Not everyone uses Textedit on Mac, but I know a blog of bloggers that do. The problem is changing Textedit to HTML by pasting it into the WordPress visual editor doesn’t work very well. So, one day I sat down and figured out a super fast way to convert Textedit into clean HTML for WordPress, and, at the same time, to make some fast formatting changes, such as changing all links to open in a new window, and changing bold text into header (h2 or h3).  

Disclaimer: This hack requires a bit of HTML editing. It helps if you know a bit about HTML, but you really don’t need to know anything at all as long you follow my instructions carefully and exactly.

What The Textedit to HTML for WordPress Hack Will Help You Do

This hack enables you to:

1. Remove all redundant HTML a post written in textedit when moving it to WordPress
2. Change all bolded text (which I use for subheadings in textedit) into h2 or h3 tags at the push of a button
3. Change all links in a post to open in a new window/tab at the push of a button (if you have a lot of outbound links).

What You Will Need

1. Textedit and WordPress (obviously)
2. Internet access so you can use the online CKEditor Demo
3. A text search and replace extension for your browser (I use Search and Replace for Chrome)

Hope you find this helpful!

How To Quickly Convert TextEdit To HTML For WordPress

If you found this post useful, and would like to receive more tips like this, as well tips about awesome travel jobs and sponsorship opportunities, you really should sign up for my blogger love newsletter.

The post How To Quickly Convert TextEdit To HTML For WordPress appeared first on XpatMatt.

Summer is the busiest air travel time in Canada. Whether you’re packing for a family vacation, visiting relatives or exploring new corners of the world, an easy and stress-free travel experience starts by preparing for the security checkpoint. These tips from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) can help. One of the most common mistakes travellers make is bringing liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) exceeding the 100ml limit in their carry-on baggage.That includes sunscreen, tanning lotion or hand cream, alcohol, maple syrup, etc. To go in your carry-on LAGs must be in containers of 100 mL or less.

If you’re going play on land or water, there are a few rules to watch for:

• Baseball bats, golf clubs and surfboards are only allowed in your checked baggage, but sports racquets are clear to fly in carry-on.
• Going fishing? Poles without hooks are fine in carry-on, but those with hooks and tackle need to be checked.
• Scuba tanks are permitted in checked bags. Consult your air carrier for other restrictions before getting to the airport.

Have a few souvenirs coming back with you?

• Gifts should not be wrapped as screening officers may have to open them for inspection.
• Jackknives, decorative or ceremonial knives and multitools with blades cannot travel in carry-on bags. Butterfly knives, switchblades and other illegal knives (and replicas) are prohibited and cannot go in carry-on or checked bags.

Going camping?

• While one lighter for personal use is allowed in carry-on, lighters are not permitted in checked baggage.
• Strike-anywhere matches are NOT permitted in carry-on or checked baggage.
• Flammable materials – for example, white gas or butane for camping stoves – are NOT permitted in carry-on or checked baggage.

For everything else, here are some tried-and-true tips for breezing through security to your summer destination:

• Check wait times online.
• Arrive early and allow for ample time to be screened. Keeping your boarding pass out helps the line flow quickly and smoothly.
• Small personal items like keys, coins, cell phones or tablets should be put into your carry-on at security to keep everything more organized.
• Laptops must be removed from your bag and placed in a bin.
• Bring your re-usable water bottle through security empty, then fill it up after for a refreshing drink on a hot travel day.
• When travelling with kids under the age of two, use the family Family/Special needs line.
• Remember that baby food, breast milk, formula, water, and juice are exempt from the 100 ml limit.

For your convenience, a downloadable infographic

Here is a small downloadable infographic, a great size for your smartphone, so you can refer back to it when getting ready for your trip. The picture below can be downloaded. if that doesn’t work, you can also try downloading this link.

For More Information Visit

Website: catsa.gc.ca

Twitter: @CATSA

Pinterest: CATSAGC

**This information was provided by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. They care enough about your travel experience that they wrote it, sent it to me, and even compensated me for taking the time to publish it. Those crazy Canucks, always surprising you with their excessive niceness, eh?

The post How To Breeze Through Airport Security This Summer appeared first on XpatMatt.

