travel advice

Essential Strategies for Managing Travel Disruptions (USA Edition)

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There is a lot of attention being paid to flight delays and cancellations right now due to the current 2025 government shutdown. This has impacted TSA, Air Traffic Controllers, and other staffing, which is causing many of the issues, but delays and cancellations can happen at any time. It’s not like flight work perfectly even when the weather or government is running smoothly. So what can you do if your flight is impacted?

I’ve been a fan of Samantha Brown, the travel expert, for years. On her Instagram feed, she posted some tips for this.

What you want to do is make sure you have the airline’s app on your device and also check out the US Department of Transportation Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard, or the similar Customer Service Dashboard, which seems to offer much of the same information.

This will give you information on what each major airline offers when there is a delay beyond their control or within their control.

This website also provides other information, such as the family seating policy and some other good information. I was surprised at how well this is presented. You might still run into issues with airline staff on the ground when they are under stress, inexperienced, or power tripping, but at least you have the rules in front of you and can choose your options.

The other thing that Samantha Brown points out is that some airlines also have meal vouchers on their apps that automatically load into your account when there are IROPS. United, Southwest, American, and Delta can do this as far as I can tell, but United seems to be the best at it to date.

Some of these vouchers are issued in the form of a Mastercard or Discover card and can also be loaded into your restaurant apps. Some airlines like ANA, United, Alaska, Delta, and I’m sure others issue these via a Mastercard or Discover Giftcard, usually. These can be loaded into apps for various restaurants.

If you choose to load these into a restaurant app it may ask for your name and the billing address. The billing address is usually: use 1475 E Woodfield Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60173 as the issuer of the cards or voucher, “most” of the time, but YMMV.

List of apps to load airline meal vouchers to or buy gift cards from:

  • Starbucks ->(use 1475 E Woodfield Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60173 as billing address as a workaround)
  • Chick Fil-A
  • McDonalds
  • Panera
  • Peets Coffee
  • Molly Moon
  • Crumbl
  • Dunkin’ Donuts (and I assume Baskin-Robbins)

Does not work:

  • Chipotle
  • Burger King

I assume there are other restaurant apps these work on. It’s reported that you can use these to buy gift cards as well. You should be able to buy Jason’s Deli gift cards through their site. They ask for billing info, so use first/last names on your voucher and the 1475 East Woodfield Road address above. It only seems to work for e-cards, but not for physical (mailed) gift cards.

When it comes to trip delay insurance coverage through purchased policies or through cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you will need proof of this delay, or they can deny the claim. The best way to get that is to ask for documentation from the gate agent or other staff for a “Military Excuse” form or another document explaining the reason for the delay. If it is a weather-related delay, I would try to gather screenshots from your phone or from other sources on the weather event, as it can be impossible to get that after the fact. ask me how I know this… I would even suggest taking photos of the departure boards or anything you can think of to document the delay or cancellation to help your insurance claim.

Hopefully, you don’t need any of this information, but a few tips can help you avoid standing in long lines after a delay or cancellation. Godspeed and Safe Travels.

Ever Wonder If – Those “Buy Extra Miles” at airport check-in are a good deal.

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Sure we’ve all been there. You are rushing around getting ready for your trip and you jump online to check in for your flight, “pick and pray” on the seat selector without the advantage of SeatGuru available. You worry about how to print the boarding pass in a hotel lobby with 5 printers that all lack ink and IT support.

Or Maybe you’re doing it on the fly at the airport Kiosk, worried about dropping your bags or passport while the amateur travelers all around you wonder at your kiosk skills and how cool a jet-setter like you looks.

Then BANG you get the “Mileage Multiplier” !!!

Wait!!! HOLD THE PLANE. YOU mean for just a bit more money I can get 5,000 extra miles to add to my Euro Trip Vacation stash.

Oh it must be a good deal because after all I’m flying already and only people checking in will be able to gain these extra miles at such a good value. I can see myself drinking champagne in crystal fluted glasses in first class. Or is that sparkling wine in plastic cups?

But wait is it a good deal? It must be but I can’t do the math in my head, too much going on. UGGGG. Not sure what to do! Pull the trigger or pass up the “deal of the century”. Oh the pressure.

OK let’s not do math, let’s just compare. If you don’t even have a reservation but log into AA.com (in this case). Go to the Buy, Gift and Transfer miles page and you’ll find this price:

That’s right my friends you would have just paid $12.03 too much for those miles at check-in. Feel special yet? Oh and there is more. That’s without taking advantage of the frequent or current mile buy deals for buying more miles.

Sure $461.99 is a lot to spend on miles but this is just a hint that those miles at check-in aren’t usually a good deal. As a rule of thumb if you aren’t seeing “buy miles” deals at less than 2 cents per mile it isn’t usually a great deal. In fact buying miles rarely is a good deal to buy on speculation. It can pay off to buy miles to put you over the top for a premium cabin redemption but I’ve never seen it be a good deal at check-in. I assume there are folks that can sneak this through on an expense account but most of us live in the real world and have morals.

Oh and those travel bloggers that help us all out by telling us about the latest mile buying promotions or top travel gadgets to buy from Amazon can be helpful if you have the need. Remember though that most are doing this as a way to may affiliate revenue. They get money when you click through many of the deals they post. Doesn’t make it wrong but just do it eyes-wide open. In fact when I do take advantage of things like this or credit card sign-ups I try to do it through blogs I like to support them. Some of them also lack morals so use caution.

Side Note: I pick on American Airlines here but most airline check-in deals aren’t worth it. Just remember if the price for those 5,000 miles is higher than $100 you are paying too much. Less than that could be a good deal and a unicorn. Maybe like a unicorn using a kiosk at the airport 🙂