credits

Apache is functioning normally

Temperatures are currently soaring across the U.S. South, with little expected relief ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

Texas alone has seen record-high forecasts of temperatures around 110 degrees. The heat wave has come hot on the heels of several destructive storms that put severe pressure on the region’s energy grid and left thousands without power.

Weather experts expect the heat wave to expand further north into Missouri, the Mississippi Valley, Oklahoma, the western Florida Panhandle and western Alabama. As of last Saturday, more than 40 million people in the U.S. have been placed under a heat alert.

And the heat, combined with typical summer storms, is already affecting travelers. For example, when traveling recently on an Embraer 175, TPG’s Summer Hull and her two kids volunteered to receive $1,000 in future travel credits each as the plane was overweight for its trip from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) due to weather-related weight and balance issues.

Make no bones about it, this year’s Fourth of July celebrations are going to be hot, with an increased likelihood of more storms and heat-related travel disruptions.

For those without air conditioning, these temperatures can be extremely difficult to live with. The commute to work becomes more stressful, and it might be nearly impossible to sleep at night. All in all, it’s not a pleasant experience.

Not only do hot days affect how we work and sleep, but they also affect the aircraft that we fly on.

Air density

We’ve all heard the phrase “hot air rises,” but what does this actually mean and how does it affect your flight?

The air around us is composed of various particles, and, for the most part, it consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% various other gasses (such as carbon dioxide and water vapor). These molecules of air bounce around the place like balls in a lottery machine, taking up as much space as is available to them. This is known as the atmosphere.

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As the temperature increases, the atoms within these molecules get excited and start to move around more. The hotter they get, the more they move and the farther apart from each other they become — making the air less dense. Conversely, the colder the air becomes, the less excited the atoms are and the denser the air becomes, which makes it sink lower.

As molecules heat up, they move faster and spread farther apart. ROTAX-OWNER.COM

On a typical day, as the sun heats the ground and the air above it, the temperature of that air mass increases. This causes the air molecules to increase their movements and rise into the sky, reducing the air pressure as the density reduces. The hot air becomes “thinner” and therefore rises.

As the hottest part of the day passes and the air begins to cool, the molecules become less excited and sink back down toward the earth, increasing the density and, consequently, the air pressure. The same mass of air is now much heavier than it was during the hottest part of the day.

How aircraft fly — a quick refresher

So why does the air density matter for aircraft? Well, contrary to common belief, aircraft fly not because of their engines but because of their wings.

As air flows over the wings, it creates a difference in pressure between the lower and upper surfaces. (There is lower pressure on top and higher pressure underneath.) It’s this difference in pressure that causes lift. When the lift generated by the wings becomes greater than the weight of the aircraft, the aircraft can leave the ground and fly.

For the math-minded among you, the formula for lift is …

The lift equation. GRC.NASA.COM

Therefore, the amount of lift produced depends on the speed of the air over the wing, the density of the air and the wing area.

The engines are there to provide the forward movement the aircraft needs to drive the air over the wings. During the takeoff run, the engines accelerate the aircraft forward, forcing air over the wings. Because the amount of lift generated is partly determined by how fast air flows over the wings, once the aircraft reaches a certain speed, there will be enough lift to become airborne.

It’s for this reason that aircraft won’t simply fall out of the sky even if both engines fail. If that incredibly rare event were to happen, the pilots would simply lower the nose slightly and use gravity to keep the air flowing over the wings, creating lift. This will give a glide ratio of roughly 3 miles for every 1,000 feet above the ground; this means an aircraft at 43,000 feet can glide for around 130 miles.

How air density affects aircraft

So now that we know a little about how aircraft fly, we can begin to understand how the air temperature affects them.

As I mentioned, the amount of lift generated depends on a number of factors in the lift equation, including the speed of the air over the wing and the density of that air.

Related: The challenges for pilots when landing at hot and high airports

We’ve already agreed that on a cold day, the air is more dense, and the molecules fall lower and pack in tight together. As this air flows over the wing, there are many air molecules passing over the surface, creating the perfect conditions for lift.

On a hot day there are fewer air molecules passing over the wing. JT GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

However, on a hot day, the air is much less dense. As a result, when that hot air passes over the wing, there are far fewer air molecules near the surface, which reduces the amount of lift created.

This difference is why pilots prefer to fly on cold (dense air) days rather than hot (less dense air) days. Not only do the wings generate more lift at a given speed, but the aircraft “bites” the air much better and is more responsive to control inputs.

What if it gets too hot?

We’ve seen that on a hot day it’s more difficult for wings to generate lift than on a cold day. When temperatures reach 86 degrees and above, this has a noticeable effect on aircraft performance.

So what can we do if the air density decreases, but we want to keep the lift generated the same? One option is to delay the flight until the air temperature decreases. It’s for this reason that many ultra-long-haul flights depart late at night when the air is the coolest.

However, delaying a flight due to high temperature isn’t ideal. With that in mind, there are two other variables in the formula — the area of the wing and the speed of the air over the wing.

Make the wing bigger

The first option is to make the wing bigger. Even though this may seem like an unrealistic idea (how can you just make it larger?), it’s not as unrealistic as you may first think.

