First class, for less

How can you skip airport lines without paying for VIP service? Find out

Who says you need a celebrity's budget to travel like a star? From airport lounge perks to smart flight bookings, these simple tricks can help you enjoy more comfort, memorable experiences, and extra luxuries for less. Discover how to make your next getaway feel first-class without spending a fortune. Ready to get royal?

Picture yourself in a VIP airport lounge, enjoying complimentary snacks, drinks, Wi-Fi, and a comfortable place to unwind before takeoff. And here’s the best part: You don't need a first-class ticket to enjoy these perks. Depending on the lounge, you may be able to purchase a day pass or gain entry through a membership program or travel credit cards, since some include this access, but benefits, annual fees, and access rules vary.

You can also check whether your departure airport has lounges that sell single-visit passes. Before you go, look over guest fees and access restrictions, as some lounges limit how early you can enter or restrict entry during busy periods. A little planning can help you make the most of your time at the airport without overspending, while adding a touch of luxury to your trip.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to fly into one destination and depart from another? Booking multi-city flights, also known as "open-jaw", makes that possible. This approach can save valuable vacation time by eliminating unnecessary backtracking, and it may cost as much as or less than a standard round-trip ticket, depending on your route and dates.

To find the best deal, fill the gap between your arrival and departure cities with affordable regional trains, buses, or low-cost airlines. Compare nearby airports, too, but remember to factor in ground transportation costs and travel time before booking.

Here's a simple trick that can help avoid unnecessary fees when paying abroad. When you tap or swipe your card in another country, a payment terminal may offer to charge you in U.S. dollars instead of the local currency. This is known as dynamic currency conversion, and its exchange rate may include an additional markup.

In most cases, choosing the local currency is the better deal. It lets your card network or issuer handle the conversion instead of accepting the merchant's offered rate. Keep in mind that your card issuer may still charge a foreign transaction fee, so double-check your card's terms before traveling.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to skip the baggage carousel, avoid checked-bag fees, and move more easily between destinations? Traveling with just a carry-on can make that a reality, especially if your ticket allows it at no extra charge, and your bag meets the airline's size limits.

Here are some tips for you to make it work: When selecting what clothes to pack, stick to a single color palette of three core colors so every top matches every bottom. Bring two versatile pairs of shoes (one worn on the plane and one packed) to save space. Use zipped compression bags to shrink bulky items and swap liquids for solid shampoo bars, toothpaste tablets, and a solid deodorant stick to glide through airport security. Just in case, don’t forget to check your airline's carry-on dimensions and weight limits before leaving home, especially if you're flying with a budget carrier.

Who doesn’t love hotel freebies? With a bit of creativity, complimentary breakfast items and snacks can become the makings of an elegant afternoon picnic.

Those mini cheeses, fresh fruit, crackers, and little jars of jam can do much more than brighten your breakfast tray. If they're included in your stay and available to take away, tuck a few into your day bag and pair them with bread from a local bakery for an elegant picnic with a view. Add a bottle of sparkling wine or water and a scenic spot by the water or in a beautiful park, and you've got a charming afternoon spread without the restaurant price tag.

Travel like a VIP on a budget by swapping expensive taxis for comfortable, affordable public transportation. Depending on your destination, airport express trains, comfortable intercity rail services, and scenic public ferries can actually offer a more enjoyable ride for much less than a private car.

For a little extra comfort, when available, choose an upper-deck seat on a double-decker bus for sweeping city views, and in waterfront cities, also note that public ferries can double as scenic sightseeing rides.

Want a more upscale hotel without the peak-season price? Look at business hotels in financial or commercial districts, particularly on weekends when corporate demand may be lower. Shoulder seasons and dates outside major conventions can also offer better rates, depending on the city.

When doing so, make sure to compare prices on hotel booking sites and the hotel's own website. It’s also useful to check whether nonrefundable rates or bookings offer additional savings. Blind-booking sites may offer discounts on unnamed hotels, but read the terms carefully before making a decision.

If you travel frequently, Global Entry and TSA PreCheck can make airport procedures smoother. TSA PreCheck offers expedited security screening at participating U.S. airports, while Global Entry speeds up U.S. customs and immigration processing for eligible travelers returning from abroad. How incredible does that sound?

Global Entry even includes TSA PreCheck benefits for eligible members. Keep in mind both programs generally offer five years of membership, although fees and eligibility rules differ.

