Best Uber Route or Your Money Back: Tip-of-the-Day #321

There are quite a few options for car service in San Francisco these days. You've got your taxi, Uber, Lyft, Flywheel and the list goes on. I happen to be Uber-loyal despite surge pricing during peak drive times. Why? Because their customer support is terrific.

There have been a handful of times I've jumped in an Uber only to find that the driver isn't as familiar with the city as I am (I grew up here after all). They might take a slightly circuitous route to my destination or pick a one way street that requires a u-turn and adds time and distance to my fare. Instead of starting any beef with the well meaning but wayward driver I wait to see what my fare looks like when I receive the email post-ride. If it feels off or like I've been charged for something that was not in my charted course, I will send Uber support a quick email and within minutes they have adjusted my account to reflect the pricing associated with the more efficient route.

Just something to tuck away in the back of your mind if you're ever in this situation. Best route guaranteed or your money back. Gotta love that.

More Options on KLM v Delta: Tip-of-the-Day #320

I recently had to book a flight to Amsterdam for business. There is one non-stop flight out of SFO and when you search online it comes up as either Delta or KLM but it's the same flight. Weird, huh? I figured since I have a Delta SkyMiles account that it made more sense to book the trip with "Delta". Nope.

My company is only footing an economy class ticket and so after booking the seat on Delta I noticed that there is an Economy Comfort section (more leg room, more recline - like Economy Plus on United). I pulled out my personal Amex to upgrade to this Comfort seat given the 12 hour haul and I couldn't do it. I called Delta and they explained to me that Economy Comfort is a KLM feature and to book it I'd have to re-book my trip on KLM and cancel the trip I'd just booked on Delta. It was the exact same agenda, same flight, same plane but because of some policies in place on the back end, I couldn't get the more comfortable seat through Delta.

I quickly cancelled my flights on Delta (I was within the cancellation period) and re-booked on KLM. Then, I went to the KLM website and immediately upgraded my Economy ticket to Economy Comfort. Strange that Delta and KLM can't integrate their systems if they are operating as the same carrier but at least now you know that there are better options for comfortable travel by booking through KLM and not Delta. Happy flying!

Adjust Location for Cheaper Travel: Tip-of-the-Day #319

I just read an article on Huffington Post, which pointed me to maphappy.org for the original story. With a few key strokes you can save yourself hundreds of dollars on travel. The nutshell version is that when shopping for travel online, by changing your location and/or language/currency you can score reduced pricing on tickets that are otherwise "marked up" for folks traveling from the U.S.

Some people are already savvy to the idea of waiting to book island hoppers until actually reaching Hawaii because the prices are adjusted for locals. Same applies in Europe - flights to neighboring hotspots are greatly reduced for Europeans over "visiting Americans." Waiting can ultimately save hundreds of dollars.

I encourage you to give this article a read: http://maphappy.org/2014/06/use-point-of-sale-to-get-cheaper-international-tickets/.

It's a great time of year to think about saving a few dollars on travel so you can allocate those bucks to keepsakes from the trip. :)