But there are strings attached.

Something has shifted in Washington over the past year. Have you noticed it?

In December 2025, the Transportation Department announced it would stop enforcing the refund requirement when an airline renumbers a flight. If your flight gets a new number and you're rebooked on it, the automatic refund rule no longer applies, as long as you don't hit what DOT calls a "significant" change or delay. Hmm.

The pause was supposed to be temporary. On July 7, DOT extended it another full year, to July 7, 2027.

Then there's the wheelchair rule. In August, DOT paused enforcement of five parts of it through April 30, 2027: airline liability for damaged wheelchairs, refresher training for the employees who handle them, pre-departure notification, fare-difference reimbursement, annual hands-on training for flight attendants. That pause was set to expire Dec. 31. It got moved to April instead.

Did you notice what didn't happen? There was no vote or final rule. The requirements are still printed in the Code of Federal Regulations, where you can look them up and quote them back to an airline. The agency charged with enforcing them has said in writing that it won't.

I've spent a long time telling readers to cite the regulation when a company tells them no. But will it do you any good now?

The member who gets a renumbered flight this spring has the same rule on her side she had in 2024. What she doesn't have is anyone enforcing it.

Here's what figure out, so I'll put it to you. Were these rules ever doing the work we credited them with? Or was the real leverage always the credit card chargeback, the small-claims filing and a company's fear of showing up in one of my columns?

If you've cited one of these rules to an airline since last December, tell me how the conversation went. I want the ones that failed as much as the ones that worked.

Join today's debate and let me know.

We've spent the past week around Freiburg, at the southwestern corner of the Black Forest, reporting a story on sustainable tourism for Forbes. The most useful thing I learned is that the sustainability that works here is almost impossible to photograph. Sorry, Aren!

www.forbes.com

The eco-theater travelers get sold at checkout — the towel card, the bamboo toothbrush, the offset add-on — saves almost nothing. What adds up doesn't announce itself.

For example, at Hotel Victoria in Freiburg, the environmental work started in 1985, when Astrid and Bertram Späth began rebuilding how the place ran. Their son Johannes is the fourth generation to manage it. You can sleep there for three nights and never be told what the building is doing on your behalf. Call it a "no pressure" sustainable hotel.

In Vauban, the old French barracks district turned car-light neighborhood, Steffen Ries of the Innovation Academy walked me through what the city got right and what it got lucky on. I also sat with a resident who has lived in Rolf Disch's plus-energy Solar Settlement since 2001. When her feed-in tariff expired, she went back and added up what a quarter century of rooftop solar had returned to her. The number surprised me.

One thing that's looming over the entire sustainability issue is climate change. Buildings here were engineered to hold heat in, and the summers have changed. Germany has an air conditioning reckoning coming, and hotels will feel it first.

Wind turbines are visible from the high trails, with the far peaks showing on a clear afternoon. Germans argue about these the way Americans argue about pipelines.

So what's the greenest thing a hotel has ever done for you that you only found out about later — or maybe never found out about at all until you checked out? I'm collecting examples of the invisible kind.

More travelers are buying coverage at checkout, through apps and from companies they've never heard of, and the certificate arrives by email with an underwriter's name buried in the fine print.

Guys, I'm researching a story about how travelers verify that a policy is real and that the company behind it will pay. I want your comments!

I want to hear from anyone who has stopped to check before buying, or wished they had. What made you question a policy? Where did you look to confirm the company was licensed and who was underwriting it, and what did you find? Did a claim ever test what you thought you'd bought?

Comment below, please. I may use your remarks in my story.

AI is inflicting misery on millions in the travel industry. Here's how.

Airfares, hotel rates and rental cars have been climbing faster than general inflation going into the holiday travel season, and the explanations on offer don't agree with one another.

I'm researching a story about what's driving the cost of a vacation and who's responsible for it.

I'd love to hear from travelers who've changed, shortened or canceled an upcoming trip because of the price. What did the same vacation cost you two or three years ago, and what does it cost now? Which part of the bill moved the most, and which one surprised you?

What did you try in order to bring the total down, and did any of it work?

THANK YOU for your comments, which may be used in an upcoming story.

In August, we were on a cruise with NCL. It was from Honolulu to Vancouver for 16 days. We flew to Honolulu and landed on August 16. There was a hurricane lurking nearby, and our ship, the Norwegian Spirit, was delayed until the next day for boarding. Luckily, we were able to get a hotel room for the night. We also had to purchase dinner that evening and breakfast the next morning prior to boarding.

We purchased travel insurance through NCL with General Global Assistance. My question is: Would it be worthwhile to file a claim with the insurance company?