When you first board an aircraft and can see the wing, it looks pretty smooth and sleek. However, just after the engines start, a loud whirring noise comes from under your feet and the surfaces on the leading edge and trailing edge of the wing move outward.

By extending the slats (leading edge) and flaps (trailing edge), we can increase the aerodynamic surface area of the wing, giving us a higher value for our lift formula. For takeoff, most commercial aircraft set the flaps to around a 5-degree extension.

Extending the flaps increases the surface area of the wing but also increases drag. AVIATION-IMAGES.COM/UIG/GETTY IMAGES

They can go up to around 30 degrees — a measurement used for landing. Since increasing the wing area will create more lift, one option is to use a greater flap setting and increase the area of the wing.

While this is a solution, it’s important to note the more flap you use, the more another factor comes into play — drag.

Drag is the aerodynamic force that slows an object down. The more an object is “hanging out” into the oncoming wind, the more drag it has. This is why sports cars and fighter jets have low, sleek profiles.

Related: No, your flight didn’t go supersonic. That was just really fast wind

If we use more flap to increase the surface area of the wing, there’s a point where the drag generated becomes a bigger problem. The more drag there is, the faster the plane has to fly to overcome the extra force, reducing the lift generated.

Go faster

Using extra force to generate more lift works but is hugely inefficient. The other option is to simply increase the speed of the air over the wing. There are two ways to accomplish this.

The first is to take off into a strong head wind. If an aircraft needs an airspeed of 100 mph over the wings and you angle it into a 100 mph wind, the aircraft will become airborne even if it is stationary compared to the ground.

In the video below, the small aircraft needs very little air over its wings to become airborne. So little, in fact, that during a storm, bad weather can generate winds strong enough to meet these criteria. The result? Any aircraft that isn’t tied down can very quickly relocate to another area.

However, because most commercial airliners need airspeeds of around 180 mph to become airborne, and the lift generated by wind alone will only make up maybe 30 mph, the other 150 mph must be generated by the engines.

Another little-known fact is that we rarely take off with our engines at full power. This is because it uses a lot of fuel, increases the amount of maintenance needed, and is noisy for those living and working around the airport. As a result, we try to get airborne using as little engine power as safely possible.

To do this, we calculate just how much engine power we need before each departure by considering all the variables — air temperature, air pressure, wind speed and weight of the aircraft. By adding in the runway length available to us, we can then calculate just how much engine power we will need to reach our takeoff speed with the runway length available.

If we need to increase the speed because we can’t increase the wing area anymore and the air density is too low because the length of the runway is fixed, the only way we can do this is to increase our engine power. However, there may come a point where we are using full power but the runway isn’t long enough to reach our takeoff speed before the end.

This is why airports in hot places such as Dubai and Singapore have exceptionally long runways. When airports with shorter runways, sufficient for normal weather, go through periods of extremely high temperatures, the runway length can suddenly become a limiting factor.

When there’s not enough runway

When we’ve reached this stage, things really get challenging. We can’t increase the wing area anymore due to excessive drag, and we can’t go any faster because the runway isn’t long enough. It seems that we would be stuck as these are the only variables in our lift formula. However, there is one more element that we can change: the amount of lift required to get airborne.

We’ve already mentioned that an aircraft flies when the lift generated by the wings is greater than the weight of the aircraft. So, if we are unable to generate any more lift, the only way to still get airborne is to reduce the weight of the aircraft to a value that allows us to get safely airborne.

When loading an aircraft, the one thing we can’t change is how heavy the aircraft is when empty. What we have to do once again is look for the variables. These come in four areas: the amount of fuel we load, the number of passengers we carry, the number of bags we load and the amount of cargo we carry.

If the aircraft is too heavy for the runway length, the only option is to offload weight. IZUSEK/GETTY IMAGES

The first of these to go will be the cargo, as this can be loaded onto a later flight without much inconvenience to the customer. The next element we’ll try to change is the fuel figure; however, understandably, there is a limit to how much we can reduce this.

We may look at how much fuel we will use to taxi to the runway or how much contingency fuel we carry in case of unexpected routings or altitudes. However, realistically we only save a few hundred kilograms in weight by doing this, even on a long-haul flight.

The final variable is when airlines become really unpopular with customers — offloading them or leaving their bags behind.

Related: Runway approaching: How pilots find their way safely to the ground in all elements

Let’s be clear on this: No airline wants to leave passengers or bags behind. However, there is absolutely no way the pilots will risk taking off knowing that the aircraft is too heavy for the environmental conditions.

As a result, the only option is to either cancel the flight or offload some passengers and/or bags and send them on another flight.

Bottom line

Not only do high temperatures affect how we work and sleep, but they also have an effect on how aircraft fly. As the mercury rises, the air density changes, which reduces the performance of the lift-generating wings. Pilots have ways around this — but only up to a certain point.

Should the temperature become so hot that the pilots can’t make any further changes to their takeoff performance, the only way to get safely airborne is to either offload passengers and bags or cancel the flight altogether.

This is far from ideal, but it’s our job to keep all those on board our aircraft safe. Every so often this involves taking extreme steps.

Source: thepointsguy.com

Apache is functioning normally

America is strongest when her people are strong. Therefore, when considering policy to improve our nation, we should always incentivize striving with an emphasis on equality of opportunity, understanding that a rising tide lifts all boats.