I skied or snowboarded pretty much every weekend all winter long from when I was three until I was 18. I even got my snowboard instructor’s certificate. Then, I moved out, started working, went to University, and moved to Asia. I haven’t had a full season of snowboarding since.

This year, though, I’m going to be in Utah for the winter and I’ve also started writing About.com’s Snowboarding Guide (it’s not up yet though). Yesterday I realized that I needed to get all new gear in order to try out the epic ski hills in Utah. Since the season was still a little ways off there were still a lot of good off-season deals floating around, so I decided to try and find some cheap snowboard gear right away.

I consider myself pretty good at finding cheap gear. Since I didn’t have a lot of money to spend, this was going to test my skills.

Finding a Cheap Snowboard

First, I wanted to find a good all-mountain snowboard that wasn’t going to cost me an arm and a leg — something made for an intermediate-advanced rider that was proven to be good in all conditions.

I started by searching several of the discount gear websites that I normally use, like Altrec, Department of Goods, and Backcountry.com. I searched for all-mountain snowboards and sorted the results by the size of the discount on each item.

By doing this I narrowed my search to a few models with big discounts. Then I started reading reviews about those boards. After a bit of deliberation, I settled on last year’s 160cm Salomon Grip Team Edition, which sounds like an excellent ride.

Most of these discount websites get their gear from the same places, so they often carry a lot of the same discount items. So, next I used Google’s Shopping search to see if I could find a website selling the board for less than the one I was looking at. That took me to SolsticeSupply.com, which had it on sale for $240 (down from regular $480).

Next, I did a quick Google search for “SolsticeSupply.com coupon” to see if I could find a coupon that would get me an additional discount, but I came up empty. So, I bought my Grip for $240, satisfied with 50% off. If you’d like to order one, At the time of writing they still had some in stock.

Finding Cheap Snowboard Bindings

Next I needed some good all-mountain bindings. This time reversed my strategy. First I looked reviews of good all-mountain bindings. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find any toplists of the best bindings, but I did find a forum where a few knowledgable boarders agreed that Burton Cartels, Rome 390s, and Union Forces are among the best.

So, I hopped onto Google again and started did a shopping search for those brands. Very few of them came up at a discount. I did manage to find a small shop in Maryland called Pitcrew that had a pair of Rome 390s in my size. They were also half price ($105 down from regular $210).

Again, I searched for a coupon for the website, but didn’t find one, so I went ahead and ordered the bindings. Now, I had bought a really nice full hardware setup for about $350. Not bad.

Finding a Cheap Snowboard Jacket and Pants

The last thing I needed was some good snowboard pants and a jacket. Since there are a lot of different brands and styles, I had a lot to choose from.

Again, I went back to my favourite discount websites and started looking through the discount bins and and outlet sections where the cheapest goods are.

I could have easily bought a good snowboarding jacket and pants for $100. But, I wanted to get myself something nice, so after some matching and comparing, I finally chose Burton Bit O’ Heaven snowboard jacket (it was 40% off the regular $190, which brought it to $114) and a pair of Burton Men’s Cargo Snowboard Pants, for which were $75 (down from $150) on Altrec.com.

Again, I searched for a coupon code. This time I found a 10% off coupon code. I entered it at the checkout and it saved me an addition $20. So, in the end, I got $340 worth of outerwear for $160.

Total Gear Cheaposity

After a few hours of research I bought:

1 Salomon Grip Team Edition Snowboard $240 | Reg. $480

1 Pair Rome 390 Bindings $105 | Reg. $210

1 Burton Snowboard Jacket $114 | Reg. $190

1 Pair Burton Snowboard Pants $75 | Reg. $150

TOTAL: I paid $534 USD for $1030 worth of gear for a total savings of almost $500.

So, this winter on the hill, I’m going to look something like this. Awesome sauce.

The post How I Bought a $1000 Snowboard Setup for $500 appeared first on XpatMatt.

If you’ve finally decided to take the big plunge to explore your chosen destination, it’ll most likely be an exotic and far-flung place and flying there will be inevitable. Flying greatly increases your carbon footprint. However, if you are truly committed to being an eco-traveller, there are steps you can take to reduce it.

Here’s a quick guide to how to limit your impact on your surroundings while you’re enjoying the great outdoors.

