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"Embarrassing" travel pillow frequent flyers swear by

When it comes to travelling in economy, looking glamorous usually takes a back seat, with many people prioritising comfort over anything else. Travelling in cattle class presents its own issues with getting comfy on a plane, especially when sitting in the middle seat. However, a committed frequent flyer has discovered the "travel hack of the year" with an unusual looking travel pillow that means you can get comfy anywhere. “When you got the middle seat for a 13-hour plane ride,” wrote adventurer Annie Wright, 23, in the captions of a viral TikTok testimonial dedicated to the strange-looking, yet in-demand inflatable travel pillow. In the video, which has racked in a whopping 26.6 million views, Ms Wright, a law student in the US, shared footage of herself puffing into the plushy prop that’s offered by <a href="https://www.kmart.com.au/product/inflatable-front-travel-pillow-43238989/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon</a>. For Aussies, you can snag the innovative travel pillow from <a href="https://www.kmart.com.au/product/inflatable-front-travel-pillow-43238989/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kmart</a> for a breezy $18. “I wasn’t sure if I’d like it and omg SO worth it!” cheered Ms Wright in the clip’s caption. “Total upgrade.” This new pillow puts the round-the-neck pillows to shame, as the expandable cushion, designed with an ergonomic 45-degree angle, offers support to the head and neck and inflates in just seconds. Once inflated, users are meant to position the pillow — created with a face cutout at its apex and two arm holes on its sides — on their passenger tray tables and lean forward into a relaxed position. The hot commodity’s details also noted that it can “help you stay away from injury and insomnia, make you rest more comfortable during the journey, easier to fall asleep, and sleep longer,” according to Amazon. According to the online Kmart reviews of the product, one traveller said it was “awkward looking” but “really comfortable” and perfect for long-haul flights. Folks under the #InflatableTravelPillow TikTok hashtag have hailed the headrest the “travel hack of the year.” However, haters of the portable bedding have deemed it an “embarrassment.” “My back just hurts watching this,” said one commenter beneath Ms Wright’s post. “Yeah I have social anxiety I would be too embarrassed to use it,” penned another. But in response to the criticisms, Ms Wright wrote, “People keep saying this [pillow] is embarrassing, but what’s more embarrassing is being caught with your mouth open just knocked out.” Image credits: TikTok

Travel Tips

Pilot shares why nervous flyers should always book the first flight of the day

A pilot has shared her ultimate travel hack for nervous flyers, revealing why anxious travellers should aim to get the first early morning flight. Morgan Smith, a Boeing 737 pilot, claims that flying in the morning can greatly reduce the amount of turbulence you feel in the air. In an interview with the New York Times, Ms Smith said that morning flights are less likely to be turbulent because of the effects of rising heat. She said, “As the day warms into the afternoon, heat rising off the land increases the chance for turbulence near the ground and turbulence caused by storms.” Morgan also had a couple of other suggestions for those worried about shaky plane journeys, offering some reassurance on the minimal danger of turbulence. She added, “The only thing people should fear from turbulence is possibly spilling their drink on a flight.” “Most injuries from turbulence come from people being out of their seats or not having their seatbelts on when it gets bumpy. So keep your seatbelt fastened, and don’t set your drink on your laptop.” Others have also shared that sitting towards the front of the plane can reduce the effects of turbulence, no matter what time of day you fly. A flight attendant told Sun Online Travel, “For anyone who is really scared of turbulence, my advice would be to sit as close to the front of the plane as possible because it acts like a wave. “What starts as a slight bump at the front of the aircraft can feel much worse by the time it reaches the rear. “Sometimes passengers at the front won’t even be aware of anything, while those at the back get really badly shaken up.” Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Tips

When’s the best time to use frequent flyer miles to book flights? Two economists crunched the numbers on maximizing their dollar value