In my role as president of the Jack Kemp Foundation, I moderated an “Innovations in Affordable Housing” webinar.  The webinar featured a panel of nationally known affordable housing experts, hosted by affordable housing developer National CORE, with the Sarasota Housing Authority, the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and the Housing Partnership Network (HPN) as panelists.

These policy leaders highlighted innovative solutions being pursued across the country to combat homelessness, house low-income families, and use affordable housing as a tool to improve the lives of those who need a hand up, not a handout.

What did we learn?

First, skyrocketing rents are placing a severe strain on families, seniors, and disabled persons of limited financial means as they seek affordable places to live. The most obvious impact is an increase in homelessness – which creates a host of additional community challenges. But this crisis also saps families’ resources for basic necessities and limits economic mobility.

We learned that the costs to build affordable housing rental units are also soaring. This makes it more difficult than ever to meet housing demand for lower-income families, since the rents they can afford do not cover the capital and operating costs of building new housing.

But one thing we have learned over the last 50 years is that we cannot just throw money at the problem. The cost of having federal taxpayers fund the full cost of needed affordable housing units – or subsidizing rents – is prohibitive and unrealistic. So, we need to be wise. We need to leverage our limited federal funding sources to access private sources of capital, using market-based approaches that maximize efficiency of the federal dollars being spent.

We need to prioritize local solutions.

Top-down federal grant programs, in silos separated by federal agencies and hampered by cumbersome rules, are not the answer. The housing tax credit program is a good model. Funds are competitively allocated by states to individual developments, ongoing accountability is maximized by the need to maintain tax eligibility for investor tax deductions and local developers compete for scarce dollars based on need and the merit of their proposals.

We also need to focus on people, not just buildings. Our affordable housing programs cannot just be about warehousing people living in poverty. They need to be about promoting the health, well-being and economic mobility of low-income families living in affordable housing. Our policies should focus on root causes of homelessness, such as mental health and addiction, as well as accessing health care and other community services.

Unfortunately, our housing policies are often grounded in the distant past.

HUD funds over $200 million a year for service coordinators to help families and seniors access services in their local communities. But these programs are arbitrarily limited to public and Section 8 housing units. This means that almost 100% of the new affordable housing built in the last 50 years – and the residents they serve – are ineligible for these grants. And there are no federal programs that directly fund resident services in federally funded affordable housing.

Congress should expand eligibility for resident services for low-income families – a good investment of federal funds. Accessing local health care services can help seniors avoid the alternative of nursing homes, which cost taxpayers considerably more as they pick up the tab through Medicaid.

Family self-sufficiency resident services are also a good investment. Such programs help low-income residents gain educational and occupational skills – which can help them take the step to affording market-price homes. Each time this happens, it’s the equivalent of building a new affordable housing unit for another low-income family.

The April 13 panel also explored other priorities that Congress should pursue. There is an almost universal consensus among housing advocates that the volume of low-income housing tax credits must be boosted. One panelist argued for adoption of the Neighborhood Homes Act, which would establish a federal tax credit for new construction or substantial rehabilitation of affordable, owner-occupied housing in distressed urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods.

Another panelist suggested creating tax incentives for the long-term preservation of affordable housing units owned by qualified nonprofits, a far more cost-effective approach than building new units.

There is no shortage of ideas for meeting the modern-day challenges of affordable housing. I hope the ideas circulating in our webinar can spur further national discussion and debate in Congress about the most effective ways to modernize policy prescriptions and meet that challenge in a way that helps all Americans flourish.

Jimmy Kemp is the President of the Jack Kemp Foundation.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.

To contact the author of this story:
Jimmy Kemp at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Sarah Wheeler at [email protected]

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

Before having kids, my husband and I loved to travel. When our family grew, we agreed that we wanted to continue to prioritize exploring the world as much as we could. Unlike it may seem on Instagram, no one comes with a magic wand and whisks us away on vacation — we make sacrifices to design these experiences, and we work hard to make them happen.

Now that we’re paying for four, credit cards play a major role in our ability to swing our travel, but perhaps not in the way you might think. We don’t rack up debt, and because we pay our bills in full each month, we don’t pay any interest. Instead, we rely heavily on the points and miles that we largely earn from credit card rewards. And with the national average domestic airline itinerary fare hovering just below $400 in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the Department of Transportation, every bit we can defray helps.

Here are some of the ways that credit cards help make our family’s travel dreams a reality — for a fraction of the out-of-pocket cost.

(Nearly) free flights

The rewards we earn from the many credit cards we hold help fly our family for almost free. Some cards are branded to a particular airline and earn frequent flyer miles that can be used for flights on that airline and its partners. Other credit cards earn rewards that aren’t locked into one brand and offer more flexibility. You can transfer those rewards to several partner airlines, which allows you to shop around to find the best flight options for your family. If you have enough miles to cover the flights, you’ll just pay a nominal charge for taxes and fees out of pocket: They start at $5.60 one way per person if you’re traveling in the U.S.

