Given that most of the major hotel loyalty programs offer benefits (including personal concierge service, check-in and out anytime, gift certificates, concerts, and airline tickets) beyond free rooms and upgrades, even the infrequent travelers should consider reaping some of those benefits. The following is a list of tips for maximizing such benefits.

• Search programs that have a relatively low threshold for elite status levels. For example, the Hyatt Gold Passport program elevates the hotel patrons to Platinum status once they completed just five eligible nights in a calendar year. Once the guest gains the Platinum status, members get 20% off room rates, 2.00 pm check -out, space-available upgrades, and free room Internet access.  Similarly, Starwood Preferred Guest offers 4:00 pm check-out and upgrades, once the member stacks up 10 eligible stays or 25 eligible nights a year. Once the member accumulates 20 stays (or 40 nights) a year and reaches Gold status, he/she can reap awards such as upgrades, free room Internet access, and complimentary breakfast.
• Hold a hotel-branded credit card such as Hilton HHnors Reserve Card and the Hyatt Credit Card can elevate you to the automatic elite status (Gold or Platinum).
• Be aware that hotel-branded loyalty programs do NOT recognize bookings made through third-party websites such as Priceline and Travelocity.  However, Orbitz, Expedia and Hotels.com all may offer their users some variation of free nights, discount coupons, or vouchers the more you book through those sites.

The following is a list of best hotel loyalty programs. For details, visit the website (http://travel.usnews.com/rankings/travel-rewards/hotel-rewards/ ).

1. Wyndham Rewards (13.6% payback award)
2. Choice Privileges (8.5% payback award)
3. Marriott Rewards (9.0% payback award)
4. Best Western Rewards
5. La Quinta Returns
6. Club Carlson
7. Hyatt Gold Passport
8. Hilton Honors (7.7% payback award)

Another good programs include: IHG Rewards (7.4% payback award); Starwood SPG (5.7% payback award).

Taxi overcharging is one of the common travel scams that can ruin your travel plan. For example, the cab driver refuses to use the meter or claims it is broken before charging you ten times the standard fare for a several-block ride back to your hotel; or after turning on the meter, the driver takes you in circles just to keep it running, thus lengthening your trip without you noticing. There are a number of ways to avoid this kind of taxi overcharging scams. These are:

• Call your hotel or restaurant employees and ask them to speak to your driver in his or her native language if it seems like you are being taken for a long ride.
• Study up on taxi rates by checking in with locals, and negotiate your fare BEFORE you get in the cab, so the driver cannot jack up the price when you arrive at your destination. If the car has a meter, make sure that it is turned on on as soon as you get in. If possible, know the way to your final destination to avoid taking the unnecessary long route.
• Do not forget to note the medallion or license number and report the driver to the authorities if you suspect fraud.
• Do not pay with large bills, because cab drivers sometimes will claim that they don’t have change so that you have to fork over the bigger bill. Better to carry smaller denomination bills or coins in local currency specifically for cab rides.
• Insist handling your own bags, if the cab driver offers to help haul them to his/her cab from the airport terminal, since he/she often asks for a fat tip later.
• Use the government authorized taxi (e.g., black cab in Seoul, Korea) which is driven by the uniformed, certified driver who can speak English and courteous, even though the cab fare is usually higher.

Regardless of the quality of health-care systems or the nationalized health care coverage in your travel destination, medical bills on the road can be costly. For example, According to Insuremytrip.com (https://www.insuremytrip.com/?linkId=30492&gclid=COfTjKf84tMCFdgYgQodskgBxw  ), the approximate cost of a medical evacuation from Asia to the US cane be $100,000. The same cost from Europe to the US can be $50,000. Although your domestic health insurance may automatically offer you some international health insurance coverage, you should be aware of the fact that you may need to buy some kind of MediGap plan and the definition of emergency treatments may differ from one insurer from another. For instance, a skin rash or a toothache may not qualify as a medical condition that needs emergency treatment.  Also, some managed-care plans may require you to get authorization from the insurer prior to treatment.

Many of the standard plans from big insurers such as Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross & Shield include emergency and urgent care provisions in overseas countries. However, Medicare does not cover any medical costs incurred outside the US. If you have any concerns about the travel health coverage, you may buy specialized travel insurance which typically offers 24-hour nurse-staffed health lines, referrals for pre-screened doctors around the world, prescription medication assistance, prescription refills, emergency dental care, and translation services. Special medevac companies such as MedjetAssist and On Call International can cover medical evacuations including “airlift” to the nearest suitable hospital.

