Goodbye, Baggage Woes!

By Anna Lynn Sibal



What can probably be considered as the most common of any traveler’s woes most likely has something to do with his baggage. We always hear stories of people getting hit on the head by luggage falling out of overhead compartments on a particularly turbulent flight, or of the security line being held up by airline passengers who insist that the gigantic suitcase they have brought with them should pass as carry-on luggage instead of just checking them in. And then we have stories of lost luggage, wherein the hapless passenger finds that his suitcases have flown to Taiwan instead of coming with him to Thailand.

Losing luggage, among other baggage problems, is a fact in the life of a traveler. Thankfully, such problems can be avoided with a few simple precautions to be taken before the flight. Here is how:


1. If you can get away with traveling with only carry-on luggage with you, go for it. Airlines generally allow their passengers to bring two pieces of carry-on luggage with them, so bringing your bags with you to the cabin will save you the worry of losing your bags or having them stolen.

2. If your bags are heavy, do not put them in the overhead bin. Luggage, even the lightweight ones, can cause serious injuries if they get loose and fall on someone’s head.

3. Before you check in your bags, make sure that every piece of luggage you are checking in has a label that has your name and address on it. Better yet, put another label on the inside of the bag, as well as a copy of your itinerary. Do the same for your carry-on bags in the event that you need to check them in after all.

4. Make your luggage as unique as you can make them so the other passengers will not confuse your luggage with their own and pick them up. You can do this by putting colorful tags or stickers.

5. Never check in your valuable items such as money, jewelry, laptop and electronic files. Put them in your carry-on luggage.

6. Make sure that airline tag on your checked-in luggage is correct. The airline tag should match the airport where you are flying to.

7. If you have lost your bags, report the loss immediately. Approach the baggage agents on duty as soon as you discover that your bags did not turn up at the airport you flew in.

8. Do not throw away the stub from your checked-in bags. In case you do lose your bag, the stub will help airline authorities to trace your bags.

9. Always anticipate the fact that you may lose your luggage on your flight. It’s a simple application of Murphy’s Law. Thus, pack your bags in such a way that the loss of one bag will not cripple you. Pack at least one set of clothing in your carry-on bag.

10. Bear in mind the security regulations of the airline you are flying in when packing your bags. Leave prohibited items behind, such as knives, cutters and other hazardous objects. If you must bring such items, see if your airline can let you check them in.

How do I qualify for the YTB Leadership bonus?

Qualifying for the YTB leadership bonus?

Once you qualify to start your PowerTeam, you have unlimited time to earn your $1,000Leadership Bonuses. The first is earned when the total active On-Line Travel Agencies sold by your PowerTeam reaches 6 or more at the end of any weekly pay cycle (12 Midnight Thursday Eastern Time Zone). LeaderShip Bonuses will be paid WEEKLY on Friday of the following week for any Pay Cycle where the Active PowerTeam Enrolled RTA total reaches 6, 12, 18, 24 or 30.

Example: If on midnight (EST) May 6, 2004 (end of Pay Cycle) you have 5 Active PowerTeam Enrolled RTAs, then on the following Friday (May 14, 2004) you would receive a PowerTeam Commission of $250 (but no Bonus). If in the following Pay Cycle that begins Friday, May 7, 2004 and ends at midnight (EST) on May 13, 2004, you add 7sales which brings your Active PowerTeam Enrolled RTA total to 12, then the
following Friday (May 21, 2004) you would receive a PowerTeam Commission of $350 plus TWO $1,000 LeaderShip Bonuses for a total of $2,350 just from your PowerTeam!(One for each six RTAs)

There is NO TIME LIMIT to receive these bonuses. Once you accumulate 30 Active PowerTeam Enrolled RTAs you start back at zero and receive the bonuses when your Active PowerTeam Enrolled RTAs again reaches 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30.

How Do I Earn the $10,000 Dream Bonus?
When there are a total of 100 active PowerTeam enrolled RTAs, you earn the $10,000 bonus. You can earn multiple $10,000 Dream bonuses with subsequent increases of 100 active PowerTeam enrolled RTAs.

Note: On-Line Travel Agencies are considered active for the Dream Bonus if the $49.95YTBNet subscription fee was paid in the pre-qualifying and/or qualifying month(s).

Qualifying for YTB Override

How do I qualify for YTB override?