When I tell inquiring friends how our rewards pay for flights, I’m often met with skeptical stares. “Don’t they charge so many miles? I’ll never earn enough.” Though the cost of award flights in miles can seem outrageous many times, there are still values to be found. We recently booked coast-to-coast flights for our family of four for less than 10,000 miles per person one way. An average bonus for opening a new credit card is around 50,000 miles, sometimes considerably more. That means by opening one new card and paying an annual fee under $100, my whole family can jet from Baltimore to sunny California.

Plus, I have an extra “free flight trick” up my sleeve: a companion pass. Several popular airlines offer the perk for a companion to fly free or at a reduced cost — as an outright perk of holding its branded credit card or by earning enough points in a year.

Our family’s favorite airline, Southwest, has the best companion pass around: Once the pass is earned, one companion can fly free with you (you’ll just pay taxes and fees) as many times as you fly the rest of that calendar year, plus the entire next calendar year. (More details here.)

Travel ‘insurance’ and flexibility

When you’re beholden to a school calendar that dictates when you can travel, you quickly learn that availability and prices can be sky-high during spring break or the winter holidays, when everyone is taking trips. For example, more than 141 million people flew in March and April this year, compared with 118 million in January and February, according to Transportation Security Administration checkpoint travel numbers. Booking far in advance is helpful to lock in those plans. Often, you’ll find better availability and lower prices than you’ll get when you reserve closer in. And when you pay with miles or points, there’s less at stake: You’re not shelling out a bunch of cash now for a trip you’ll take next year.

Whether you’re booking well in advance or last minute, using rewards earned from credit cards can give greater flexibility should your plans change. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many airlines ditched the fees to cancel or change a ticket. Some of those fees are creeping back — but the policies are often more generous if you’ve booked with miles. Having a stash of credit card points and miles at the ready helps my family book trips with the peace of mind that we’ll be able to change our plans without paying big fees.

If you pay cash for your ticket, you’ll still be able to cancel — but with more caveats. In many cases, you’ll have to pay a higher fare to have that flexibility to change or cancel your ticket. Often, you’ll be refunded in the form of travel credit with that airline rather than getting your money back. That means you’ll have money tied up with that airline, which isn’t ideal if you find a better deal on a different airline for your next flights or if you need that cash for other expenses. Plus, those credits can expire.

Booking with miles, on the other hand, can allow you to cancel your tickets — even last minute — and get all your rewards back without penalty.

Perks that make it easier

“Gee, I’m so excited to wait in long lines with grumpy kids,” said no one ever. The reality is that long lines at security checkpoints, rental car counters and even hotel check-in queues can really dampen the excitement of travel for kids and grown-ups alike.

But for my family, many of the travel perks that come along with the premium credit cards we hold far outweigh the cost of the annual fees we pay. Thanks to services like TSA Precheck, Global Entry and Clear, we are able to skip out on lots of idle time spent waiting in line. The Platinum Card® from American Express comes with a hefty $695 annual fee, but it offers credits that help cover the cost of these services. We can pop into an airport lounge while we wait to board and enjoy free drinks and snacks. Terms apply.

Elite status is another benefit that the right credit cards afford us. We can skip the line at the rental counter and head straight to our car after a long flight. Thanks to the automatic Gold status we get from the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, we can go to a special queue when we check in to our hotel, and we can take advantage of elite perks like room upgrades, late checkout and daily credit to help cover breakfast. Terms apply.

‘Free money’ helps budgets stretch further

Most major credit card issuers these days offer special merchant-specific discounts when activated on your card. They’re like built-in coupons you can add to your credit card with an easy click, and they can save you very real dollars on purchases you’re already making.

I think of these offers as “free money” I earn back from my credit cards. I load as many of these coupons onto my cards as I can because there’s no penalty if I don’t use them. If I’m ordering pizza for Friday movie night, sending birthday flowers or purchasing new luggage, I’ll check my credit card offers first so I can see whether shopping at any featured merchants makes sense to save money.

Once I make a qualifying purchase, my card gets credited back the amount I saved. I like to keep track of this money in a simple spreadsheet and watch it add up: $5 back from this restaurant, $10 back from this back-to-school shopping trip. Then I put that money aside into a trip fund to help subsidize the extra costs of our travels.

By shaving off extra costs whenever I can, our family can afford to travel together more.

Source: nerdwallet.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

“Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, due to the weather and necessary routing, we are currently having a weight and balance issue and are looking for three volunteers with flexible travel plans to come to see me at the front of the plane and take a later flight to New York in exchange for $1,000 in future United credit each.”

The gate attendant who had stepped onto the delayed plane with this “bad news” had barely finished saying those words before my seatbelt was unbuckled and I was shooting toward the front of the plane.

I was flying with my two kids, and that $3,000 credit was the right price for the three of us to get to New York City a few hours later that night.

And as promised, once we grabbed our carry-on bags and quickly hustled off the plane, United quickly processed each of our flight credits (good for the next 12 months) at the gate, booked us on the next flight to New York and threw in $20 in vouchers for each of us for dinner at the airport while we waited for the next flight.

This wasn’t a fluke.

On our flight home from LaGuardia Airport two days later, the gate agent again needed volunteers to take a later flight back to Houston.

This time, the flight was oversold. The flight credit offer started at $500 per person and increased to $750 when there weren’t takers at the lower amount. Unfortunately, we couldn’t participate this time as the next available flight wasn’t until the next day and airspace in the Northeast was shaping up to be a hot mess.

