Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 30!
Get better odds in casinos, pee less at night, avoid resort fees, get a cheap short-term gym, and save 40% on a Disney trip. Plus, how airlines are now airport lounge companies that also fly planes!
Here is still another edition of our unusual travel hacks!
For other travel hack columns, go to Part Fifteen and Part Sixteen and Part Seventeen and Part Eighteen and Part Nineteen and Part Twenty and Part Twenty-One and Part Twenty-Two and Part Twenty-Three and Part Twenty-Four and Part Twenty-Five and Part Twenty-Six and Part Twenty-Seven and Part Twenty-Eight and Part Twenty-Nine.
On to our latest hacks!
Carry on an oversized carry-on?
I’ve noted before how ridiculously lax many airlines seem to be in enforcing their own carry-on baggage policies — and research suggests I’m right, at least for full-service carriers in America: if your bag looks anything like a carry-on, you’ll almost certainly get it on.
But things are very different on European airlines — and even more so on low-cost carriers in both Europe and America, where part of their business model is often charging people for even the slightest overage on their carry-ons.
Improve your casino odds
If you think it’s becoming harder to come out ahead at a casino, you’re right! Casinos are subtly altering the rules of games of chance in their favor, especially in America.
Here are the things to look out for:
Blackjack has traditionally been the game that most favored the (skilled) player — in part because casinos had a 3:2 payout on a blackjack ($150 on a $100 bet). Now many casinos use a 6:5 payout ($120 on a $100 bet). They’ve also increased betting minimums, introduced shuffle machines (eliminating the possibility of keeping track of the cards played), and changed other rules to favor the house.
It’s even worse in roulette, where each “0” slot on the wheel favors the house by an additional 2.7%. “European roulette” includes a single zero (with a house edge of 2.7%), and “American roulette” offers a double zero slot (with a house edge of 5.26%). But many Las Vegas casinos have now added a third zero slot (with lower table limits, they argue). Casinos have also lowered payouts on outside bets and eliminated certain free bets, making things even better for the house.
Likewise, payouts on slot machines may be getting lower too. As a general rule, returns are lowest on cruise ships (an 85%-90% “return to player,” or RTP), higher at land-based casinos, including tribal casinos (92%-96% RTP), and highest of all in online casinos (up to 99% RTP — assuming you can trust their numbers). Meanwhile, “volatility” matters too: progressive slots have a lower overall RTP — and they pay out less frequently in general — but they also have a higher potential payout. To find a specific machine’s exact RTP, check the “help” or “info” button, which will probably list RTP, and check online resources to find a casino’s overall rate, which is often advertised.
Pee less at night
It’s normal to wake up in the middle of the night having to pee: it happens to about a third of adults over 30 and half of those over 65. Among my sample of middle-aged male friends in their late 50s, the number is 100%.
(If you consistently get up more than twice a night, or if you can’t fall back to sleep again, this is a condition known as “nocturnia,” and it’s worth discussing with your doctor.)
To reduce the amount you have to pee, stop drinking liquids two to four hours before bed — duh. But you should also avoid caffeinated beverages and alcohol later in the day — two “diuretics” that increase the production of urine. A high-sodium intake during the day will also result in having to pee more at night.
Avoid resort fees
Like every traveler, I absolutely hate “resort fees,” which are mandatory fees that hotels claim cover the cost of various “amenities” — but are really just outright scams to hide the actual price of the hotel room.
