Act fast: Earn the Southwest Companion Pass by booking just 1 round-trip flight

Southwest’s Companion Pass, which allows you to bring a friend for nearly free (you have to pay the taxes and fees) on unlimited flights, is one of the most valuable assets in the world of points and miles. It typically takes a lot of Southwest flights and/or credit card spending to nab one of these…

You can now visit Sri Lanka without a visa

Americans and other tourists visiting Sri Lanka will no longer need to apply for a visa beginning Tuesday, per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Today, the Cabinet authorized the President to implement visa-free access for 38 nationalities with immediate effect, adopting Singapore’s streamlined ‘one-chop’ approach,” Ali Sabry, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said on…

Burning Man exodus: ‘Burners’ fuel Reno airport’s busiest days of the year

More than 70,000 people traveled over the holiday weekend to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, about 100 miles from Reno, to occupy Black Rock City, the temporary town created to host Burning Man, the annual eccentric and offbeat camping event filled with art, music, creative endeavors and all manner of curious activities. This year’s Burning Man…

Move over, Delta: Why Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program has become my favorite SkyTeam loyalty program

Even if you travel on many different airlines, it makes sense to focus on just one loyalty program in each of the Big Three airline alliances: OneWorld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam. By focusing on one program per alliance, you can earn rewards faster by funneling everything into one program, as your points and miles won’t be…

Is Clear still worth it?

As a loyal Clear user for the past three years, I will continue paying for it for as long as it exists. It saves me time and stress when passing through Transportation Security Administration security. Though I’ve never doubted the expedited security program’s worth, the implementation of random ID checks undoubtedly questions its core tenet….

Monthly checklist: Credit card perks and benefits you should be using in September

Depending on how many credit cards you have, the list of benefits you should be using this month might feel overwhelming. Can you remember all of these perks without help? Maybe not. Rather than trying to keep track of all of them on your own, we’ve compiled a monthly checklist of credit card perks and…

Is it better to book a cruise through a travel agent? We say yes

Going online to book an airline ticket or hotel stay is a familiar and fairly easy transaction. When you book a cruise, however — particularly your first cruise — you might want to reconsider the impulse to handle the transaction yourself through a cruise line website or an online advertiser with cheap prices. This DIY…