The list of top ten travel health insurers includes (https://www.consumersadvocate.org/travel-insurance/a/best-travel-insurance?gclid=CNLty9z64tMCFcW3wAodiBMJKw ):

1. Travelisurance.com
2. Travelex
3. WorldNomads
4. RoamRight
5. Allianz
6. AIG
7. MedjetAssist
8. Frontiermedex
9. HCC
10. FirstAllied

For free quotes, you may visit (http://www.hccmis.com/atlas-travel-insurance/?gclid=CIqB-qKC49MCFcW3wAodiBMJKw).

Many fliers signed up for frequent flier programs. Those signees’ numbers have bee increasing over the years. For instance, a number of AAdvantage members jumped from 300,000 in 1981 (during which American Airlines launched the world’s first frequent flier program) to 70 million in 2014.  Despite the growing popularity of the frequent flier program, we often missed the opportunity to fully exploit the benefits provided by that program. Some of those benefits include: seat upgrades, priority boarding, free tickets, and access to the airport’s VIP lounges. One of the common reasons for missing the benefit opportunities is a lack of understanding about the complicated, non-uniform rules which may differ from one airline to another. So, we should be aware of the following rules that can easily confuse some frequent fliers.

• So-called revenue-based loyalty programs begin to award miles according to ticket price instead of pure travel distance. This means that simply racking up miles would not help you earn the elite status.
• Some credit cards such as Citi ThankYou Rewards allow you to accrue miles/points with multiple carriers and thus transfer miles into a variety of frequent flier programs.
• Cross-over reward programs will allow you to enjoy perks (e.g., late check-out, room upgrades, complimentary in-room Internet access) for lodging, when the hotel and the airline have alliances for that program. For example, Starwood hotels and Delta have such alliances.

The Huffington Post’ top five frequent flier programs in 2017 (visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/best-frequent-flyer-programs_us_58813b42e4b096b4a230cf02) are:

1. Delta
2. Alaska
3. Hawaiian
4. United
5. American

Top ten airline reward programs listed by U.S. News and World Report (visit http://travel.usnews.com/rankings/travel-rewards/airline-rewards/) are:

1. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
2. JetBlue TrueBlue program
3. Southwest Rapid Rewards program
4. Delta SkyMiles program
5. Virgin America Elevate program
6. United MileagePlus program
7. American Airlines AAdvantge program
8. HawaiianMiles rewards program
9. Frontier EarlyReturns program
10. Free Spirit frequent program

Also, Holly Johnson of the Simple Dollar (visit http://www.thesimpledollar.com/best-frequent-flyer-programs/) recommended the following four programs that allow you to amass points based on credit card spending.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards – Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
• Delta SkyMiles – Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
• British Airways Avios – British Airways Visa Signature® Card
• United – United MileagePlus® Explorer Card

For other highly rated credit cards with the frequent flier reward, visit http://www.cardrates.com/reviews/air-miles/?utm_source=Adwords&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=CR1Exact&utm_content=FlyerMilesCC&adid=169920471769&utm_term=frequent%20flyer%20programs&match=e&referrer=Google&network=g&device=c&query=unknown&gclid=CILq0Lu149ICFR1XDQodiwcOTw .

With the growing presence of U.S. businesses in other countries, you may be relocated to the unfamiliar territory with a new job duty and lifestyle. To ease the stress of living overseas, you need to create the wisdom of yours based on the following advice given by some former expats.

• Speak the local language as much as you can, even if you are not 100% confident in your language skills. Since locals respect your effort to speak their language, you can make some local friends quickly and learn from them about the local life.
• Find shared accommodation (not necessarily in a single room, but in the same house/apartment), if you are alone. Roommates can help you improve your local language skills and can set you up with a local bank account, phone/internet installation, and so forth, while showing you some cool spots and exposing you to local cultural nuances.
• Be yourself and celebrate the differences and similarities in cultures rather than trying to blend in local cultures too hard.
• Be aware of different local environments (e.g., health care, educational system, local taxes, safety, crime rate, different rules/customs) instead of behaving as if you are still in your home country.  For instance, in Brazil, its crime rate is relatively high, it is politically unstable, and school options are limited. In Egypt, you should understand that its high pollution, dodgy medical care, lousy economy, and safety can turn you off. In middle-eastern countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, they are unfriendly to female expats. In New Zealand, it is relatively tough to make local friends. In Italy, taxes are relatively high. On the other hand, Taiwan, Malta, and Ecuador are generally well-received by expats due to their welcoming environments and quality of life.
• Stay in touch with the former expats that you became close friends with. You may pick up some wisdom from their experiences.
• Hire a local realtor to buy and sell local properties, since he/she is more familiar with local laws, property value, finances, and real estate markets. For example, it is customary for you to pay the whole amount for buying a house/condo in South Korea. In that country, monthly rental options are very limited (especially Seoul).
• For other details, visit http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/living/resources/expatriatewebsites.shtml.