Traveling during major holidays like Thanksgiving can be expensive, since so many people want to see their friends and families, wherever they might be. It’s especially hard this year with <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL">inflation soaring</a> at the fastest pace since the early 1980s. Airline fares <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SETG01#0">were up 43% in October</a> from a year earlier – only a <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t02.htm">handful of categories increased by more</a>. One way to ease the blow to your wallet or purse is by using frequent flyer miles. While there’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2733384">quite a bit</a> of research on when is the <a href="https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/215872">best time to use cash</a> to buy flights, <a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/profile/huseyin-karaca/">we wondered</a> – as travel lovers – if there’s an optimal time to use miles. So with the help of <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HikpvLqt_M8OfXrCXta4rm76Z_JreLJt/view">our research assistant</a>, we investigated this question, with a focus on flights over the Thanksgiving holiday. <h2>Americans return to the skies</h2> The day before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days to travel in the U.S. Before the COVID-19 pandemic upended travel, the Transportation Security Administration <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput">screened 2.6 million people</a> on Thanksgiving eve of 2019, just shy of the 2.9 million record. While the number plunged in 2020 as demand dropped, it picked up to 2.3 million last year and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-thanksgiving-is-expected-to-be-one-of-the-busiest-for-travel-in-decades-11668532148">is expected to return</a> to pre-COVID-19 levels this year. The surge in demand, along with significantly higher jet fuel costs, are key factors in leading to more expensive air fares. To offset these higher costs, <a href="https://newsroom.wf.com/English/news-releases/news-release-details/2022/New-Study-Americans-Lean-Into-Credit-Card-Rewards-to-Offset-Rising-Costs--Including-Travel/default.aspx">many consumers</a> may turn to frequent flyer miles – whether accumulated from other travel or from credit cards – to avoid forking over so much cash. <h2>Frequent flying 101</h2> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2015.1096095">Frequent flyer mile programs started</a> in the late 1970s after the <a href="https://www.faa.gov/about/history/brief_history">federal government stopped regulating</a> airfares. Before the change, fares, routes and schedules for all domestic flights were set by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board. Besides slashing fares, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/airline-frequent-flyer-miles-30-years/story?id=13616082">airlines reacted by creating frequent flyer programs</a>. Texas International Airlines, which ultimately merged with United, and Western Airlines, which later joined Delta, were among the first to institute frequent flyer programs. In a particular airline’s frequent flyer program, you earn miles when you fly with that airline. Many people get miles by using their credit cards as well. These accumulated miles can then be redeemed for free air travel. Frequent flyer programs were designed to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/02634509810199535">build customer loyalty</a>, as they provide a rebate to regular passengers. They are also <a href="https://hbr.org/1995/05/do-rewards-really-create-loyalty">meant to lock travelers</a> into a particular airline – since they have a strong incentive to only fly with that carrier. One downside is that many business flyers go out of their way to use their preferred airline, <a href="https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/News-Room/Press-Releases/Study-Finds-that-Frequent-Flyer-Programs-Increase-Cost-of-Business-Travel">which boosts their company’s travel costs</a>. And although airlines use frequent flyer programs to increase customer goodwill, they frequently <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/united-airlines-loyalty-program-status-update">change the rules and rewards</a>, which often <a href="https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/delta-just-announced-a-change-that-will-make-people-very-mad-its-actually-a-brilliant-move.html">frustrates customers</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2733384">Researchers have looked</a> at the <a href="https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/215872">optimal time to buy</a> airplane <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/s41272-019-00193-7">tickets</a> with cash. In general, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/08/31/best-time-to-book-a-cheap-flight/?sh=23fdd1e72ebc">they have found prices</a> tend to dip anywhere from two months to three weeks before the travel dates. Prices are highest for those who want to book their flights very early, to lock it in, and last-minute travelers booking just before their departure dates. <h2>How frequent flyer miles compare</h2> To see when’s the best time to book with miles, we looked at <a href="https://www.oag.com/busiest-routes-right-now">one of the busiest routes in the U.S.</a> – New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX). Each month, airlines have over a quarter of a million seats flying direct on that route. There are about 30 nonstop flights a day, run by <a href="https://www.aa.com/en-us/flights-from-new-york-to-los-angeles">three</a> <a href="https://www.delta.com/us/en/flight-deals/united-states-flights/flights-to-los-angeles">different</a> <a href="https://www.jetblue.com/destinations/los-angeles-california-flights">airlines</a>. Starting about three months before Thanksgiving, we collected weekly data from the online booking sites of these three airlines. We tracked the frequent flyer miles needed as well as the price for every coach flight scheduled to take place within one week of Thanksgiving. As miles are not interchangeable between airlines in general, we needed an alternative measure for more direct comparison between different airlines. So we calculated how much a frequent flyer mile is worth by dividing the number of frequent flyer miles needed by the ticket price. We then compared the dollar worth of 1,000 miles, depending on the airline, when the booking was made and the flight date. <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">Economic theory</a> tells us that when there is lots of competition and the product is almost identical, competition should result in all businesses charging roughly the same price. That wasn’t what we found. In mid-October, Delta was asking 69,000 miles to fly the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. American Airlines was only asking 33,000 miles for roughly the same flight. This means if you have a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-travel-credit-cards/">general travel rewards credit card</a> that lets you use miles on different airlines, it pays to shop around. Just because an airline has a high price in miles doesn’t mean the price will not come down. At the start of November, Delta wanted 69,000 miles to fly at dinnertime on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. A week later the airline cut the price to 53,000 miles. A week after that, it was down to 36,500 miles, a price drop of almost 50% in two weeks. While in general the earlier you book, the better, booking too early can cost you. We found the best time to spend your frequent flyer miles for Thanksgiving travel was to book during the first week of October, which was about eight weeks out. In early October, 1,000 frequent flyer miles were worth over $14 in airfare. The last week of October, about four weeks before Thanksgiving, those same miles were only worth shy of $12. <h2>The best day to fly</h2> As for what is the best day on which to travel to get the most from your miles, there are two answers. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, your miles are typically worth the most, on average $15 per 1,000 miles. This is in sharp contrast to $11 for the day before Thanksgiving. However, flying Thanksgiving Day itself had required the lowest average number of miles, about 27,000 miles. If you haven’t booked flights yet, you may be too late to find the best value in frequent flyer miles. However, while we are still gathering and analyzing data, these tips look like they will hold up for future holidays. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/whens-the-best-time-to-use-frequent-flyer-miles-to-book-flights-two-economists-crunched-the-numbers-on-maximizing-their-dollar-value-194893" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Travel Tips