Eco-Friendly Equipment

Your camping equipment is one area where it’s easy to make positive changes. Replace standard torches with LED-powered wind-up ones – then there are no batteries to worry about at all! Bring reusable cutlery and crockery rather than disposables to reduce waste, and be sure to wash them using biodegradable soap.

If you’re really venturing into places with uncleaned water sources, you’ll probably be using water purifying tablets. These are another eco-friendly grey area as some use harmful chemicals (iodine-based tablets are now banned in the EU). However, those tablets are much less harmful than bottled water!

Eco-Friendly Cooking

This can be a tricky area for the eco-conscious camper to navigate. Single-use barbecues aren’t very green – they use a lot of packaging that usually doesn’t get recycled, and the fumes can be polluting, but worst of all they tend to scorch the ground beneath them! A lightweight portable stove is a much better and safer option, but make sure you hold on to the butane cylinders so you can dispose of them properly once they’re empty.

Some campsites have fire rings where you can build a campfire – if you decide to make use of this, forage for dry, dead wood rather than snapping branches off trees (which won’t burn well anyways).

Another great tip is to befriend a fellow traveller and cook your meals together.

Eco-Friendly Travel

Obviously the most eco-friendly way to explore a new destination is on foot. But, for longer trips, consider hiring a bicycle. This is this an extremely eco-friendly way to travel but that comes with the added bonus of keeping you in shape.

Drinking

We all know the importance of having fresh clean drinking water, especially while travelling. Use an aluminium drinking bottle and and avoid buying bottled water, which is one of the world’s biggest sources of waste.

Litter

It goes without saying that you should collect any rubbish generated by your stay into a bag until you can find a bin to dispose of it, but while you’re at it why not pick up other people’s too? Some campsites and hostels now have recycling stations, so make use of these if you can.

Eco-Friendly Washing

Just because you are travelling that doesn’t mean that you can slack on your personal hygiene. It’s important to keep not only your body clean, but also your clothes. You can conserve water by taking short showers. Try to keep them to under 2 minutes if you can. Also, try to wait until you have a full load of dirty clothes before washing them to avoid doing half loads and wasting energy and water. If you don’t have enough clothes for a full load, why not ask a fellow traveller to share? You can save a bit of money while you’re at it.

These simple but effective tips will ensure while you’re travelling you will slowly off set your flight carbon footprint.

Do you have any tips that I missed?   

The post The Guide to Eco-Friendly Backpacking appeared first on XpatMatt.

If you’re an experienced surfer or have a bit of time, then you’ll probably want to head east to nearby Yilan where there are several breaks and good waves. If you’re a beginner or short of time then you’ll want to head to Taipei’s closest break, Jinshan, which is just 40 minutes by car from the city, and a little over an hour by public transport (there’s more information on how to get there below).

The Break

Jinshan breaks both left and right for 50 – 100 meter rides. The waves tend to be on the small side but their size, of course, depends on the weather. When typhoons near the island the can get very big. The best times to surf Jinshan are in the early morning and evening. There’s a shore break that can make it quite difficult to paddle out during the middle of the day.

My Experience in Jinshan 

I only got to surf at Jinshan twice during my trip. Both times it was the middle of the day so the surf was super messy and it was nearly impossible to get past the shore break. Understandably, I was pretty much the only surfer in the water.

The first day I surfed despite the conditions because I had just arrived and didn’t know if I’d get another chance. I’m a relatively inexperienced sufrer and can’t read the waves very well. Despite that, I was able to paddle out (after a long exhausting struggle in the shore break) and catch one or two short rides.

The second day I wanted to take photos of the break while the conditions were good. About twenty or thirty surfers paddled out and the waves were about chest high. The weren’t the best-shaped waves I’ve seen, but they were decent and consistent and the locals who knew the break got some beautiful long rides.

When the tide started coming in, all the surfers got out of the water. I put away my camera, and hopped in again, once again battling the shore break to catch a couple of short rides.

The Shops

Don’t worry about finding a shop to rent a board at Jinshan. There’s probably a dozen on the highway and along the path to the beach. Here is the contact info for a couple of shops that have hostels you can stay at.

