u/FruitOfTheVineFruit

I'm now seeing discounts on Expedia vs direct booking on hotel websites, usually 10%. I've always searched with Expedia for a variety of reasons, including because their reviews are relatively trustworthy (Google and some other sites let anyone review, while Expedia requires a stay.) and I can compare filter and sort a lot of hotels at once. I used to compare Expedia to the hotel site and prices were about the same, and I'd book directly with the hotel.

But I'm now seeing Expedia rates that beat the direct rates most of the time, usually by about 10%, with basically the same room, cancellation, etc.

Hotel users, this now looks like the best deal.

Hotel owners, I know you hate when we book through services like Expedia because the fees kill you. You need to be matching or beating their rates, otherwise we're never going to book direct, sorry. (And no, I'm not going to waste my time calling you to see if you'll match the rate. That saves you money, but wastes my time.)

I'm at the airport early on a Sunday morning, and tons of people waiting in lines. I didn't wait at all.

First tip: at most larger airports (including my home airport, Seatac), departures is on top of arrivals. Departures is always backed up here early in the morning. Getting dropped at arrivals and taking an escalator saves a ton of time. Uber here no longer allows people to change from departures to arrivals, so make sure to select this in advance if Ubering.

Second: TSA Pre and Touchless. TSA Pre is totally worth it if you travel in the USA a couple of times per year, and is free with many credit cards. Touchless is free and I've never seen a line in touchless. If you have Pre and a passport, sign up for touchless on all the airlines you use.

Yes, these are obvious tips for frequent travelers. At Seatac, there's usually a sign in the morning that says "Departures congested, use arrivals" and yet most people still go to departures.

I'm embarrassed that I fell for this - I'm an experienced traveler, have seen a lot of scams both travel related and otherwise. But this one was VERY good.

TLDR - fell for a scam that involved four people lying to me, plus a fake taxi meter app.

Arrived at the Paris airport with my wife. Decided a cab was best for us. Looked it up - it's a fixed fare of about 55 Euros to our hotel. On the way to the taxi line, someone with a badge asks us where we are going, and points us to the rideshare area, even though there's a sign pointing the other way to taxis. I walk towards rideshare, then get suspicious, turn around towards taxis. Someone else with a badge points us to rideshare area. I decide that with two people pointing to rideshare, I should go there and see what they say.

Someone who seems like a taxi dispatcher matches us with a nice looking mercedes. I ask how much the fare will be. They say it will be on the meter. I tell them I know it's a fixed fare. They say there is some sort of strike going on, and that the normal fixed fares are suspended. I'm suspicious, but it will be the taxi meter price, so I decide to do it... Taxi driver starts driving. In the cab, I ask ChatGPT if there's some sort of suspension going on and it says no. Within a minute of getting in the cab, I realize that I've been scammed.

Arrive at destination, they want to charge 102 euros. They show me what is almost certainly a fake meter app on their phone. I tell them I know I'm being scammed, but will give them 100 euros. (I was being petty, but I had decided that was the max I would pay, but I also didnt want a fight.) They accept 100.

Anyway, it was the best taxi scam I've seen in years of travel - 3 different people involved in the dispatch, plus the driver (4 total). Fake meter app. High but not crazy prices. I suspect most people falling for this don't even know they are being scammed.

With this many people involved, I assume the authorities at CDG are aware of this scam and don't care.

I'm embarrassed that I fell for this - I'm an experienced traveler, have seen a lot of scams both travel related and otherwise. But this one was VERY good.

TLDR - fell for a scam that involved four people lying to me, plus a fake taxi meter app.

Arrived at the Paris airport with my wife. Decided a cab was best for us. Looked it up - it's a fixed fare of about 55 Euros to our hotel. On the way to the taxi line, someone with a badge asks us where we are going, and points us to the rideshare area, even though there's a sign pointing the other way to taxis. I walk towards rideshare, then get suspicious, turn around towards taxis. Someone else with a badge points us to rideshare area. I decide that with two people pointing to rideshare, I should go there and see what they say.

Someone who seems like a taxi dispatcher matches us with a nice looking mercedes. I ask how much the fare will be. They say it will be on the meter. I tell them I know it's a fixed fare. They say there is some sort of strike going on, and that the normal fixed fares are suspended.

I'm suspicious, but it will be the taxi meter price, so I decide to do it... Taxi driver starts driving. In the cab, I ask ChatGPT if there's some sort of suspension going on and it says no. Within a minute of getting in the cab, I realize that I've been scammed.

Arrive at destination, they want to charge 102 euros. They show me what is almost certainly a fake meter app on their phone. I tell them I know I'm being scammed, but will give them 100 euros. (I was being petty, but I had decided that was the max I would pay, but I also didnt want a fight.) They accept 100.

Anyway, it was the best taxi scam I've seen in years of travel - 3 different people involved in the dispatch, plus the driver (4 total). Fake meter app. High but not crazy prices. I suspect most people falling for this don't even know they are being scammed.

My kid in another city (Los Angeles) went to the emergency room over the weekend. I was packed, ticket bought, and out the door all within 30 minutes. Here's how I did it.

1. Started with ChatGPT. Los Angeles has a lot of airports. Asked ChatGPT which ones had non-stop flights from my home airport (Seattle or Paine Field), and how long from each airport to the hospital where my kid was.

2. Google Flights. Multi-airport search. (Use the plus sign.) Listed all origination and destination airports. Non stop only. Sort by departure time. Very quickly able to select a flight (didn't pick the closest airport - the first departure time for that one would have added too much time.)

Ticket purchased quickly, with most information stored in my online account, not much to fill in.

Packing:

I keep a onebag mostly packed with travel items. I have duplicates of most items I travel with, including all my toiletries, so I can keep the bag mostly packed. When I return from a trip, if anything was running low, I replenish it as soon as I come home. I only needed to pack clothes, a few drugs I take, snacks, retainers, book, wallet.

I keep a packing list that has a special section for last minute items. I can calmly go through the list and make sure I have everything on it. (I almost forgot my wallet... but it's on my last minute list.)

Arrived at airport, checked security wait times, found the TSA Pre line with zero wait. Arrived at gate while my zone was boarding.

Booked hotel while I was on the airplane - no need to book in advance.

(My kid was fine, discharged from the emergency room around the time I landed, but I'm still glad I went.)