Money-saving travel hack: Rent a moving truck instead of a car

New rules issued today by the federal government require that fliers who get "bumped" against their will from their flights receive much fatter payouts than before. The new rules also extend the "passengers bill of rights" protections against tarmac delays to international flights. So, what do you need to know about the new Department of Transportation rules? First, a weather delay gets you nothing, ever. Second, you're owed higher pay-out rates by your airline if it bumps you involuntarily to a later flight. This regulation comes amid soaring bump rates, with more than 700,00 passengers expected to be pushed back this year, a big jump from last year. The reason for the spike? Most airlines oversell flights. (JetBlue is the main exception.) Once upon a time, if you were bumped from your flight, and the airline was able to get you to your destination within two hours of your planned arrival, you were paid the value of your one-way ticket, with a maximum of $400. If they couldn't get you there within 2 hours, you were paid double the amount, up to $800. Not bad. As of today, if the airline boots your from your flight (and you didn't volunteer to be booted) and the airline gets you where you need to go within two hours, you can look forward to getting double the value of that ticket (with a cap of $650). Beyond that, the payout is four times the ticket's one-way value, for a max of $1,300. That's big money, paid in vouchers. But, as we've said before, you should insist on cash—as in green hundred dollar bills—because the alternative, vouchers, can have expiration dates, and the airline may not offer the best ticket for you for routes you're flying before the expiration date. The other big news is that the federal government threatens to fine foreign airlines, not just domestic airlines, up to $27,500 per passenger if they leave an INTERNATIONAL flight on a tarmac for more than FOUR hours without taking off. That said, it's worth saying that this rule already applies to US airlines (with a shorter time window for domestic flights) and the federal government has yet to act on it. So it may be toothless legislation. (Fun fact: Federal agencies aren't required to enforce their regulations. It's true! Congress gives them discretion to decide when to invoke their regulations. This is probably why lawyers make so much money—parsing this stuff.) One other thing to know: Airlines are now required by law to reveal "all ancillary fees on their websites, including fees for checking bags, providing meals and canceling reservations," in the words of USA Today, whose reporting on this topic has been first-rate. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: A new way to get cash back when fares drop Would you book a flight with Spirit Airlines? Top sites Yapta and TripIt team up

if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('6db3c226-744c-4cf8-9ecc-c3bb19426d5d');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)Always ones to keep our eyes out for a good deal, we've found some short vacation packages lately that have us rethinking our travel patterns. We've been seeing air-and-hotel deals for non-U.S. destinations that only last 4 nights or less. Generally, we assume if travelers are going to fly 6 or more hours somewhere, they'll want to stay the better part of a week—but maybe that's not the case. As one BT staffer mused: "I'd spend 16 hours on a plane for four days in Venice." What do you think? Do you have little vacation time but big aspirations and find quick getaways appealing? Or does the thought of a three-day stay at the end of hours of air-travel navigation not seem worth it? Tell us below or take our poll! MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL 8 Common Air-Travel Snafus (and How to Beat Them) The Ultimate Guide to Travel Apps 6 Essential Items for a Successful Vacation 10 Scenic Airport Landings

The economic news over the past few weeks has been worrying to say the least — between the debt ceiling debate, stocks tumbling, economic analysts warning of a possible double-dip recession, and consumer confidence taking a hit as well. So, how does all this negative economic news impact your travel plans? Several travel companies reported that bookings have been steady over the past couple weeks, despite the headlines. But others noted that the phones have been a bit quieter. "We haven't seen it hit yet. Right now we continue to see solid numbers week over week," said John Galvin, CFO at Collette Vacations. But, he cautioned, "We have that concern that if we go into a second recession we're going to see some difficult times ahead." if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('423457ad-5019-4291-9e7e-876fadc2b1bd');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)It's hard for people to think about travel when all they're seeing and reading about in the press is stocks devaluing or lackluster job growth, according to some travel industry insiders. "Consumers stop spending based upon the unknown, fear and anxiety about the worsening economic conditions," said Jack Richards, president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays. He noted that prior to the debt crisis and stock market decline, business to all of Pleasant's destinations had been very strong, including improved bookings to Mexico. But one way in which travelers will be directly impacted by the economic news both here and abroad is in prices, which are likely to increase regardless of which way the economic pendulum swings. With the euro currently at about 1.43 to the dollar, "the reality is prices are simply going up. From an inflation standpoint, the underlying inflation in the U.S. economy is nowhere near where it is if you're trying to sell outbound travel," said Galvin, who estimated that Collette's 2012 prices to Europe could end up being close to 10 percent above 2011 prices, and "people's incomes are not going up 8, 9, 10 percent," he added. So, what about you? How has all this economic news impacted your travel plans? Are you scaling back, taking a wait-and-see approach, or going full speed ahead regardless of what the stock market does? Let us know by voting in our poll or commenting below. More from Budget Travel: Would you pay about $80 for an upgrade? Would you fly more frequently if airplane seats were more comfortable? 7 Most Common Gas-guzzling Mistakes