Frequent flyer discusses the biggest sins of travelling

A frequent traveller has shared what she believes are the biggest sins of travelling. Posting a series of videos on TikTok, frequent flyer and travel influencer Tinx bluntly exposed the “worst things” people can do in airports and on planes. The 32-year-old regularly flies between London and New York to visit family, and understands that having to deal with the annoying behaviours of fellow passengers is not an easy task. Now Tinx, whose real name is Christina Najjar, has voiced her frustrations with her followers, revealing the “worst” behaviours that make for “awful travellers”, while urging anyone who is guilty of such sins to “take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror before you travel again.” While there are many things travellers can do that annoy their fellow holiday-goers, Tinx said being “unprepared” is the worst travel sin of all. “Let's begin with people that are unprepared at the front of the security line. It's a security line, you know what's coming, and yet there are still people who are fumbling around with their laptop like a child who forgot their homework.” "'Do I have to take off my jacket?’ Yes, spoiler alert, you always have to take off your jacket. Please keep the theatrical water chugging to the Uber,” she joked. Next up, Tinx trashed the “gate crowders” for their lack of awareness. “Next, let's discuss the gate crowders, they haven't even put up our flight on the little digital board and you're crowding around the gate like it's the stampede from The Lion King, grinding your foot into the ground like you're about to run with the bulls,” she said. “Aside from the fact that you're in group five, I got to tell you buddy, we're all going to the same place, we're all getting on the same plane.” Lastly, the influencer explained her anger at the other passengers who are “a**holes” when it comes to the overhead bins. “It always baffles me with the bins because it's very simple, just don't be an a**hole.” “Put your overstuffed away suitcase and your ugly little personal item in the seat in front of you,” she said. Many of Tinx’s viewers agreed with her travel qualms, with the comments being flooded with additional faux pas that get under the skin of frequent flyers. One user said, “How about those who as soon as the plane is stopped and the seatbelt sign is off they rush to the front of the plane.” Another commented, “What about the people that go back and forth in the aisle trying to choose a seat that suits their preference while other people are boarding?” Image credits: TikTok

