Did you know that United Airlines has a “flat tire rule” that says if you miss your flight (within 4 hours) they will rebook you on the next available flight?

Or that there was a double elite qualifying miles promotion from April through June?

One of the powers of Web 2.0 communities is the shared knowledge you can get.

If you fly more than once or twice a year on the same airline, head over toFlyerTalk(http://www.flyertalk.com).

I thought I knew a lot about flying on United, my main airline (5-10 years ago 84% of all flights out of Denver were United). But after reading FlyerTalk for a few months, I found there’s a lot more to know.

Not all the discussion is positive, in fact a lot is just grumbling or rumor chasing. 

But if you are having a problem, or need some esoteric question answered (i.e.,If I book an award ticket in economy and waitlist for an award in business, if it clears less than 21 days before the flight will I have to pay the short notice ticketing fees?), there are people who can help (or will try to help).

There are forums for virtually every airline, many hotel chains, and a lot of general travel forums.

Knowledge is power, and when flying it may be the difference between getting stuck somewhere and knowing the best way to deal with a flight cancellation.