The credit card coverage didn't work for this reader. But why?

It was recommended I reach out to this site based on my recent flight in August 2026 from San Jose California, to San Antonio Texas. 

The ride from California to Texas, was a breeze, thankfully. However, the ride back was a nightmare. 

I made a terrible mistake trying to find a cheaper flight through Priceline (will never make this mistake again). My flight back from San Antonio TX took off at 4:30p, and I was well prepared and had plenty of time to spare getting to the airport at roughly 3p-3:15pm. We had a layover in Denver CO, which I honestly do not really mind since my fear of flying is rather extreme and the longer I am up in the air, the more I panic. So a couple of hours in the air, then landing, then a couple of hours more to get to the final destination, gives me a much needed intermission if you will. 

Anyway when we were getting very close to landing in Denver, the captain announced that he was told the weather was too dangerous to land safely, so he was going to circle above the Denver airport until the crew on land gave him the okay. Unfortunately that never happened and he soon announced that they were running out of gas and the safest thing to do would be to land elsewhere, so they decided on Grand Central (30-40 mins of an airplane ride away). I'm all for safety over convenience, so that was okay, but we were supposed to land in San Jose California at 8:57p and I believe by that time in CO it was already close to 9pm. 

Once we did an emergency landing in Grand Central CO, we had to wait there in the plane for an hour. There was eventually an announcement that we were refueled and we'd be headed back to Denver. Shortly after that announcement we got another one saying that the weight of the plane was off because of the new addition of the fuel, so they had to have some engineers come and sort the weight issue out. 

Several minutes later, the captain announced that someone on the flight had acted irrationally, and they had to be escorted off the plane because his main priority to was to keep us all safe, and he doesn't put up with that kind of behavior (again, I was thankful for all the precautions, for the most part). Right around the time we were all wondering when we would be heading back to Denver, we were told that we had to "deboard" the plane and head into the Grand Central airport. By this time it was at least 11pm or 12am and the lot of us were getting tired enough that we were starting to sleep on the floor at the airport by the nearest gate to our plane. 

Understandably, we were all incredibly tired, uncomfortable, frustrated, and very distressed. I remember being on high alert while also being extremely exhausted, since I, nor any employee that worked there, had any idea when they would start to board us again, so the "quality" of rest was pathetic at best. (We were informed that although they wanted to get us back to Denver, the reality was that the crew was coming to the end of their shifts, so they were too shorthanded to get us back in a reasonable timeframe).

I remember waking up startled several times with any disproportionate amount of noise or movement, thinking they were boarding again. After what seemed like several restless hours, I awoke as it finally seemed as though we were boarding back onto the plane again and headed to Denver. Honestly, once we got to Denver, I was so exhausted, the next parts are a bit of a blur, but we did not land back in Denver until 3-4am. 

With all the delayed flights, and obviously missing my flight to San Jose, Priceline had to choose a new flight, and not so generously or sensibly, gave me a flight to San Jose that would land around the exact same time as it was supposed to, 9pm, only a day late. Quick recap, it was 3:30 in the morning, which meant, I'd either need to book a hotel for the majority of the day, or I'd need to spend the entire time wandering around the airport like a zombie for the next 17 hours. 

I knew myself well enough to know that there was no realistic way I could possibly manage this. I was way too delusional at this point just to hang tight for the remainder of the day. 

So I made the only decision that seemed reasonable: I got the f*ck out of Dodge. I went around the Denver airport, and searched for a flight to anywhere in California that was fairly close to the Bay Area. I found one that was boarding in roughly an hour or two and headed to San Francisco. I didn't hesitate. I explained the situation to the employee and paid whatever additional sum she told me it was to change my flight. It could've emptied my bank account at this point, I no longer cared. I just needed to get home.

Long story short, I landed in at the San Francisco airport right around 11:30am. In choosing to take this flight, instead of sticking with the one that would land in San Jose CA at 8:57pm, I had to accept foregoing my luggage, since there was no way, I was told, to get the luggage on my new flight to SF. Another delightful cherry on the cake. 

All in all, for the amount of distress and disappointment this whole thing caused (I was not able to obtain my luggage for 2 days after, and was told the quickest way to get it would be to come to the SJ airport myself, rather than having it be mailed, but also warned that they would only hold onto it for 3 days max) makes me feel as though I'm due an apology of sorts to say the least. Does anyone know how to help me get some sort of funds back or airline/flight credit, if that's even a thing?

