Claim Your Refund for Foreign Credit Card Transactions

If you made any foreign credit card transactions between 1996 and 2006, you are likely due a refund from your credit card company. If you travel infrequently, nearly anyone can claim $25; if you charged hotels, plane tickets, cruise tickets, train tickets, souvenirs, meals, anything abroad more than $2500 over the same time frame, you can itemize and receive 1-3% of the total back, depending on your card. Find out how to get your “free” money after the jump.

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Saturday Freebie: Kids’ Night on Broadway

Wow, I am ticked. I’ve been saving this freebie for months, as the Kids’ Night on Broadway event (where a full-paying adult gets a child’s ticket free with purchase) generally takes place in January, and when I discovered it, the website hadn’t been updated yet from the 2007 event.

Well, it appears KNoB moved to February, tickets went on sale in November and a lot of shows are already sold out. Poo.

That’s not to say you still can’t take a kid to a show (like Avenue Q, Chicago, A Chorus Line, Mamma Mia!, Phantom of the Opera, the Fantasticks and Stomp) that’s extended the offer and still has tickets available. You’ll find all the details on tickets here. Don’t forget to use the code KNOB2008 when ordering.

Once you’ve purchased your KNoB tickets, you can score more freebies for your child as part of the event. Your child eats free with your purchase at a number of restaurants listed here. There are also free pre-theatre parties for kids too.

The only non-NYC event this year takes place in St. Louis. If you’re in or near Missouri, you can read more about it here.

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Friday Freebie: For the Germophobes

Two travel-sized freebies this week to keep germs at bay on the road.

First is a trial bottle of VioNexus, which claims it

• Kills germs and cleans skin without running water
• Emollients help prevent dry, irritated skin and leave hands feeling soft
• No water or towels needed, eliminating cross contamination

Second is a so-called Klean-to-Go Packet, which contains

• 1 Hard Surface Disinfectant Towelette
• 1 Standard Paper Toilet Seat Cover
• 1 Personal Wipe Towelette
• 1 Hand Disinfectant Towelette
• 3 Facial Quality 2 Ply Tissues

Enjoy!

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Tales from Gate and Runway

Three friends, three holiday flights home, 18.5 hours of delay. Hear their survival advice after the jump.

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Travel on a Shoestring Carnival: South America, Africa, Middle East #1

Welcome to the first Travel on a Shoestring Carnival for South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Here you’ll find South American, African, and Middle Eastern (and Antarctic!) travel tips for those without a lot of money to spend.

Pick of the carnival goes to AJ Block and his post 30 Things To Do When Visiting Santiago, Chile at Santiago Tourist. AJ writes, “Santiago has so many sights and activities worth seeing and doing that it’s hard to limit the recommendations to only 30 items.” His post is chock full of insider information (like request your Chilean sushi without cream cheese — who knew?) any visitor should find useful.

Intelligent Travel is back this week with the post Peruvian Knitting Quest. Jeannette Kimmel‘s post highlights an avid knitter whose penchant for textiles took her off the beaten path in Peru, where she witnessed her hobby as an essential element of daily life for native weavers. Letting your hobby be your guide is an unconventional way to plan what will ultimately amount to a rewarding and personalized trip.

Maria Fernandez encourages you to learn just 100 words before your trip in her post How to Enjoy Traveling Abroad. Her Learn a Foreign Language blog gives tips on and reviews of language learning resources of all kinds.

If you’re still traveling with checked luggage, read Joshua Seth‘s post on How to Pack for Your Next Trip Without Checking Any Luggage posted at Joshua Seth Blog. To his list I would add pajamas and I would disagree with purchasing toiletries and socks in every city you visit — but the point that we simply pack too much for most trips is well taken. (How many unnecessary books do *you* tote along?)

If you’d like to see your post on budget travel in South America, Africa or the Middle East in this carnival, submit using the online form found here. Our next carnival will be posted January 5, when we return to Europe. You can submit your posts for that carnival here.

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Friday Freebie: Luggage Tags

TripAdvisor is offering two free luggage tags on request at their website.  Check it out!

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Fighting Hunger on the Road

A follow-up to yesterday’s piece, I was inspired by Janel writing at Frugal Hacks about packing food for the road. [A little plug here: I recently joined Frugal Hacks, and if you write about frugality, you can too! Follow the FH button in my sidebar. Readers can navigate to a variety of frugal writers using the links on the FH homepage.] One of Less Than a Shoestring’s frugal eating tips while traveling is to bring your own lunch and drinks. Janel gives her own suggestions for how to pack sandwiches from meat and cheese to salad variety to PBJ and prevent the dreaded sogginess. After the jump, I’ll give a rundown of travel picnic essentials and the best foods for traveling so that even a newbie can pull off meals on the go like a pro.

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Killing Time on the Road

You’ve got seven hours ahead of you on this trip — seven hours where you feel you should be doing something, seven hours where you’ve got to keep yourself, maybe your spouse, maybe your van full of kids entertained and busy. Suggestions after the jump.

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Hotel Ratings from Consumer Reports

Visiting Grandma and catching up on a year’s worth of Consumer Reports, I uncovered in the July 2007 issue a useful section on hotel ratings. Traveling on my own, I generally eschew hotels in favor of free accommodation with Hospitality Club or with friends, so I am usually on someone else’s dime if bedding in a hotel. That’s not to say I was surprised by what I read: top budget brands meet or exceed the ratings of a number of higher-priced hotel chains.

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Travel on a Shoestring Carnival: Asia, Oz #1

Welcome to the first Travel on a Shoestring Carnival for Asia, Oz. Here you’ll find Asian, Australian, New Zealand and Oceania travel tips for those without a lot of money to spend.

Photo inspiration for this week’s carnival comes from the post Global Eye: Tasmania at Intelligent Travel.

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