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PAGEM SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10,1995 PRESSREPUBLICAN Frequent flyers: Don't kiss all those miles goodbye By JENNIFER MERIN For AP Special Features NEW YORK (AP) - All good things come to an end, including some frequent flyer miles if you don't take steps to preserve them by year's end. American and United airlines have three-year limits on their frequent flyer miles, so unused miles earned in 1992 will be wiped off the books after Dec. 31. Northwest's 1992 FlyWrite coupons expire on the same date. Delta Airlines introduced a three-year limit on May 1 when it inaugurated SkyMiles. Howev- -er, all miles accumulated after May 1 will remain valid so long as members book Delta or. Delta Connection flights at least once in 36 months. Thus far, Continental, TWA and USAir have no deadlines for use of their miles. With the American, Northwest and United deadlines looming, consider ways to use those miles rather than lose them. The best plan depends on the number of miles in your account. •For travel within the continen- tal United States and Canada, 10,000 miles will get-^you an upgrade award for the next higher class of service on full-fare economy class tickets; 20,000 miles will get you an upgrade to the next class of service on dis- counted economy class tickets or from business class to first class; and 25,000 miles will get you a paid-up ticket anywhere in the continental U.S. or Canada. All are round-trip tickets and subject to blackout dates and seat availability. For 40,000 miles, you get a ticket good anytime to anywhere in the continental United States and Canada. With that in mind, | consider these strategies: If you have 23,000 miles, of which 18,000 are about to expire, trade them in for either two 10,000-mile certificates or one 20,000-mile upgrade certificate to be applied to tickets purchased at a later date. Because expiring miles are used first, these choices leave your account with 3,000 miles, good for three years from the year in which they were earned. If you don't want the upgrade, you can scramble\ to accumulate an additional 2,000 miles by year's end and trade the account for a free ticket. Where will the extra miles come from? If you fly anywhere over the holidays, go via your frequent flyer airline or one of its part- net's. If those miles don't reach the 25,000-mile requirement, look for affiliated programs. Depending on the program, you may be able to pick up 500 to 1,000 bonus miles by switching your long-distance telephone ser- vice to an affiliated company or by staying at a partner hotel. Apply for a credit card with fre- quent-flyer affiliation and get up to 5,000 bonus miles, plus up to two miles for every dollar charg- ed. Car rentals are another route to extra miles. A four-day rental won't get you the needed 2,000 miles, but four one-day rentals might. United Airline's Mileage Plus program, for example, is af- filiated with Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz and National car rentals. Each paid rental is worth 500 bonus miles. Four, rentals, and you've got your miles. And it's most likely cheaper than a round-trip airline ticket. • No matter which award you decide to claim, be sure to do it before year's end. Once you apply for your award, it is issued as a certificate- that is usually valid for one year from date of issue. Thus, if you apply for it by Dec. 31, you are effectively extending the expira- tion date to the end of 1996. If your account is languishing with 10,000 miles or less and the expiration date is approaching, you may decide to forfeit them. Or you may want to give them to charity. Ten years of fun continues By GRAHAM HEATHCOTE Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) - Britain has had the naval hero Horatio Nelson on a pedestal for a long time; but in October the coun- 1 try got started on a full decade of celebrations. It started with the opening of an exhibition Oct. 21, the 190th anniversary of his victo- ry at Trafalgar, and will con- tinue with a 10-year program through to the bicentennial of the battle in October, 2005. So'revered is Nelson that the inaugural exhibition even displayed the tourniquet used to stem the-flow of blood during the amputation of his right arm after he was wounded at Santa Cruz in Spain in 1797. The musket ball fired by a French marksman which fatally wounded Nelson at Trafalgar is being loaned by Queen Elizabeth II from the collection at Windsor Castle. The bullet, which tore through his shoulder to lodge in his spine, is dented from striking a bone and is kept in a locket containing fragments of gold lace and cloth from Nelson's uniform. The wound caused paralysis and death three hours later as Nelson was told that his 27 ships had defeated the 33 ships in the combined fleets of France and Spain. Since 1843, a statue of Nelson has stood atop a 145- foot column in Trafalgar Square, looming over the tourists and- pigeons which congregate around the foun- tains. \There is a strong sense of Nelson being a national icon,\ said |toger Knight, deputy director of the National Mari- time Museum, where the ex- hibition is staged. \It's not just older people who are interested, The young have heard of him and want to know more,\ Knight said in an interview. Consumer Reports on Travel Want the best car rental rate? Check prices, avoid extras By ED PERKINS Editor Coniiinttr lUportt Trov«l Utter If you want the best car rental rate you can find at any given location, you (or your travel agent) must check both the com- puter reservation system and phone a car-rental company's na- tional reservation center. If you rely on just one of those sources, you'll wind up paying more than you should, at least some of the time. And\ once you've found a good rate, take care to avoid as many extra charges as you can. When Consumer Reports Travel Letter recently checked rentals in a half dozen sample cities, we found rates were incon- sistent. Even when we looked at just one rental company, the CRS and the national reservation center gave identical rates in only a minority of cases; The CRS price was lower in some cases, the phone office was lower in others. I don't know why rates were so inconsistent, just that they were. Many of the difference were small — a dollar or two either way. But not always. In San JFranfiisco, for example, the CRS quoted one company's rate at $28.99 for a rental at the airport, while the same company's na- tional reservation