SuperClubs Helps with Passport Sticker Shock

If you're packing a lunch to eat later in the day, freeze a 16-ounce water bottle and pack it, along with yogurt, cottage cheese, a ham sandwich, or whatever in a light- weight, insulated bag. Your snacks will remain cold, and you can drink the water.

My husband cut an old contact lens case in two and uses the halves to carry his medication when we're traveling. He prefers them to regular pillboxes because lens cases are watertight and compact enough to carry inside a shirt pocket.

Just before I go through airport security, to save time and to avoid leaving something important behind, I collect all loose items--change, money clip, belt buckle, pens--in a large Ziploc bag. I send the bag through the X-ray machine with the rest of my luggage. After picking it up at the other end, I put the things back in place and either toss the bag or keep it for the return trip.

I bought several items while in London and noticed when I returned home that my credit card number was printed in full on each sales slip. (In the United States, usually only the last four digits of the number are visible.) Travelers should be careful when using their credit cards overseas--don't leave the sales slips lying around.

My friends and I contribute to a kitty and use that money to pay for group expenses such as taxis and meals. It saves us from having to figure out each person's share at every stop. At the end of the trip, we split what remains.

You won't always save by bringing the rental car back early. Alamo has an early-return policy at all of its locations, designed to discourage customers from returning cars early. If you show up at the lot a day or two ahead of schedule, Alamo will recalculate what you owe them at the daily rate; if it turns out to be less than what you would have paid for the week, they'll charge a $15 fee. Yet another reason to read the fine print on your contract carefully!

I always take a digital picture of the gas gauge to prove that I returned the rental car with a full tank. Some agencies try to charge for a minimal amount of gas when they "top off" the tank (which you're not supposed to do anyway). I've used these digital photographs to get refunds for gas charges that appeared on my credit-card bill after the fact.

Pack a couple of mountaineering carabiners. Clip one through the handle or strap of your bag and secure it to something solid wherever you may be (to a bench in the park or in a train station, to the railing of an overhead compartment on a bus, etc.).The carabiner adds a bit of security, especially if you're snoozing.

Before I visit poorer countries, I pop into a thrift store and pick up some toys, stuffed animals, and an old suitcase or carryall. I try to avoid toys like Easter bunnies or Santas, which could be offensive, and expensive things that might embarrass parents. The contents of my extra bag bring joy to countless kids who have never had a thing.

If you wait to buy a discount-granting Entertainment Book until around six months before it expires (expiration is usually scheduled for November), you can often buy a $20 to $47 book for as little as $10, plus $5 shipping. Online access to the coupons is sold for $7 a month. These are great for vacations out of town.

Don't save the best for the last day. If you wait until the end of your trip for "must-do" activities, you won't be able to reschedule if something unforeseen happens. I planned a snorkeling excursion for my final day in San Diego, but the waters were too rough, and the trip had to be canceled.

Try getting a discount on your hotel room by offering to pay in cash. A hotel reservationist suggested this approach when I phoned to reserve at a hotel in London. I asked if the hotel could grant a discount based on my AARP or AAA membership, as many hotels do in the United States. Her response was that the only discount she was able to offer was 10 percent if I paid in cash.

Flight attendants often work vampire hours and have to sleep during the day. How do we keep the sunlight from leaking into our hotel rooms? We clip a skirt hanger (or two) to the middle of the drapes to seal them together.

On a trip to Molokai, the plane we were on was small, and luggage was crammed in every which way. At baggage claim, we noticed that someone had packed a bottle of Pine-Sol, and it had broken and leaked everywhere. Now we line our suitcases with garbage bags to protect our clothes—just in case. (It's also smart in case your bag gets left on the tarmac in a downpour.)

Save major bucks by going onto eBay and purchasing coupons and gift certificates that others don't want or can't use for lodging, transportation, food, and admissions. I've found great discounts for airline and Amtrak tickets; car rentals; entrance to amusement parks such as SeaWorld, Disney, or Universal Studios; as well as overnights at many hotels. For example, I bought a $30 savings coupon at SeaWorld for only $1. Simply search for your destination and then type in "coupon" or "gift certificate."