Budget Travel's editors are huge believers in mobile technology. You'll seldom see the magazine's staff out on the road without a smartphone—usually Apple's iPhone or phones built on Google's Android operating system. We've given these devices a workout over the years, learning some pro-level tricks along the way. Now we let you in on our secrets learned the hard way. Check out our ideas on how to max out your smart phone on your next trip. First up, tips for Android users. Then advice for iPhone users. ANDROID TIPS AND TRICKS Problem: You want to allow friends back home to track your journey in real-time. Solution: Any Android phone comes with an amazing, free, turn-by-turn GPS program. But how can you allow your family back home track your journey in real-time? Just follow this advice: On your Android phone, open up Google Maps. Tap on the menu icon, and choose "Join Latitude." You'll be prompted to add friends who may follow you as they wish, if they also have Google accounts (meaning Gmail users, essentially). These people you've selected will be able to follow your GPS location on the maps on their Android phone or, if they download the iGoogle Latitude widget, on their laptops through their Web browsers. Never lose track of your teenagers at Disney World again. Problem: Need to extend your phone's battery life, especially while you're traveling. Solution: The biggest drain on the battery is the power needed to light up the display. Most Android phones have an Auto-Brightness setting. Turn this setting on to save power by going to Settings, then Sound & Display. Scroll down to Brightness. Check the Auto-Brightness option. Now your device will only use the power necessary, based on how dark or bright your surroundings are, to light up your screen. In short, you'll save power and extend the life of your device's charge. Problem: You don't want to be stuck with a large bill for a data connection while using a 3G signal away from your home, but you also don't want to go without Internet service completely. Solution: Skip the 3G data connection and use an adequate 2G connection (meaning GPRS and EDGE networks; contact your wireless provider to find out what connection your phone uses). 2G networks provide enough of a connection for email, Twitter, and similar simple messaging communication. When traveling outside of the US, 2G is good enough for the most common Android phone uses. Go into your devices settings and turn 3G off. (You may want to make a note on your Calendar to remind you to switch the setting back when you return to the States.) Problem: You want to find on your phone's map a particular type of local landmark, like a coffee shop or a museum. But you don't want to scroll through pages and pages of search results on the browser on your tiny phone's screen. Solution: Option one is to use Places, instead of a traditional Google search. Go to Google Maps app, and then search for your location (unless a GPS signal automatically locates your position on the map for you). Next, tap the Places button in the top-right corner (it looks like a pin icon). You'll see seven search options in easy-to-understand icons: restaurants, coffee, bars, hotels, attractions, ATMs, and gas stations. Now click whichever button is relevant to what you're searching for, and you will now only see relevant answers on the first page of results. BONUS ANDROID TIP: If you're a tech geek, take advantage of "augmented reality" and hold up your Android's camera to show a live image of the streets around you, and then use the Layar download to see results from Google and other sources for nearby attractions graphically overlaid on the screen. Layar is a free download. IPHONE TIPS AND TRICKS Problem: Need to extend your phone's battery life. Solution: The biggest drain on the battery is the power needed to light up the display. So dim that screen. By default, your iPhone is set to be incredibly bright. Go to iPhone Settings (the grey icon with an image of mechanical wheels) and pick Brightness. Then slide that setting down about halfway and see if you're comfortable with the level of brightness. You should also turn on the Auto-Brightness setting. That way, the screen backlight brightness will only be as strong as necessary. (Back on the main Settings page menu, you may also want to consider turning off Notifications, a power-hogging service.) Problem: You're going back-and-forth via e-mail scheduling an event. Is there a faster way? Solution: If a message you receive by e-mail includes phrases like "Tuesday at 3," your iPhone will underline it. Tap the link, and a window will pop up inviting you to "Create Event." Tap that, and you'll see your iPhone's Calendar open up on the relevant date and time and the subject of the e-mail as the name for the event. Make any adjustments you need for clarity, and then tap "Done" to add it to the calendar. Problem: Let's say you know how to find yourself on the map. (You tap the Arrow icon in the bottom left-hand corner of maps to see the blue, bouncing dot appear, of course.) But imagine you also want your map to match the direction you're facing, to make it easier to orient yourself. Solution: Tap the Arrow icon a second time: The map will adjust to the direction you're facing, making it easier to read. BONUS IPHONE TIP: If you're trying to recognize where you are on a particular street, it can help to see Street View, Google's photographic record of what streets look like worldwide. To do this for a particular location you see on the map (such as the blue dot that represents where you are), touch and hold that location on the map. This will add a red pin. Then tap this pin to reveal a bar of information giving street details. Hit the orange circular button that you see—it's a circle with the image of a person standing inside. The map will switch to Street View mode, revealing what the street should look like. (Obviously, this service is only available in urban areas that Google has taken photos of.) Feel free to share your own tips and tricks in the comments! MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Apple plans to block iPhone users from recording concerts iPads Take on Hotels, Airlines and the Eiffel Tower The Ultimate Guide to Travel Apps Test Lab: iPad as Travel Tool