Offer Your Best Travel Tips in the Comments by 10am Eastern Saturday morning to Win.
Some of y’all will remember that I hosted an online forum about technology and travel that was sponsored by National Car Rental coinciding with the launch of their new mobile app.
I rent regularly from National and had been looking forward to the introduction of a mobile app (finally!) and the folks participating in the chat were friends and travel heroes.
I like the products I like, I share the reasons why here, and I don’t want there to be confusion over my motives — if I benefit personally from a referral link I always say so in the post, I frequently try to arrange to give any miles I may earn from referrals back to you in the form of bigger bonuses (some companies are receptive to this, others are not) and I prefer to do giveaways rather than take freebies myself.
There was modest compensation for participating in the National forum, and I already gave away half the amount here on the blog. I split it up into more than one giveaway largely because I didn’t want to have to do tax reporting!
I want your best travel tips in the comments.
- You may enter as many times as you like, but each entry should be a bona fide travel tip. I will compile the best tips in a subsequent post.
- I will select two winners, largely at random but to be eligible to win the entry must be (in my sole judgment) a genuine tip.
- Two prizes of (2) $100 Visa Gift cards each will be awarded.
You have a great chance of winning because internet traffic drops like a rock on Friday evenings, second slowest only behind Saturday evenings.
So.. what are your best travel tips? They can be anything from ways to improve the odds of getting an airline upgrade, a hotel suite upgrade, clearing airport security quickly, the best place to eat at a given airport, anything at all.
I love to learn from this community of readers, and love to be able to share your knowledge back with everyone else. I look forward to reading your submissions, and of course to selecting two winners!
- You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. Don’t miss out!
Have an itinerary before you go with expectations to ignore it and go where the vacation takes you!
Purchase lifemiles during their 100% bonus promos and then redeem for international business class at cost that is often the same or less than coach travel. Furthermore, despite popular belief, domestic connecting legs on United (not Usair) can be added to the itineary in First Class for the same price. For Example: I just redeemed: JFK-FRA-CDG on Singapore A380/Lufthansa in business class and returned NICE-FRA-ORD-MCI in Business class on Lufthansa (United First from ORD-MCI).
Buy everything you possibly can online via a mileage shopping portal. Check to see which portal gives the best mileage by checking evreward.com Religiously take screenshots of your purchase in the event the mileage shopping portal doesn’t offer credit.
Set up a separate email account to receive travel advisories do streamline your regular email account.
Make sure when using your Schwab bank ATM card that an actual ATM fee appears on the receipt, otherwise you will NOT get refunded.
When traveling overseas keep a photocopy of your passport in your wallet.
If flying southwest, keep checking back for lower fare and rebook online. It’s super easy and saved me 25000 points last night.
When traveling throughout the world, and the bathroom you’re using is filthly, but has toliet paper, put down the toliet paper on the toliet seat if there are no seatcovers.
With hotel reservations, always check multiple sites in case you qualify for a best rate guarantee.
Simple Tip: Get Global Entry!!!
I like taking grocery bags and using them for everything on my trips. Great for covering shoes in your luggage or just holding wet laundry after a swim!
I always travel with several credit cards to get the most of my points and miles. I photocopy the back sides showing number to call if lost/stolen and carry separately, just in case I don’t remember which cards I brought and had an emergency.
With airline award tickets, check the travel blogs for the latest rules to save on fees.
When you travel to expensive cities like NY, Paris or London, a 10 min subway trip may have a tremendous effect on your hotel price. For instance, if you stay in Queens, two subway stations from Manhattan, the hotel prices reduces by, at least, 100 USD/Night, for the same category. You can spend this money with other pleasures during your trip :).
With rental cars, always take before and after videos to protect yourself from unwarranted charges.
Learn to use the word please and thank you wherever you travel. A little courtesy goes a long ways…
Take public transportation like the locals!
When renting a condo or villa abroad, the owner or Management Company often requires a wire transfer as form of payment. Unfortunately, it is extremely hard to send a wire for the exact amount due because of fluctuations in exchange rates and multiple fees imposed by banks on the transaction. Large banks in the United States banks typically charge $30 to $50 for a foreign outgoing wire. This fee can quickly increase when you have to send additional wires to make up for funds not received by the recipient due to fluctuations in the exchange rate. Fortunately, there is a quick fix. Open a Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking Account. This account comes with a linked Schwab One brokerage account with no fees or minimums. Best of all you can specify the foreign currency amount to be sent to the recipient’s foreign financial institution. They will receive payment in their local currency – all for a small fee of $25 for the foreign outgoing wire. You will have peace of mind that the amount you sent should be the amount that is received by the recipient.
Always be aware of your surroundings, whether in a hotel lobby or streets of a new city.
The flexible with travel dates so you can score an upgrade!
If you know you’re going to need a taxi in the U.S. and are unsure that your cab, or the town you’re visiting doesn’t have cabs that accept credit cards, be sure to bring plenty of $5 bills and $1 bills. I found out the hard way on a $29 fare that the cab driver did not have any change for my 2 -$20 bills while riding in his cab.