If your flight is canceled, don't just wait patiently in line to be booked on another flight; call the airline's 800 number. They'll answer your call faster, and you won't be waiting with other stranded passengers from that flight. (Or cover all bases by calling while in line.)

On a Northwest flight from Wichita to Cleveland, a piece of my luggage was delivered more than a day after I arrived. In the meantime, I had to buy some replacement items. Save your receipts! I turned in the receipts when I checked in for the return flight, and the ticket agent issued me a $50 check.(Northwest allows up to $50 in interim expenses for the first 24 hours, and $25 for each day afterward, with a maximum reimbursement of $150.)

Treat yourself to a golf-ball foot massage. During a long flight, or afterward in your hotel room, take off your shoes, put a golf ball on the floor, and roll it under your foot. It's a great stress reliever. Practice a bit before you try it on a plane, so that your ball doesn't go rolling down the cabin, tripping up unsuspecting passengers.

When we come home at night, my wife and I each take a dollar from our wallets and put them in a special spot. We deposit what we've collected into a travel account at our bank every few months, so at the end of a year, we have $730 toward our next vacation—not counting interest.

When booking a rental car online, click on "special offers" or "hot deals" to find the company's current promotional codes. Price your reservation using each code. Also, keep in mind that rates fluctuate according to seasons and slow periods. I managed to save more than $170 on a ten-day rental in Orlando, Fla.,by changing my reservation dates twice and by using different codes.

An extra contact lens case holds enough toiletries for a short trip. Squeeze a few dabs of toothpaste into one side and perhaps some facial cleanser or moisturizer in the other side. Just the right amount of each will fit for your overnights or weekends away.

When parking in a crowded garage, don't settle for the first space available on a lower level. It's probably a half-day hike from the elevator. Instead, drive to the upper levels, where you can usually park right next to the elevator. This tip was very useful in Las Vegas, especially when checking in and out of hotels with our luggage.

Grab-rails and nonskid surfaces aren't common in European bathtubs and showers. I pack a few decorative rubber pads that have non-adhesive suction cups, so I can use them when needed to prevent a slip or fall, and then I take them with me to the next hotel.

Before you buy expensive bottled water from your hotel room minibar, head to the fitness center. You'll be able to fill up an empty bottle at the gym's water cooler or fountain for free, and you don't need to break a sweat.

Whenever I'm in a country where drinking or brushing my teeth with the tap water is a risk, I cover the faucet handles in my hotel bathroom with a towel. As a result, I never accidentally turn on the faucet when I'm half asleep.

Once the hotel shampoo bottles I always seem to bring home are empty, I refill them with my own brand of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel--instead of buying travel-size containers at the drugstore. I toss them, along with other small items (toothbrush, toothpaste, nail file, pillboxes, and a comb), into a medium-size Ziploc bag, and I'm ready to go; the clear plastic lets me find things easily.

We've noticed that when booking a flight for our family under one reservation, some airlines will only credit the 1,500 bonus miles (500 for booking online, 500 each way for printing boarding passes) to the person whose name the reservation is under. This is regardless of whether the other family members have mileage accounts. To avoid this, make a separate reservation for each of your family members and then pick seats together.

Therm-a-Rest's Compressible Pillow is perfect for the plane. It comes in three sizes, packs smaller and expands bigger than any other pillow, and is machine washable. Whenever I pull mine out of my carry-on, I get jealous stares: People always ask where they can get one. REI sells the pillows for $18 to $25, depending on the size (rei.com).

Scuba-diving vacations can get expensive. As I start planning a trip, I call one of the local PADI dive shops and ask the employees about accommodations nearby. They give me hotel connections I couldn't find on my own, and I often save enough to pay for my dives.

I always pack a Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp. It's small, weighs next to nothing, and is perfect for reading in bed at night without disturbing my husband. They're sold online and at outdoor-gear stores for about $33.