Travel Tips

Teacher kills 9-year-old handing out “Save The Planet” flyers

While handing out homemade 'Save the Planet' flyers on the street, a nine-year-old girl was kidnapped, tortured and stabbed to death by a teacher, according to Russian police. Sofia Zhavoronkova’s head was “smashed” and her face and body “disfigured” after she was lured home by Ulyana Lanskaya, 40, an English language tutor. Hundreds attended the girl’s funeral, many in tears, said local reports in Vologda. Sofia hand wrote the flyers in a notebook with 'save the planet 'announcements', which she handed out to strangers with her friend Alla. One read: “Do not throw rubbish on the ground, because you are polluting nature.” Lanskaya - now remanded in custody - had seen the girls distributing the messages to passers-by and praised them for their green initiative. “Well done, girls, come on, I'll buy you something tasty,” she told them, according to the mother of the other girl. Alla was told by the teacher to go home - unharmed - before she is alleged to have attacked and killed Sofia. The woman took the girls to a cafe for cake, and bought sweets and ice cream for them before allegedly luring them to her home. “Sofia came up with the idea of handing out flyers. She herself wrote them on sheets from her notebook,” said Alla's unnamed mother. Lanskaya is reported to have been distraught after the authorities barred her from raising her own son and daughter, and said Sofia looked like her own child. The teacher had repeatedly claimed her healthy daughter suffered from cancer and needed urgent medical treatment, and had reportedly threatened her child with a knife. After Sofia’s death, police detained Lanskaya on a train heading towards Arctic port Murmansk. She confessed to carrying out the murder, said Russian law enforcement. Later in court, wearing military garments, she said, “I confessed because I'm very ill. I feel unwell, I don't have so long to live.” Despite her claim, investigators say there is no evidence she is terminally ill. During the court proceedings, Lanskaya admitted to inviting the girls to her flat “for tea”. She was covered in slash wounds and her head was “a broken, bloody mess”, reported Vologda-Poisk media. Sofia was reported missing and a huge police search started with 272 volunteers in Vologda city, with the girl’s mother Anna Zhavoronkova, 32, making an emotional appeal on social media. Police eventually located her friend after volunteers scanned CCTV footage and saw the girls together. The friend told them the address where she last saw Sofia, as police went to Lanskaya's house. Lanskaya was absent but police broke in and found Sofia’s body. Her throat had been slit and head battered with a blunt object, say police. A local said Lanskaya "is an intelligent woman, with an education" and “she used to be a tutor in several foreign languages." She was remanded in custody for two months pending the murder investigation. At the funeral, hundreds of mourners carried flowers in the tragic girl's memory. A local report said, “People are silent, do not talk at all. Everyone is crying." “Even men, leaving the church, step aside, light a cigarette and wipe away their tears.” One weeping woman said she came because “my granddaughter is the same age”. Image credits: East2West/Australscope