Thank you for reading my long story, hopefully you got some sense of enjoyment with the sarcasm, and I greatly look forward to anyone’s response, insight, or suggestions for getting any money back.

-Amy

Let's ask Rover. Oh wait, it's not responsible for any of this.

But it should have NEVER done this!

So, I'm Scott and I've been with Elliot for many many years (back to ~2002). Elliott once helped me (personally) with a British Airways lounge case (in the early nineties). I now have an issue with Bank of America changing account numbers in bill-pay and EFF setup. I've been a customer there (BofA) since 1987, and they do recognize that when I call or walk in. They have always helped me with issues, for over 40 years. I recently set up an EFT transfer to my own Fidelity Cash Management Account, which UMB (the bank) manages for them. I manually typed in the account number twice. Bank of America moved a "3" to the wrong position in the account number, and 2K is gone to a random account at UMB. Eventually BofA sent me a letter asking me to waive liability so they could get my money back, I signed and sent it back by email (they supplied), with some manual corrections to their preprinted letter (initialed and dated by me, to fix inaccuracies about how it came to be). I've heard nothing, but I will call again to make sure they got the email. They have so far ignored the fact that I asked for confirmation of receipt. The incorrect transfer happened at the end of July and I reported the error within a week, when the money failed to arrive in my own account at Fidelity.

What now? Are there legal rights I need to preserve and what is the timing?

I mentioned this has happened before. It was a little different. About a year ago I sent >10K to my own HELOC account at Third Federal Savings, using BofA Bill Pay. I pay Third Federal monthly with BofA, as I have done so for many many years, so I know the account number is correct in BofA's system. Apparently, when they need to pay more than 10K, they mail a check to Third Federal (why, I have no idea). But, when they sent that paper check, they added a digit to the account number, and Third Federal sent the payment back to BofA, since it was an invalid account number. But ,Someone at Third Federal dug deeper and realized it belonged to me. They sent me an image of the check BofA sent them. It PROVES that BofA screwed up the account number, which they have used successfully for many years. There was no harm in that case, since I was able to repay Third Federal, using my Fidelity account, before it was due, and Third Federal promptly returned the funds to BofA. The current case is different since no one has voluntarily refunded me.

Now what? I know the account number where it went at UMB. Does anyone have a contact for UMB? Apologies I have not checked Elliott's resources yet since I don't know what the next step should be? BofA even referenced hiring a lawyer in their letter, if I didn't want them helping.

BofA claims in their letter that they did nothing wrong, but they never collected the data they need (from me) to even evaluate that claim.

But did the airline go too far this time?

Has anyone found a work around to get realistic sunset photos with an Iphone? When taking a shot with nice pinks, the pinks turn to orange. I am told that this is new technology. Any of the work arounds I have tried (exposure changes, using RAW) have not changed anything. Any ideas - maybe just pull out the real camera...

I'm working on a story about the habits American travelers carry overseas — but shouldn't.

For example, tipping in countries that never wanted tips, expecting English at the counter, wearing beach clothes into mosques, talking at a volume that clears a café.

What are the things Americans do abroad now that don't go over well? How has the current political climate changed how those habits get received?

I want to hear from Americans who realized too late that something they did was inappropriate. Where were you, and what happened? If you've changed how you tip, dress or introduce yourself in the past year, tell me what prompted it.

Human travel advisors and non-AI itineraries are "in." But why?

How airlines could soon avoid covering your hotel during maintenance delays. This is an important one.

Don't tell anyone, but September is the best time to visit Southern Germany. The weather is nice and the people here seem relieved that tourist season is over. Here in Freiburg, the university is not yet in session, so it's quiet and mostly peaceful. We are really loving it here (I'm working on a story about sustainability, which is a thing). Iden (pictured above) is testing the German beers, which are excellent.

They also have very friendly cats here. We met a new friend on our way down the mountain from today's hike.

The people who are ensuring your rights as an air traveler may be on the airline industry's payroll.

Here are two hotels that are doing things differently.

On a recent flight home on a United A321neo, I noticed the Lav had a basin that sticks out making it so narrow that I find it hard to believe that the large number of big sized Americans would not find it extremely difficult to sit down.

I've been planning a trip and on several different airline websites, I've found quotes for a round trip where I picked on outbound flight and then going to their list of return flights on the day that was entered in the initial form only to find additional costs of hundreds of dollars for all of the possible return flights they offer.

I've seen explanations of fares that don't exist any more on secondary booking sites due to cached information. But these have been on the carrier's own site and the same fares come up when checking again a day later.

The A-Team won't stand for it. Here's what we did.

These car rental cases just keep piling up. Here's another one.