico aren’t so careful, potentially leading to thousands of additional deaths.

Featured image courtesy of anonymous.

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