Here’s a tip for food lovers: dine just a few blocks away from major tourist sites to find potentially better value. Skip the overpriced menus next to famous monuments, and walk down side streets or into neighborhood streets where residents gather for everyday meals.

Restaurants away from major attractions may offer more competitive prices and a less hectic atmosphere. Look for menus in the local language, check recent reviews, and see where residents tend to eat. You may discover regional specialties and a more authentic dining experience while avoiding the busiest tourist crowds.

One final way to travel in style for less is to learn how to stack rewards. This strategy combines multiple benefits on the same purchase, helping you earn points faster toward flights and amazing upgrades.

Useful tips to keep in mind are checking whether your credit card or airline offers a shopping portal, and looking for eligible card-linked discounts there. When it’s time to redeem your points, also compare booking through your card’s travel portal with transferring them to an airline loyalty program. A transfer bonus may stretch your points even further, but always review award availability and the total points required before doing so, since these transactions are often irreversible.

Secret landmark history

The hidden stories behind America's most famous landmarks

The Statue of Liberty? Mount Rushmore? Everybody's seen the postcards, and many have seen them IRL. But knowing what a landmark looks like isn't the same as knowing its story. For instance, Lady Liberty wasn't always green; she started out a shiny copper-brown before the elements got to her. And those Mount Rushmore faces? They were originally supposed to come with full torsos. Turns out there's a lot more to America’s most iconic landmarks, and the real stories behind them are pretty entertaining. Let's dig in.

If you've ever visited Liberty Island, you saw a lady in green, but that wasn't always her look. When she arrived from France in 1886, she was a shiny, penny-like copper-brown. Over the next 20 years, exposure to air and rain caused a chemical reaction called oxidation, slowly turning her into the green icon we know today.

You've seen the four giant faces, but did you know sculptor Gutzon Borglum originally planned to carve the presidents from the waist up? Funding ran out, and World War II diverted resources, so we ended up with heads only. If you've stood at the base looking up, just imagine four enormous stone suits standing there too.

Despite the name, this bridge has never been gold. If you've driven across it, you surely noticed its warm reddish-orange color, which is officially called "International Orange." It was chosen because it stood out beautifully against the fog and the blue bay water, while also being easier to spot for passing ships.

Look closely next time you're there: about 150 feet up, the stone changes shade slightly. Construction stalled for over 20 years due to funding issues and the Civil War. When work resumed, the new marble came from a different quarry and didn't quite match. It's basically a 555-foot reminder that home renovation delays are nothing new.

That iconic crack you've seen in every photo? It showed up almost immediately. The bell cracked the very first time it was rung after arriving from England in 1752. It was recast, cracked again in 1835 and 1846, and has never rung properly since. So, technically, America's bell of freedom has been broken for most of its existence.

This massive structure required so much concrete that, if poured into a standard two-lane road, it would stretch all the way across the country, coast to coast. If you stood at the top staring down that curved wall, you were looking at roughly 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete, still firming up internally to this day, decades later.

Next time you visit, check the engraved Second Inaugural Address on the north wall. When it was completed in 1922, carver Ernest C. Bairstow mistakenly used an "E" stencil instead of an "F" in the word "FUTURE," engraving it as "EUTURE." The error was later corrected by filling in part of the "E" with stone to reshape it into an "F."

This shiny stainless steel arch isn't just tall; it's exactly as wide as it is tall, at 630 feet each way. If you've stood underneath it, you may have experienced this perfect geometric symmetry, intentionally designed that way by architect Eero Saarinen for visual balance.

Despite its reliable reputation, Old Faithful doesn't erupt on a perfectly fixed timer. If you've waited around for a show, you may have noticed it can range anywhere from about 60 to 110 minutes between eruptions. Faithful, yes. Punctual like a Swiss watch? Not exactly.

This famous hillside sign wasn't built as a movie industry tribute. It started in 1923 as a temporary ad for a real estate development called "Hollywoodland." It was only meant to last a year and a half. Nearly a century later, it's still standing, minus four letters and a whole lot of irony.

If you've walked across this bridge, you're in good company… including 21 elephants. In 1884, just a year after it opened, showman P.T. Barnum led a herd of elephants across to prove the bridge wouldn't collapse, since the public worried it was unsafe. The stunt worked as both reassurance and one of history's greatest publicity moves.

If you've ridden the elevator up for the view, you've stood inside one of the fastest, most ambitious building sprints in American history. Built for the 1962 World's Fair, this 605-foot tower went from idea to completion in less than a year. Workers raced against the clock, and somehow the deadline-defying needle still stands tall today.