How to open an ITN Online account for full website access. Sometimes, kids fly free. Remembering Sandra Scott's husband, John.
This item appears on page 2 of the April 2019 issue.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 518th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.
When people who are not ITN subscribers visit our website, what they're seeing is essentially a preview of what it actually offers.
Nonsubscribers can read only a few selected articles from each issue in full, but for all the rest of the articles, letters and news items on the site, they're allowed to read only a limited number before being asked to subscribe in order to continue.
Any ITN subscriber, however, can log in to the real deal, ITN Online, and view ALL of the past articles that have been posted, which is great for finding travelers' recommendations of tour companies, guides, hotels, destinations, etc., when trip planning.
On the subscribers-only version, any subscriber also can view the PDF versions of complete issues, which are exact copies of the printed magazine but with color photos as well as active web links to travel firms mentioned.
Subscribers also can be fully active on ITN's Message Board, a forum where travelers ask and answer each other's questions. (Nonsubscribers can read the conversations, but they're not allowed to participate in the discussions.)
Of course, someone visiting the website needs to identify himself as a subscriber before being allowed the special access, and that's done by creating an ITN Online account. Up until now, ITN subscribers have found it a little challenging to create an account. It was necessary for you to determine which numbers on the address label on your magazine was the actual subscription number.
Well, ITN's Webmaster, Demian LeClair, has just made the process much easier. In fact, he's gone a step further.
Anyone who subscribes to ITN on our website now will be granted immediate access to the full content of the website. No more waiting until the next business day or so for things to be processed and access finally enabled. And renewing your subscription online is easier too.
Likewise, if you have a friend or relative who would like to peruse the ITN website, she or he now can get a free 2-month trial with instant access to the full content.
I'll explain how things are now set up, starting with how to subscribe online.
• First, if you haven't had your coffee yet and you don't want to speak to a cheery person at the toll-free Subscriptions number (800/486-4968), here's how to purchase an ITN subscription on our website.
On our homepage, www.intltravelnews.com, find the "Subscribe" tab and click on "Subscribe to ITN" (or, if you wish to extend your subscription, click on "Renew Subscription").
Choose the type of subscription you want: "Online Access Only" (this is the least-expensive option, only $15 per year!), "US Print & Online" (for example, $26 for 12 issues, one a month [for US ZIP codes]) or "International Print & Online" (addresses in Canada, $43 per year, or in other countries, $53).
Then click "Buy Now."
You will be taken to the checkout page, where you will be asked to fill in your name, mailing address and email address. Your ITN subscription will be registered in this name, and if you ordered a print-edition subscription, each month's magazine will be mailed to this street address or P.O. box.
If the subscription is a gift, enter the lucky recipient's mailing address as well as any message you have for the recipient, as a card will be sent acknowledging your gift. The latest edition of the magazine will be mailed to that address each month.
After you click "Place Order," you will be redirected to our credit card gateway and asked for your credit card information. Don't forget to check the "I'm not a Robot" box or you won't get any further!
Then simply click the "Submit" button.
Your purchase will be processed immediately, and you will receive a welcome email from ITN that includes your order number.
If you ordered an ITN print-edition subscription and are not interested in accessing the ITN Online edition, you can stop here. Your order is complete, you can get off the computer, and henceforth you will receive your monthly copy of ITN in the mail for the duration of your subscription.
• Nevertheless, at this point, you will be transferred from the credit card gateway back to the ITN website, where you will be presented with these options: "Create a New ITN Online Account," "Renew an Existing ITN Online Account" or "Set Up ITN Online Account Later."
If you DO want to set up your ITN Online account at this point (which, as I've indicated, is recommended) or want to renew an existing ITN Online account, choose the relevant option: A or B.
A. If you choose Create a New ITN Online Account, you will see the name, phone number and email address that you provided during checkout appear on the new-account registration form. If you wish them to be different from those with your billing address, make any changes. You'll also be asked to enter a "username." (See what I say about that six paragraphs down.)
Click "Submit."
You then will be asked to choose a password for your account. (It's best to choose something with numbers plus upper- and lower-case letters, a minimum of six characters total.) Once you've chosen a password, your new ITN Online account will be active, and you will be able to browse the ITN website without restrictions, see the PDF color version of the magazine, etc.
B. To Renew an Existing ITN Online Account (either after or before your ITN magazine expires), enter the email address you currently use to access the ITN Online edition, then click "Submit." If your account has expired, it will be automatically renewed for the number of years you just purchased. If your account has not expired, it will be credited the extra number of years you just purchased.
For example, if you have three months left on your subscription and you purchase an additional two years, your subscription's new expiration date will be two years and three months hence.