The Johnny Rose Surf Club | 強尼玫瑰衝浪俱樂部

83-1, Haising Rd., Jinshan Township | 台北縣金山鄉海興路83-1號1樓

Phone: 02-2408-2664

Dorm rooms start at about $9 USD per person per night.

They recommend that you reserve your room two or three days in advance.

The Tube Factory | 波管工廠
91, Haising Rd., Jinshan Township (upstairs) | 台北縣金山鄉海興路91號2樓

Phone: 02-2498-5812
0956-293-520 Susan
0932-395-165 SuBee

Dorm rooms start at about $9 USD per person per night. Private double rooms cost about $24 USD/night. Rooms for four cost about $36 USD/night.

They recommend that you reserve your room a day or two in advance.

Getting to Jinshan

Jinshan can be reached easily from Taipei. It takes around forty minutes to drive there. Locals recommend driving over Yaming Mountain to avoid traffic.

To get to Jinshan on public transportation you have two options:

1) Take the train from Taipei Main Station to Keelung (time: 40 min to 1 hr/price: about $2-3 USD). From there you can take the Keelung Bus (基隆客運) to the mid-cape stop (中角站) (time: 20 min/price $1-2 USD) or taxi (time: 15 min/price: about $12 USD) to Jinshan.

2) Take the MRT to Danshui (time: varies depending on location/price: $2 USD max) where you will take the Danshui Bus (淡水客運) that is headed for Jinshan/Keelung (金山/基隆) to the mid-cape stop (中角站) (time: 1 hour/price: $4 USD).

The post Surfing in Jinshan, Taiwan appeared first on XpatMatt.

If you have finished school you might now be considering a gap year that involves hiking around the world with a backpack and good pair of walking boots.

If so, it’s important to be prepared beforehand: take enough money, do your paperwork, and make sure that you get travel insurance (click here to compare quotes at MoneySupermarket).

Now that you’re ready, here are some places for you to consider for a memorable experience.

Machu Picchu in Peru

Photo by szeke

Peru’s Inca trail might be considered a well-worn one, but that is for good reason, as it is definitely worth seeing.

The hike takes you through diverse habitats, from steamy jungle to crisp alpine heights. You will not only see Peru’s natural stunning beauty, but also the historical wonders of its ancient people.

For the history buffs, the trail passes three sets of Inca ruins and finishes at the famous Machu Picchu. Hikers can then climb one of the most iconic constructions on Earth.

Take a dip in Nepal

Photo by Dey

For those who want a more spiritual journey, Nepal is the perfect location. And if you are interested in something a little different to the usual destinations of Kathmandu and Everest there is the Annapurna circuit.

Hike from the sub-tropics to the mountains with plenty to see and do along the way. Meet the local people, visit temples and tea houses and, after all that hiking, have a well-deserved soak by relaxing in a hot spring.

Climb the Highest Walkable Mountain

Photo by Jorge Lascar

If you would like to climb a tall mountain but don’t feel ready for the physical and technical challenges Everest presents, then Mount Kilimanjaro is an excellent second choice.

No special climbing skills or equipment are needed, which is why Kilimanjaro has been called the world’s highest walkable mountain. That doesn’t mean the climb is easy, but it is definitely worth it.

Hike around Mount Doom

Photo by  eliduke

The Tongariro Northern Circuit, on New Zealand’s North Island, winds through active volcanic regions for dramatic views while hiking. You will pass pools of boiling mud, valleys carved by glaciers and the Emerald Lakes, which are craters filled with water.

The trail is roughly 35 kilometres across a landscape that looks out of this world. And yes, while on it you will walk around Mount Ngaurube, the active volcano used as Mount Doom in the film of Lord of the Rings.

Watery Walks in Utah

Photo by Steve Corey

Hiking doesn’t just have to be up high mountain peaks. If you don’t mind getting your feet wet, then hiking through the canyons of the Zion Narrows in America’s south-western state of Utah is an incredible experience.

As the name implies, the slot canyons are high but narrow and made of sandstone carved by water over millions of years. The walls ascend over 3000 feet and are only 22 feet across the top at their narrowest point – a two-mile area known as ‘Wall Street’.

