Tag: travel

(This is the continuation of Travel Tips – Part 1)

Rental Cars/Ground Transportation

• I don’t rent any more unless I take my family to Hawaii for a leisure trip. Use Uber (or Lyft). You won’t waste time picking up and dropping off the car, finding a gas station close to the airport, and you won’t have to navigate in areas you’re not familiar with.
• I use taxies only when waiting for an Uber takes too long, e.g. when arriving at my destination and the wait time exceeds 10 mins.
• If you do use a cab, insist on paying with a credit card. Buckle up, cabs and cab drivers are scary!
• If you absolutely need a rental car, sign up for their frequency program as well. I found that Hertz Gold was useful because it allows you to pick your car up more quickly and skip the counter.
• Instead of points for the rental car program, you might want to choose the option to get airline miles instead. They’re more useful.
• If you need to drive yourself, think about bringing a good, old-fashioned Garmin GPS since it allows you to be independent of your phone battery and data coverage and you can also navigate and talk at the same time.
• Especially on early rides to the airport, look at Uber as soon as you get up to make sure you know what the wait times are and keep an eye on those while you get ready.
• If you have trouble with your Uber, e.g. the car is in poor condition, tell Uber and rate the driver accordingly. Their customer support is very helpful, fast and you’re doing other riders a favor.

Hotels

• Less important than with airlines, but if you have specific chains you frequent more than others, joining the frequent guest program makes sense.
• When booking, be sure to use corporate or AAA rates.
• If you need flexibility and may have to cancel or modify your reservation, book direct vs. through 3rd parties like Expedia or even PriceLine. Don’t prepay in those cases.
• Get a room further from the elevator.
• Some hotel chains, e.g. Hilton, now allow you to pick an actual room when “checking in”. Hilton also started offering electronic room keys via one’s smart phone.
• Pack shirts and pants that don’t wrinkle.
• If you do have to use the hotel iron, test it first on a towel to make sure it’s not going to wreak havoc on your clothes.
• Get a paper copy of your final invoice. Somehow emailed invoices from hotels come in late or not at all for some reason.

Packing

• Don’t wait till last minute with packing.
• Stay organized (see my app Travel PackList) and account not only for things you need to pack, but also things you need to “do” before you leave such as notifying your bank and credit card companies if you travel internationally or turning off your water to avoid your housing from getting flooded if a waterline leaks.
• Pack extra clothes in case your get stuck and need to extend your trip or you spill coffee on yourself.
• Get decent luggage, but don’t overspend. Practical beats overly fancy or fashionably. These things will get dinged up.
• Mark your suitcases and roll-aboards. I once barely caught a guy who was about to walk away with my luggage because his looked identical.
• Don’t forget a jacket and/or umbrella.
• Pack work-out clothes.
• Bring a stuff sack for used and dirty clothes, so you won’t have to mix them with the clean stuff in your suitcase.
• If you have liquids like mouth wash etc., wrap the bottles in a Zip-Lock bag, in case they spill.
• Pack shoes in plastic or draw-string bags.
• If you want to sleep on the plane, bring a neck pillow. Memory foam pillows are nice, but they are bulky to store, so I prefer inflatable ones.
• Bring a light jacket or hoodie in your carry-on luggage in case it gets chilly.

Miscellaneous

• Get the Mobile Pass app for international travel, which makes entering the country easier and faster.
• Only drive in foreign countries if you’re pretty comfortable doing it.
• Avoid getting behind the wheel of a car after an overnight flight especially if you’re not familiar with the area or even the country.
• Get the TripIt app to keep all your trip info organized and handy. Consider TripIt Pro. The Seat Tracker and other features could be helpful, but note that Seat Tracker doesn’t always work reliably.
• If something really goes sideways, complaining through the company’s web site is a good start, but also don’t forget about social media channels e.g. Twitter. Companies are motivated to respond quickly to public complaints to maintain a good image.
• Register with travel.state.gov when you go abroad, just in case. Hold your mail when you’re gone.
• If you’re gone a lot, a remote-enabled door bell like Ring can come in handy. I also like Canary for monitoring the house when I’m gone (it sends notifications when activity is detected).
• Invest in a good pair of noise reduction headsets if you tend to take long flights (I use Bose Quiet Comfort). They’re not cheap but make all the difference. I also like Apple’s EarPods for when I’m in the airport.
• I like to dress in layers and tend to wear moisture wicking clothes that are light and don’t wrinkle since I’m more likely to get hot than cold. With layers you can add or shed to be comfortable. Those clothes often also use materials that prevent odors, which is helpful on long trips.
• TripAdvisor and Yelp! are your friends when trying to find restaurants etc. Pay it back and post reviews yourself.

