Travel & Leisure
Ratings & Advice
The latest ratings and advice for Chicago area travel & leisure.
Advice
- 30 Tricks Sellers Use to Manipulate You
- 60 Travel Booking Tips
- 65 Things You (Probably) Shouldn't Pay For
- About Checkbook: Why We're Unique
- Airlines that Allow Free Stopovers Let You Design a Vacation with Variety
- Airport Parking Hack
- Buy Now, Pay Later Often a Debt Trap
- Cell Phone Services
- Checkbook’s Top Shopping Tips
- Complaining: How to Get Results
- Credit Cards Provide Strong Protections for Consumers
- Cruises: How to Get the Best Deal
- DNA Ancestry Services
- eRead for Free
- Facebook Privacy Settings Checkup
- Fitness Industry Changed by COVID
- Free Perks You Didn't Know You Have
- Hotel Intel: How to Find the Best Rates for Rooms
- Hotels Gouge Guests With Absurd Resort Fees
- Hotels’ ‘Refundable’ and ‘Flexible’ Rates Often Not What They Seem
- How to Make a New Fitness Plan
- Kids' Activity-Kit Services
- Parking: Finding the Best Rates
- Rental Car Insurance: Should You Buy It?
- Restaurants Pay Steep Commissions and Fees to Order-and-Delivery Services
- Smartphone Photos Apps and Tools
- Social Media Headshots: Do's and Don'ts
- Tickets: Saving on Seats for Shows and Sports
- Timeshare Exit Companies Deserve a Time Out
- Tipping Tips
- Travel Insurance
- Travel Websites Mislead by Falsely Declaring Few Hotel Rooms Remain
- Travel: Health and Safety Info for International Trips
- Travel: Help Finding Cheap Flights
- Vacation Home Rentals
Current Issue
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Crash Course on Auto Insurance
Most drivers will save $500 to $1,500 per year by switching companies
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New Shingles, No Shakedown
Our ratings tell you which roofing contractors have you covered
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Manipulative Marketing Is Now the Norm
30 tricks sellers use to make you pay up and pay too much
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Shop Like a Pro
Our top tops for scoring the best prices and avoiding common problems
- Top Dental Specialists
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Home Maintenance Checklist
Our guide for what to do and when to do it
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Laundry List
Ratings of area drycleaners
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Floor Shows
How to get on great footing at a fair price
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Carpet Stores and Installers
Rolling out our ratings
- Buying Area Rugs
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DO Fence Me In
Best barrier builders
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Tailors and Sewing Pros
Who makes the cut?
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How to Buy a New Car
Strategies to get the best price and avoid dealers’ traps
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