• Now, most of you reading this are longtime print-edition subscribers, and maybe you've never tried to take advantage of the features of our website. If you want to set up an ITN Online account from scratch, visit the website and click on the box that says "If you are a Print-edition Subscriber and want to set up your ITN Online account, CLICK HERE to get started."
Fill in the form with your name, phone number, mailing address and email address as well as the username you wish to use. You'll be able to log in with either your username or your email address.
The username is also what you'll be known by on the Message Board, if you wish to post anything there (so that's where you can find examples of some usernames; just click on a few messages). And you can use your username when sending a private message to someone else who has posted something on the Message Board.
On the form, you also will be asked for the expiration date of your current subscription, but if you're not sure which month and year that is, just leave it blank. (See? No sweat!) Then hit "Submit."
You will receive an email in a minute or two. In it, there will be a link to a page where you can set your password for your new account. Once you've done that, your ITN Online account will be active instantly.
And welcome aboard! We'll see you on the Message Board, which I have a lot to tell you about next month.
Meanwhile, I have a couple more things to tell you about now.
•
If you have young children or grandchildren whom you would like to take with you to an international destination, there's no better price than free (or greatly discounted). With that in mind, you'll be glad to know that some airlines occasionally offer kids-fly-free promotions.
There's no way to know well in advance when one of these promotions might come along, so you'll have to watch for special deals on airline websites and travel-news websites, such as those of Condé Nast (www.cntraveler.com) and the New York Times travel section (www.nytimes.com/section/travel), but here are a few recent offers we found.
From Jan. 8 to April 2, 2019, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) offered a "kids-fly-free" airfare for children ages 11 and under from any of SAS' US gateways to airports in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. To qualify, an adult ticket also had to be purchased and, oh, by the way, the taxes on the "free" ticket had to be paid, which could amount to more than half the regular fare. Still, it was a good deal.
Spanish low-cost airline Volotea also had a brief kids-fly-free promotion, for children 12 or under, on point-to-point flights departing Feb. 20-22, 2019. Though Volotea has no flights to the US, it flies between a number of European cities.
In 2018, Qatar Airways and Air Tahiti Nui both had promotions that offered free international flights for children (Qatar for up to two children ages 11 and under, Air Tahiti Nui for up to two children ages 15 and under). Even British Airways had a free-child's-ticket promotion (two children, 12 and under), in 2018, but it was for domestic flights only.
These offers usually have caveats, such as requiring at least one adult ticket to be purchased at the same time or that the children's tickets are free only for certain dates.
•
CORRECTIONS to note —
"I believe you meant to say that ships dock near Halong City in Ha Long Bay, which is three hours from Hanoi. In 2011, my husband and I were on a cruise ship that docked at Halong City, and, yes, it is a long day trip to Hanoi and back."
Sally, thank you for pointing out our total flub. Cruise ships currently dock at Halong City's commercial pier, and Hanoi is about 100 miles west, a little over two hours away without traffic backups.
Here's looking at you, Edmund! You are correct.
•
ITN subscriber Karyn DeMartelaere of Gilbert, Arizona, applied for her Shellback Plus ITN Travel Award recently and also submitted the paperwork for her husband, Steven DeYoung, to receive his Seven Continents award.
She added this note: "Steve and I got married in Antarctica on Dec. 6, 2018, with a civil ceremony at home upon our return. TMI, right?"
No, Karyn. It's just the right amount.
•
Lastly, and sadly, Sandra Scott, who writes the column "What's Cooking In…," which debuted in ITN's July 2009 issue, has informed us that her husband and writing partner, John Scott, died on January 22nd at 80 years of age. Sandra has provided the following remembrance:
"My husband, John, was the quiet man behind the scenes as we traveled to 100 countries over 40 years. The perfect partner and helpmate, he loved meeting people around the world and especially loved visiting schools, where we did presentations.
"John was always ready to proof and edit articles and willing to do anything that was needed to create a story, including participate in a cooking experience, even though that was not his forte. Though he would undertake any adventure, even sleeping in a native hut and spending a week on a felucca on the Nile, his preference was to stay in luxury hotels, like the Peninsula Hong Kong. He liked to pretend he only did some of the more adventurous things for the sake of a story: 'I only went bungee jumping because Sandra needed a picture.'
"I hope to continue to travel but need to adapt to traveling alone, and I most likely will no longer escape the winter by spending three months in Southeast Asia, which was our favorite destination. The world is full of travel opportunities, with something for everyone. I just need to find my new niche."
We wish the best for Sandra, and the door remains open here should she wish to continue writing.