In Brief

STAYING POWER The grass is always greener in the other mutual fund, and investors are jumping funds 47% faster than they did four years ago. The average holding period is down from 5.5 years to 2.9. In the '90s, performance chasers poured $91 billion into funds after they peaked. Result: bad. Leapfroggers paid a 20% penalty in performance, says a recent study.

ARRIVAL TIME IS MONEY Amid last year's record flight delays, biztravel.com began compensating customers for jet lag on six airlines. The payout policy--$100 for 30-min. delays, $200 for an hour and a full refund after two--boosted sales 50%. But playing airline roulette has cost the site $1.7 million since May, so Biztravel recently shrank tardiness refunds 75%. (A $100 max is better than nothing.) Another plus? Automatic rebooking on cheaper flights so you can pocket the difference.

CATCH-22 New state-run college savings plans can hurt those who qualify for financial aid, says collegemoney.com . These 529 plans treat withdrawals as student income, so gains are taxed at the child's low rate. But this jacks up the amount of money a family is required to pay for tuition, because a child's income is weighted more heavily than a parent's assets. Families in lower tax brackets might be better off with ordinary mutual funds.