Money Matters

This month’s winner is GORDON W. DRAPER of Livonia, Michigan:

While on a tour of Burkina Faso in West Africa in 2011, we stopped at its capital, Ouagadougou. As in many economically developing countries, getting small-value currency there could be a problem, yet you need this type of money to tip for taking pictures or to go into WCs.

Banks don’t like to exchange bills smaller than $50 or $100, however, and shops usually don’t have small bills to give in change. Forget about travelers’ checks, charge or debit cards or even ATMs!

Carol Anderson asked, "Are there any cards that do trip-cancellation coverage better" (than that provided by the United MileagePlus Explorer Visa card from Chase)? Yes, I know of one that's better, but it's very pricey: the United MileagePlus Club Visa card from Chase.*

At $450 a year, this card has a hefty annual fee, but among its many perks is a one-year membership to all the United Club airport lounges, which was important for my husband and me when the lounges at Newark Liberty International Airport were being renovated and not allowing anyone but members in. ...

ITN subscriber Carol Anderson of Delray Beach, Florida, wanted to alert travelers to a major policy change regarding the Trip-Cancellation/Interruption Insurance coverage provided by the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Visa card.

The feature article “Crossing Russia in Luxury on the Trans-Siberian Railway” (May ’18, pg. 40) surely had readers dreaming about such a great trip. However, the tour’s price tag — $20,595 per person (not including air) — must have discouraged many.

Image

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 509th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.

Three months before a solo trip to Saudi Arabia that I was taking with Spiekermann Travel Service (Eastpoint, MI; 800/645-3233, www.mideasttrvl.com) in January-February 2018, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. She would still be undergoing chemotherapy on the dates of my trip, so I canceled it.

On April 11, British Airways (800/247-9297, www.ba.com) began offering budget one-way-only fares between London and select cities in the US and elsewhere. These Basic fares are available only on certain dates.

The Basic fares are being offered one-way between London (Heathrow) and either Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia or Phoenix; between London (Gatwick) and Oakland; between Helsinki and New York, and between Madrid and Boston, Chicago or Dallas-Fort Worth.

In early April 2018, at the age of 80, I completed an 8-day drive from Perpignan, France, into northern Spain and back into France to Bordeaux (having rented a car over the Internet, without question, from Europcar). During the trip, due to my own inattention, I allowed two credit card purchases to go through in dollars on my Barclay Aviator® American Airlines AAdvantage® card.

I bought a jacket in Barcelona on March 24, and the charge of €49.44 was converted to $64.95 at an exchange rate of $1 = €0.761144 (€1 = $1.313812).

Specifically, did you eat all or some meals with the chaperone? Did you pay for his or her meals? Obviously, in countries where tipping is encouraged, the total tip for the chaperone would be greater on a tour with multiple group members...