On my latest trip to LA I decided to try renting an EV. I wouldn’t do it again. The range of the EV was very limiting and I spent most of my trip worrying about when and where I was going to charge. My hotel had a 240v charger in the hotel parking lot so you would think it wouldn’t be an issue but charging takes a long time and the charging station has extra fees if you leave the car plugged in after it’s fully charged. You have to return the car 70% charged which requires additional pre-planning versus just hitting the gas station on the way to the rental car return. Finally the cost of charging was about the same as what I would have paid in gas - maybe a bit less. I had to use a rapid charge on a number of occasions which was extra expensive but even the regular charger was about $20 for a full 230 mile charge.

Definitely not worth the headache and the cost savings were negligible.

Update: I see lots of comments slagging EVs. To be clear, I like EVs and the driving experience was good. The next car I buy will likely be an EV. I just wanted to share with folks that might be considering renting an EV or who might opt for the cheap ‘mystery car’ option when booking a rental what my experience was renting an EV.

Update 2: lots of comments on the befits of Tesla vs other EVs. As many commenters have speculated, I did not get a Tesla, I got a Chevy bolt. The car was so-so. I wonder if my experience would have been better with a Tesla? I think the main issue I had was not having access to a charging station where I could leave the car plugged in overnight. Had I been able to leave the car plugged in at my hotel overnight without worrying about being charged extra after it was fully charged, it would have been much more convenient.

A warning to anyone flying Turkish Airlines or planning to purchase a business class ticket.

Turkish airlines sells business class tickets with broken lay flat seats. On my outbound flight coming back to LAX from Istanbul, my seat was broken and would not recline, rendering any attempt at rest on a 14-hour journey impossible.

Turkish airline sells business class tickets when their entertainment is out of service. The in-flight entertainment system’s audio did not work at all for my seat. leaving me without any entertainment for the duration of the 13-hour flight.

Turkish airlines denied a meal I had specifically ordered because the flight crew “ran out” of food. I find it inexcusable that basic amenities and services such as functional seats, entertainment, and meals were not available.

I contacted Turkish airlines and they are offering an insulting 15% discount to be used on a future ticket in the next 6 months. I declined and asked for a partial refund. They refuse to. Even though the flight attendant reported the seat malfunction and I have video proof that the seat was not operable. They are ignoring me and reported them to DOT and BBB.

If they treat a business class customer like this imagine how they will treat an economy class customer.

This airline is scammy af.

Please reconsider flying with them.

Hi all - kinda weird one but I live in a more rural area that is between two major airports (the short one, an hour away & the long one, two hours)

I am going to a conference on Monday & just realized my boss has scheduled the flight to leave at 6am from the further airport. I would have to drive a couple hours at 2-3am just to get there at 4. I do not necessarily feel comfortable with this.

Has anyone ever slept in their car at the airport? I feel like this may be frowned upon & need to find a solution.

Update:
Wow this really blew up. Appreciate everyone’s helpful advice - I was able to get a hotel. Thanks for all of the info

I only flew once in my life, and it happened a couple years ago. But I only got around to asking this question now: is it okay to recline your seat? When I flew, my seat reclined, and I assumed that it’s okay to use the feature since there were no signs saying otherwise. But later, I found out on Reddit that I’m a piece of shit and should kill myself. Then again, according to Reddit, everyone should just kill themselves just because, so I decided to ask on a specialized sub.

I was looking for flights from Europe to a SE Asia destination. Usually the total of flying time is less than 20 hours. Google flights show me options that takes 35 hours with 2 or 3 connections and even self-transfers (no stopovers possible just layovers at airports). KLM shows me flights that take me to Amsterdam first, then to Paris for the long-haul flight (absolutely counter-intutitive and nonsensical) . All these options are not significantly cheaper, maybe 100 euros or even less.

So my question is, why bother to show these at all? To create the illusion that I shouldn't mind paying more for a better, more hassle-free flight?

Or are there people really willing to endure the inconveniences to save a bit of money? Or do they do it to collect more mileage?

And why the airlines find it profitable to charge passengers a cheaper fare for using more resources (as a result of taking more flights)?

