2 Big Secrets Most Travel Credit Cards Are Hiding from You

What Your Travel Credit Cards Are Not Telling You

You can be paying a $700 Annual Fee for American Express Platinum, $250 for Amex Gold, $400 for TD, CIBC, RBC Visa Infinite Privilege (and many others), but what they don’t want you to know is that you will get dinged with 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee and some of these even don’t provide free lounge access.

For example, American Express Gold has a hefty $250 annual fee, but it even doesn’t provide free global lounge access. On paper, it looks like there are 4 free Plaza Premium Lounge Passes, but these free lounge passes are only applicable to Canadian airports.

The most important travel credit card feature all these cards don’t provide and are actually hiding from you is the foreign transaction fee. Every time you make a purchase in something other than Canadian currency, you will get charged a 2.5 percent foreign transaction (FX) fee.

However, there is one card with only a $140 annual fee that gives you both zero foreign currency transaction fees and 6 free global lounge accesses. Scotia Passport Visa Infinite is the only travel credit card on the Canadian market that offers both free global lounge access and zero foreign currency FX fees.

If you are reading this from another country, look for a travel credit card that offers zero foreign currency transaction fees and free global lounge access. These features should be the gold standard of any premium travel credit cards.

To view this article in video format, please visit this link: Secrets Travel Credit Cards Hiding From You

A 5-Star Airline, EVA Air, Does Not Have 24-Hour Customer Service Support

EVA Air’s 24-Hour Customer Service Phone Number Doesn’t Exist

When you think of a 5-Star Airline, the first thing to come to your mind is excellent customer service support and you need a phone number to do that. I tried calling EVA Air for 2 days to reach a live person and failed, and so did my travel agent. This is because it looks like a 24-hour phone number doesn’t exist for EVA Air.

If you try calling EVA Air on their website, it asks you to pick your location and directs you to a local number where no one picks up the phone and it goes to voice mail. I tried calling number after number given to me by my travel agent or found on the EVA Air website. Some of them are: 416-598-8808, 281-209-0022, 800-695-1188, and many others. None of them worked.

One number (801-636-9417) seemed to be claiming to be EVA Air, but when you ask them to provide any sort of information, they hang up. I have a feeling that some of the numbers are scamming people, knowing that customers are looking to reach EVA Air and they can’t because there is no such customer service offered.

What I don’t understand is what are customers supposed to do when they are traveling EVA Air and get stuck in the middle of the trip or emergencies arise and need to contact EVA Air right away? It is possible EVA Air has a 24-hour support line, but they are hiding it and will only reveal it when people are stuck at the airport.

I have a video on this here: https://youtu.be/TfvmDmkROSo

If you happen to know EVA Air’s 24-Hour Customer Service number that works, please leave a comment on that video to help other fellow travellers.

How to Choose the Best Airline Seat: Window vs. Aisle

Pros and Cons: Aisle Versus Window Seat on An Airplane

When it comes to choosing the window or aisle seat, I don’t think there is a clear winner as it all depends on various factors. Today, I will talk about some advantages and disadvantages of both and will provide how and when I chose either the window or aisle seat.

Window Seat

Advantages

Here are some of the advantages of a window seat:

- Less disruptive
- Great views
- Control of window cover
- Better sleeping surface
- You have people sitting on only one side

Disadvantages

- Stuck in the same place
- Every time you need to go to the washroom or take a stroll, you need to ask other seatmates
- Unhealthy for longer flights as you can’t get up and walk and stretch as you wish

Aisle Seat

Advantages

Here are some of the advantages of an aisle seat:

- Freedom to get up, stretch, use the washroom and walk anytime you want
- Faster to exit when the plane lands
- Easier to reach your overhead compartment luggage during the flight

Disadvantages

- You will be disrupted every time the other passengers move
- Disrupted by people walking in the aisle
- No views

My personal preference depends on what type of flight I’m on. If I am taking a flight less than 3 to 5 hours, I prefer a window seat. But if my flight is longer, I would go for an aisle seat. I like to get up and walk every hour on long flights and want the freedom to use the washroom whenever I want.

To pick your best flight seat, figure out what factors are important to you and then go from there.

How to Choose Between Backpack vs Suitcase Carry-on

Carry-on Backpack Vs Suitcase | Which One is Better for Travelling

This is a well-debated issue among travelers and the answer mostly relies on personal preference and your travel situations like destinations, complexity of itinerary, and various other factors. I will go over some simple pros and cons in this article to establish my own views.

Carry-on Backpack Suitcase

Advantages

- You can roll it and not carry weight on your back or shoulder.

- Better protection for fragile or sensitive items.

- Option to check-in as luggage if you need to.

- Better for storing awkwardly-shaped items.

Disadvantages

- Difficult to carry on for rough terrain, up and down stairs.

- Bending on your side to hold the handle and roll it can give you pain later on.

- Difficult to shove in the flight overhead bin if it’s almost full.

- Difficult to move around and maneuver at the airport and tight spaces.

- You have to literally open your suitcase to take out electronics, liquids, etc. at the airport security.

- No external pockets or side pockets to keep items you need during your trip.

- If you are late and need to run to catch a flight, the suitcase will be a big problem.

Carry-on Backpack or Convertible Backpack

Advantages

- Comfortable to wear and move around.

- Suitable for rough terrain, up and down stairs, basically anywhere.

- A big plus point is your hands are always free – which is a big advantage.

 - There are external pockets and side pockets to keep items you need during your trip.

- You don’t have to open your backpack to take out electronics, liquids, etc. at the airport security as there are external compartments for these.

- You can shove it in anywhere in the overhead bin, as backpacks are flexible and not hard.

Disadvantages

- If too heavy, backpacks can be difficult to carry and give you backpain.

- Oddly shaped items can poke out and cause trouble.

- Not possible to check-in if you have fragile and sensitive items.

Conclusions

My personal choice is a convertible backpack, but sometimes I use a suitcase if I have a simple trip, such as going to only one resort. However, if you are a content creator, you need to be hands free to video or take pictures and for that reason I use a backpack most of the time.

Whether you use a backpack or a suitcase all depends on your unique travel scenarios and personal preferences. Once you travel a few times with either of these, you will figure out whether a backpack or suitcase fits your travel needs.

How to Pick the Best Airport Security Lines | Tips to Get Through Airport Security Faster

How to Avoid Long Lines at Airport Security

One of the most unpleasant experiences we all want to avoid when traveling is going through the airport security. While you can’t avoid that, there are some simple strategies you can take to make your airport security experience better.

80% to 90% of the population are right handed. So, it’s natural for travelers to move towards the right lanes at the airport security point. Before jumping into any lines, scan your left and see if those lines are light. Go to the left lines if opportunities exist.

However, the above strategy may not work at some airports if the security personnel are directing you to specific lines.

Another strategy you can follow is to not stay behind lines where you see families and kids are ahead of you. There is nothing against families and kids … they just take longer than others because they have more groups of people together.

Always look for those lines where you see more business travelers, even if these lines are longer. They are veteran travelers and will pass through airport security much faster than occasional travelers. You can easily identify business travelers by their dress and minimal luggage.

There is nothing guaranteed, but you can increase your chances to pass airport security point faster and smoother by following the three simple strategies above.

I have this article in video format. You can watch it here: How to Choose the Best Airport Security Lines