Category Archives: Tips and Tricks

The best travel moments are almost always unexpected. Yet going off-script usually entails endangering the most valuable commodity a tourist has: Time. We must be ready to give up a sure thing ( a major attraction, a picturesque location, a buzzed-about cafe) for the unfamiliar ( turning down a dirt road, approaching a stranger, stepping through a door).

I travel with a more unwieldy to-do list than most, one which I assemble from friends, colleagues, readers & my Web research. There’s always more in my itinerary than I possibly could accomplish.

Yet, my most treasured lifelong memories come from exploring streets and neighborhoods early in the morning in any new city. Wandering before the other tourists are out and about has given me the chance to see locals on their way to work, appreciate beautiful views and historic monuments all to myself, and given me the courage to let myself get lost and interact in more meaningful ways.

A few years ago my family rented an apartment for a few days in a neighborhood near Piazza Navona in Rome. While my wife and kids slept, I snuck out just after dawn to take walks. I had no idea how magnificent Bernini’s fountains in the piazza were until I saw them up close, in a still-quiet city, without having to jostle my way through throngs of people. And I will never ever forget rounding a corner to find myself face to face with the Pantheon without another soul in site. I sat down and soaked up that moment. I always returned to our apartment exhilarated after such walks.

So folks, take a chance and take off beat paths find lifelong memories while travelling. As its said in the Chinese proverb -A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.

One of the readers of this Blog – Bruce E sent this request – Rick, I am looking for advice in dealing with TransUnion and Equifax to remove credit disputes from credit report quickly. Can you give any advice at all in a speedy dispute removal with the credit bureaus.

Best way to handle this situation is to contact each Credit Bureaus directly. You will need to provide a letter from the Creditor stating that Account is not in Dispute any more. Once you get the letter, use the below information to contact each credit bureau directly.

Experian

Address – 475 Anton Blvd. Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Telephone – 714-830-7000

Tip – Phone is answered by a live human being, tell them you need the Executive Customer Service Team to end the dispute(s), Their hours are 8AM-5PM Pacific Time

Equifax

Address - 1550 Peachtree St NW Atlanta, GA 30309

Telephone - 404-885-8300

Tip – Phone is answered by a live human being, tell them you need to speak with someone in the Executive Consumer Service department.

TransUnion

Address – 555 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60661

Telephone - 312-985-2000

Tip - It has a machine greeting but just stay on the line and you are transferred to a live person, tell them you need to speak with someone in the Special Handling Department, you’ll have to wait a little bit as they need to connect to customer service then get it elevated to the Special Handling Department (it is hit or miss, TransUnion often proves to be the most challenging). And if you cannot get the Special Handling Department, then contact the normal customer service again and say that you need to dispute the compliance condition remarks code of “AID” (Account In Dispute) because you are no longer disputing the account. The customer service rep should be able to immediately end the dispute, as in during the phone call.

Also Note – that there are some situations that disputes cannot be ended by the consumer, and must be ended by the creditor, such as if there are multiple disputes on the same trade line. And remember – always be patient with the customer service reps, as they are trying to help you but may have limited authority depending on where the customer service call center is based. If there are confusing terms being used, don’t be afraid to admit you do not understand what they are saying and ask for them to re-explain or to transfer you to their supervisor.

Here are some of the best travel tricks that I have learned while travelling all around