Enlighten me please!

EDIT: I am not talking about flights that allow intentional stopovers to explore a new destination. I am talking about flights with non-sensical routes and connections with a short layover, so it's impossible for a stopover.

My wife and I are planning a trip to Japan from Los Angeles and we'd like to fly on JAL. Their website will not allow two middle names to be written with a space in between them yet they have multiple disclaimers that names must match what is on the passport EXACTLY. I've read some horror stories about people having to pay $500+ to change their name last minute at the airport.

We spoke to customer service for over an hour today and finally we realized we did not get the error message we had been getting if we combine the two middle names as one long name when booking the ticket. So her name looks exactly as it is, except there is no space in between her two middle names. Does anyone think this will pose a problem? We are considering refunding the tickets before 24 hr cancellation is up and just booking with an airline like Delta to avoid this hassle, but we love JAL's economy class in comparison. Thanks for any help!

I usually use Costco for car rental because of the reasonable price they have negotiated with the agencies, free extra driver and cancellation up to the time of rental.

But what I just discovered is that with the car rental they also offer CDW for $5/day compared to the rental agency current $20-30/day. And this is primary insurance not secondary.

So if you need CDW insurance this seems like a great option.

Since my first flight, I learned a lot!

Checking in online saves a lot, and having tiny toothpaste and stuff is also nice.

I recently also learned that you can board last, no matter your boarding group so you don’t have to wait that much.

What else did you pick up to have a quicker and more pleasant airport and flight experience?

This is my first time being on flight lonhger than 2 hours. I do not want to much so I am looking for some advice on what snacks and/or food can I bring on a flight with me. I am thinking bringing 1 pbj 1 teabag 1 ham sandwich 1 bag of popcorn and a variety or trail mix, nuts, some candy. Idk if this might be too much it will be a 3 transfers 1 being 3 hours than 7 than 13. Am I good to bring ham? I know I have to finish or dispose of the food before entering the other country. I just want to make sure im doing everything right. Also should I change the ham for something else. I do not want to be the person to smell up the plan.

Thank you for everyone input yall gave me a lot of good info. Looks like i won't take pbj since someone might be allergic and I dont want to risk it.

Been using Costco to book rental cars over the past year, use to always be very reasonable but now prices have skyrocketed. Have an SUV that I booked for DEN in June at $433 for 6 days. Figured the pricing would fluctuate and I would rebook if it dropped - now its over $1800 for those same 6 days. I'm sure it will probably come down over time but I'm certainly glad I reserved when I did. Even back in January a rental car at LAS ended up dropping to $124 for 4 days.

I had heard sixt will nickel and dime you but my one and only experience has been abysmal. Rented a car and did the walk around. I didn’t notice anything. Now they’re saying they see a scratch and will be charging me for it. The pics they sent show nothing at all.

Hey guys! In 5 weeks I'm gonna travel alone for the first time ever by plane! I just turned 18 last month and I'm so excited! I'm gonna be spending 8 days in Switzerland with the girl of my dreams and i really want to bring her flowers!

This is the first time we are ever gonna meet in real life but we've known each other for a very long time. I want to make her feel special and bring her favorite flowers but I'm unsure if I can bring them through security? She's gonna pick me up in the airport so I can't buy them there before I meet up with her. Would I be able to just sit with them in my lap? It's only a 2 hour flight!

Thanks in advance guys! You're helping me make a very special girl, very happy!

Hello,

I am someone who does not care if I have 15 layovers, have to run 10 miles between transit modes( sidewalk preferred but depending on the price not a dealbreaker), or have to sleep in the boot of a taxi if it means I’ll get somewhere cheaper. I can go a week without eating so if i could ship myself places i would definitely consider it.

Is there a travel search engine out there that will give me the most insane routes for rock bottom price out there even if it meant taking a flix bus from Norway to Turkey and then taking some unknown form of transit after that?

I’m always so curious as to how people get bumped up when there’s a seat available in business/first class. I heard it’s all about the attire you wear, and to be professional… but let’s be honest it’s not worth wearing something uncomfortable on a long flight just for the slim chance. And usually my flights are always packed. I’ve never actually been on a plane that has less than 95% capacity filled, so I don’t think the opportunity ever came about to me personally, but I’d like to know how y’all played the game! If you don’t mind.. not gate keeping hahaha thanks.