However, this trend of too-full flights and opportunities to earn flight credit by being flexible will likely play out at gates across the country for the next few hot, busy travel months.

Related: Best credit cards for built-in travel protections

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There will be opportunities to get flight credit to take a later flight

It’s no secret that summer is a busy travel season, with weekends, such as the one we were traveling, ranking as some of the busiest days of the year to fly.

So with full flights (some with more tickets sold to passengers than there are seats on the plane) and weather that can necessitate flying with fewer passengers than the maximum number of seats on the plane, the situations that played out on our recent flights will happen again numerous times this summer, especially during the busiest travel days.

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Airlines prefer to find volunteers rather than bump passengers involuntarily

Overbooking flights and denying boarding to passengers as a result is not illegal, but it doesn’t win airlines many points in the court of public opinion.

So, when more people show up for the flight than anticipated, or if the airline can’t use as many seats on the plane as it had planned for whatever reason, airlines typically start asking for volunteers who are willing to give up their seats, usually in exchange for something.

While involuntarily bumping passengers isn’t illegal, certain monetary amounts must be awarded per U.S. Department of Transportation rules — assuming your situation falls into the prescribed definition, which does have caveats.

If you are involuntarily denied boarding, and the airline can’t get you to your destination within an hour of the original schedule, you are entitled to 200% of your one-way fare or $775, whichever is lower. If the airline can’t get you there within two hours (four if it’s an international flight), that amount increases to 400% of your one-way fare or $1,550, whichever is lower.

However, those rules don’t apply if the airline can find volunteers to willingly give up their seats, as we did.

There are no rules for what is required to be awarded to volunteers, so the only real threshold is what passengers are willing to raise their hands and accept.

A good sign your flight might be heading for an oversold situation is if, when you check in for your flight, there’s a screen that asks if you might be willing to volunteer to take a later flight. It’s possible the airline won’t ultimately need volunteers on that flight, but it might.

LU SHAOJI/GETTY IMAGES

Things to know about getting voluntary bump compensation

Every situation is unique and different airlines handle these things in their own ways, but many options are on the table when the airline needs your seat.

The more it needs it, the more likely you will get a yes to your requests. Here are some things to remember if you volunteer to be bumped to another flight in exchange for compensation.

Be ready

Make sure you’re physically close to the gate and/or ready to quickly step up if you want to volunteer when the airline needs passengers to take bump compensation in exchange for a future flight. Typically, the order in which you line up to see the gate agent (or at the front of the plane, in my case) to volunteer is the order they will go in. You can also go up and ask the gate agent when you first arrive at the gate and let them know you’re willing to help out if they need your seat if you think the flight may be (too) full.

Do a little homework

Research other available flights if you think your airline may need volunteers to take other flights so you’ll have a good idea of what’s possible. Some airlines will rebook you on other airlines while others will not, but check everything to see what might work best.

Get confirmation

Be certain about when the next confirmed seat to your destination is available. Don’t accept standby tickets or say yes to being a volunteer until you are certain you have a confirmed seat to get you where you want to be by the time you want to be there.

Know what’s offered

Have a clear understanding of what is being offered. It’s probably not cash but is most likely future flight credit or potentially a gift card. For example, Delta Air Lines has a program where you can choose the retailer for your gift card. However, understand the type of credit and any restrictions before you say yes.

Negotiate

The amount of flight credit is negotiable. It’s normal for the offer to increase over time if there aren’t takers at the lower amounts. For example, if there are no nibbles at $250 in credit, it may go to $500, etc. You can also politely ask if more is available, which there may or may not be based on whether the airline can find volunteers at the amounts it first offers.

Offers may increase

If the amount the airline offers increases to get more volunteers, everyone who volunteers may get that higher amount. This isn’t guaranteed and may change as more airlines experiment with using a reverse bidding-type process in their apps for oversold situations. However, in the traditional way, where everyone is at the gate until the airline gets enough volunteers, it’s still likely all of them will get the highest amount.

Try for first class

You can ask for first-class seats on your new flight. Again, there are no guarantees this will be a yes, but if they can accommodate you in first class on another flight, they might. In our case, we lost two of our three upgrades on our new flight as it was simply already full, but if we wanted to wait for a flight with first-class seats, I imagine we could have.

Ask for extras

It’s also fair to ask for meal vouchers, a hotel room (if requiring an overnight stay) and cab rides to and from the hotel or to an alternate airport if required.

Be kind

As always, be nice. A flight that’s too full is likely a stressful situation for the agents who are working the flight. The nicer and more understanding you are, the better for all involved.

Save your voucher

Take photos of your voucher and keep it in a safe space so you don’t do all of that for nothing!

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Related: Can it be too hot to safely fly?

Bottom line

It’s busy, it’s hot, and if you fly enough this summer, you just might get the chance to make a split-second decision like we did and give up your seats on the flight in exchange for future flight credit — and sometimes even more.

We got to New York City about two hours later than originally planned and, in exchange, have $3,000 to spend on United flights for the next 12 months — and I’ll be keeping my ears open for a chance to do that again.

