We came from Vietnam, which didn’t remotely seem like Communism. They are very much capitalists, but people are careful not to criticize the government publicly. Seems like they are cracking down on public comments here in the US more than they do. They are very friendly to the US, but since we’ll likely be slamming them with tariffs and putting them on the travel ban list (you have got to be kidding me), who knows what the future holds?
Vietnam does not appear to be on any of the purported draft travel ban lists that have been mentioned in recent days. It also seems to be overlooked for now in tariff wars, but that can change.
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It was actually Cambodia that I was thinking of, that is on the proposed list…which is disgusting, let’s just alienate friendly countries even more. But Vietnam has a very large trade surplus with the US, as we like to buy their stuff, so I see a big target on their back. I think they’re #4.
The clean up of agent orange damage was crucial to restoring good will but it costs $$ and has now put Vietnam in the doghouse so AFAIK the clean up process has been stopped (not sure if it’s part of a pressure campaign or “waste” cuts).
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That, along with defunding land mines that WE left in Vietnam. And the lands mines that are still in Laos and Cambodia. I don’t know how these people sleep at night. We are burning a lot of good will by doing the wrong thing, and these countries will turn towards China. Though, after traveling through both Vietnam and Cambodia, they seem to hate China (for good reason).
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We have left land mines in a kit oc places, sadly.
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Looks like many foreigners have already made their decisions not to travel to the US, presumably due to the fears of random CBP actions noted in this thread. Flights are going to start getting cheaper pretty quickly, especially if people in the US don’t have money to spend either.
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Meanwhile overseas holidays are getting a lot more expensive very quickly, especially for everyone who booked a European vacation this summer:
Even with the dollar plummeting, I recommend people keep checking on their airline ticket prices. I booked a Delta refundable ticket to Spain in September a few days ago, and just rebooked the same exact ticket for $267 less. Never seen it go down so quickly, and I’m going to keep checking to see if it goes down even further.
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I have to pay the balance of my Yosemite trip next week, but our February 2026 New Zealand tour balance isn’t due until December. If we had to cancel, we’d lose deposit and insurance. I am holding off on flights for a while.
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I’m not normally big on buying flights several months ahead of time, but if they’re booked refundable and the price is good, seems like a no risk scenario to book them and just keep checking for better deals. Only negative is having to pay for it early.
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I have no doubt that airlines will need to cut prices in the short term as they’ve already set their schedules for the summer. But reductions in the winter schedule seem likely.
Is the price fixed in US dollars rather than NZ dollars? You might want to check if there are clauses in the contract which allow for increases if you haven’t already paid in full. OTOH they might then have to refund your deposit if you cancel.
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Per Globus,
Pricing for trips and services are set by the tour operator and are subject to change at any time prior to receipt of full deposit. Your Price is locked in and guaranteed for the items on your reservation at the time of deposit receipt, unless you amend your reservation and subject to the Errors and Omissions section below.
What’s also great is getting ecredits if the fare drops
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Sorry - wrong thread!
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How about international hotel costs?
Actually, I always get it credited back to my credit card (which on Delta, it automatically selects an ecredit, so you have to be careful to select the right box). I’d much rather have cash than a credit that expires.
I don’t pay the extra for fully refundable tickets. We always pick the “non-refundable”tickets and then if the price drops we take the e-credit because we Fly Delta enough that it works out fine. Sometimes they’ll put it back on our credit card sometimes they’ll just give us the credit -either way works for us
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Gotcha. I thought you were talking about refundable fares, and I was wondering why you’d prefer an ecredit over a refund. But there’s no change fees any more, right? I can see the wisdom of buying a nonrefundable fare if you knew you’d use the credit later on if you cancelled. With these international tickets, they’re kind of pricey, so I’m not certain that I’d use the credit, but probably. As it gets closer, I might change to the nonrefundable if it saves $200-$250.
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Yep. That’s what we do. And if we use miles and the number required drops (that has happened several times with sales) they just put the miles back in your account. The thing to be careful about with the credits. Is the credits expire a year from when you initially booked the flight. The miles never expire. And yes, no change fees.
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