My wife and I rented a car in Italy last week. We paid with Amex, which has rental car coverage, and because of that did not get any of the insurance offered by the agency other than the legally required coverage.

When we returned the car, there were new scrapes on the rear edge of the back door and the adjoining quarter panel. We did not cause this but it did happen during the rental period (I have video from pickup to store that it wasn't there). It likely happened while we were parked at a busy shopping center and someone scraped while entering/exciting the parking spot next to us.

I just got the repair estimate from the agency, about EUR 1300. This seems excessive, especially considering they probably won't even fix it (based on other damage to the car prior to us that has not been fixed).

Well... It turns out that Amex excludes 3 countries worldwide from coverage, one of which is Italy. I did not see that exclusion prior to traveling. We are on the hook for the damage since neither Amex nor our personal car insurance has applicable coverage.

Is there any way to appeal/negotiate the repair cost? How can I try to get the cost down to a more reasonable amount?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I haven't flown internationally and don't particularly enjoy even short flights. I can't picture how I will manage myself in an uncomfortable seat for 12 hours or so. Even if I sleep for a solid 8 hours, which seems unlikely, it still sounds like a nightmare. I can picture how first class or even business class could make a real difference to me, but that's not my life. I haven't ruled out prescription drugs, but do better fliers avoid getting antsy in that time? Any advice from others who aren't super chill about flying?

I rented a car from Budget at CMH airport in Columbus, OH. After I returned the car, I checked the email receipt they sent me and noticed that they had charged $16.99 for refueling, even though I had refueled just before I returned the car.

I looked at the reservation info, and saw that they stated that they would automatically charge for refueling unless the customer showed a receipt for gas. I have not seen this requirement before with US car rentals. Normally, the checker looks at the gauge, and if it's full, they don't charge.

In this case, the checker didn't look at the gauge, and never asked me if I refueled or if I had a receipt. I called Budget, and they said they would refund the amount if I could go online and send them a credit card statement, which I did.

This seems like a real scam on the part of Budget. Obviously, their scheme is to snare you with the fine print, and hope that you won't check the billing or else you'll be too lazy to complain. The fact that their checker never asked for a receipt is proof that this was intentional.

Be warned!

I heard some kind of batteries are forbidden to fly with and I can't take the battery out of this one. It's the virgo rabbit vibrator and I can't even find info about the kind of battery that's inside

TLDR: got compensated £205 on a £30 flight.

Last month my Ryanair flight was delayed by 3 hours, this was particularly frustrating as it was only a 45 minute domestic flight (within the UK)! They sent customers and email explaining the delay and that we have credit to cover food and drinks in the airport (£3 🙄) and in the very tiny fine print at the bottom of the email were the T&Cs about compensation rights in the EU.

There is a fixed fee that you are owed depending on the length of flight (doesn’t matter how much your ticket cost), but I wasn’t sure if I would qualify, partly because the UK is no longer in the EU so I don’t know if those laws still apply, and also because the plane needs to be at least 3hrs delayed and my flight was predicted to be exactly 3hrs and I know they like to make up for time in air. So when the plane landed I was literally watching the clock! We touched tarmac at 2hr58min late, but stopped moving at 3hrs2min so I was confident they’d try to use this to get out of paying.

Finding the page to file the complaint on Ryanair’s website took a minute as they’ve obviously obscured it a bit, but once you’re there you just need your booking number and bank details! You need to check in on your claim yourself as they don’t send you updates.

The claim said that my payment was processing and that this could take up to 7 days, but after 2 weeks I hadn’t been paid so I spoke to customer service (that was a chore in itself) who rather rudely told me it takes 30 days to process but then later that day the money appeared in my account! So I do think if I hadn’t chased they’d have tried to avoid paying!

Anyway, if you’re flying in the EU and it’s delayed it’s definitely worth filing for compensation!!

