Traveling is a majestic experience.
You get to venture off into the unknown, sample delicious cuisine and experience the culture of another city or country. However, travel prep can be a nightmare, especially when it comes to planning the accommodations, determining budgets, and packing.
This guide aims to make your travels more enjoyable by giving you hacks you may not have considered.
1. Strategically Pack Your Belongings
Once you’ve planned your trip, there’s only one thing between you and your trip: packing. Many people find packing to be highly stressful. For clothing, we recommend rolling each garment into a small tube, giving you extra space while preventing ugly creases and wrinkles.
If you’re packing large items like a bike, look to disassemble the item if possible. If you’re flying with golf clubs, it’s best to use a hardshell travel case for protection and check with your designated airline about baggage policies.
Bringing golf clubs will save you money on rentals and allow you to explore new courses with unique conditions and terrain. Remember to pack smart by preparing a checklist in advance so you don’t forget important items.
2. Optimize Frequent Flyer Miles
The most common travel points strategy leverages different credit card welcome bonuses to receive premium cabin flights and generous routing rules. Another way to accumulate frequent flyer miles is to only travel with a specific airline on all your trips.
You’ll need to sign up for a Frequent Flyers Club for a specific airline, then only stick to using their airline.
Most airlines will provide you with points merely for joining.
3. Be Flexible
Everyone is looking to find outrageously cheap tickets. Understanding a few hacks can help you get tickets far below what they usually go for.
Flexibility is important when it comes to finding deals; you’ll have to be flexible with flight days, times, and layovers. Most flight websites let you search everywhere and filter by the cheapest options.
This valuable filter approximates the cheapest times and locations based on your departing location.
And while it may seem like a hassle, the price differences are totally worth it!
4. Look for Club Lounge Access
Getting hotel club lounge access is an excellent way to save money on food and beverages. While hotel club lounges vary in quality and size, they typically offer free non-alcoholic drinks, snacks, and complimentary breakfast.
Premium club lounges provide enough food for full meals. Some ideas below:
- Book a room that provides lounge access. While these room packages are more expensive, they come with great benefits.
- Join a hotel loyalty program: Customers who reach a certain status level can earn lounge access.
- Earn milestone rewards. You’ll get a club lounge access certificate when you earn enough points, which can be redeemed for a set period.
Wrapping It Up
Travel is meant to reduce stress and improve our well-being, not add to it!
Whether it’s budgeting, packing, or navigating unexpected events, travel preparations can cause anxiety. Fortunately, understanding these secret hacks can help you enjoy the extra perks like cheaper accommodations, flights, and the ability to pack your favorite belongings.