For many people, travelling is an exercise in trying to save every penny. They use every tool and trick on the internet to save $20 here or there. I understand this for folks on a shoestring. In fact, one thing I have noticed in people such as myself who were raised in lower-middle class frugality, getting the best deal, even if it is just by a few pennies, is a reward in itself.
What's interesting to me is that once you have the means to loosen the purse strings a bit, there are many different ways you can use your newfound freedom. People often think that the way to spend extra travel money is on luxuries and extravagance. I disagree with that entirely. I believe the way to spend extra money is on convenience. And convenience in this case can often mean having travel friends.
My main travel friend is Delta Airlines. Delta is certainly the best domestic U.S. airline. That makes me lucky that the airport nearest me is a hub. It means I can fly direct to most places in the country. But that's not why I always fly Delta. Delta was formerly Northwest and when they were Northwest they were the rudest, most antagonistic organization in service industry in history. They outright hated their customers and were not shy about it. It got to the point where, despite living near a hub, I would fly two, sometimes three legs just to avoid flying Northwest. The turn around in corporate culture from Northwest to Delta has been astonishing. It's a story I hope someone tells it one day. I am not usually a corporate fanboy. I generally feel no loyalty to corporations or products because I know they mostly have none for me. But I do admire Delta and that keeps me from hitting Kayak.com or any other price comparison site when I need to book a flight. I feel confident Delta will take good care of me. This eases my mind of the possibility of having to go ten rounds with a gate agent over some idiotic snafu.
The other aspects of surrounding flying are also rife with opportunities to simplify your travels. Going through security, I am registered for TSA-Pre and signed up for Clear. With Clear I don't even have to show my ID. They scan my eyes to verify my identity, I flash my boarding pass on my phone, and I move on. The downside to Clear is that they are not in all airports yet and you can still get a random check, in which case I have to show my driver's license (how awful, eh?).
I have found no way of speeding through the actual screening, although I think TSA-pre helps some with that in that I don't have to take off my shoes. Still, and this is going to sound prissy, I have a certain pocket in my carry-on and I always take everything out of my pockets and my watch and glasses and so forth and put it there. That way, once I'm through, I can quickly reverse the process and I'm back to normal. Like I said, that's prissy, but it also stops me from forgetting anything which I have proven very, very capable of doing.
The last thing I do flight-wise is what I would consider my one true luxury splurge. I pay a healthy amount of money for a high-end American Express card that gets me access to the airline lounges. Again, this seems like a huge luxury, but really it's a convenience. There is nothing you can do in the lounge that you can't do in the terminal, it's just a little better and easier in the lounge. The wi-fi is a bit quicker. The food and drinks are better and included in the cost. The bathrooms are cleaner. The chairs are more comfortable. Recharge outlets are more available. If you have to work, there are desks. I have taken to stopping in before or after flights for a quick meal and refresh. And, believe me, if you have an extended weather or mechanical delay, it will feel like the best money you ever spent. I once spent nearly an eight hour weather delay in the lounge in Houston slowly sipping cocktails and working on my laptop in comfort as opposed to the madness in the terminal just outside.
So I guess I better list American Express as a Travel Friend.
Another key source of stress in travel is rental cars, and oh boy am I about to go on a rant. Car Rental agencies are awful. The best of them nickel and dime you. The worst of them outright scam you. The cheap ones are outright crooks. They play the games and make veiled threats to get you to buy insurance. They upsell you at a certain cost, hoping you don't realize that it's not one amount but per day. They hurry you on your way without noting any damage to the car then try to charge you for it upon return. Honestly, if there is one area of travel I would suggest you focus on to reduce stress it's car rental. Here's how I do it.
I belong to the National Car Rentals Emerald Club. It's free to join. When you sign up you give all the relevant information about yourself -- DL#, credit card, etc. -- which they keep on file. When you need to rent a car, you go to their site, sign in with your Emerald ID number, and make the reservation. Upon arrival, you don't have to wait in line for anything, you just go to the National lot and there will be a row or two of cars that are reserved for Emerald club members. You just pick the car you want, the keys will be in it. At the exit booth you show your ID, they look up your reservation, record that you picked up the car, and you're off. Trust me, once you get used to this process, if you have to go back to waiting in line to pick up keys at a rental desk, you will want to cry and curse the universe.
The second car rental luxury I treat myself to is prepaying for gas if I am unfamiliar with the area around the airport or fear I will be in a hurry. For those who don't realize, a rental car comes with a full tank of gas. You are expected to return it full. If you don't, they will charge you an exorbitant rate to fill it, like half again higher than the going rate. What that means is that you can find yourself scrambling to find a gas station in an unfamiliar locale when you are already in a mad rush to get to your plane. Rental companies let you out of this by effectively buying a full tank of gas at the time of rental, this time at a low market rate. If you do that you can bring the car back with any amount of gas, even empty. So it's a game. Any gas you return is effectively out of pocket cost to you. So, is the cost of whatever gas you return worth less to you than the hassle of finding a gas station at the last minute? If I know the area I'm flying into (most places in Florida, for example) I don't prepay and fill the tank before I return. If I am in an unfamiliar place and likely to have used the bulk of the gas in the tank, then I allow myself the luxury of pre-paying just to avoid the last minute refill hassle. IF I return with a quarter tank, I'm out a few dollars, but…oh well.
So those are my travel friends as of now. Delta, Amex, National. If I had a hotel friend it would be Hilton, but my experiences have been a bit spotty the last few times. And AirBnB has made inroads with me.
As I look back on this post, why on earth did I go through this exercise? I generally dwell on this topic when I am confronted with stories of travel hassles accepted in the interest of saving a few dollars. I genuinely understand that for people who are really on a shoestring budget and need to scrimp on travel expenses so they can, perhaps, spend more at the destination. But I also know others who put themselves through difficulties and hassles on principle as if saving $100 by putting up with a stressful or uncomfortable situation is some sort of moral victory. Not worth it. Not when you're on vacation.
As I read this, it makes it seem like I am some sort of snotty rich guy throwing money around. I'm not. I spent many years shoe-stringing travel where I could. I can't count the number of times I drove from Michigan to Florida in the summer heat (off season), in a car without a/c and only an AM/FM radio. So I get it. But why do that if you don't have to. A little bit of money can go a long way to making travel more convenient. NOw that I've stopped sweating every dollar, I have virtually no travel anxiety and it has improved my state of mind while venturing about tremendously.
