Is travel going cashless?

Recently a traveler returned from London and told me every retail store he went into would not allow him to pay with pounds, only credit cards. We are seeing more and more countries moving rapidly to cashless purchases. I don’t know if I like that or not. I always worry that my bank will view a charge as fraudulent and stop me from charging. I do, however, really like the touchless feature that allows you to simply tap your i-phone on the credit card reader and the touchless charge happens. 

Gen AI will be a big help for international travelers – Recent releases to Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) by the major tech companies are showcasing how the updated chatbots can be utilized as personal assistants that can understand text, video, photos, and audio. It appears voice translation is making a huge jump for Chat GPT, Gemini and Meta AI. Also visual translation will be as easy as taking a photo of a menu and having it translated visually in your own language. The tour guide features of the current version of Gen Ai are not as far along as other features but you will soon be able to wear sunglasses and ask questions of what you are seeing. CLICK HERE to read a great article. 

Southwest Airlines is increasing Early-Bird check-in pricing – The price for Early-Bird check-in on Southwest Airlines is increasing from $15 to $25 each way to as high as $99. The airline is quietly increasing prices to raise more revenue. And if you want to purchase “Upgraded Boarding” and jump to the boarding positions of A1 to A15 you can now pay from $30 to $149 one way. Can you imagine paying almost $300 just to get an aisle or window seat on a Southwest flight? I used to think Southwest would never nickel and dime you but they are starting to act more and more like their big brother airlines every day. 

Southwest Airlines flights are now listed on Google Flights – In late May Southwest Airlines began listing their flights on Google Flights. Historically, the low fare carrier did not want flyers to be able to easily compare their prices with other airlines. They spent millions of dollars driving flyers to their web site in the hopes that they would assume that Southwest offered the lowest airfares. Surprisingly, in many cases, Southwest airfares were actually higher than other airlines. This is why I am confused about the recent change by Southwest to make their airfares more visible by allowing Google Flights to list their fares. Don’t get me wrong. This does make it easier for me to compare prices, but travelers will soon find out that Southwest often does not offer the lowest priced tickets. 

If you need to check a bag for your international trip you should never buy the cheapest Basic Economy ticket – The 3 largest international airlines of American, Delta and United all offer what is called Basic Economy fare to compete with other low cost airlines. These basic economy airfares are great if you never need to check in baggage and only travel with carry-on luggage. But if you need to check on one or two bags you will pay massive extra fees to do so. American charges $225 to check on one bag each way or $450 RT if you buy their basic economy international ticket to Europe. Delta charges $220 one way or $440 RT for baggage and United charges $150 one way and $300 RT. By paying about $200 RT to purchase the airlines standard economy ticket you not only get one free checked bag you also get FREE changes, FREE seat assignments, and you can purchase upgraded seats. The bottom line is buying “Basic Economy” airfares is a perfect example of the old axium, “Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish”.

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Join Women of the Midwest for Unforgettable Parades and Christmas Markets – If you have Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Pasadena Rose Parade on your bucket list, you should join Women of the Midwest this November and December. Or experience enchanting European Christmas Market tours with women-only groups of up to 20 like-minded women. New this year is a Belgian Christmas tour, along with the always popular Austria and Germany combination. Don’t miss out – these trips fill fast! Reach out to our friendly group department at 888.549.1186 / GroupDepartment@executivetravel.com.