A smile goes a long way when checking in to a hotel or airline.
Club Carlson hotel awards are the best for European hotels. Too bad these hotels are so small and usually can’t accommodate families. Their credit card allows one free night for every award booking. Essentially you book on award night and get one free. This is a terrific savings of $$$.
If you’re traveling to LAS from a hotel by yourself and are in a taxi queue and you see another person by themselves in a taxi queue, ask to see if they’re heading to the airport and are willing to share a cab. There are many single travelers flying out of LAS, and this can split your cab fare in half.
Avoid international ATM fees and foreign currency conversion fees by opening a no fee Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking Account. This account comes with a linked Schwab One brokerage account with no fees or minimums. Best of all you also receive unlimited fee rebates from any ATM worldwide. Also, it pays a small 0.10% APY variable interest rate on any balance
Always continue to monitor prices–especially with hotel stays. I have saved a lot of money by continuously checking/changing previously booked rates.
Always tell your credit card company of your travel plans, especially if you travel to a Scandic country.
Guys— adhere to proper urinal etiquette no matter where you are in the world. Makes for a less ackward world.
Research tipping protocols before you travel to a new destination.
If you’re flying business class or first class on American and have a napkin with a slot, use the button hole to your advantage to avoid spilling food or drink on yourself.
Rule #1: Plan ahead. You don’t want to be Paris and find out you waited until the last day to go the Louvre only to find out it is closed on Tuesdays. A little pre-planning goes a long way to making the most out of your time in a city. Try to group visits to the day attractions which are near each other.
Rule #2: Never check bags on the outbound flight as wasting time messing with delayed or lost bags is a drag while on vacation. But do stick a duffle or inexpensive bag in your carry-on for any items or gifts you by buy when out of the country.
Rule #3: Enjoy the vacation
Buy a Swiss Pass. No matter where you go in Switzerland, never wait in line at ticket counters or fumble for money when you have one pass that provides unlimited travel on the Swiss Travel System including trains, buses and boats. Use them all to journey between the Alps, St. Moritz, or any part of Switzerland without worrying about transfers, conversion rates, or practicality.
And all that stress-free travel provides the opportunity to take advantage of the more than 400 museums the Swiss Pass will get you into for free. There’s no smarter way to see more of Switzerland than with a Swiss Pass. It helps make every minute of your trip quality time.
Not all cabs will accept a credit card payment in Berlin, ask before you enter the taxi.
If it’s necessary to have access to email while traveling abroad, have 2 email addresses with 2 separate email providers. In some countries it’s easier to access certain email providers than others depending on your internet connection.
Rule of thumb when tipping in the UK – if you have to pick up your own drink, you don’t need to tip.
If someone delivers your drink, then do tip.
Bring some immodium AD capsules or Pepto Bismol whenever you travel, even to other “first world” countries. Just be sure if bringing Pepto Bismol it’s under 3oz if in carryon luggage.
Don’t pack more than you can carry by yourself (without any assistance up a set of steps).
If you’re a student or senior citizen and are traveling, always check to see if there’s discounts offered.
Always have an updated itinerary on hand. Make sure you include the store hours for places you want to visit, local weather information, directions, and other tidbits that may not seem obvious!
Enter Detroit airport through the beautiful Westin hotel to avoid long security lines. The Westin has it own security entrance into the airport.
By the way, I’ve also forgotten an umbrella on a trip. So please check weather information and plan accordingly. A tough pair of shoes wouldn’t hurt either.
We tend to spend more when traveling than at home. Plan your card spending ahead and take the right cards along. Nothing worse than missing point oops when you’re spending a lot.
If you need a white noise machine to sleep don’t bring it on a cruiseline. Despite it not being on a prohibited item, Carnival cruiseline in particular deems it a hairdrier and will confiscate it. This was very unpleasant, and an added 3-5lbs in my checked luggage that I could not use.
Always travel with a refillable water bottle to avoid ridiculous prices for water. After security you may refill it.
Get the FlightAware app. Their info on flight delays, gate changes, etc. is almost always more up to date than the airline’s app or the airport monitors. When everything goes sideways, you’ll get the updated info before everyone else and can get on the phone to find alternatives while they’re all sitting there in the dark :). Also, use the “Track Inbound Flights” function to predict delays before they happen.
If you’re a person that checks luggage, be sure to pack at least one pair of spare undergarments in your carryon bag. It’s unpleasant to have to wear non-clean undergarments if your bag gets delayed or lost.
Last tip: have your stuff ready when you go through airport security. Shoes off and Id out so you don’t hold up the line.
Always have a copy of your passport and cash in your luggage or bag when traveling abroad. If anything happens to your passport, at least you have a copy to legitimize your identity and makes it much easier for the US Embassy to provide you a new one so you can go home.
Take the time to see if the airport you’re at has a recycle bin besides a trash can. I’ve seen way too many soda and water bottles thrown out that could have been easily recycled at the airport.
Take advantage of the 24 hour ticket refund window to watch for better times, more time to consider trip plans, and to virtually extend the book-by dates on special fares