Related:

Source: thepointsguy.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

The Offer

Direct link to offer (various banks offer this)

  • Elan Financial is now offering a Visa Infinite Reserve Rewards+ Card. Card comes with a 50,000 point bonus after $4,500 in spend within the first 90 days

Card Details

  • $390 annual fee
  • $100 travel credit
  • Up to $240 in credits for eligible sports & fitness, personal care, entertainment & streaming services, and dining
  • Card earns at the following rates:
    • 6X points on travel booked through the Rewards Center
    • 2X points on all other eligible purchases 
  • Priority Pass membership
  • TSA/Global entry credit

Our Verdict

Similar to the Max Cash Preferred card that is also offered by Elan to various banks. Card isn’t worth getting due to the annual fee.

Hat tip to reader Paul D

Source: doctorofcredit.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

A few weeks back, I wrote about having a financial health day at work. With the help of some of my Foolish colleagues, we’ve created a PDF that outlines how to host your own financial health day at work, including a checklist of what to consider accomplishing during the day.

As you’ll read, a key component of the financial health day was classes taught by experts we invited to Fool HQ, including several fee-only financial advisors from the Garrett Planning Network. Which brings us to the topic of today’s post: how to pay for help from a financial professional. It all begins with my experience as one myself.

My Short Life as a Stockbroker

Way back when (in those crazy, hazy, dot-com-zy days of the 1990s), I put on a suit every workday and headed to the offices of Prudential Securities, where I was a (very junior) member of team that managed $200 million. I started off as essentially an office gopher, and ended up being a licensed broker in a span of about two years (at which point I left to join The Motley Fool).

The term “broker” is important; it means I earned commissions for sales of stocks and mutual funds. I also was a licensed insurance agent, and earned commissions for selling insurance products such as annuities.

Now, the fellows I worked work were smart and ethical, and I’d trust them with my own money. And they’re not the only good brokers in the industry; I know plenty of them. But I saw enough to know that this is an industry driven, first and foremost, by people who want to make a lot of money for themselves. That money doesn’t materialize out of thin air; it comes straight from their clients’ accounts and into their own.

As part of my training, I spent three weeks in New York City. During the day, we heard from various representatives of the firm’s departments — the bond desk, the equity analysts, etc. We weren’t being taught how to choose better investments for our clients; it was more of an introduction to how the firm worked. Then, we’d learn sales techniques. At night, we practiced them by making cold calls while instructors listened in, giving us advice after the call on how to provide more “sizzle.”

When I joined the firm, I thought I’d be getting “the keys to the kingdom” in terms identifying the best investments. After all, this is a big-name Wall Street firm; they surely knew how to beat the market. Alas, it was not true. I learned more about investing from reading a collection of good books than I did from Prudential’s training. What I did learn was that recommending certain investment products resulted in a bigger payday for the broker than recommending others — regardless of what was best for the client — and that many brokers weren’t able to overcome (and loath to disclose) this conflict of interest.

The Fee-Only Way

Is there a way to get financial help without this conflict interest? Yes, there is — by hiring a fee-only financial advisor. Such an advisor gets paid by the hour, by the project, or — if they will be managing your money — as a percentage of the assets under management. These folks have just one incentive: provide good advice. You know they will recommend what they really think is the best course of action, because they get paid the same no matter what they recommend.

Here are a few other reasons why I like fee-only planners:

  • If you walk into your local Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, or some other brokerage, the advisor you speak with will care mainly about your investments, and maybe your insurance, because that’s how they get paid. (Don’t expect much guidance on the money in your 401(k), because they can’t get paid for providing advice about that.) Fee-only advisors, on the other hand, take a look at the whole picture, from debt to cash flow to employee benefits to estate planning.
  • Many fee-only planners will work on an as-need basis. Perhaps you just need help answering one or two questions, such as whether you’re saving enough for retirement. Or you’d like to continue handling your own finances, but you want an objective second opinion to make sure you’re on track. An hourly fee-only advisor can help you. It’s not exactly cheap — approximately $150 to $200 an hour. But not spending that money can be hundreds-wise but thousands-foolish.
  • Fee-only planners tend to have professional designations, such as Certified Financial Planner or Chartered Financial Analyst. Plenty of brokers have those designations, too, but not as many, percentage-wise. Such a designation doesn’t guarantee good behavior or perfect advice, but it does mean the advisor knows enough to pass very rigorous exams and fulfill continuing education credits, including classes in ethics.
  • Most fee-only planners are fiduciaries, which means they are legally obligated to put their clients’ interests first. Surprisingly, and appallingly, the typical broker is not a fiduciary, and is held to a lower standard. I won’t bore you with all the legalese, but it has been in the news lately since it’s a part of the debate about financial reform. Just know that it’s a topic you should research and bring up with any financial advisor you consider hiring.

Where do you find such a fee-only planner? The Garrett Planning Network is a start. Visit their locate an advisor page and click on your state to see if there’s an advisor in your area. (In the interest of full disclosure, and revealing my own conflicts of interest, The Motley Fool has a partnership with Garrett, but no money has changed hands. It’s more of a “we like each other, so let’s spread the good word about each other” type of arrangement.) Another option is the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, or NAPFA. Finally, you can use the PlannerSearch tool of the Financial Planning Association, and specify “Fee Only” under the “How Planners Charge” link.

