Book American Airlines travel on AA.com by Oct. 31, 2007 for travel by Nov. 15, 2007, use promo code EYMD4WE5PL4X, and you’ll save 10 percent on your ticket. It’s a promotion to highlight the airline’s new web site features, which include enhanced options for viewing search results according to price or schedule.

Why would an airline refuse to allow me to upgrade to a business class seat if the seat is empty and I have the miles to do so? That’s a question a frequent Continental Airlines traveler asked travel advice guru Christopher Elliott, who contacted the airline and published this intriguing response on his blog:

There may be “empty” BusinessFirst seats on a flight for a variety of reasons, including held seats for crew (contractually required) and circumstances beyond our control (e.g., passenger misconnects, cancellations, etc.). So, an empty seat is not always necessarily available to offer.

But upon further investigation, Elliott concludes that the real problem, in this case at least, is not the lack of reward seats available, but the airline’s inability to handle customer requests for upgrades at the gate. Continental says it won’t (or can’t) clear
seats for upgrade travel with less than 24 hours notice. That surprises me. Of course airlines don’t want to have copious empty seats available for upgrades, but when they do, it doesn’t make sense to block loyal customers from taking them - and turning in miles to do so.

It’s an interesting problem facing frequent business travelers and further proof that award travel is increasingly a pesky thorn in the airlines’ hides.

I’m usually bowled over by the latest technology, but here’s one decidedly low-tech travel accessory that caught my eye: Magellan’s Folding Footrest. Long-legged people, you can stop reading now. But as those of us with short legs know, cramped flights can be equally as uncomfortable as they are for our gazelle-legged brethren. At 5′1″, I’m usually not able to put my feet flat on the floor when I fly. And once I hit hour three or four of a flight, my lower back starts seriously aching. And then my butt starts to fall asleep. It’s not pleasant. Of course, standing up and stretching and taking a trip to the lav usually remedies the problem, but a stool! Now a handy little folding travel stool would eliminate the problem entirely (and make me look like an old lady, score!). This accessory likely takes up some precious purse or bag space, but I’m always one to stuff more gadgets, magazines and crap in my carry-on than I’ll ever actually use. So bring it on. Cost: $24.85.

It’s too bad we can’t just change the U.S. passport rules, like, every six weeks. Because I’m sure going to miss all the excitement once when we get back to having hard and fast passport rules for traveling abroad. This is just way too much fun.

Starting Monday, U.S. citizens traveling by air to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda must present a valid passport. That rule first went into effect in January, but was temporarily relaxed over the summer due to the passport backlog. Now it’s back. So put your little blue folio in your carry-on before you head out to the airport.

Confused about U.S. passport rules or how to apply for your passport? Check out TravelPost.com’s How to Get a Passport.

Starting Monday, New Passport Requirements Kick In

Now here’s a hotel that’s going to give the Atheneum Suite Hotel in Detroit a run for its money: the MGM Grand Detroit, set to open this coming Wednesday. And according to the Detroit News, rooms for the opening night are still there for the taking. Why would you want to rush here faster than a fastball heading straight outta Joel Zumaya’s hand? Well, it’s the slickest hotel downtown Detroit has seen in years. There are restaurants from celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck and Michael Mina, a nightclub called V, a spa and a casino with 90 gaming tables and 4,500 slots. Rooms feature plasma TVs, deep soaking tubs, separate sleeping and sitting areas and wet bars.

It’s $309 to be the First in Line

Fancy yourself a good shot? Well then you’ve probably got the photographs to prove it. Put them to the test by submitting them to Budget Travel magazine. The editors will sift through their piles of submissions and use their favorite shot for the cover of their 10th anniversary issue, out June 2008. By Dec. 1, 2007, submit any photo (not the original, nothing will be returned) taken since 1998 with a resolution of 300 dpi or higher. Read the complete submission guidelines at Take Our Cover Photo.

When it comes to hotel club floors, the Wall Street Journal’s Cranky Consumer reports that good deals are to be had at the Hilton Hotel Austin, while the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Los Angeles proved to be less than stellar. If you’re willing to fork over the cash, the Ritz Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta does an “impeccable” job, but the club floor at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers is best described as hit or miss. If you click through to the story, don’t miss the great chart at the bottom of the page.

Posh Or Not? We Check Out Hotel Club Floors

The word on the street is that Qantas, Lufthansa and Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss airlines are in the midst of adopting carbon offset programs that offer travelers the choice to offset their carbon emissions when they purchase tickets online. Read more at: Lufthansa, Swiss & Qantas Introduce Carbon Offsetting.

Not sure what to make of all this carbon offsetting business? We break the major U.S. players down for you in a traveler-friendly format in the Traveler’s Guide to Carbon Offsets.

Oh you’re mod. You’re so mod. You need this vintage, hand-painted suitcase from bamabelle’s etsy shop (that’s right, the artist is a girl from Alabama). At $59.99 (which is almost like $60), this suitcase set is a feasible solution to baggage claim anonymity, yet accomplishes this without saying, “Hi, I’m such an expensive bag that you’ll probably want to abandon your own luggage so as to leave the airport with me instead.” Of course, we will admit that this luggage set is hardly the sort of thing for the buttoned-up executive. But then again, it’s the 00’s. If you want to get some crazy etsy luggage, then that’s your prerogative, n’est ce pas?

Virgin America launched it fourth route today with service between San Francisco and Washington Dulles International Airports. Service between Los Angeles International Airport and Dulles is scheduled to begin in October.