Be aware, though, that it can be an incredibly risky hike. The area is prone to flash floods which claim hikers’ lives every year. Check the forecast carefully beforehand to make sure that there is absolutely no rain predicted.

Whatever you decide on, stay safe and try to avoid getting too many blisters!

About the Author

Chris Rowlands-Barber is an online media specialist and lover of hiking and travel. 

The post Five Memorable Hiking Trips appeared first on XpatMatt.

(Last updated August, 2015)

Bookmark this page, because you are going to want to come back.

By buying selloffs and promotions in bulk and avoiding the overhead costs of physical stores (leases, employees, bills, etc.) online stores are able to offer incredibly cheap gear deals.  I’m talking up to 40-80% off every day. More and more of these stores have sprung up in recent years, so I’ve kept a list of the best ones for my own shopping (I almost never shop at ‘real’ stores anymore) because gear is so cheap online.

There are three kinds these stores: 1) big stores with a wide variety of cheap gear, 2) sport specific stores, and 2) stores that offer limited-time sell-offs. The first two types are great when you are looking for something you need while the latter are for snatching a fantastic deal when it comes along or buying discount gifts that look expensive. Limited-time offer stores usually require you to sign up, but it’s worth it because they tend to get some of the most outstanding deals.

Either way, you can save a lot of money and still get quality brand-name gear. Check out these shops and the only reason you’ll ever visit a mall again is to try things on for size (before you go home and order them).

The Big Boys – All Kinds of Gear for Cheap

These ones are big stores with a huge variety — kind of like the costco of cheap gear.

Backcountry.com

Backcountry.com may be the biggest of all the discount online retailers. They have everything from skis and snowboarding equipment to tents to climbing gear.  I head straight to the clearance bins (the link is in the top navigation bar) for as much as 70% off.

Best Deals: I always scour the outlet where gear is 60% – 80%  off.

REI

Most of us have heard of REI, so I won’t go into detail about them. This sporting goods behemoth requires no explanation. Most of the website is just their normal store. But, there are lots of deals as well.

The Best Deals: The REI Sale and Clearance page often has gear on sale for up to 50% off

Sierra Trading Post

Sierra Trading Post has a wide variety of gear including that used for most outdoors sports, but they also sell luggage, electronics, and even golf accessories. They advertise 35 – 70% off retail prices.

The Best Deals: For the really good deals I go straight to the Bargain Barn.

Altrec

Altrec is an all-round outdoors retailer selling all manner of clothing and gear for travel, hiking, running, surfing, cycling, kayaking, yoga, climbing, skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. I love this website and often find items I can’t find elsewhere.

The Best Deals: Jump straight to their outlet store for items up to 85% off.

Leftlane Sports

This is another behemoth shop with all manner of outdoors gear. Be careful when you enter. I almost bought a new surfboard 10 minutes ago just browsing.

The Best Deals: The top navigation bar of the site has a ‘Sales’ button on the left. Use at your own peril.

Summit Online

Skate, snow, paddle, water sports, and more. Summit Online houses a huge inventory of all kinds of toys.

The Best Deals: The sale area regular features discount gear 80% off and more.

Sport Specific

Skis.com

The name of the site is a bit misleading, because it includes snowboards as well as skis. It’s a great site for, especially in the pre- and post-season when selloffs are rife.

The Best Deals: You’ll find the goods all at 30-60% off in the sale area here.

Snowboards.com

When I feel the need to tease myself with stuff I want, I go here. This site has tons of gear for great prices. I literally almost just bought a new board while writing this.

The Best Deals: The super cheap deals (like a brand-new Flow board for $160 I just saw) are in the sale area.

Solstice Supply

I once picked up a complete new snowboarding kit, boots, bindings, and all my accessories of top-shelf stuff from this place for less than $600, so it will always have a special place in my heart.

The Best Deals: You also don’t have to worry about finding something cheaper elsewhere because of their low price guarantee.

Evo.com

Evo is a well-branded surf, skate, snow focussed website that keeps a good rolling stock of cheap gear for those of us who love to stand sideways.

The Best Deals: Check out the Outlet section for the bottom of the barrel prices.

Dog Funk

Dog Funk has an indy feel to it and is aimed at boarders (skate, surf, and snow) and even has some super-specialty items like avalanche beacons. Most of the gear on Dog Funk is around 30 – 50% off, though I’ve run across items as much as 85% below retail.