Fee-only advisors are independent, and have their own ways of doing business. So not every fee-only advisor will manage money, and not every one will work on an hourly basis. Determine what you need, and find an advisor who will work on your terms — and put your interests first.

Source: getrichslowly.org

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with new information and offers.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card overview

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) is the issuer’s first foray into the world of premium travel rewards cards and knocks it out of the park. With an annual fee that undercuts the competition and plentiful perks that are easy to understand, the card is nearly a no-brainer for travelers ranging from luxury seekers to the more budget-minded. Chase and Amex, take notice. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

* Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

Over the last couple of years, premium cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and Chase Sapphire Reserve have taken center stage with major updates, including adding new perks and statement credits — along with increased annual fees.

However, the Capital One Venture X stole the limelight when it launched in November 2021 with some incredibly valuable perks. Plus, with an annual fee of just $395, the Venture X is more affordable than its main competitors. The card also offers up to $300 in annual statement credits toward bookings made through Capital One Travel, which makes up for the majority of its annual fee.

If you’re considering the Venture X, here is everything you need to know before clicking that “apply” button.

Official application link: Capital One Venture X with 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Capital One Venture X welcome offer

JOHN GRIBBEN/THE POINTS GUY

The Venture X card’s sign-up bonus is 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

According to TPG’s latest valuations, 75,000 Capital One miles are worth $1,388, thanks to the outsized value you can get from transferring Capital One miles to the program’s airline and hotel partners.

Even if you don’t want to navigate the complexities of transferable points, you can still use your Capital One miles directly for travel at a rate of 1 cent per mile — making the sign-up bonus worth $750.

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Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable points

Earning miles with the Capital One Venture X

ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

The Venture X accrues miles at the following rates:

  • 10 miles per dollar on hotels and car rentals booked via Capital One Travel.
  • 5 miles per dollar on flights booked via Capital One Travel.
  • 2 miles per dollar on other purchases.

This simplicity builds off the $95-per-year Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees), a product that has been around for over a decade. In that way, the Venture X represents the best of both worlds — high earning potential on travel purchases, specifically, but a solid everyday earning rate that’s easy to keep track of.

Read more: Credit card showdown: Capital One Venture vs. Capital One Venture X

Redeeming miles with the Capital One Venture X

Capital One miles can be redeemed in several ways, but transferring miles to travel partners probably represents the most lucrative opportunity.

Transfer miles

Over the years, Capital One has made significant improvements to its mileage program, including shifting from solely fixed-rate redemptions to adding a host of airline and hotel transfer partners, most of which now convert at a 1:1 ratio.

Here is the full list of transfer partners and their respective transfer ratios from Capital One:

Transfer partner Transfer ratio
Aeromexico Club Premier 1:1
Air Canada Aeroplan 1:1
Air France-KLM Flying Blue 1:1
Avianca LifeMiles 1:1
Accor Live Limitless 2:1
British Airways Avios 1:1
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles 1:1
Choice Privileges Hotels 1:1
Emirates Skywards 1:1
Etihad Guest 1:1
EVA Infinity MileageLands 2:1.5
Finnair Plus 1:1
Qantas Frequent Flyer 1:1
Singapore KrisFlyer 1:1
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go 1:1
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles 1:1
Virgin (Atlantic) Red 1:1
Wyndham Rewards 1:1

Leveraging transfer partners offers several sweet-spot redemption opportunities, including economy flights to Hawaii for just 7,500 Capital One miles by transferring to Turkish Miles & Smiles and redeeming for United flights, and business-class flights to South America for 50,000 Capital One miles transferred to TAP and redeemed on United.

Fixed-value redemptions

Capital One offers several fixed-value redemption options if you consider simplicity more important than cent-per-point value:

  • Book travel: You can book travel directly through Capital One Travel at a value of 1 cent per mile.
  • Pay off travel purchases: You can pay off travel purchases made in the past 90 days on your card statement without worrying about the complexities of loyalty programs. You’ll again get a flat value of 1 cent per mile.
  • Redeem for gift cards: You can use miles for gift cards at the same rate of 1 cent per mile.
  • Redeem for cash back: You should do everything possible to avoid this option, as it will only provide a redemption value of 0.5 cents per mile.

You should never use the last option here since it slashes the value you get compared to travel redemptions.

Capital One Venture X benefits

While a $395 annual fee might initially seem like a deterrent, it’s easy to see how the Venture X’s perks can offset the yearly cost with minimal effort:

  • Statement credit: Up to $300 back in statement credit annually for bookings made through Capital One Travel.
  • Anniversary bonus: 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary, starting on your first anniversary (worth $100 toward travel).
  • Lounge access: Complimentary access for cardholders, authorized users and up to two guests per visit to Capital One Lounges .
  • Authorized users: Up to four authorized users can be added at no charge, and they also get the same guest access as the cardholder for the Capital One Lounge and Priority Pass.
  • Access to luxury hotels: The Capital One Premier Collection offers cardholders free breakfast, on-property credits and room upgrades (if available).
  • Rental car status: The primary cardholder and authorized users receive complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status**.
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Up to $100 in statement credits for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
  • Trip delay reimbursement: Up to $500 per person for reasonable expenses
  • Cellphone protection: By using the card to pay your monthly wireless bill, you’re eligible for up to $800 in coverage per claim. A $50 deductible applies per occurrence.
  • Primary rental car insurance: for damage caused by collision or theft to a rental car.*
  • Purchase, extended warranty and return protection: warranties extended by an additional year; returns up to $300 per item and $1,000 per account.*

* Benefits available on Visa Infinite cards.
**Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.