center quoted $38.99 for the same type of car. On the other hand, at Orlando, another company's reservation office quoted $16.89 a day, while the best price for that company in the CRS was $25.99 a day. We found other inconsisten- cies, too. While the industry has supposedly given up the idea of a \mileage cap,\ it hasn't done so ^verywherer-(A-r»Ueage=cap.reiit- al is one that includes only a limited number of \free\ miles in the basic daily or weekly rate. Renters who exceed that mileage cap — typically 1.00 miles a day — pay 20-25 cents for each extr# mile.) We found several cases where one or more of the major car rental companies still includ- ed a mileage cap. And indepen- dent, local renters were even more likely to retain mileage caps. While a mileage cap sounds like a bad deal, it isn't always a gouge. Often, you rent a car just to get around within a destina- tion area — trips from your hotel to the beach, golf course, ski center, restaurant, or whatever. In that kind of rental, you may not log more than 20-30 miles a day and never come close to the cap. If you can get a capped rent- al for a lower daily rate than you'd pay for unlimited mileage, the capped rate can be your best bet. Unfortunately, there's one element of rental car pricing that hasn't changed. Typically, the rental companies quote an at- tractive base rate, then try to squeeze extra dollars out of you by adding on a laundry list of ex- tras — some mandatory, some optional, and most either unnec- essary, overpriced, or both. Here are the worst; ' — Extra-driver charges. Many companies charge several dollars a day for each extra driver, • despite the fact that extra drivers don't affect the cost of providing the rental a bit. Some companies exclude spouses from this onerous fee, others don't. But if you want to share the driving, you have to pay it. The only way to avoid the gouge is to find a company that doesn't im- pose the charge. — Insurance. All insurance that the rental companies sell by the day is overpriced, compared with the risks. Moreover, there's a good chance that your own in- surance already covers you: Your regular auto insurance for liabili- ty and collision damage, your health policy for accident, and , your homeowner/tenant policy for baggage loss or theft. Fortu- nately, you can avoid the in- surance gouges. Don't fall for any arm twisting or misleading war- nings about your risk: Just initial \no\ in all those little boxes on the rental agreement. There's one caveat to that rec- ommendation: Don't say \no\ to either collision or liability in- surance unless you know you're covered by some other policy you already have. While the car rent- al company's insurance may be grossly overpriced, it's much less expensive than settling a big damage claim or losing a lawsuit. IF YOU THINK YOU CANT AFFORD A CRUISE, YOURki MISSING fHi WM Perhaps you tfdn't know it, but a luxuiy'laden cruise Can actually cost less. D A LI A kl AC than some-land-vacatlonsHf-you know where to look. At Tourajde Travel • ^Si*2?* our cruise experts can show you sea vacations you pay for once, then relax CRUISE and enjoy, the all-inclusive price covers truly stately staterooms, great *£ * ' ictivities and much, much more. And with our froiit cruise expertetoaaviseyou, you're sure to. find the cruise ifiiTnSaTcUBs\ your dreams as well as your budget; Don't miss the boatl Discover affordable cruises by stopping in. or calling Touraid Travel for a free cruise brochure. Why take a chance when you can take a vacation? * Ratal quoted ara based on availability, ft person, doubl* occupancy. /Senior coupons available . incIutJwfalT fromW 438 Route 3, Pittsburgh, NY Call 563-5405 Adjacent to ChompWn C*nti*t X Ship building The 89-foot \Lagoda\ whaling ship, believed to be the largest ship model in the world, is seen at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Mass., where it is the center- piece of the museum. The museum was built by the Bourne family in the 1910's and the building was designed around the one-half scale ship model. Guidebook rates cross-country trails OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. - Boston Globe outdoor writer Tony Chamberlain and his wife Lyn compiled a list of the best cross-country ski touring areas in New England for the fourth edition of their guide, \Cross- Country Skiing in New England\ (The Globe Pequot Press, Old Saybrook, Conn. 06475). In this thoroughly revised edition, the Chamberlains pro- vide important information on trail-system size, trail difficul- ty, trail grooming, hours of operation, available rental equipment and instruction, and nearby food facilities and lodging. This is a guidebook for skiers written by skiers. The descriptions of ski areas are as faithful to the experience as could be. No touring center has paid for its listing in this book. More than 95 percent of all the areas included cost in the range of $5 to $10 for a day's trail pass. Rental equipment ranges from $12 to $25. Whether you're inexperienced or an expert, you can select the area that's just right for you. Cross-country skiing is here to stay. It has a winning for- mula: it's cheap, simple, healthy and fun. Just think, for the price of one downhill lift ticket, you can rent cross-coun- try gear, buy a trail map, sign up for a starter lesson and have lunch at most of the places listed in this guide. So what are you waiting for? Get out there this winter and enjoy the fresh New England air. Sample listings Maplewood Farm, Norfolk, Conn. Set in the southern Berkshires, this year-round nature center provides more .than 400 acres of open meadow and woodland skiing. There are even about five miles of groom- ed and tracked trails. Notchview Reservation, Windsor, Mass. Knowledgeable cross-country ski fans consider Notchview to be the best wilderness ski area in the Berkshires. With more than 3,000 acres and 15 miles of groomed trails, it's easy to see why. \Cross-Country Skiing in New England, 129 Recom- mended Ski-Touring Facilities and Trails\ by Lyn & Tony Chamberlain, ISBN: 1-56440- 837-X, 185 pages, B&W Photo- graphs, Index, $12.95 paper-. back. YOU'RE INVITED TO AL S TRAVEL, Inc. GRAND OPENING THURS. DECEMBER 14th 5-7 pm FeatufTngr^ 196 G T Pittsburgh, NY fg 1996 Group Tour Schedules Door Prizes Refreshirtents «fpy (across from airport) AL'STRAVEL'THE PLACE TO GO BEFORE YOU Gt> PLACES X 1 • i . i *t i I i J, i •*• i r i i. i •. i T i i •O-'-. ' ^fe '.• v3 ; ' • : . *±f;- • >• i ^j^^J^ •' \ ' ' '•/' '• t. ' :l ' .'•i'.'AS
