Avoid Travel Scams - Don’t Call Airlines or Hotels from Search Results

Don’t Call Airlines or Hotels from Google Search

Scammers are always looking for innovative strategies to scam travellers. Using Google to make innocent tourists pay has to be one of their most ingenious ways to make people lose money.

Here’s how it works: Scam websites are paying Google to rank on top search results for airlines or hotels. When someone is searching for these hotels or airlines, they are directed to the scam sites instead of the real hotel or airline sites.

Once you make contact, their fake customer support try to trick you into believing that they can book, change, or cancel existing booking. Once you give your credit card information, they charge the card. As you would imagine, this will not do anything to your real bookings.

Customers losing money like this have two problems. The scammer is getting their money and then their real bookings are not being taken care of. There are many horror stories if you look in the news: Travelers finding out later that their bookings were not canceled, they didn’t buy that airline ticket they thought they were buying, or nothing was modified as they intended. Hundreds to thousands of dollars are lost in this type of scam.

The best way to not fall for this scam is to call the airline or hotel directly from their websites. Do not call any places you get from your search results. Go to the contact page of your airline or hotel and call the contact numbers listed there.

Also, always be vigilant and use your best judgement. Make sure you are talking to the right people before handing over your personal and credit card information.

10 Items You Should Never Pack in A Checked Bag for International Flights

Items Not to Pack in Your Checked Luggage

There are many items you should avoid packing in your checked bag or luggage. Today I will go over some of the most common items you should avoid.

1. Anything Containing a Lithium-Ion Battery – Laptops, cameras, phone, and Kindles are just a few to mention. Lithium-Ion batteries are prone to cause fire. Should a fire happen in the cargo section on an airplane, it will be much more difficult to put out than in the cabin.

2. Matches, Lighters, & Any Flammable Solids or Liquids

3. Jewelry & Valuable Items – Luggage also gets lost or stolen. Avoid putting something valuable in your luggage that you could easily carry or wear.

4. Credit Cards, Bank Cards, or Cash – Another common mistake many travelers make. These should be carried with you at all times.

5. Strong Alcohol – Alcoholic drinks containing more than 70% or over 140 proof alcohol are not allowed to be checked.

6. Prescription Medications – If you lose your luggage, you will be out of your meds and you don’t want that.

7. Electronics – Laptops, cameras, or anything else. These are expensive and you don’t want to put them in luggage as they could get damaged, lost, or stolen. They also pose a fire hazard as mentioned in #1.

8. Breakable Items – Any items that can break due to luggage handling should not be checked.

9. Food & Drinks – These are not allowed to carry in checked bags.

10. Passport, IDs, Travel Documents – Yes, people do it. Self-explanatory.

There are many other items that are not allowed to be checked. The best advice is to check with the proper transportation security authority from the airport you are flying out of. For example, in the USA or Canada, you should consult the TSA or CATSA website.

If you are flying from other countries, check their transportation security websites. You may be able to contact them via email, phone, or social media if you are not sure about something.

Best & Fastest Way to Find Airport Terminal and Gate Number

How to Find Your Flight’s Terminal & Gate Number (Fastest & Easiest Way)

In the past, I used several methods (looking it up in an app, checking the airport information monitor, boarding pass, and many others) to check my flight’s gate and terminal number. These methods are frustrating and not always efficient.

Today, I will show you the best and easiest way to find your flight’s terminal and gate number when you travel. This process can be done in 10 seconds.

Open up a browser on your mobile phone or tablet and go to Google search. You need to know your flight number to use this method. For example, let’s say your flight is Air Canada AC 718. Type in Flight AC 718 in the search box and hit search.

That’s all you have to do. You will see your flight’s terminal number, gate number and some other useful information about your flight. I was shocked to find out how easy this is and I was checking my Terminal and Gate number in much more difficult ways in the past.

The information shown here is up to date and is always being updated. So I recommend you check this a few times before approaching your gate, as there may be a change of gate – which always happens.

One drawback is that you need to have an Internet connection on your phone. But I always manage to have the Internet available even when I am in foreign countries. I use eSIM, Mobile Hotspot, or free lounge access to access the Internet.

I have a video on this which can be viewed here: How to Find Airport Gate

International Travel Tips: Boarding Time and Departure Time

What You Need to Know About Departure Time vs. Boarding Time

If you mix up Departure Time and Boarding Time on your international flight, you may have to pay hefty costs. Today, I will clarify Departure Time and Boarding Time to make your next flight a breeze.

Boarding Time: Boarding Time is actually more important than Departure Time and you should plan your trip accordingly. Boarding Time is when flights start the process to let passengers in. Usually, Boarding Time is 45 minutes before Departure Time. For some flights, Boarding Time can be 1 hour before Departure Time.

You should aim to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before Boarding Time so you can have a smooth process at the airport and don’t miss your flight.

Departure Time: Departure Time is when the plane leaves the gate. At Departure Time, the boarding process has completed, passengers are seated, and the plane starts to move. If you want to plan your trip by the Departure Time, aim to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before.

Here are some Pro Tips:

-          You’re required to be at the gate to board at least 15 minutes before your scheduled departure. Some airlines may ask for you to arrive even earlier than 15 minutes.

-          If you miss boarding time, you will miss the flight. Gate agents won’t let you in if you are at the gate past the 15-minutes-earlier timeframe.

-          Personally, I always aim to arrive at the airport 4 hours earlier than my Departure Time. I would rather arrive a little early and hang out in the airport lounge than arrive late and miss the flight.

Video version of this article can be viewed here:
International Boarding Time Departure Time Tips

How to Track a Flight | Best Free App to Track Flights

How to Track Flights on Your Mobile Phone for Free

There are many apps to track flights. Most of them are complicated and free versions are full of advertisements. By far, my best experience tracking a flight has been with an all-in-one travel app called Kayak.

Kayak is a free travel trip app that lets you organize flights, hotels, tour itineraries and more.  This free travel-planning app can also track prices with Price Alerts & many other things. However, one of the best features Kayak offers is to track a flight in real time for free.

If you email your flights, hotels, or any travel confirmations, Kayak organizes and puts them together day by day. It can then follow these itineraries and notify you about hotel or flight check ins, flight changes, gate assignments, gate changes, flight delays, even baggage carousel numbers, and lot more. 

If you only want to follow a flight without sending your trip confirmations, you have the ability to add it on the app to follow that flight. You can even see real-time flight progress on a map and all other flight information as mentioned above.

You can add one or several flights to track – all for free. Adding a flight is very simple. You can search and add by detecting location, by adding flight information, or by searching for any specific airports.

It surprised me that Kayak is full of so many features that other apps would charge a premium fee for and still doesn’t ask for money or show ads.

I have a video showing how to add a flight to track step-by-step. Visit the link below:

How to Track a Flight