Grab bag of goodies for road warriors

Posted by: Dean Foust on August 07

Just back from two weeks’ vacation, and going through my Inbox I found a number of goodies that should be of interest to fellow travelers:

»»Google now has a widget that allows you to scour a number of hotel search engines at the same time. Google then provides you with the widest array of options. The author of the TravelGearBlog provides a little more detail in this posting.

»»Boingo, which offer wi-fi connections at more than 100,000 hotspots nationwide (including many airports) is offering an extra day on its day passes, which normally sell for $9.95. The promo code is “aspirin,” or you can click on this link for more details.

»»The Upgrade: Travel Better blog notes that Budget Rent-A-Car is quietly socking customers with a $13.99 “EZFuel” fee for customers whose crime was that they…drove less than 75 miles. Yup, since they hadn’t driven enough to move the gas needle, and allow Budget to sock them with “refueling” fees, they invested a new fee for…not using enough gas. Which means it might pay to watch the odometer and maybe drive an extra mile or two if that’s what is needed to trip over the 75-mile minimum. Read more here. And Budget actually spells out the terms in this excerpt that I pulled up from its web site:

Does the cost of the rental include the fuel?
Budget's rates do not include the cost of fuel. You have three options:

3. If you don’t choose the Fuel Service Option and you bring the car back less than full, you’ll pay a fuel service charge. If you drive 75 miles or more, depending on whether or not you bought fuel during your rental, this charge will be a per-mile or per-gallon rate and will be stated on your rental agreement. At most locations, if you drive less than 75 miles, an automatic $13.99 (U.S.) EZFuel™ service charge will be applied, which can be avoided if you’ve purchased fuel and provide us with a receipt.