You qualify to earn override compensation by making 4 personal On-line travel Agency sales and your own purchase can be counted as one. You will continue to be qualified as long as you maintain at least 4 personally sold YTBnet Subscribers. A YTBnet Subscriber is an RTA who is paying the $49.95 monthly fee for their On-line Travel Agency.

Once you are qualified to override, you will earn a 50% Match of the commissions earned by the personally sponsored Reps in your 1st Team.

YTB 1st Team, Power Team and Dream Team

1st Team
Is made up of personally sponsored Reps plus the Reps they sponsor and so on. When you are qualified to override by having 4 active personally enrolled On-Line
Travel Agencies (RTAs) [your own On-Line Travel Agency can count as one], you will earn a 50% match of the commissions earned by all personally sponsored 1st Team Reps.

Your 1st Team is considered complete when you;

1. Personally sponsor 3 or more Reps and
2. Have 6 active RTAs enrolled (On-line Travel Agencies paying $49.95 monthly fee)
by you and/or your 1st Team Reps

PowerTeam?
Once your 1st Team is complete, you qualify to start your Power Team with
additional personally sponsored Reps. Your Power Team includes the 1st Team of every Rep in your Power Team through infinity.

Example: Toni qualifies to start her Power Team and personally sponsors Ann. Ann's personally sponsored 1st Team members are Josh, Sarah, and Amy who personally sponsor at least 3 Reps each (9 total). If those 9 each personally sponsor 3 Reps, there would be 27 additional reps in Toni's Power Team. All 40 of
these Reps, and ALL additional Reps sponsored into subsequent 1st Teams, are in Tony's Power Team (this continues through Infinity).

Remember, the 1st Team of every Rep in your Power Team is not complete until there are 3 or more personally sponsored Reps and a total of 6 active On-Line Travel Agencies (RTAs paying the $49.95 monthly fee) sold by them and their 1st Team Reps. Every sale that is made by any of these 1st Team Reps is considered a Power Team sale for you and commissionable to you.

Dream Team?
When one of your Power Team Reps (regardless of depth) starts a Power Team,
that Power Team becomes a 1st Generation Dream Team to you. When a 1st Generation Dream Team Rep starts a Power Team(regardless of depth), that Power Team becomes a 2nd Generation Dream Team to you. This continues through six (6) generations of Power Teams and comprises your Dream Team.

Airline Baggage Policies & Pricing

Airline Baggage Policies




The following carriers have made changes to their checked baggage policies;

Air Canada
AirTran Airways
American Airlines
Continental Airlines
Delta
Frontier
JetBlue
Northwest Airlines
United
US Airways

Air Canada:
Air Canada has announced a new checked baggage policy for tickets issued on or after May 15 for travel on or after July 15, 2008. For those traveling before July 15, 2008or have booked before May 15, 2008, the baggage allowance of 2 bags per person would still apply.

Under the new policy, customers who purchase tickets on Air Canada which carry a cancellation penalty, may check one bag at no charge and a second bag for a $25 service fee. The fees are assessed each way and may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of the baggage.

This policy applies for travel within Canada and between Canada and continental U.S. including Hawaii.

Click here for complete details regarding the new baggage policy posted on carrier's Web site.

AirTran Airways:
AirTran Airways has announced a new checked baggage policy effective May 15, 2008.

Customers may check one bag for free and a second bag for a $10 USD fee if paid through AirTran Airways' Online Check-in or $20 if paid at the airport, then $50 USD per bag thereafter. The fees are assessed each way and may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of the baggage.

Click here for complete details regarding the new baggage policy posted on carrier's Web site.

Note: Military personnel may check one duffel/sea bag in place of a 61-inch bag.


American Airlines:
American Airlines has announced a new checked baggage policy effective for tickets purchased on or after June 15.

This policy applies for travel within the U.S. the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Canada.

Customers may check one bag for a $15 USD fee ($30 USD round-trip) and a second bag for a $25 USD fee ($50 USD round-trip). The fee may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of the baggage.

Click here for complete details regarding the new baggage policy, including exceptions, posted on the carrier's Web site.
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Continental Airlines:
Continental Airlines has announced a new checked baggage policy for certain Economy fare tickets that were purchased on or after April 5 for travel on or after May 5, 2008.

This policy applies to travel within the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.

Customers may check one bag for free and a second bag for a $25 USD fee ($50 USD round-trip). The fee may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of the baggage.

Click here for complete details regarding the new baggage policy posted on the carrier's Web site.

