Tag Archives: Southwest Airlines

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How to Request Mexico Tourism Tax Refunds for Mexican Citizens, Residents & Transiting Visitors [UPDATED September 2017]

Originally Posted in January 2017 – Updated with new data points in September 2017!

Buenos dias!

If you or someone you know has a Mexican passport or resident card, they might be leaving money on the table when they purchase airline tickets to/from/through Mexico.

When you purchase a plane ticket to Mexico, the fare has a tourism tax built in – similar to US customs and immigration fees.  This fee goes toward the cost of immigration processing and the arrival / departure card required for foreign visitors. The fee is 500 Mexican Pesos, which is roughly $28 USD. (The fee increased from 390 pesos at some point in 2017). On your ticket receipt you may see this referred to as UK (the IATA code for this tax) or DNR (the Spanish abbreviation).

Screenshot from ITA Matrix showing the Mexico tourism tax

Screenshot from ITA Matrix showing the Mexico tourism tax – tax and exchange rate as of December 18, 2016.

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Will My Carry-On Bag Fit? Master Chart of 150+ Airlines Carry-On Luggage Weight & Dimension Restrictions

Airline policies often baffle me. The carry-on luggage restrictions are mind-boggling, to say the least. There are no standards and each airline sets their own rules. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago. I was in a mall and walked by a House of Samsonite store. Inside the store were signs showing luggage dimensions and weights for a few airlines. I found the signs helpful, but also realized they were obviously incomplete for those of us who travel a lot and use a broad variety of airlines.

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Southwest Airlines Schedule Now Bookable Through June 1, 2018 + New Nonstop Routes from SFO / OAK / SJC for Spring 2018

Good morning everyone (again).  I just saw on the Southwest Airlines homepage that their schedule is now open and bookable through June 1, 2018.  Before now, you could only book flights through early April 2018.  Now you can book trips for Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 13) and Memorial Day Weekend (Saturday, May 26 – Monday, May 28).  Prices tend to be higher when the schedule loads, but you can always watch the price and rebook when the price goes down.  Check out my post: PSA Reminder: Check Existing Southwest Airlines Reservations; I Rebooked & Saved $66.

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PSA: Southwest Airlines Travel Funds can Only be Used by the Passenger Named on the Ticket

Grant is the Southwest Airlines maven around here, so you’d think I would know better. But I just had an epic fail with Southwest Airlines and want to save you from making the same mistake and losing money. In my defense, and really there is no defense for letting this happen, I must at least let you know that I rarely fly Southwest Airlines. A while ago, I bought a ticket for a Southwest Airlines flight which I ended up cancelling. That part was easy and the dollar amount was put into a Southwest Airlines travel fund (read How to Cancel Southwest Airlines Flights (Paid or Points) & View Travel Funds).

But these funds do expire, so I was keeping track of the expiration date. I was super close to having the travel funds expire and voila, I had a Southwest Airlines flight I needed to book that I could use my Southwest Airlines travel funds for.

But my epic fail was not remembering that the funds can ONLY be used for the individual named on the ticket. That was me! So when I went to book a flight, I wanted to get two tickets (for my 2 friends) and it wouldn’t go through. I couldn’t figure out what the issue was, but Grant knew the answer. Continue reading

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Redeem Barclays Arrival Points for Travel Statement Credits

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.  During my March App-O-Rama, I was approved for the Barclays Arrival Plus Credit Card that offered 50,000 Barclays Arrival Points after spending $3,000 in 3 months.  After meeting the minimum spending requirement and receiving the sign up bonus, I wanted to redeem my Barclays Arrival Points for travel statement credits.  In this post, I will show you how to redeem Barclays Arrival Points for travel statement credits.  First things first, log into your Barclays online account and go to your Barclays Arrival Plus Credit Card.  Then click the Rewards & Benefits Center button to start redeeming your Barclays Arrival Points.

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