Golden Rule Travel

06/13/2025

Due to hostilities between Israel and Iran, Tel Aviv airport is closed along with surrounding airspace, including over Iraq. This is affecting numerous Middle Eastern flights including Qatar Airways, Emirates, and flights to/from India. If you've purchased tickets from us and have an impacted flight, please forward your invoice or itinerary to [email protected] or send it via WhatsApp to +1 620-878-0110 and we will work to get you rebooked.

05/05/2023

Fodor's Travel asked us how to handle corrupt or bully cops when traveling overseas in an unfamiliar culture and unfamiliar legal system. We gave a few tips and stories of things we found helpful.

Fodor's provides expert travel content worth exploring so you can dream up your next trip. The world is a weird and wonderful place—we want to show you around.

04/27/2023

On the Golden Rule Travel emergency line, we help folks who are suffering from flight delays all the time. A Washington Post reader had a question about how late you have to be for the airline to be allowed to give your seat away to a standby passenger and we helped answer the question:

This week’s By The Way Concierge looks into a writer’s missed connection.

04/14/2023

Are you traveling internationally within the next year? Check your passport expiration date now. Don't procrastinate. If you did procrastinate or you're just interested in the topic, this is an excellent article by Christopher Elliott of Elliott Advocacy on the topic.

Did you know there's a black market for passport agency appointments? I didn't. Interesting stuff.

Thousands of Americans are scrambling to get passports during a time of record delays.

04/04/2023

Would you call a US government agency 150 times with no answer? If you’re desperate for a passport for travel the next day, you might have to, like one of our clients a few weeks ago. Below, I share their story, along with some powerful tips and education.

US Passport renewals are somewhere between slow and a nightmare right now, depending on your situation and scenario.

(GRT was featured providing some advice in this Vox article on the topic: https://www.vox.com/even-better/23664785/apply-renew-passport-travel )

Make sure you keep at least a year’s validity on your passport; many countries require 6+ months validity, so the true expiration date is sooner than you think! Renew anytime you are near that mark when you know you have a 2-4 month window with no international trips likely.

Normal passport renewal by mail takes about 4 months right now. Expedited passport renewal by mail is taking 1-2 months.

In-person, same-day passport renewal for travel within two weeks can theoretically be done in the big US cities at the US Passport Agency locations, but appointments can be very hard to come by due to the dysfunctional national call center taking appointments. One of our clients called 150 times and could never even get into a hold queue, much less reach a live person! 😩 The guard at the door helpfully told them that sometimes, especially on Mondays, they need to call 300 times to get through. 😤

If you are in a bind, here are a few powerful tips:

1. If you’ve mailed in your renewal, it’s taking longer than expected, and you have imminent travel, reach out to your US Senator or US Representative. They have dedicated staffers to help cut through bureaucracy, pluck your application from the queue, and light a fire under the bureaucrats.

2. If you need to call for an in-person appointment, avoid Mondays or convenient times of day to minimize your competition for the limited phone lines.

3. If need a passport in under two months and you don’t live near a big city with a passport agency, we highly recommend PassportVisasExpress who can use their back channels to get an in-person, same-day appointment and renew it within 24 hours on your behalf. Check them out here: https://goldenruletravel.com/passport

Let us know below how your passport renewals have gone.

Get your documents in order.

06/09/2022

Thanks, Caden, for your kind words!:

"In a day and age where booking airline tickets is partially managed by robots and computers, it is so nice to know there are still kind and caring people out there such as Golden Rule Travel to help you "in person" over the phone or at their office with any travel inquires you may have. Several months ago, I was in a predicament at Wichita Airport due to a cancelled flight with United Airlines. I needed to get to my destination that day yet, and United Airlines was booked full for the rest of the day - no open flights. As I was standing in line at the United Airlines ticket counter trying to decide what to do, I suddenly thought of Golden Rule Travel. I quickly called them while I was still in the airport, and Eldo Miller - bless his heart, was able to get me on a Delta Airlines flight that day yet, and I arrived at my destination safe and sound! This type of customer service, folks, is why I love and keeping coming back to Golden Rule Travel. They are always there when you need them most and will always be open to help you! A big thanks to Eldo Miller and the rest of you folks at Golden Rule Travel for helping me out with my travels several months back! Keep up the great work over there!"

04/19/2022

The federal mask mandate is no longer in effect in the United States. TSA and major US airlines (including American, Delta, United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Alaska) have said they will no longer require masks on flights and in the airport, effective immediately.

02/15/2022

Qatar Airways is now operating to Lusaka, Zambia! The new service will be operated with the airline's state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner and connects via Doha to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C. To book your flight today, visit:
https://goldenruletravel.com/qatar-airways/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=qatar_promo

I took my first international trip when I was a freshman high school. Since then, I’ve traveled to five continents and over fifteen countries, with plenty more still on my wish list. However, my favorite part of traveling is coming home again—there is something about experiencing other places, l...

08/03/2021

In today's travel environment, automation is not the answer. You need to book through a live person that cares about you and will respond quickly. Case in point: Just had a call on our 24 hour emergency line from clients whose flight from Miami to Santa Domingo had been cancelled. American's computers rebooked them for tomorrow morning. They were in a long line in Miami and calling AA promised a call back "between 1 hour 17 minutes and 1 hour 34 minutes from now". I quickly grabbed the last two seats on a flight leaving in two hours at 9:08 pm. Had they booked online, the AA system would only have given them the option of tomorrow morning. We have access to American's reservation system in real time and can take last minute inventory. Airlines have laid off massive amounts of staff due to the pandemic and are having major issues rehiring and training new staff.

06/30/2021

Why should you book your groups with us? Because we're here for you when your travel plans are interrupted.

Last night at midnight the owner of Golden Rule was wrapping up a 2 1/2 hour conference call with American Airlines and the group leader of 31 students and chaperones whose 6:35 am flight from NYC to Costa Rica was canceled 4 hours earlier due to weather. Instead of going 2 days later as auto rebooked by American, we arranged for the group from Lancaster, PA to split up and leave from Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Pittsburgh, all arriving in Costa Rica within several hours of each other on the same day as originally planned. American changed the return flights back to Philly at our request.

This is what we do when you call our 24-hour emergency number. Canceled flights and changing schedules can be frustrating, but we're here to help you when complications arise.

01/18/2021

Effective January 26, 2021, air passengers arriving to the US from a foreign country must be tested no more than 3 days before their flight departs and provide proof of the negative result before boarding the flight.

11/13/2020

A satisfied Golden Rule Travel customer 😊💻✈️:
"I spent around 9 hours stretched out over a week trying to purchase airline tickets with major online sites before contacting Golden Rule Travel. They gave me a quote the next day, and found me a price for $300 lower than any I could find elsewhere ( with their fee included). Ty from their customer service department was very professional and made things extremely simple compared to the four others I had been in conversation with from other companies. All together, my time with Golden Rule was only about 30 minutes! Thank you for offering an outstanding service!" - Ben Stoltzfus