Public Service

I found this entry on National Geographic Traveler and found it important enough to share:

2. Trash your "cookies," small files (stored in your Internet browser) that record the websites you surf—and the transactions you make. Say you go online and purchase a $200 plane ticket from Chicago to Omaha. The next time you visit that site, you could be quoted a higher rate than what's actually available because of your spending history. Avoid this problem by deleting these files each time you log on; detailed instructions can be found under the "Help" option in your browser menu.

Now the cookie thing is common knowledge if you've been on the internet for any length of time. However, as (occasionally) blur as I can get, I didn't think that the airlines would use purchasing history AGAINST you...

The most expensive part of my travel is usually airfare. I generally dun stay at fancy schmancy hotels at my destination (because that's money best spent on FOOD and Booze); rather I stay at hostels for both the experience and economy. Don't get me wrong, I looove fancy schmancy hotels. But unless I'm planning a rendezvous of some sort, the money spent on a fancy schmancy hotel is better used for food. And booze. And cigars.

So long entry short, delete your cookies in your browser before you do any kind of airfare hunt.