How American homeowners can avoid a looming 'payment shock'

Here are this week's top pieces of financial news and advice:

Airlines ground bargain hunters

Airlines keep finding new ways to slow down customers hunting for cheaper fares, said Drew Harwell at The Washington Post. Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline, recently announced it's adding a 16-euro fee (about $18) to tickets booked through third-party travel sites like Expedia and Kayak. "America's biggest airlines haven't gone that far," but they have their own ways of discouraging discount seekers. Delta has pulled its fares from Trip​Advisor and dozens of other smaller sites; American briefly removed fares from Orbitz last year. Airlines remain determined to drive ticket buyers to their own sites, where consumers don't have the option of side-by-side fare comparisons. A recent study found that restrictions on the data shared with third-party sites could cost passengers $6 billion a year.

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Advice for expat retirees

Retiring abroad? "It's essential to prepare for financial challenges before you step off American soil," said Rachel L. Sheedy at Kiplinger​. Establish online access to your investments, bank accounts, and other financial resources before the move. No matter where you relocate, "Uncle Sam will be your traveling companion." You still have to file a U.S. tax return, and in some cases you may be subject to double taxation. But U.S. tax breaks like the foreign earned income exclusion and the foreign tax credit can help reduce your bill. Get in touch with fellow expats in your destination country through message boards and Facebook pages. They can help you navigate the financial landscape of your new home, including where to find a tax preparer.

Echoes of the housing bubble

"A big payment shock" is on the way for homeowners who borrowed against their property during the height of the housing boom, said AnnaMaria Andriotis at The Wall Street Journal. Millions of borrowers took out home-equity lines of credit, known as Helocs. Many now face the end of a 10-year period of interest-only payments. Borrowers who took out a Heloc in 2004 are already behind on some $1.8 billion worth of outstanding balances. "The good news" is that borrowers near the end of their interest-only period have several options to change their payments before principal payments kick in, including refinancing. Some banks will also rework the terms of the Heloc to extend the repayment period or lower the monthly payments to make them more manageable.