The Best Deals: If you’re looking for the really good deals, you should jump straight to their sale page.

Water Outfitters

Water outfitters is not totally sport specific, but focusses on water sports gear with a bent towards lake-based summer activities like wakeboarding and tubing.. Taking the family camping at the lake? Check these guys out first.

The Best Deals: The sales section can be found here.

Limited-Time Sales Stores

The Clymb

This Portland-based store is not just for climbers, as the name might imply. They have up to 15 different limited-time sales, generally running for three to seven days, with goods ranging from luggage, to watches, to sport-specific gear usually for 40 – 70% off. And they say that they have Adventures (trips I assume) coming soon.

PlanetGear

Planet Gear has sells products for about one-week at a time and usually have six to eight offers on any given day. Their prices range from about 40 – 70% below retail.

In The Bivvy

In the Bivvy has a wide variety of outdoors-related deals including gear, clothing, and shoes. They run for various periods of time and are usually around 40 – 60% off.

Steep and Cheap

Steep and Cheap has outdoors and snow sport-related gear on sale one item at a time. They sell until the current item is gone, and then post a new one.

Chainlove

Chainlove is like Steep and Cheap–one deal at a time–except they sell bike-related stuff.

Whiskey Militia

With the tagline “Surf, Skate, and Snow. Cheaper Than Your Mom.” how could you not love these guys? Their wares are geared towards a young alternative crowd. They have one deal on at a time for non-members, but if you sign up (free) they usually have another six to ten deals at any given time.

The post The Great Big List of Cheap Gear Deal Websites appeared first on XpatMatt.

When I first started traveling (and was very broke) I would spend hours, sometimes even days, searching websites for the best deals on tickets. Over time I learned a few tricks. I talked to other travelers and travel professionals about how they found cheap flights. After a while I came up with a formula for finding the good prices on plane tickets — especially after accounting for taxes. Now I spend on average 2-4 hours searching for a ticket, but I pretty much always a deal that’s significantly cheaper that’s what most people pay. Not long ago I booked a ticket from San Francisco to Taipei for $516 during at time of year when the vast majority of websites produced tickets that cost from $700 – $1000 or more. That’s about 25 – 50% cheaper than an average ticket–and that’s a pretty good example of the price that I usually pay compared to the norm. These are seven simple things that you can do to keep your flight costs as low as possible without wasting too much time searching for tickets.

1) Fly Tuesday – Thursday

Ticket prices are set according to demand, so the cheapest tickets can be found on the days with the least demand. Most people, especially business people, fly on Mondays and Fridays, so those days tend to be the most expensive, while midweek flights are usually cheaper. I’ve had the best luck flying on Wednesdays (and occasionally Sundays), but it’s always good to check flights on several different days before purchasing a ticket.

2) Be Flexible About Flight Dates

If your flight dates are flexible, you may be able to find a much better price checking prices in a range of around three or four weeks. The prices of flights can vary dramatically from one week to the next. Waiting an extra seven days has saved me hundreds of dollars on a single flight before.

3) Be Flexible About Airports

If you are in or near a large center, check schedules that leave from all of the nearby airports. Small budget airlines often don’t fly to major airports, but to nearby secondary ones. Those budget airlines are often much cheaper than the bigger ones.

4) Check Prices Early on Wednesday Mornings

This tip is not my own, but I believe its effective. According to Nora Dunn, a certified budget travel expert, airline companies usually set prices on Tuesdays around midnight, and that they sometimes post special temporary seat sales at this time.

5) Check Local Budget Airlines

Most regions of the world are served by budget airlines that don’t show up in big search engines. Which budget is a search engine that will tell you which budget airlines fly the route that you are looking for. Check those airlines websites for normal and special fares. They often have amazing deals. I have flown from Taipei to Manila round-trip for less than $50 on a local budget carrier before (mind you, the flight landed at Clark International Airport near Angeles City, rather than Manila International Airport, as I mentioned in tip #3).

