Briefs: Frequent-flier quirks

Frequent-flier quirks Barbara Rand, of Rockville, Md., flew Air France to Europe three times last year and assumed that she was pouring miles into her Delta SkyMiles account as she crisscrossed the Atlantic. But when she went to book a fall trip to Paris, she realized that she had not been fully credited for those previous flights. "Non-U.S. carriers exclude more of their coach fares from frequent-flier accumulation than U.S. carriers," explained Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com, an online source for airline mileage programs. "This is a 'buyer beware' situation." To find out if a ticket will reap miles, he said, travelers can consult the membership and program guidelines on the airline's website. An easier approach is to call the airline reservationist with your ticket information -- before you book. The agent should be able to inform you of any restrictions.

WASHINGTON POST

Overseas credit card fees SmartMoney magazine notes that you can use an ATM in, say, London to withdraw the equivalent of $200 and get hit with a foreign transaction fee as well as a fee for using a competitor's ATM, costing you up to $7 for that relatively small withdrawal. Then there is a 1 percent transaction fee charged by Visa and MasterCard, and a 3 percent fee from most banks that issue the cards. The magazine quotes Curtis Arnold of CardRatings.com who recommends: Use a Capital One credit card in foreign countries because that bank charges no overseas transaction fees and doesn't even pass on the 1 percent from Visa and MasterCard.

BOSTON GLOBE

Surcharge lawsuit If you flew across the pond between Aug. 11, 2004, and March 23, 2006, a few dollars might be coming your way. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic passengers ticketed on an overseas flight during that period are eligible to receive the refund payments, which will range between $7 and $34 per person for each round-trip flight. The refunds are part of a nearly $200 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit that accused the airlines of conspiring to fix fuel surcharge prices on long-haul flights. For details and a claim form, call 1-877-625-9432 or go to www.airpassenger refund.com.

WASHINGTON POST

Airfare pocketbook guardian You've shopped around and bought your flight at the lowest fare you can find. But could you have gotten a better deal by waiting? Consider Yapta.com, where you can open a free account and enter your upcoming flights. If any of the fares drop, Yapta will send you an e-mail with detailed instructions on how to get a refund for the price difference or a credit for a future flight. (Note that this works only if you bought your ticket directly from the airline and that some airlines charge a fee to give a refund or credit.) Yapta also will track flights before you buy and will e-mail you if the price drops.

S.C. has mobile websites The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has launched two websites for people with smart phones and handheld devices. The sites provide information about events, lodging, shopping, dining and state parks in a way that's easy to use while on the road. The new sites are at www.DiscoverSouth Carolina.mobi and www.South CarolinaParks.mobi.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kenya tourism falls The number of tourists to Kenya dropped by more than a third in the first half of the year, a tourism official said, blaming deadly post-election violence. President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga signed a power-sharing deal in February to end the clashes. But the turmoil cost Kenya -- which relies on tourism to its famed wildlife safaris, beaches and other attractions -- up to $1 billion, officials said. About 561,000 tourists visited Kenya in the first half of 2008, compared with more than 873,000 visitors in 2007. (www.magicalkenya.com).