Note: OnePass Elite members, SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus members, Tickets issued on Y class of service, Continental Airlines Presidential Plus credit card holders, active military traveling on orders are not impacted by this policy change.

Delta:
Delta has announced a new checked baggage policy for domestic tickets traveling on or after May 1, 2008.

This policy applies to domestic travel.
Customers may check one bag for free and a second bag for a $25 USD fee ($50 USD round-trip). The fee may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of the baggage.

The fee will be charged to passengers if their itinerary includes segments after May 1 regardless of when the tickets were purchased.

Note: SkyMiles Elite, and First/Business Class passengers are not impacted by this policy change.

Frontier:
Please be advised of the following baggage fee changes that Frontier has implemented effective Jun 10.

Customers who purchase tickets for travel on or after June 10th will be charged a $25fee for a second checked bag.

Customers who have already purchased tickets before that date will not be affected. Our EarlyReturns® Summit and Ascent members and active duty military personnel will be exempt from this fee.

The policy for pets traveling in the aircraft cabin will be discontinued effective June 10, but all existing reservations will be honored.

Click here for complete details regarding the new baggage policy posted on the carrier's Web site.

JetBlue:
JetBlue has announced a new checked baggage policy that will take effect June 1, 2008.

This new policy applies to customers traveling on/after June 1, 2008.
Customers may check one bag for free and a second bag for a $20 USD fee ($40 USD round-trip). Subsequent bags will be assessed at $50 USD per bag. The fees may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of each baggage.


Northwest Airlines:
Northwest Airlines has announced a new checked baggage policy for those traveling within North America on or after May 5, 2008.

This policy applies to tickets issued on/after March 29 for travel within North America on/after May 5.

Customers may check one bag for free and a second bag for a $25 USD fee ($50 USD round-trip). For customers checking in three or more bags, the carrier will assess a fee of $100 per bag each-way. The fee may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of the baggage.

Click here for complete details regarding the new baggage policy posted on Northwest Airlines' Web site.

Note: Silver, Gold and Platinum WorldPerks® Elite customers, SkyTeam Elite customers, and those booked in first or full fare classes (Y or B) will not be impacted by this policy change.


United:
United has announced a new checked baggage policy for nonrefundable domestic economy tickets that were purchased on or after February 4 for travel on or after May 5, 2008.

This policy applies to travel within the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.

Customers may check one bag for free and a second bag for a $25 USD fee ($50 USD round-trip). The fee may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of the baggage.

Click here for complete details regarding the new baggage policy posted on United's Web site.

Note: Customers with Mileage Plus Premier status or greater, Star Alliance Silver status or greater, government fares, military fares, standard Award Tickets, first and business class award tickets, or first and business class upgrades granted prior to check-in are not impacted by this policy change.

US Airways:
US Airways has announced a new baggage policy for tickets purchased on or after February 26 for travel on or after May 5, 2008.

The new policy applies to all flights within the United States, to/from Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Customers may check one bag for free and a second bag for a $25 USD fee ($50 USD round-trip). The fee may be higher depending on weight and dimensions of the baggage.

Click here for complete details regarding the baggage policy posted on US Airways' Web site.

Note: Dividend Miles Preferred members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Chairman’s Preferred), confirmed First Class and Envoy passengers (at time of check-in), Star Alliance Silver and Gold status members, active military personnel in uniform with ID, unaccompanied minors, or passengers checking personal assistive devices are not impacted by this change.

Turn Vacation into Donation

Passport to Giving

Many non-profits today are looking for a new way to fundraise and we have the answer! Forget the candy or bake sales and clunker car programs; travel is the ultimate fundraiser! Our innovative program provides non-profit organizations a dramatically different way to raise funds for their organization.

By enrolling as a non-profit in this unique program, the organization will provide a "private label" YTB travel website customized with their organization name and logo. The website is then promoted to the organizations' supporters and members to use when booking their personal or business travel. (We can also assist the organization in organizing group travel events for their supporters). As supporters use the organization's travel website, the organization receives 60% of the travel commissions earned by YTB, paid as royalties.

Passport To Giving can raise thousands of dollars per year for an organization because they have a large number of supporters that will generate travel bookings! Examples of appropriate organizations include service, fraternal, health, alumni, political, environ-mental, charity, religious (including churches), and educational organizations.

Click here for a 3 minute video to learn more

Leave me a comment if you desire more information on raising funds for your non-profit organization.

Teresa Johnson
Funding Specialist
http://www.gottitravel.paradisenetwork.com