I hope you picked up a few things that will make your next trip easier! Do you have any travel advice to share? Please post a comment.

As a frequent traveler, who travels mostly for work at least once or twice a month, I have over time assembled quite a list of little tricks and “best practices” to make life on the road easier and more bearable. Hopefully you’ll find some of these useful for your own travels:

Air Travel

• Whatever airline you fly, either join their frequent flyer program or use one of your existing memberships (most airlines have several partner airlines). Miles can only help and rumor has it that people who are members of a frequent flyer program are less likely to get “bumped”.
• Try to stick to one (or two) airlines and their partners, so you don’t spread your miles around too much. (If your miles are in a lot of different programs, check out points.com).
• Keep an eye on expiring miles. If you approach expiration, use “dine for miles” or magazine subscriptions in exchange for miles to generate activity on your account to keep it active.
• Whatever your primary airline is, seriously consider getting their rewards credit card. Usually signing up is rewarded by a healthy chunk of extra miles, early boarding privileges, free checked luggage, etc.
• Once you’ve reached a higher level/status in your main frequent flyer program, take a look at the platinum level of whatever their program’s credit card is. That way you may get free companion tickets, (discounted) lounge access and qualifying miles which will make it easier to maintain your status.
• That said, lounges sound exciting, but unless you have very long layovers, they’re often not practical because you won’t have time to use them in between flights. If you travel internationally a lot, they are more useful. LoungeBuddy is a useful app if you frequently use lounges.
• Even if you reach higher status levels, don’t bet on getting upgraded. I found that despite high status I often ended up being #16 of 35 people fighting for 2 empty business class seats.
• Nonetheless, check in as early as you can, in most cases 24 hrs before departure.
• Always board early if you can, especially if you bring a roll-aboard. A higher level of status and/or the airline’s rewards credit card will help get priority boarding.
• Install the airline’s iOS or Android mobile app. Easy online check in, notifications, gate info, and electronic boarding passes make life quite a bit easier.
• Avoid connections. If you can’t help it, avoid connections with less than an hour in between. Any slight delay would leave you having to rebook because you’ll likely miss your next flight. Avoid itineraries with multiple connections. Try to stick to a single airline and its partners (each way), so you are less likely to miss connections or have to change terminals for connecting flights.
• If you have connecting flight, get a seat in the first third of the aircraft to save time getting off the plane and to your next gate. Some apps even include airport maps or walking directions. Know your next gate and where you arrive before you step off the plane.
• The later in the day your flight, the higher the chance it will be delayed.
• Know when your departure airport will be busy (e.g. 6-8 AM in most cases) and plan extra time for security. I always try to be at least 1:15 hrs early for my flight (for domestic flights).
• Sign up for TSA Pre – it’s worth it! Global Entry is a good idea of you fly a lot internationally. CLEAR is a nice idea, but a lot of airports don’t support it yet and if you have TSA Pre or Global Entry, it doesn’t save much time.
• Go for aisle seats – the ability to get up and stretch or use the bathroom without asking your neighbor to get up is worth it. If you can’t get an aisle seat, go for middle. I found that while windows are nice, asking two people to get up when I needed to use the bathroom was not fun. More often than not, there’s not that much to see anyway.
• Reserve seats as soon as you buy your ticket. Watch out for seats with limited recline. Check out the app SeatGuru.
• If you get stranded or otherwise impacted by a significant delay, start with your airline’s mobile app to rebook yourself, which works surprisingly well and doesn’t require being on hold with the airline. If that doesn’t work, call the the airline immediately. It’s fine to let them know that you are significantly inconvenienced by the delay (e.g. missed meetings etc.). They may at least offer you extra miles, upgrades or a travel voucher. If they don’t offer, ask. The higher your status, the better they’ll treat you and you may have priority waitlist status etc.
• Register your phone numbers with the airline’s frequent flyer program. When you have to call them, they may match your phone number with you automatically which expedites the process. If you have higher status, you will have special numbers to call with shorter wait times.
• Get a nice backpack (not too large). Being able to carry things on your back may not always look fashionable, but it’s much easier, you’ll have both hands free and if needed, it’s possible to sprint through the terminal to catch your next flight. Some backpacks look sleek without outer pockets, but I’d argue they’re not very practical if you just want to reach in and find a charging cable. Outer pockets with separate zippers help.
• Always pack your phone’s charging cable and charger in your carry-on luggage. I’d also recommend having a charged battery pack ready at all times. Don’t rely on chargers in the plane. Plus you’ll be able to charge your phone in your backpack while walking off the plane and through the airport if needed.

I hope you enjoyed this information. Check out Part 2 for rental cars/ground transportation, hotels and more!