Boarding Pass

January 2013 issue | Appears on page 2

The value of frequent-flyer miles to passengers, airlines and other businesses.
By David Tykol
A Luther rose in the courtyard of Martin Luther’s birth house in Lutherstadt Eis

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 443rd issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.

I’m about to take you on a long journey that touches on a few financial matters. While this article may be extensive, I suggest that you do not overlook the last few paragraphs or Uncle Sam may come calling.

If you fly often, it’s likely you’re a member of an airline’s frequent-flyer program. Each time you take a flight with the airline, you’re credited with “frequent-flyer miles,”...

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December 2012 issue | Appears on page 2

Airport security in India. Also, a Google Maps primer.
By David Tykol
GeoEye-1 satellite image of part of Bangalore, India. Photo courtesy of eMap Int

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 442nd issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine, the one that prints the reports you send in.

In the July issue, I wrote on the rules about having spare batteries, particularly lithium batteries, in checked luggage and carry-ons on planes. I then made this request of ITN subscribers: “After you next board a flight within or from India, or if you recently did so, tell us what regulations you were made aware of in regard to packing spare...

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November 2012 issue | Appears on page 2

Airlines' new baggage policies on itineraries booked on more than one ticket. Also, sources for checking airlines' safety records.
By David Tykol
An azure sky, towering palms and turquoise waters — idyllic Bora Bora. Photo by

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 441st issue of your foreign-travel magazine, the one you can help write.

A heads up — airlines are introducing baggage-policy changes that you need to be aware of.

According to new rules announced in January by the US Department of Transportation, as of June 2012, airlines in the US must disclose all fees at the time of ticket purchase, whether the purchase is done in person or online. Also, when a single-ticket itinerary involves...

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October 2012 issue | Appears on page 2

Beware of drink spiking in nightclubs. Also, the UN's first World Happiness Report, ranking countries.
By David Tykol
18th-century houses, now mostly shops and restaurants — Nyhavn, Copenhagen

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 440th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.

If you’re reading International Travel News for the first time, all you need to know is that the bulk of the magazine is written by its subscribers, people who love to travel, and we print no articles or news about destinations within the United States.

When someone has a great meal on a trip or finds a really good independent guide, he’ll submit a report. Likewise, if someone feels...

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September 2012 issue | Appears on page 2

The TSA's Preê ("pre-check") Trusted Traveler program. Also, travelers each bear the responsibility for having any needed visas.
By David Tykol
Beautifully carved chattris on Gadi Sagar Lake — Jaisalmer, India.

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 439th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine. The original travelers’ forum, ITN began publishing decades before there were online travel-review sites, and, over all, it remains more reliable, since what you read here has been fact-checked and extensively edited, with follow-up corrections printed in plain sight.

And, while ITN was the FIRST travel publication to print travelers’ criticisms of airlines, tour companies and even travel...

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August 2012 issue | Appears on page 2

Jet ski rental scams in Thailand. Wildlife harassed in Sri Lanka. World's best airports.
By David Tykol
The Elephant Wall of the Ruvanwelisaya Dagoba — Mahavihara, Anuradhapura, Sri La

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 438th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine, the one you help write.

I’ve got lots to report this month.

Jet ski rental scams have long been a problem on the beaches of Phuket and Pattaya, Thailand.

The scenario — the jet ski is rented with minor damage that is hard to detect (sometimes it’s under the waterline), and when the vehicle is returned, the renter is charged for the damage plus an amount for “loss of rental”...

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July 2012 issue | Appears on page 2

Transporting spare batteries on a flight. Also, EU mobile-phone-service providers' roaming rates capped.
By David Tykol
A glimpse of Delhi’s Red Fort. Photo by Elizabeth Habian, ITN

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 437th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine. Tell your overseas friends that ITN now posts content of current issues online, so they can avoid the costly postage and pay no more for their subscriptions than people living in the US.

Among the items I’m relating this month, this first one was particularly interesting to research.

Steve Jeffries of Centennial, Colorado, wrote, “My wife and I were preparing to board an Air India...

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June 2012 issue | Appears on page 2

The frequency of ferry disasters worldwide. Convert store gift cards to air miles.
By David Tykol

Dear Globetrotter: Welcome to the 436th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.

On Sept. 10, 2011, off of Zanzibar, Tanzania, the ferry MV Spice Islander I — licensed to carry 600 passengers — sank, resulting in more than 2,200 people dead or missing. About 600 passengers survived. The ship was carrying 100 life vests.

On Feb. 2, 2012, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, the passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen sank in rough weather on its way from the island of...

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