Legal

Are you a frequent flyer? Solar storm radiation can be harmful

Space weather <a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-eruption-could-help-earth-prepare-for-technology-melt-down-18747">impacts</a> many modern-day technologies. But one of the most concerning – and least reported – space weather effects is the increased radiation exposure to passengers on commercial long-distance flights during so-called “<a href="http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/srs.html">solar radiation storms</a>”. The NASA-funded Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation System (<a href="http://sol.spacenvironment.net/~nairas/">NAIRAS</a>) is the computer system tasked with providing a real-time data-driven climatology of the aviation radiation environment. Recently, a series of papers published in the journal [Space Weather] estimate that when NAIRAS was turned off during the US government shutdown last year – which went into effect just as a solar radiation storm began – <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013SW001015/abstract">500,000 people</a> received increased radiation doses. It has also been estimated that this event is likely to eventually result in four cancer-related deaths. What is a solar radiation storm? Disturbances on the surface of the sun are commonly the cause of geomagnetic disturbances here on Earth; such as power grid faults/failures and increased errors in GPS navigation and positioning. Associated with some of these solar disturbances is the ejection of extremely fast plasma into the solar wind that, when aimed directly towards the Earth, causes the onset of increased geomagnetic and ionospheric activity. The Earth-bound solar energetic particles ejected into the solar wind eventually penetrate into the Earth’s magnetosphere. When inside the magnetosphere, they orbit the planet across the Earth’s magnetic field lines until they are scattered by various complicated magnetospheric processes and interactions. Once scattered, these solar particles then travel down the magnetic field lines until they impact the Earth’s upper atmosphere, where they are effectively absorbed. The penetration depth of these particles primarily depends on their kinetic energy, which is governed by their mass and velocity. The less energetic particles are stopped by the Earth’s atmosphere typically between 100 and 400km altitude, causing the well-known <a href="http://spaceweathergallery.com/aurora_gallery.html">aurora</a> in the northern and southern high-latitude regions. The atmosphere increases in density exponentially as the particle falls. This normally prevents particles penetrating to lower altitudes where they are harmful to living organisms. The more energetic particles, called “solar energetic particles”, caused by these solar disturbances can <a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/~barrel/index.html">penetrate</a> to below 10km, near of commercial flights. During such events, the danger posed by the increased radiation levels is easily averted by decreasing the cruising altitudes of the aircraft. Pilots can also divert their flight paths to areas less affected by the increased radiation levels (more equatorward latitudes). Several chest X-rays worth of radiation The aviation radiation monitoring performed in real-time by computer systems such as NAIRAS can effectively be used to issue such warnings to aircraft. This will help remove the threat posed to hundreds of thousands of people across the globe during such space weather events. The geomagnetic activity levels associated with the solar radiation storm that occurred during the US government shutdown were only minor (a minimum <a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-eruption-could-help-earth-prepare-for-technology-melt-down-18747">Dst</a> of -54nT). This means the technologies normally classified as being <a href="https://theconversation.com/divert-power-to-shields-the-solar-maximum-is-coming-11228">vulnerable</a> to extreme space weather events are not likely to have been significantly affected. The solar energetic particle levels observed by <a href="http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/satellite/goes/index.html">geostationary satellites</a> classifies this as an <a href="http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/srs.html">S2</a>solar radiation storm. It lasted more than 24 hours, and took about four days to fully subside (see video below). Some controversy exists around the exact method used by the scientists of the first <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013SW001015/abstract">study</a>into this event. There has been doubt around the estimation of the number of eventual cancer fatalities related to this solar radiation storm. Even though the radiation levels air travellers were exposed to during this event are much higher than they might have been had an appropriate warning been issued, they were still comparatively low – on par with the dose that one would receive from a number of chest X-rays. Arguments put forward by some <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014SW001074/abstract">researchers</a> err on the side of caution. They indicate that some people who would be considered more vulnerable to increased radiation exposure (such as frequent flyers and unborn children) should have access to this radiation monitoring information. This would enable them to make educated decisions about appropriate air travel times in much the same way that non-urgent X-rays may be postponed during pregnancy. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014SW001061/abstract">Other researchers</a> have erred on the opposite side, with the view that the radiation doses during this event were too small to be considered a serious threat. Independent of whether or not this particular space weather event exposed air travellers to dangerous levels of radiation, these studies are in clear agreement that increasing radiation monitoring is a must in the future. This is especially important for the aviation industry, and the provision of such information must not be hindered by short-term political partisan interests. Written by Brett Carter. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-a-frequent-flyer-solar-storm-radiation-can-be-harmful-28775">The Conversation</a>.

