I’ve been traveling full-time since moving abroad in 2021. During that time, I’ve been on countless flights and have taken various travel excursions. From these experiences, I’ve learned a few things along the way. These are my top travel tips and hacks that you can use to ensure an easy and stress-free travel experience.
#1: Always Take a Picture of your Boarding Pass and Luggage Tag
After checking in for your flight and handing over your luggage to the airline, take a picture of your boarding pass and luggage tag receipt.
After a flight I took earlier this year, I grabbed my luggage from the baggage claim to find a giant crack down the middle of my suitcase. The airline had mishandled my luggage. In order to receive compensation, I needed to submit a claim through the airline’s website.
As part of the claims process, the airline required me to submit my original boarding pass and luggage tag receipt. Thankfully, I had taken a picture of both prior to my flight and could upload them to the claim. This experience was a good reminder to always take a picture of both the boarding pass and luggage tag. You never know when an airline might lose or mishandle your luggage!
#2: Switch your Phone’s Physical SIM Card to an Electronic SIM
Prior to moving abroad, I switched my cell phone’s physical SIM card to be an electronic, or e-SIM. I personally use T-Mobile back home in the US. This phone carrier provides customers with a physical SIM card to place into the slot on your cell phone.
I knew that, while traveling, I would want to purchase and use SIM cards in different countries. If you’ll be traveling somewhere for an extended period of time, it may be worth using a local SIM card. This helps to avoid international roaming fees from your phone carrier back home.
Switching my US-based phone line to an e-SIM freed up the physical SIM card slot. Now when I travel, I can purchase and use local SIM cards in various countries. This allows me to use multiple lines on the same cell phone – I can have multiple phone numbers and plans on one device. This eliminates the need to purchase another cell phone and prevents unnecessary roaming charges from my phone carrier back home while I’m traveling.
#3: Ensure you’re Covered with Travel Insurance
Accidents can happen anywhere, at anytime, and often when you’re least expecting it. You never know when you’ll need to access emergency services or healthcare while traveling. Many health insurance plans do not provide international coverage, so it’s important to make sure you have health care coverage while traveling.
Before moving abroad, I obtained global medical insurance through SafetyWing, which is a travel and medical incident insurance company.
I did a lot of research to determine what other expats and digital nomads used for global health insurance. I found that SafetyWing was the most popular option. It works well for both short travel trips and long-term travel excursions, as it can be cancelled anytime without penalty.
For around $40 USD a month, I have coverage through their global medical insurance policy. I haven’t needed to use it yet, but it’s nice to have the peace of mind and security that I have coverage and can access it if needed. It was very straightforward to sign up and receive coverage – and for that reason I would highly recommend it! You can learn more here.
#4: Get Priority Pass to Access Airport Lounges around the World
Getting Priority Pass was a game changer for me when it comes to travel. Priority Pass is a membership that allows you to access and use airport lounges around the world. As someone who’s always in airports, being able to access lounges makes the experience so much better.
Many airport lounges offer free food, drinks, sleeping pods, and even showers. Knowing I’ll be able to check out a new lounge makes the idea of traveling much more exciting, as I always want to find out what each new country’s airport lounges offer. If you try to access airport lounges without Priority Pass, you’ll pay a entrance fee which will vary depending on the lounge. Most fees are around $50-100 for daily use. If you travel more than a couple times a year, I highly recommend getting Priority Pass.
On it’s own, Priority Pass costs around $200-$400 for an annual membership – I think that’s a bit high. I get a free Priority Pass membership through one of my travel credit cards, which I think is the best way to do it. Many travel credit cards are starting to offer Priority Pass as a credit card perk, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (what I personally use), Capital One Venture X Rewards, or the American Express Platinum Card®.
This is one of my top travel hacks and I’m constantly recommending it to my friends and family!
#5: Apply for a Travel Rewards Credit Card
Speaking of credit cards, you should definitely consider applying for a travel rewards credit card. If you travel frequently, using a travel credit card can offset your travel expenses. While it’s important to limit debt, credit cards can be a game changer for travel if you know how to use them!
I started using a travel rewards credit card a few years back. Since then, I’ve been able to accumulate thousands of rewards points just through my day-to-day spending. These points can be redeemed as money towards travel such as hotels, flights, and more.
My favorite travel rewards credit card is the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card. They offer a $300 annual travel credit, and you earn 3x the rewards points when you use the card on travel and dining purchases. I use the card for my day-to-day transactions then pay off my bill in full every month to limit debt. This allows me to earn rewards points on things I purchase anyways, which can then be redeemed when booking flights or hotels.
If you’re interested, you can learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card here.
#6: Download Google Maps Prior to your Trip
From taking pictures and videos to using online maps to figure out where you’re going, you’ll use your cell phone more than you realize when traveling.
The Google Maps app has a great feature that allows you to download the map for a particular country or city prior to your trip. This gives you access to those maps while traveling through that place – even in the event that you don’t have phone signal or wifi. There have been too many instances in which I desperately needed Google Maps to figure out where I needed to go, just to find out that I had no phone signal and could not load the map.
To avoid this, I began downloading the maps when on wifi prior to a trip. Keep in mind that it will take up some space on your phone, but you can always offload the maps after your trip. This is a great travel hack to keep you safe and in the know while on your trip!
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