1. Any time you need a phone or laptop charger, just go into the biggest hotel in the city and tell the front desk you left it here a week ago. They have a huge box full of chargers people have left behind.
2. Keep spare underwear and socks in your hand luggage, because your main luggage often can get lost or can (legally) be sent the next day.
3. If you rent a car, take a photo of it, with the license plate. Coming back to a parking lot and seeing 10 white impala parked in a row not knowing which one is yours can be frustrating. Also take photos of city maps or train routes and you don’t have to worry about losing/ carrying a pamphlet all the time.
4. Smile - With this tool you can hack your way into friendships, private events, cheaper prices even occasional one night stands and all sorts of other enjoyable experiences .
5. Haggling and Bartering - Nairobi, Kenya, Jordan,  and Tanzania – These are fairly touristy areas where they really inflate the prices because some folks will pay the given price without haggling. So I suggest Haggling. Likewise, wait to see what a local paid for something, or ask a local customer, and that way you won’t get ripped off. It’s not uncommon for tourists to pay at least double the local rate. Also if the vendors saw something they liked, they would try to barter for that. Sometimes it was my Hat, Sunglasses, or Lighter, but they really into the Pens. Apparently they get crappy stuff from China (really crappy, as in stuff the West rejects) and they break all the time. Also they can give the Pens to their school going kids . So carry few extra decent quality pens if you want a great deal.
6. To all the single ladies: buy a cheap ring and wear it to avoid harassment and marriage proposals.
7. Lastly, I always pack with me few extra ziploc bags. One for medications (if I’m traveling somewhere where I need them), one for memory cards/ usb drive/ camera stuff, one for documents (yellow fever card, passport photocopy, plane ticket receipts), etc. It makes it super easy to keep stuff organised and track them as well.

I will post more travel tricks soon. In the meantime, what is yours favorite travel trick?

Bumpage works in most cases for reducing hard inquiries on a credit report, but not always. It does come with a little bit of investment risk. The risk known as “Choppage.” Choppage is when a Credit Bureau goes into your account and “chops” off (removes) all the extra soft inquiries. It appears, at least based on the various contributors of Flyer Talk, that Equifax is the most active in choppage.

$100 and $150 sign-up bonuses seem to get most of the attention in the credit card world, even though you might be far better served — and save far more — with the right balance transfer deal instead.

Take Advantage of Balance Transfers: There’s a featured balance transfer deal from Discover over on Outlaw right now which offers 18 months — that’s a year and a half! — of 0% Intro APR on an approved balance transfer, and 6 months of 0% Intro APR on your purchases for 6 months as well. This allows you to move a balance away from a high-interest credit card and onto the new Discover card for that period of time. With a balance of, let’s say, $10,000 on a card with a 15.99% non-promotional APR, the balance transfer deal would save you $1,599 in the first year alone… That’s more than 15 times what you’d earn with a simple $100 cash back bonus.

If you’re looking for a balance transfer card with many other perks, also peruse Capital One’s latest offers. They have a number of cards with 0% Intro APR until May 2013, and even one until August 2013.

Concentrate spending on one or two cards: Your cash back or air miles will accrue faster, and you’ll also avoid “card fatigue” where you are using so many different cards that it becomes difficult to remember all of your credit limits, upcoming payment due dates, and so on. Ideally, you’d use one credit card most of the time (with a second as a back-up) and pay off the balance in full each month before your statement’s due date. This way, you reap miles or cash back without ever spending a dime in interest charges. Easier said than done, of course, but Outlaw has many readers who have disciplined themselves to do just that.

DON’T treat your credit limits as “cash in the bank.”: By this, I mean that you should not assume a $5,000 credit line here today will be here tomorrow. You can’t rely on it; the bank can slash your available credit line — or even close your account — with very little notice, and for rather mystifying reasons. I was once on a vacation where I assumed I would “be fine” because I had a large portion of my credit limit left, even though there wasn’t much cash left in my checking account. Randomly the bank decided to slash my limit, meaning I was suddenly on vacation with almost no access to money. Not fun.

A credit card really is a “privilege” and not a right. Although having a second credit card as a back-up makes a lot of sense, if it is financial peace of mind you’re after, nothing beats having a few months’ salary saved in a checking account at the bank and accessible via a simple, no-frills debit card. Unlike a credit line, this can’t be taken away from you without notice. The money’s yours.

Are you a bargain hound who loves to find budget travel deals? Are you trying to mastermind a vacation that will work for your entire family – kids included?

If either of these descriptions applies to you, then a vacation rental home might make sense for your next trip. For example – if you are planning a trip to New York, you should consider using a vacation rental, here’s why. 

1. More Bang for Your Buck:  A downtown hotel will run you anywhere from $150-$250 per night.  For less than the average price of a hotel you can get a vacation rental with one to two bedrooms, a living room, bathroom, and full kitchen.  Why stay in a tiny hotel room, when you can have an entire house, or an apartment to yourself for the same price?