Travel Tips

6 tips for low-risk travel hacking

<a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/international/5-clever-travel-hacks-to-try-in-australia/">“Travel hacking”</a> is the practice of seeking to reduce or eliminate travel expenses by systematically making and acting on a plan to accumulate frequent flyer miles and points – usually with specific travel goals in mind. Often, travel hackers accomplish their goals by accumulating airline credit cards that subject them to high spending limits. For the undisciplined, this can be a high-risk type of behaviour. There are multiple pitfalls to overcome. For starters, it’s tempting to spend beyond your means in pursuit of miles and points. Failure to pay your balance in full can result in interest payments that exceed the value of the benefits the card offers. Not only that, there is usually a brief time limit imposed for collecting the sign-up bonus offered by the credit card company. Additionally, these cards usually have annual fees; experienced travel hackers typically cancel the cards before the fees come due. But if you aren’t that organised, you might forget to cancel the cards and have to pay the fees. These aren’t the only pitfalls associated with the usual approach to travel hacking, but they’re a few of the things that can compel people to ask, “Is travel hacking really worth it?” If that were the only way to engage in travel hacking, the answer for many people might well be “no”. Fortunately, this risky approach is not your only choice. It is totally possible to get started with travel hacking using methods that are far less risky. Let’s discuss 6 tips for low-risk travel hacking: 1. Use E-commerce portals for retail shopping Some airlines offer frequent flier miles or other rewards through their branded e-commerce portals. One example is the <a href="https://www.americanairlines.com.au/i18n/aadvantage-program/miles/partners/retail-and-dining.jsp">Aadvantage Program</a> offered by American Airlines. If you want to send flowers to a friend, buy tickets to a theatrical production, or make a purchase from any of 850+ participating retailers, you can earn frequent flier miles redeemable for flights, upgrades, rental cars, hotel rooms and other travel perks. Some of the associated offers are from retailers you probably shop with anyway. 2. Dine out Offers change frequently, but you can often find opportunities to earn frequent flyer miles or advantage points when you eat at participating restaurants. For example, if you eat at <a href="http://qantas.rockpooldininggroup.com.au/">Rockpool Dining Groups’ restaurants</a>, including Spice Temple, Rockport Bar & Grill or Fratelli Fresh, you can accumulate Qantas points to redeem on a future trip. Depending on the restaurant you choose, you could receive 1-2 frequent flier miles for each dollar you spend on dinner at the restaurant. 3. Take advantage of fuel card loyalty discounts Fuel cards offer you a convenient way to pay for your fuel purchases while you’re on the road. Whether you’re taking off on a road trip or you’re renting a car at your travel destination, you can take advantage of <a href="https://www.fuelcardcomparison.com.au/p/getting-most-out-fuel-with-fuel-card-loyalty-discounts/">fuel card loyalty discounts</a>. Each fuel card is different. After you sign up for a fuel card, typically you could expect to receive a few reward points for each dollar you spend at the fuel pump using your card. Depending on the fuel card, the reward points you receive might be redeemable for special deals or discounts. Be sure to read all the fine print to determine what benefits you’d receive from signing up for each fuel card you’re considering. As compared against airline credit cards with initial high spending requirements, most fuel cards don’t seem all that risky. Unlike credit cards, some fuel cards don’t even require any interest payments. However, fuel cards are not entirely risk free. Be aware that some fuel cards do charge monthly fees, annual fees, transaction fees and / or late payment fees – so be aware of the terms of service before applying. Pay particular attention to what fees you’ll be required to pay. Once you’ve begun using a fuel card, be sure to keep up with paying the bills as they come due to avoid late payment penalties. 4. Ride with Uber <a href="https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/uber.html">Uber and Qantas</a> have teamed up to offer you frequent flier miles when you take certain actions associated with their services. For example, signing up with Uber for the first time through Qantas’ portal can earn you 2,000 frequent flier miles. You can also earn points if you use the Qantas app for booking Uber rides to or from eligible Australian airports. The number of points you earn depends on your level of membership in the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program. 5. Buy a new mobile phone and try a new mobile plan Thinking of buying a new mobile phone or switching mobile providers? <a href="https://www.vodafone.com.au/plans/qantas">Vodafone and Qantas</a> are offering up to 20,000 Qantas Points for new Vodafone accounts. To earn the points, you must participate in at least one of the eligible offers these companies are making available. You could buy a new phone plus sign up for a SIM Only Plan or a Red Plan -- or you could sign up for a new Vodafone Plus Plan. New business accounts are eligible to earn greater numbers of points. You can also receive a free membership in the Qantas Frequent Flier Membership Program if you sign up through Vodafone’s link, scoring you a savings of $89.90. 6. Pay your energy bills on time <a href="https://www.redenergy.com.au/qantas/residential">Red Energy and Qantas</a> have partnered to offer you Qantas points for paying your electricity and gas bills on time. If you have a Red Energy account, or you want to open a new one, you’ll have to link the account to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account to be eligible to earn points under this programme. If you’re interested in travel hacking, it can be appealing to start with these sorts of low-risk offers. The points and benefits from these types of offers might not accumulate quite as quickly as they would if you were to use airline credit cards. However, you can see there are substantial amounts of frequent flier miles and other travel perks on offer through various low-risk programmes such as these. If you want to enjoy substantial savings on a trip you plan to take, it’s definitely worth considering all of these tips and offers.

