Just like every skill you’ve learned, it takes practice to do it well. Hard work, lessons painfully learned, and watching experts so you can learn from their mistakes.
So it goes with business travel. When you first start out traveling, you learn where your most comfortable seat is (hint: it’s not the middle one). You learn how long it takes to get to the airport. And which hotels offer the best beds.
U.S. News & World Report‘s recent article on frequent flyer secrets helped take some of the stress out of travel planning and booking. Here are a few of our favorites.
Use flight price predicting apps to determine the best time to buy your ticket. Sites such as Hopper, Google Flights, Kayak, and Flyr will provide you with very reliable information so that you don’t pay more than you need to to get where you want to go.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could know the regular prices for items, so you can easily tell if something advertised as “on sale” really is a good deal? While we may not have that for grocery stores yet, that service is available for air travel. If price is your biggest travel determiner, you can subscribe to sites like Million Mile Secrets and Skiplagged to know the regular prices of certain tickets, so you know when a better deal actually is a better deal.
Avoid the peak travel times of Monday morning and Thursday afternoon for a smoother travel experience. Flying on Saturday night can also help you avoid crowds and higher ticket prices.
Do your research when using points to purchase award seating. You may be able to redeem your frequent flyer points at an alliance airline, but in order to do that you’ll have to book through the partner’s reservation system. If you don’t want to go to the hassle of sorting it out yourself, there are fee-based companies, such as Points Pros and Upgrd that take the guesswork out of the process.
Be strategic in your seat choice. You don’t have to let the airline choose your seat for you. By utilizing the information found at SeatGuru or Routehappy, you can choose wisely based on your desired legroom, seat pitch, and entertainment and wifi options available. (And if you’re riding in coach, don’t be afraid to spring for an upgrade to Economy Plus. If you’re 5’9″ or taller, you’ll appreciate the extra legroom. It’s worth the money to not have a seat back jammed into your knees for hours.
Get reliable luggage. We couldn’t leave this one out! This business essential has the potential to impact your entire trip, if not your entire business travel career. Our new Crew™ 11 Collection has been tested by career travel professionals — flight attendants and pilots — and road warriors the world over. The 21″ Expandable Spinner is a travel professional favorite, because it’s light, but still holds enough for a weeklong business trip. The bags are durable and, as we like to say, “travel tested tough.”
Road warriors, what are some of your frequent flyer secrets? Or if you’re new to business travel, what are some of your questions? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or in our Twitter stream.
Photo credit: Bambs900 (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons 4.0)