Travel Money Magic
How €24,95 x 2 = €537,14
I am writing this at 06:00 Wednesday morning. In a few hours, Denise and I will drive to Faro to get on our inexpensive EasyJet flight to London. This was going to be a quick, cheap getaway. But then….
Discount Carriers
If you have traveled on Europe’s discount carriers, you know the next part of the story. What begins as a €24,95 ticket quickly becomes a €90 ticket once you select your aisle seat and pay for your carry-on bag.1 In our case, it was even a bit more as I chose a flight at a more convenient time. In all we spent €238 on our round trip flights. Of course, this is still quite reasonable. But then it got a bit worse…
Checking In
I was busy Tuesday morning, so I didn’t complete our online check-in until late in the day. I noticed a comment on the screen about the possible need for a visa. Oh, s#8t!
I accessed the UK Government website and was directed to iVisa. There, I learned that since we were carrying American passports, we would need visas. Okay, stay calm … a multi-entry visa allowing 186 days per entry and good for 2 years is only €12,68. Nǎo faz mal…
But then, as I was completing the order, I found that we needed to pay for express processing2 This added €136.98 per ticket to the fee. Of course, it could be worse…if we learned of this when we checked in at the airport; the fee for 1 hour processing would have been €204.31 per ticket.
If you are keeping track, this is how you turn two “cheap” €24,95 tickets into €537,14!
Why am I Telling You This?
Well, it seems governments around the world are now instituting temporary visas where none existed in the past.3 And if you are living in a European country but hold an American passport it gets a bit trickier. Sometime in 2025, the EU intends to institute the EES program.
The rules of travel to Europe have changed. Starting six months after EES, some 1.4 billion people from over 60 visa-exempt countries are required to have a travel authorisation to enter most European countries. — Travel Europe
I accessed the ETIAS website this morning, and it is not yet operational. In addition, 6 months of advance notice is required before the program can begin. However, if you intend to travel to Europe this summer, it is something you will want to keep an eye on.4 Don’t wait till the last minute as one assumes they may learn from the UK that express processing is a great income source.
É necessário sorrir, manter-se seguro, tchau
Nanc
If you are an American, you might want to read this post about travel and anti-American sentiment in the age of Trump.
Final Note: As expected, I lost some subscribers last week after my political commentary. Only one, so far, was willing to comment. Of course, instead of addressing any of the questions he/she resorted to childish name calling. However, I felt the love from so many of you. Thank you for your continued support.
In warmer months, I will try to bring my daypack, which fits under the seat in front of me. Denise is never able to do this. Instead, given it is February in London (what was I thinking?) we paid for one overhead bag and two (free) daypacks.
Okay, not sure if we really “NEEDED” to pay for express processing. It suggested that we pay for express processing.
It is expected that these new electronic systems will make it easier to track how much time is spent in a country. Will it also enable Portugal to track the amount of time temporary residents spend outside Portugal?
We are traveling to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland in July/August. (Yes, we wanted to visit Greenland before the US took possession.) Since we need to take our US passports, I have added an alert to my March calendar to check the website. The last thing I need is another “express processing” charge.
I appreciate your bluntness about your political views. Maybe because they are similar to mine, but if you lose readers over expressing your views, especially in this time of crisis, you haven’t lost much. Thank you.
As a Canadian with many family members living in the USA , I am saddened by the way the current administration has turned its back on Canada and indeed Europe. As Canada braces itself to face punitive tariffs and thinly veiled and humiliating threats of annexation as a 51st state, I cannot help but wonder what those many Canadians who fought alongside Americans in 2 world wars and other conflicts to preserve democracy would think now as its president sidles up to tyrants and autocrats and the country moves away from the principles its citizens have fought and died for.