Travel Tips

Qantas strips 73-year-old cancer survivor’s frequent flyer points

A 73-year-old woman recovering from cancer has been cruelly stripped of 150,000 Qantas frequent flyer points, after missing a crucial email during her treatment. Dr Elizabeth Greenhalgh had been undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer when she received an email from Qantas saying her points would expire if she didn’t reactive them. The 73-year-old missed the email completely as she recuperated and as a result the airline stripped her of 150,672, the equivalent of thousands of dollars in flights. “I would have expected somebody who's been a frequent flyer for 16 years to be treated somewhat more flexibly and with more compassion,” said Dr Greenhalgh told <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/" target="_blank">Fairfax</a>. Dr Greenhalgh contacted Qantas and explained her plight, but if she was expecting compassion from the carrier she was sorely mistaken. Qantas denied her request to have her points reinstated, instead offering her a ‘points challenge’ that could see her earn her credits back if she accrued 2,500 in six months on a Qantas card. As is often the case, the problem seems to have been caused by details in the fine print. The terms and conditions on Qantas’ Frequent Flyer page states points expire after the 18th consecutive month of not being used. “While we certainly appreciate Dr Greenhalgh's very difficult circumstances, according to our terms and conditions, points are not reinstated after they've expired,” Qantas responded, according to <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/" target="_blank">Fairfax</a>. “The goodwill challenge gives Dr Greenhalgh the opportunity to re-engage with our program, which is what any member must do to keep an account active in the first place, so we're not asking for anything that's hard to achieve.” What are your thoughts? Is this simply a case of bad luck? Or does Qantas have a responsibility to up its game, and look after a loyal customer?

