7 Pre-Travel Hacks to Make Your Next Trip Easier

Planning a vacation is allll fun and games until it comes time to fine-tune the trip details and pack. UGH. There's seriously few things I dread more when it comes to traveling because there's so many variables, things that could change and be out of your control - unpacking may be the only thing I dislike more. ;) Here's some of my favorite, most used pre-travel "hacks" that'll help make everything roll as smoothly as possible.

Print out all of your reservations and tickets and keep them handy
Before you leave, get yourself a travel wallet that keeps everything organized. TOTAL life saver in so many situations. Have all of your flight info, hotel and rental car reservations, excursion confirmations and anything else you may need handy. You never know if you'll need something printed, or if your hotel will have a printer (although most do, even abroad) and it'll give you some peace of mind knowing you have everything in your hands.

Sign up for TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry well before you leave
This Pre-Check program is amazing and worth signing up for! Once you fill the paperwork out you'll have to go for a fairly quick interview to assure that you qualify for Pre-Check (a clean record and being a U.S. citizen), and upon receiving the Pre-Check status getting through TSA will be a BREEZE. It's worth it!

Global Entry is similar to Pre-Check but is for when you travel abroad. If you're a frequent international traveler, this one is worth it - it'll grant you Global Entry AND TSA Pre-Check (but not vice-versa). This is similar, and will allow you be expedited in airports. This one requires a bit of a longer in-person interview but again, is worth it if you travel a lot and are eligible! (More info on TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry HERE)

Download all of the travel and airline apps to your phone BEFORE leaving
WiFi can be spotty in the airport and especially if you're going international - download every app you may need before leaving home so you don't 1. waste your battery trying to download outside and 2. have them ready to go and use whenever you'll need them.

HERE is a full list of travel apps you need to download and have for every trip!

^From the best translator app for international travel to keeping track of your travel budget, maps for international travel and more, those apps will have you covered! One that you *need* that isn't included there is your airline(s) apps. You can easily keep track of your flight and if there's any gate or time change you may need to know about on the fly. Again, having your flight app downloaded and your flight number(s) inputted before leaving will relieve a little stress once you're in the airport. There's really not much worse than being in a busy airport and feeling flustered - and oh do I know that feeling! ;)

Take a clear picture(s) of your luggage that you're going to check
As ridiculous (and awful) as it is, airports "misplace" luggage. A LOT. I feel like we hear about it more and more lately and it's the last thing you ever want to worry about. If it does happen, you'll have to file a claim with the airport and describe your luggage, what's in it, etc. If you have a picture of your luggage, this will make the paperwork - and hopefully finding your bags - a quicker process.

To try and do everything you can to make sure that it doesn't happen, the earlier you arrive and check in to the airport and to your gate the better; everything is less busy and hectic. Another incredible tool and way for you to have some peace of mind is to get the TILE Trackers. Insert one into your checked luggage, that way you always know where it is and if the airport does "misplace" it, YOU can be the one to say you know where it is. ;)

Get the Tile Trackers here - they're a life saver for multiple things but definitely one of my favorite travel tools.

Arrange airport transportation well ahead of time
Whether you'll take an Uber/cab or have someone drop you at the airport, have it planned out and know whose taking you and what time you'll be leaving at least 5 days before your trip. There's nothing more stressful than figuring out how you'll get there last minute!

Call your phone's service provider and tell them you'll be traveling
This is really only necessary if you'll be traveling internationally, but you can find out your service's data plans, any fees for calls/messages and what to know about your service when you're not on WiFi. Most providers these days have really simple, easy-to-use international plans with very few changes you have to make, but even then you should let them know to put it on your account that you'll be out of the country from X-date to Y-date.

Consider getting a travel insurance plan
While this is probably something you overlook often, it's a necessary cost ESPECIALLY if you're going somewhere far or on a long trip. Again, this applies more so to an international trip than domestic travel, and it can be hard to spend the money on a plan that you likely/might not even need or use, but it's so much better to have the policy in place and not need it, than need it and not have it.

It'll cover any God-forbid medical expenses, trip delays, missed flight connections, rental car trouble, lost luggage, etc. It can be pricey, but again is worth it for a long trip or if you'll be somewhere far away. The good news is, a lot of credit cards these days have travel insurance perks - I know that the Chase Sapphire cards have the best travel insurance perks, but a lot of other cards do as well so it's worth looking to see if any of your cards offer it, or if you can open an account with one that does.


At the end of the day, traveling is the very best thing you could ever do or spend money on - don't let any snags come your way and be as prepared as possible pre-vacay! ;) XOXO -A