6)  Check All Possible Booking Options

Different flight booking websites usually charge different prices for the same flight. To save time, I use price meta-search engines, like Booking Wiz and Fare Compare, that compare several booking websites at the same time.  After I have found a few flights that look promising, I check the airlines’ websites to see if they offer a better price for the flight or have any special deals. Sometimes the airline website is cheaper. Sometimes the booking engine is. Airlines also have different websites to serve different countries. If you’ve found a flight that you’re interested in buying directly through the airline’s website, try logging into a the same airline’s website for a different country (Canada, or the UK for example). Sometimes in the rounding up or down or prices and the exchange of currency you’ll find an even better deal.

7) Track the Flight’s Price

Yapta is a flight search engine that allows you to track changes in ticket prices over time. Just search for your desired route, then find the tickets you’re interested, and click on “Track Price Drops”. You will have to enter your name and email address. After that, Yapta will send you an email every time the price of one of your selected tickets changes. That way, if the airline drops the price for some reason (it happens regularly) you can snap up the ticket right away. Alternatively, if you have already purchased your ticket you can still track the price and request the airline to refund you the difference if one day you see the price drop below what you paid.

When I first started traveling (and was very broke) I would spend hours, sometimes even days, searching websites for the best deals on tickets. Over time I learned a few tricks. I talked to other travelers and travel professionals about how they found cheap flights. After a while I came up with a formula for finding the good prices on plane tickets. Now I spend on average 2-4 hours searching for a ticket, but I pretty much always a deal that’s significantly cheaper that’s what most people pay. Not long ago I booked a ticket from San Francisco to Taipei for $516 during at time of year when the vast majority of websites produced tickets that cost from $700 – $1000 or more. That’s about 25 – 50% cheaper than an average ticket–and that’s a pretty good example of the price that I usually pay compared to the norm. These are seven simple things that you can do to keep your flight costs as low as possible without wasting too much time searching for tickets.

1) Fly Tuesday – Thursday

Ticket prices are set according to demand, so the cheapest tickets can be found on the days with the least demand. Most people, especially business people, fly on Mondays and Fridays, so those days tend to be the most expensive, while midweek flights are usually cheaper. I’ve had the best luck flying on Wednesdays (and occasionally Sundays), but it’s always good to check flights on several different days before purchasing a ticket.

2) Be Flexible About Flight Dates

If your flight dates are flexible, you may be able to find a much better price checking prices in a range of around three or four weeks. The prices of flights can vary dramatically from one week to the next. Waiting an extra seven days has saved me hundreds of dollars on a single flight before.

3) Be Flexible About Airports

If you are in or near a large center, check schedules that leave from all of the nearby airports. Small budget airlines often don’t fly to major airports, but to nearby secondary ones. Those budget airlines are often much cheaper than the bigger ones.

4) Check Prices Early on Wednesday Mornings

This tip is not my own, but I believe its effective. According to Nora Dunn, a certified budget travel expert, airline companies usually set prices on Tuesdays around midnight, and that they sometimes post special temporary seat sales at this time.

5) Check Local Budget Airlines

Most regions of the world are served by budget airlines that don’t show up in big search engines. Which budget is a search engine that will tell you which budget airlines fly the route that you are looking for. Check those airlines websites for normal and special fares. They often have amazing deals. I have flown from Taipei to Manila round-trip for less than $50 on a local budget carrier before (mind you, the flight landed at Clark International Airport near Angeles City, rather than Manila International Airport, as I mentioned in tip #3).

6)  Check All Possible Booking Options

Different flight booking websites usually charge different prices for the same flight. To save time, I use price meta-search engines, like Booking Wiz and Fare Compare, that compare several booking websites at the same time.  After I have found a few flights that look promising, I check the airlines’ websites to see if they offer a better price for the flight or have any special deals. Sometimes the airline website is cheaper. Sometimes the booking engine is. Airlines also have different websites to serve different countries. If you’ve found a flight that you’re interested in buying directly through the airline’s website, try logging into a the same airline’s website for a different country (Canada, or the UK for example). Sometimes in the rounding up or down or prices and the exchange of currency you’ll find an even better deal.

8) Try Different Locations

Airlines and booking engines often charge different prices in different locations. So, using a VPN to check prices from different countries can help you find lower prices. Buying flights in certain countries can also help you save on taxes added to the ticket.

