Post Category → Travel

A Guide to Award Flights to Madagascar

Lemurs in Madagascar

There’s surprisingly not a lot of literature online when it comes to flying on award flights to Madagascar. Travel guides for Madagascar are just as sparse, which is telling of how remote and untouched this African island nation is.

I did some quick research over the weekend as Matt has managed to convince me that it’s worth a visit as our “big trip” in 2019, given how unique its flora and fauna are. Think lemurs, the extraordinary and alien-like baobab trees, and more.

A quick Google Flights search shows that both prices and flight duration vary wildly: from $916 roundtrip for a 52-hour 45-minute flight with FOUR stops (operated by Delta and Kenya Airways), or $2,306 roundtrip for a 19-hour 55-minute trip via South African Airways.

I think we can do better than a 52-hour flight, no matter how “cheap” the $916 flight is.

But I’d also love to use the miles and points I’ve accumulated over the years. The examples below are New York-specific since that’s where I live, but you can make them work for you too from other areas in the US.

Continue reading →

Save Money Automatically With These Price Tracking Tools

Save money with these price tracking tools

Prices of products and services fluctuate all the time. It’s almost always the simple economics of supply and demand.

But how can we take advantage of price drops after we’ve made a purchase? Depending on the merchant’s policies, we could either:

  1. Request a refund for the price difference
  2. Cancel the purchase (if it’s refundable) and repurchase it at a lower price

Realistically, not all of us monitor prices after we’ve completed an order. It’s a hassle to keep track of, and we could be unaware of the store’s price protection policies.

Fortunately, there are tools out there that can do this automatically for you.

Continue reading →

How to Avoid Credit Card and ATM Fees When Traveling

Foreign cash and coins

We’ve all been there.

Right before a big trip overseas, we visit banks or money changers to buy our destination’s local currency. Often enough, anything related to foreign cash is mired in any combination of the following:

  • ATM (bank) fees
  • dynamic currency conversion fees
  • foreign currency conversion fees (for debit and credit cards)
  • poor exchange rate

Is it possible then to avoid paying these fees?

Continue reading →