Which cards compete with the Capital One Venture X?

With a $395 annual fee, the Venture X falls within the premium travel cards category. Two main competitors come to mind; however, both of these cards come with significantly higher annual fees — $550 for the Chase Sapphire Reserve and $695 for the Amex Platinum (see rates and fees).

  • If you want loads of benefits: The Amex Platinum has a complicated assortment of benefits and perks, including at least 10 different built-in statement credits allotted in time frames ranging from monthly to every four years, making them difficult to keep track of. While you can offset the card’s hefty $695 annual fee with these included credits, it is a lot to manage — not to mention some of these perks might not be useful for certain card members. For more information, read our full review of the Amex Platinum.
  • If you want more travel and dining rewards: The Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders earn bonus points at similar rates to the Venture X when booking through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, with 10 points per dollar on hotel and car rental purchases and 5 points per dollar on airfare. However, they also earn 3 points per dollar on other travel and dining, which beats the Venture X. The annual $300 travel credit on the Sapphire Reserve is easier to use. For more information, read our full review of the Sapphire Reserve.

For additional options, check out our list of the best premium travel cards.

Read more: The best premium credit cards: A side-by-side comparison

Bottom line

With simple rewards and overall solid value, the Venture X has mass appeal, especially for those searching for (or switching from) a premium travel rewards card. In addition, there are a lot of under-the-radar perks on the card, including Visa Infinite benefits with an extensive list of trip, luggage, car rental and purchase protections.

Add in a growing network of airport lounges, no-fee authorized users, Capital One’s robust transfer partners and a luxury hotel program, and you have a card that is nearly a no-brainer.

Official application link: Capital One Venture X with 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Eric Rosen and Christina Ly.

Source: thepointsguy.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

There’s no denying that plants bring a sense of happiness to any living space, adding a certain uniqueness to your home. If you’re on a hunt to add a touch of greenery to your beautiful space, we’ve shortlisted five of the best ways to set up a one-of-a-kind indoor garden at home. These plants will definitely give your decorative pieces a run for their money while adding a touch of natural elegance to your home.

Also, if you’re confused about how to arrange plants in your apartment, we found the best ways to introduce fresh, soothing colours into your home.

Table of Contents

5 simple & best ways to set up a beautiful indoor garden at home

1. A plant set up to complement the boho vibe


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If you are not a fan of a lush green indoor garden scattered in your cosy apartment, you can show off your plants in an elegant plant hanger instead. Want a bohemian feel while adding greenery to your home? Opt for a macramé plant hanger for your favourite plants. It looks fantastic and enables you to grow plants that you might not otherwise be able to in an indoor setting.

Our recommendation: TrustBasket Macrame Hanger

Don’t have sufficient space to grow indoor plants? Turn to this set of three macrame hangers from TrustBasket. Round pots with a width of up to 8 inches can be displayed using this. To hang the pots, simply attach a hook to the loop that is given at the top. These modern hangers feature a beautiful pattern and are made of 100% pure cotton, giving them a unique and eye-catching look.

Buy it here

2. A living wall for the win


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A living wall is something to think about if you have limited space or want a distinctive piece of wall art. It creates a lovely backdrop for a neutral space and is perfect for a room with lots of natural light. As you will need to water and feed your plants at the same time, it is ideal to opt for plants that require equal amounts of care.

Price: INR 1,399

Buy it here

3. A decorative plant shelf


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It not only looks fantastic to have a set of bookshelves solely for your collection of plants, but it also makes upkeep easier. You can relocate the plants around according to how the light falls on the shelves and where you place the humidifier, considering they are all in one location for watering. This type of beautiful setting also adds positivity and beauty to the living space.

Price: INR 2,575

Buy it here

4. Indoor jungle of plants


iStock

With a collection of tropical plants that can be grown indoors, you can build a cosy jungle full of exotic flowers, colourful leaves, and trailing vines. Although caring for them may involve a bit more effort because of their need for water, humidity, and light, the calming effect they will provide to your home will make it worth the effort.

Price: INR 2,089

Buy it here

5. A creative mini garden in a terrarium


iStock

Indoor gardens can be really attractive, but they can also be challenging to manage. However, slow-growing plants, usually those that are referred to as ‘dwarf’ and ‘miniature’, can be used for building mini gardens.

In order to save space in a smaller home, try setting up a mini terrarium. Self-contained and simple to maintain, it’s an excellent option for people who want a bit of greenery in their cosy environment

Our recommendation: TrustBasket Geometric Terrarium

TrustBasket’s Geometric Terrarium is the perfect way to turn your indoor plants into a gorgeous focal piece. This one is made up of galvanised iron metal and sturdy glass, with an opening on one side for housing the plants. You can beautify this exquisite decorative terrarium with the paint of your choice to complement your home decor.

Buy it here 

Social and lead images credits: Vishesh Films, iStock

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Disclaimer: Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.in/Amazon.com sites, as applicable at the time of purchase, will apply to the purchase of this product.

Source: idiva.com