Amtrak train rolls into Winter Park, USA by Rohan Travellin

Last week’s winter storms in the Northeast and the South resulted in 70 percent of the US being covered in snow — shutting down airports across the region, canceling thousands of flights and trains.  So it seems like a good time to recap some of the travel tips we’ve covered in past episodes of TravelCommons.

• Fly Direct — This is one of the most sacred frequent traveler rules. Even if you’re connecting through Houston, an intermediate stop adds one more point of failure, one more opportunity for the airlines to screw up
• Skip the Tight Connection — If you can’t fly direct, step away from any connection that’s less than 60 minutes.  Yes, we usually want to get to our destination in the shortest possible time, but accepting a connection of 1 hour or less…. Think about it – a 15-minute delay on your flight into a big hub like Chicago or Denver or Detroit (as good as on-time in the winter for most airlines) and you’re sprinting across terminals and concourses just to beat the closing door.  A 1-hr connection is just asking for a stress attack and/or an overnight stay at the airport branch of the Bates Motel.
• Connect Through a Fun City — Again, if you can’t fly direct, connect through a place you might want to visit.  On those rare occasions where I’m forced to take a connection, I look at the flight choices and think – where would I not mind being stuck?
• Keep your Confirmation Numbers Handy — When you’re talking to a gate agent or on the phone to a service rep, nothing signals that you’re an experienced traveler like offering up that confirmation number. I typically put my confirmation numbers in the Outlook appointment that then syncs to my iPhone.  I put the airline confirmation number in the subject line right after the flight number, and then put the hotel and rental reservation numbers in the notes of the appointment.  One click and it’s all there.  You may have use different technologies, but have a system that gets you quickly to your confirmation numbers without having to sift through a pile of paper.
• Take the Phone Tree Path Less Traveled — If you have to call an airline or hotel and you don’t have a Platinum or Premiere status number to call, choose the unpopular path on the phone tree.  Travel companies don’t staff their customer service centers for peak loads – like the day when a Chicago blizzard cancels 400 flights.  It’s too expensive. So on those days, you’ll wait forever for an agent if you’ve followed the typical path down the phone tree.  On those days, choose the “Spanish” or “International Travel” option because everyone else is choosing English and domestic travel.  Once you connect with someone, they’ll take care of you.  They all work on the same systems in the same service centers.