Travel Trouble

Man pays $191 to take $14K first-class flight using frequent flyer tricks

A <a href="https://www.topmiles.com/" target="_blank">savvy travel blogger</a> has made a habit of booking extravagant flights that cost him only a few hundred dollars. This time, Sam Huang cashed in 67,500 American Airlines miles for a one-way ticket from Chicago to Hong Kong. The first-class ticket on Hong Kong's iconic airline, Cathay Pacific, normally goes for US$10,000, but Huang paid just US$130 – including a US$75 late booking fee. And he took plenty of pictures. <img width="452" height="340" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/image/562f9f03bd86efed5b8b9f8a-1200/image.jpg" class="size_primary" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> "The service was top notch and you can easily tell they paid attention to the minor details." Huang used a clever method involving credit-card sign-ups to accumulate American Advantage miles and snag the seat. Business Insider has previously confirmed with airlines that his booking methods are legitimate. From caviar and Dom Perignon to foot massages, the most impressive part of the trip might be Cathay Pacific's stunning lounges Huang was able to hang out in when he landed in Hong Kong. Written by Nathan McAlone. First appeared on <a href="http://stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz.</a> Image credit: Top Miles / Sam Huang Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2015/12/funny-way-to-avoid-losing-luggage/">One man’s genius way to avoid losing your luggage</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2015/12/handing-your-passport-to-a-hotel/">Is it safe to hand your passport over to a hotel?</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2015/12/never-book-a-flight-on-a-friday/">Why you should never book a flight on a Friday</a>

Travel Tips

5 ways to get more out of your frequent flyer miles

Frequent flyer mile programs can potentially open the door to a range of bargains. But there’s a way to get more value out of these miles that should be considered by everyone signing up. We’ve put together five useful tips for using your frequent flyer miles more effectively. 1. Avoid the airline’s frequent flyer stores While it may seem like the obvious place to go, particularly if you’re sitting on a stack of points, heading to the airline frequent flyer store doesn’t really represent a good investment. This is because while frequent flyer points are set to the value of a currency, the amount they’re worth varies greatly depending on the actual product you’re buying. At the very least, make sure you do a little bit of window shopping before making a purchase as it might represent terrible value. 2. Use only one frequent flyer program If you’re after the big rewards at the end of the journey the only way you’re going to get there is by sticking with a single program (which is exactly the sort of behaviour these programs were set up to encourage). If you’re just about to choose a frequent flyer program to go with, make sure you do some shopping around and not just by looking at the typical rewards they offer, but also examining the routes they generally service and whether this will fit into your business and pleasure trips. 3. Think twice about “free” flights Always consider what the best fare is going to be, before you use all your points. Competition in the airline industry is rife and the more you save up the closer you may be to that flight deal to end all flight deals. Using your points on a flight that’s already very cheap gives your points an exchange rate that’s effectively well below their actual worth, so it’s worthwhile considering this sort of thing. 4. Apply for an upgrade If those points are burning a hole in your pocket however, a useful way to get rid of them is by purchasing a ticket that’s upgradable (these systems vary from airline to airline) an applying for an upgrade. These upgrades are available right up to the departure gate with some airlines and can also cater for one leg of a two-flight trip so there’s potentially a lot of flexibility to explore there. 5. Useful Online Resources The point systems are generally geared to help the airlines make more money, so it’s not like you’re ever going to be able to get something for nothing. But there are variety of online resources to help travellers figure out which the best point system is for them. A good example is <a href="http://pointspros.com/" target="_blank">Points Pros</a> which is an online resource that really simplifies the point accrual process and helps you figure out how to get the best points deal for your particular situation. To visit the <a href="http://pointspros.com/" target="_blank">Points Pro website click here.</a> No matter where you’re travelling to, making sure you know how to access your cash while away – and in the most affordable way – is very important. Easy to use and with countless benefits, the Over60 Cash Passport allows you to securely access your cash in the same way you use an ATM or credit card.<a href="https://oversixty.cashpassport.com.au" target="_blank"> To find out how you can apply for a card today, click here.</a>

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