Booking Flights, European Rail Tickets and Rental Cars

A. FLIGHTS

     Gone are the days when one could find round trip airfare to Paris from the U.S. for only $500 or less. The rule to book flights at least 3 months ahead to get the best airfare is also a thing of the past! For our trip to Europe in May of this year, I kept checking airfares months ahead and have found that airfares were cheapest 5 months before departure date (especially for direct flights to popular destinations in Europe). That also applies to booking flights using frequent flier miles.
     A new survey by kayak.com says that the lowest airfares can be found 21 days before departure for domestic flights and 34 days for international flights. However, you wouldn't want to take a chance if you plan to leave on a peak travel season, on a direct flight, at a certain time of day, want to be seated beside a travel companion, and you have pre-booked and pre-paid tours, accommodations and train tickets.
     We have been flying Delta Airlines (despite their lousy customer service sometimes, unpalatable in-flight food and hefty baggage fees) because the airline has the most direct flights to European destinations from Atlanta where we live. We also want to accumulate frequent flier miles and have them in just one place. Furthermore, unlike the accumulated frequent flier miles on other airlines, Delta Skymiles do not expire (though there's nothing that can stop them from changing that).
     We also applied for the Delta Skymiles credit card because of the 30,000 bonus miles you get after spending at least $1,000 in purchases on the card in the first 3 months, the $50 statement credit you earn after making a Delta purchase, the double miles for every eligible dollar spent on Delta purchases, and the first bag checked-in for free for every person in a family of four (but that's only for domestic flights). You get a $0 Introductory Annual Fee for the first year but you'll have to pay $95 after that. I can recommend the card to frequent Delta travelers as well as to those who simply want to get the 30,000 bonus miles. After the first year, it may not be worth it to pay $95 a year unless you travel on domestic flights at least twice a year and you need to check-in a bag every time (e.g. a bag containing your toiletries).

B. TRAINS

     As regards European rail tickets, travelers need to compare the cost of Eurail Passes to the total cost of separate train tickets. The Eurail Pass will save you some money (seated in first class at that) if you plan to take so many train trips within the period and the country/countries covered by the pass. For many travelers, however, it's usually not worth buying a pass. They are better off getting separate train tickets, even if they choose to travel first class all the way!
     Just like airfares, train ticket prices also increase the closer you get to your departure date. For the best deals, purchase your tickets at least 3 months before your train departure date. For trains that require reservation, it is best to reserve trips at least 1 month ahead (2 months for peak season travel). Better yet, just buy your tickets and reserve your trips at the same time! Reservation, by the way, is for an additional fee.
     If you have train connections, it is advisable to choose a connection that departs not too close to your first train's arrival time (at least 1 hour apart) because trains do arrive late sometimes. You would also have to look for your next train's boarding platform which can be confusing at times especially in busier and bigger train hubs like Lyon, France. However, if your train does arrive late, it is easy to get on another train but it might be on a much later time, depending on whether the train station is a major or minor hub. You will need to get another ticket (free of charge), but just looking for where to get the ticket might take a little while, especially if you can't speak the language! If your first train is running late and the destination train station is not informed of the delay, you need to ask the conductor to endorse your ticket to serve as proof that your first train was delayed and to allow you to get a free transfer on the next available train.
     Before boarding your train, remember to punch (date-stamp) your ticket/s on a "compostage de billet" machine. You can be fined for failing to do so, unless the machine is not available in the train station (like at the Gare Cornavin in Geneva, Switzerland). You can punch your connecting train tickets at the same time before boarding your first train. For purchasing Eurail Passes online (as well as planning your trip), I can recommend eurail.com and raileurope.com. For purchasing train tickets only, including train reservations, you can go to raileurope.com (eurail.com only sells Eurail Passes).
     Train tickets purchased through raileurope.com are usually delivered within 2-3 business days. Shipping is free for a minimum purchase of $399. The e-ticket option is also available on the website but only for certain trains in Europe.

European Rail Tickets (we got the paper ticket on top for the next available
 train when our first train from Geneva, Switzerland arrived late in
Lyon, France and we missed our connecting train to Aix-en-Provence)

C. RENTAL CARS

     Lastly, if you plan to rent a car in Europe, there are several websites you can go to. You can even rent one when you arrive at your destination (at the airport, train station, or anywhere in town). In our case, we prefer booking our rental cars through avis.com because online rates are usually better and we get discounted rates with our Wizard number which we got through USAA. Avis also has rental car outlets anywhere in the world, it seems, and at convenient locations. With the Wizard discount, Avis rates can be very competitive. You can apply for a Wizard number at the Avis website. If you are a Costco member, you can also get discounts for rental cars if you book through the Costco website.
     When you book a rental car online for pick-up anywhere at your destination in Europe, you might think it's a good thing when you are given an upgrade at the counter and get a compact car or minivan instead of the economy car you originally booked. But once you start driving the car (through narrow streets especially) and try to park it, you're going to wish you had a smaller car! The reason you got an "upgrade" is probably because they ran out of the smaller car that you booked or they want to get rid of the bigger cars first as there seems to be a higher demand for sub-compact and economy cars in Europe. You don't have to accept the upgrade, of course. You can insist on being given the exact type of car you reserved.
     It is advisable to book a rental car a few weeks ahead especially during peak season and to get car insurance if your car insurance at home doesn't cover cars rented outside the country. You can also check with your credit card company if using your card to rent cars in foreign countries include car insurance. (Note: Car thefts are more common in Europe these days because of the recession and a lot of Italian and French drivers are crazy!). However, it might be more convenient to buy your insurance where you rented the car (though probably more expensive) because you won't have to do anything when you return the car with scratches and dents, or do much more than inform the car rental company in case the car is stolen.
     If you need GPS, there are times that it might be cheaper to buy your own in Europe than include one with your car booking. You could also save money by getting an international data package for your smart phone and using your phone's google map instead. (Update: T-Mobile just recently announced its latest offer of unlimited international data and text services at no extra charge which started last October 31st. Ken and I are now considering switching to T-Mobile from AT&T unless the latter sets out to offer the same thing soon.)