Conclusion

I’m not the most talented travel hacker out there, but I don’t aspire to be. I don’t care to spend more than a few hours finding cheap airfare. After that I prefer to spend my time doing fun things, rather than trying to whittle an extra $30 off my ticket.  If you’re like me, then this guide should be all you need to save a bit of money without wasting too much of your valuable time.

The post How to Find Cheaper Airline Tickets appeared first on XpatMatt.

Pretty much everyone has a credit card. Most people know that they can collect air miles using their credit card, but don’t really pay much attention to it except when they are checking to see if they can afford a free flight. A few people are air miles experts, constantly checking out new cards and special deals to make sure that they get the most possible miles for their money.

I’m not big on spending my days hunting for the super air miles deals. I have better things to do. However, there are a few things that I (and you can) do to significantly increase air miles earnings. Mostly they revolve around choosing a credit card that will give you the most awards and then using it well.

Different credit cards have different rewards systems. Some of them offer ‘points’ rather than ‘miles’. For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to refer to them all as miles.

When first shopping for a credit card most of us will look for the cards with the lowest annual fees or the lowest interest rates.  These things may save you money if you’re only goal is to keep your credit card costs as low as possible but, if you’re goal is to collect as many miles as possible, you need to look at a different set of criteria when choosing a credit card.

There is no single best card for collecting miles because different offers suit different lifestyles and buying habits. Read on to learn how to choose and use the card that will get you the most miles for your money.

Check the Sign Up Bonus

Most credit cards will offer a large one-time sign up bonus. These bonuses are often around 25,000 to 30,000 miles. Some cards that are associated with specific airlines and hotels have even offered up to 100,000 miles just for signing up.

Credit cards will occasionally run special sign-up bonuses that are even bigger, so make sure that you look at all the options when you are choosing a card. Some cards might offer significantly larger bonuses than others.

Watch the Fees

Credit card fees vary. Annual fees usually range from around $50 – $100. I don’t concern myself too much with these fees because they are only paid once a year. Overseas transactions and currency exchange fees differ greatly from card to card. If your card charges a lot for these services and you are using it frequently overseas these charges can add up.

I think its worth it to pay a bit extra on the annual fee for a card that will accrue a lot of miles but, if you’re spending a lot of time overseas, you should watch your currency and transaction charges. Its important to make sure your card is suited to your travel style.

 Check Out The Affiliated Shops

A few credit cards will only give you miles at specific stores or shops. These tend to be brand-affiliated cards. I don’t like these cards because I’m not on-the-ball enough to remember to use the right cards at the right shops.

I prefer a card that will give me miles no matter where I use it. Most cards have online stores and affiliate partners who will give you extra rewards for shopping with them. Find out what stores are affiliated with the card that you are considering. Look for a card that is affiliated with brands and stores you already shop at. This makes you more likely to receive bonus miles without changing your shopping habits at all.

Special Cards for Small Business Owners

Some small business credit cards have their own airmails programs that will enable you to collect miles while buying business-related products. This is a fantastic way to rack up charges and miles and is definitely something small business owners should look into.

Get the Newsletter

Credit cards are constantly offering extra miles for buying certain products or shopping at certain affiliate stores. These deals are usually listed in the credit card’s email newsletter. Sign up for it and read it religiously. Last month my card was offering ten times the normal points for items purchased from Ebay and Apple. I picked up a coupled of camera lenses that I’d had my eye on from Ebay. If I’d been in the market for a new laptop I would have earned about half of a domestic flight with just one purchase!

Keep Track of Your Earnings

As with any project you undertake, it’s always smart to keep track of your progress so that you can see when you are doing things right and recognize when you re falling short of your goals.  Collecting air miles is no different. Fortunately, the Internet has seen fit to offer a tool for making this complicated task easer. It’s called Award Wallet. Award Wallet is a website that enables you to keep track of multiple rewards programs all in one place.

Keep Learning

If you are interested in learning how to really squeeze the most out of air miles reward systems, visit http://frequentflier.com/ and http://www.smartertravel.com/frequent-flyer/ to find the news about deals and bonuses.

Lead image by LotusHead

The post Maximize Your Frequent-Flier Miles With a Good Credit Card appeared first on XpatMatt.