We've all been there, the excitement of the destination sets us on fire! We burn so bright that we are truly blinded by what could potentially save us money, enhance our travel and create lifetime memories.
Today that is all about to change. I'm sharing with you 3 things to add to your checklist when booking your next adventure--wherever it may be. Hang on as we explore what you've been missing.
Has anyone ever explained to you the promise of points? What about the benefits your credit card offers? Do you even own a credit card?
Some of these things will start to make your mind scroll into never-neverland and of course having a credit card can be scary but it doesn't have to be.
Credit cards are fairly simple: buy on plastic, pay later.
Most people tend to shy away from this kind of transaction because they don't trust themselves to pay later or gives them a false sense of spending above their means. We are all guilty of spending too much and if having a credit card sends you into a spiral and wanting to crawl into fetal position you can hop to the next section. For those of you who are still with me, let me remind you that each card is vastly different and offer a variety of payment options etc.
TRAVEL CARDS
Ah yes, the travel credit card offering you a singular option for "X" airline or "X" hotel right? Wrong! Travel credit cards come in many flavors and look like regular cards such as American Express, Chase, Bank of America or even Capital One. Maybe you've seen a few celebrities such as Jennifer Garner endorsing such cards on TV...
These banks are offering more than credits to an airline or hotel chain, they offer peace of mind and bundles of travel savings. For Example, American Express Platinum card offers savings on flights and hotels though their website and 5X rewards when you use the card either on their website or select airline or hotel websites directly. Maybe you've been using things like Expedia or Travelocity to save?
Things are changing and you're also putting yourself in a bind when you book via 3rd party. Why?
Your Travel card (see above listed) not only has their own portal to saving you a few bucks, it's also insurance. Your read that correctly. Did you know your Credit Card also serves as travel insurance? If you've not read through your entire pamphlet when you receive your new card, you may want to find the find print ASAP! Most credit cards offer some kind of insurance or coverage for certain things. Let's say you book a flight with your Capital One travel card, your flight is covered by insurance by Capital One for specific situations but mostly covers you in the long scheme of things especially if your into any issues.
Need more reasons to change your mind on one of these amazing cards?
Points, perks and anniversary gifts! You're likely to receive a sign up bonus when applying for one of these amazing cards. Some even off 70,000 points which if you aren't into the points game yet, this could get you 2-3 tickets to fly from the US to Europe and other delightful destinations. Additionally, you earn points based on where you spend them. Each card varies, if travel is most important to you then look for one that rewards you the most for travel booking such as flights or hotels.
Now that you know the gist of it and before you start applying to them all you must know that many of these cards do cost and annual fee; some more than others so be intentional when you apply and read the fine print!
Wait, what? An annual fee? Yes, this can be cumbersome but looking into what else you get for it totally pays off such as a $200+ Credit towards Global Entry which also gets your TSA Pre-Check, $200+ towards airline credits (baggage fees, beverages and snacks) on your pre-selected airline and gets you access to many airport lounges across the nation and globally. Your annual fee just paid for itself!
EXCURSIONS
Maybe you've already planned to go sightseeing while in Egypt? This is great and I encourage getting out amongst the people, but now you have choices when it comes to seeing sights. Many websites and blogs offer suggestions of what to see and where to go, but you could also do this with a local guide!
This may seem a bit of hassle and maybe you are on a budget but you may want to reconsider and take a look at Viator. This is an amazing website is connected with Trip Advisor who is an extremely trusted and well respected travel sight across the globe.
Viator is a handy place to look over many excursions anywhere in the world and each has a local guide to get you where you want to go. They even have a flexible option of Book now-Pay Later, which is wildly helpful if you change your mind 24 hours before your scheduled day. You'll find each option has a description, and reviews along with photos from both customers and the host.
Having a local guide is powerful in many ways, very specifically if you do not speak the native language. A guide will be there along the way to help navigate the communication and provide added insight such as history to the area or maybe you might be looking for a delicious pastry. Your local guides will likely have a few friends that can lead you into great experiences that you may not find without them.
We recently had such the experience on our trip Egypt, finding an amazing spice shop not far from our hotel. Would we have found it without our guide, probably not as it was tucked along a side street off the main road. Relish in these small tidbits when you can!
Now lets move to the last and final thing you shouldn't miss out on when planning travel...
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MEMORY MAKING
Surely you aren't thinking about who is taking pictures of you and your family on your next getaway but why not?
We're all super guilty of taking the vacation selfie and opting to leave ourselves out of the family photo just to have that lasting memory that we made it to "X" destination. Look, if I'm going to Machu Picchu I am certainly not going to miss the opportunity for someone else to get a photo of me there!
Sure, we can hand out cameras (or phones) to strangers in hopes they'll take the photo in a way that make us feel good about ourselves or even with our eyes open and smiling... but why take the risk of a stranger when you could lock in a professional?
Whoa! A professional? You just said budget earlier, what gives? Ok, let's talk about Flytographer. This is a company who has local professional photographers at your finger tips, they're available in over 350 countries. At first this seems like a crazy idea and also how wonderful that you don't have to be the missing family member from the family vacation.
In order to ensure this is a great idea, we took it upon ourselves to test drive a Flytographer on our last trip just for you. Gihad was extremely kind and easy to work with, upon booking you'll be asked about what you expect or anything you'd like to do specifically--engagement/proposal, family trip, etc. Each photographer will cater to you and even make suggestions of places around the destination you're in.
For us, we chose the El Khan-Kalili Bizarre in Cairo. Gihad had suggestions of timing early in the morning which turned out perfect. We got shots we wanted and they weren't overly composed as we wanted them to be pretty natural in this environment.
If you're looking for any kind of photos be romantic or family friendly shoot, flytographer is the place. I love them so much that we got you a $25 savings on your booking. Just click here to book or use code: BEANS at check out. They also offer headshots for you professionals out there.
We hope some of these tips were helpful for planning your next trip!
Did you learn something new from this post? Maybe a new found a love of points or scheduling someone to take those IG worthy photos of you somewhere? Share this with a friend or send it as a pin on your Pinterest!