Q: How can we make sure we don’t get bumped off a flight?     
If you get handed a boarding pass and the spaces for row and seat number are blank, you could potentially be bumped off a flight. And that would be a drag, especially if you’ve got a connection to make. Sadly, getting bumped is more common these days. Airlines want every seat filled, so they overbook to avoid empty seats and lost revenue. Avoid the bump by checking in for your flight online the day before. If that’s not an option, check in early at the airport. The airlines provide recommended times on your e-ticket, and late check-ins are the first ones squeezed from a flight. Another tactic: Find out what the busiest times are (which is when people are most likely to get bumped)—probably Sunday night, Monday morning, Thursday night and Friday morning.  

Q: I’ve heard a lot about bedbugs in hotel rooms lately. Should I be worried?
Not so much. Though the bedbug population and media reports of the wee beasts dining on hotel guests have jumped, there are better things to fret about. While a bite is itchy and the thought of an infestation gives you the creeps, bedbugs don’t carry disease and they won’t kill you. Still, check out bedbugregistry.com to see which hotels (U.S. and Canada only) have had these rowdy pests as guests. Also, keep your luggage off the floor so that the only things you take home are souvenirs.

Q: Do we really need the extra insurance for collision, etc., offered by car rental companies?
Yes, you do. Car repairs, even a scrape or tiny dent, are expensive and will suck your vacation budget dry in a nanosecond. But extra insurance may not necessarily have to come from the car rental company. The credit card you use to pay for the rental might include insurance. Call and check, then double-check, the conditions of each policy. Some might not cover you if you don’t report an incident within 45 days, or the coverage might not apply on foreign soil. Another option is to add extra insurance to your annual car policy—coverage that protects you when driving cars other than yours. If you’re not covered otherwise, do sign up for the rental car’s own, albeit expensive, insurance. When it comes to car rental insurance, as with birth control, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.