Mr. Gingrich, for example, often flew on private planes, while Mr. Pawlenty took commercial flights, without loyalty to a specific airline.
If you really want to get in on the mileage game, I recommend getting a general rewards card and one that's branded to a specific airline or hotel to use at home.
Both apps can alert you to any change in your flight plan, but FlightPlus's app also can show you a specific airline's route maps, as well as all the flights going in and out of a particular airport.
To help you decide what to put in your wallet, here's a list of some of the best cards for travelers, none of which are linked to a specific airline.
-- Brian Lewis, Stallikon, Switzerland While there is no formal recommendation by the International Air Transport Association against consuming your own alcoholic beverages on an aircraft, you may fall foul of national legislation and specific airline rules, according to William Gaillard, chief spokesman for the association in Geneva.
That solution contrasts with today's situation, where travellers needing help must hunt down the lost-luggage desk that's staffed by the employees of a specific airline.
Searches on rome2rio like that from Budapest, Hungary to Antwerp, Belgium provide you with a massive graph of all the different routes, and you can hover your mouse over the options and see specific airline flights before you even enter a date.
Of course, through a corporate travel plan or an awards program, you're often locked into a specific airline so you can't choose your own first-class service.
Always check a range of dates when booking flights and lodging, and don't restrict yourself to a specific airline or hotel if you want to get the best price.
Travel cards that are not affiliated with a specific airline (the American Express Gold Card, for example) allow you to redeem your points between multiple airlines by transferring them in 10,000 point increments, and many airlines have partnerships outside of credit cards that help you accrue points.
"According to the FDA a breast pump is a medical device, but because airlines still vary on whether or not they'll count your pump bag as a carry-on, it's best to check with your specific airline," she added.
