Terms & Departures
Your bag is better protected on a domestic flight than an international one
International flights cap airline liability around $2,060. US domestic rules cap it far higher. Most people assume the opposite, and most people also miss the 7 and 21 day deadlines that decide whether they get anything.
Europe owes American flyers up to 600 euros for a delay. The US owes you nothing.
EU261 pays cash for a three hour delay, on your flight home from Europe, on a US airline. Most countries let you claim years back. Here is who qualifies and the one direction rule that decides it.
Five states where declining the rental counter's coverage can leave you uninsured
The standard advice is to decline everything because your credit card covers it. That advice is right about damage and wrong about liability, and in five states the gap is real.
The clause that decides your medical claim was written before you bought the policy
Travel insurers review your medical history for 60 to 180 days before your purchase date. What they find there, not what happens on your trip, determines whether a medical cancellation gets paid.
The cleaning fee is charged per stay, not per night. That is the entire game.
Same rule that fixed hotel fees covers vacation rentals, and the total is now honest. But the fee is structured so that short stays subsidize long ones, and one platform earns a commission on the fee itself.
Basic economy got worse in 2026, and the changes were announced quietly
Three major rule changes landed between December and May, all of them subtractions. What basic economy costs you now, airline by airline, and the two situations where it's still the right buy.
Your "free" travel insurance depends on which card you tapped
Premium cards really do include trip cancellation coverage. The catch isn't the coverage, it's that paying with the wrong card, or splitting the bill across two cards, can void it entirely.
The resort fee didn't die. It moved upstream.
A federal rule now forces hotels to show the fee in the advertised price. It caps nothing, bans nothing, and changes exactly one thing: where the number hides. Here's how to read the new label.
Your airline owes you cash, not a voucher. It's been the law since 2024.
Cancelled flight? A federal rule says the refund is automatic, in cash, within seven business days, and the voucher they offer first is the opt-out. Here's how not to opt out by accident.
"Cancel For Any Reason" insurance: four words, three conditions, and a 25-50% haircut
The best-named product in travel insurance lets you cancel for any reason, as long as it's not too late, you insured everything, you bought it fast enough, and you're fine getting most of your money back.