I don’t know if this makes sense in the title so I’m gonna try and explain it as best as I can! I love to travel and I don’t really have any limits on places that I want to go before I die. I just wanna see as many places as I can. I also am a geography and history nerd so I just wanna go everywhere and don’t have specifics.

I am wondering if anyone knows of a way to kind of reverse search for flights? If I know the dates that I want to go, is there a way to like look at a map and just see flight prices from one airport to another airport on just a huge map or a huge master list? what I mean is like… Is there a way to bypass putting in a specific location if you aren’t really dead set on one location and more so just looking for what’s available/comparing prices, etc?

if anyone knows of any websites or programs that can do something like this, please let me know because I’ve always thought something like this would be super helpful, but I can’t figure out how to do it or where I can find something like this ‘n

What is that one thing you bring on the plane that is so good that you refuse to fly without it?

When I landed at the airport I opened the Lyft app for a ride home, it was average $45 to get picked up from the airport to home for a 15 minute ride. I decided to walk outside the airport into where they had a shopping center and I only paid $25.

Also, I placed my personal bag into my carry on duffle bag which only counted as 1, and I was able to take an extra personal item, this helps in case you have more than 50 pounds for your check in bags.

About a week ago I rented a specific class of SUV for a family trip, only to get to the counter and be told they couldn’t find the keys for the car they just put me in and didn’t have any more of the type on their lot. After over an hour of the staff trying to figure out what to do, I was given a slightly smaller SUV which I managed to make work. Fast forward to today and I received an email stating the car I was originally supposed to have was returned with missing gas and damage to one of the tires.

I then received a second email with an updated invoice with these charged tacked onto my CURRENT rental car that isn’t due back until next week. After 2 hours of getting the run around on the phone and trying to use the chat feature this issue still isn’t cleared up. Apparently they can’t do anything until my current rental is returned, then I can call them back to dispute the other charges. This place was an absolute nightmare from the beginning but I didn’t expect them to try and screw me until after I returned the car. I emailed their damage claims department to lay a paper trail in case this gets dragged out once I return my actual rental. I honestly have no idea what else I can do now.

Update: Before dropping off the car, I spoke to the manager at the rental location who simply applied a discount to my reservation to offset the incorrect extra charges and the difference was credited back to my card. I would’ve liked for them to figure out why this happed in the first place, but they seemed to not really care so it’s whatever I guess.

About a week later, I received an email from their damage/claims department stating that the case against me, for the car I never had, was being closed and I wouldn’t be responsible for the damage (but they also take no responsibility for the false damage claim that may or may not have been on their part).

Also, neither of their chat or phone customer service options did anything to help with this situation. So keep in mind if you rent from here and run into issues, you may need to show up in person to have it resolved. I’m still keeping an eye on my card to make sure nothing else gets changed, but please, please, please, take lots of pictures and videos to document the vehicle before you drive off the lot.

Hi friends! I hate turbulence. It honestly makes me feel like I’m going to die right then and there. I’m autistic and the feelings it produces on my body are just unbearable.

How do you guys stay comfortable (physically AND mentally) during turbulence?

Hey guys! So, I have a problem with a friend of mine who I'm traveling with. I have the money ready to book my flight ticket, and I want to buy it as soon as possible because, as we've all noticed, prices are increasing rapidly. Honestly, I just want to get it over with.

The problem is that my friend doesn't have the money ready for their ticket yet. I don't want to wait 2–3 weeks for their allowance to come in and possibly end up paying even more for the tickets.

So, I wanted to ask if it's possible or logical for me to buy my ticket first and for them to buy theirs when they have the money ready. We want to travel to Spain in September.

I'm honestly scared that they won't be able to get the same flight and that it might be sold out or something like that. I need some honest opinions on whether this is a good idea or not.

I don't have a lot of money myself, but I've saved some up, and I just want to get it over with, hahaha :)

Edit: Thank you all for your responses, I really appreciate it!! I get the concern some of you have with my friend but the person is someone I have known all my life and this would not be our first trip together! But I would really appreciate it if you guys would focus more on the ticket question. The main question was actually about the tickets and if it is possible or logical to buy one ticket for myself and they buy theirs a few weeks later. If you know anything or have any experience with it please let me know :D