Do You Need Travel Insurance?

Travel is never truly inexpensive, unless you camp or stay in hostels. Most of us are more interested in sleeping in hotels or going on cruises. Nobody likes to be screwed out of their hard-earned money by unforeseen circumstances beyond their control and travel insurance can prevent that from happening. 

Now, you may have been traveling for years without taking this precaution, or you may have been in a situation where you wished you had taken out insurance to protect you. Fortunately, travel insurance can be affordable and easy to add on to your trip, but when do you really need it?

Look into the right type of insurance

There are many different types of travel insurance, including illness, injury, lost luggage, theft and more. You can also get basic coverage that includes many of these things, but you will want to get the one that suits the trip you are going on. If you are going to hike Machu Picchu, you will need a different insurance than if you are going on a European cruise.

You bought a package deal

When you purchase a vacation package, it is all tracked under one company name. You can usually get internal travel insurance with them, or you can purchase you own, in case the company goes out of business or their insurance doesn’t cover last-minute tragedies like a death in the family.

The vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime trip 

Sometimes you go on trips that cost a lot more than you normally pay for a vacation. There is a big difference in price between going to Napa for the weekend and going on a week-long Kenyan safari. If you have to cancel or rebook your trip to Napa, it probably won’t break you in the long run, but if something unexpected happens and you can’t go on your safari – weather, natural disasters and health issues are almost never something you can predict – you will be very sorry to be out thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars that you can’t recoup without insurance.

Unexpected things happen

With countries opening up and then possibly shutting down, or a war moving into different countries (hopefully, this doesn't happen), everything is sort of in flux and anything could happen at any time. You might get Covid and can't go. The country you're traveling to may suddenly prohibit people from certain countries entry. Your country may not allow flights to certain countries. 

I've booked a flight to France for September, including a package to go to Disneyland Paris. Our credit card will take care of our flight, but I totally bought insurance for our portion going to Disney, because there are so many things that need to happen, including getting a Health Pass once we arrive in France, in order to do almost anything touristy. I'm still monitoring if my Covid booster from December 2021 will be acceptable at that time or if I'll need another one before I go. As of right now, it's too soon to tell.

You travel often

Travel insurance will generally cost 5-8% of your total trip, but if you do more than just take a yearly vacation, then you might benefit more from buying yearly travel insurance plans instead of paying for each trip separately.

When you do insure your trips, make sure you know exactly what each policy covers. When something happens and you have to make a claim, take notes on everything that happened and who you talked to. If a theft has occurred, report it immediately and make sure you are tenacious if the insurance company seems to drag their feet on paying out. Obviously, they make less money if they have to pay out on a claim, but if you know what your rights are, you shouldn’t have a problem getting what’s owed to you.

Remember, if you make any changes to your travel plans, alert your insurance company as soon as possible, so you can be sure you are still covered for everything you need.

Have you ever wished you had travel insurance on a trip?

Make The Most Of A Long Layover

Sometimes you just can't help ending up with a long layover. We've had ones from 4 hours to overnight and we've always viewed it as a challenge in fun. I am always disappointed when I only have an hour or so and can't explore a new airport, because so many are becoming cultural hubs.

How much time do you have? Here's how to fill it!

Under 3 hours

• Check out the airport's art collection. Lots of airports have art installations and some even have galleries. 
• Grab a bite to eat. Most airports have restaurants from the local area that also have locations in the airport. Even if you don't have time to check out the city, you can at least enjoy some local food.
• Take a nap. If the airport you're in has sleep pods, you can make the most of your layover and get some shut-eye. You can always camp out on a few chairs though. On our last trip, we witnessed a guy soundly sleeping in an out of the way section of floor.
• Get some exercise. Some airports have gyms and/or yoga rooms, so fill your time getting relaxed or burning calories before you have to sit back down again. If the airport you're at has neither of these, you can always just walk up and down the terminal. If you have kids, you might be lucky enough to be in an airport with a playground where they can burn off their excess energy.
• Hit up the spa. Pamper yourself with a pedicure, manicure, or massage. 

3-6 hours

• Take a city tour. I've been to airports, like Salt Lake City, that actually have free buses to/from the airport to the city center, where you can take a tour, check out some local landmarks and do a bit of shopping.
• Watch a movie. We've done this before. We brought some movies from home, camped out in a very quiet terminal, and then watched two movies on our laptop. Now, it's easier, because you can stream everything wherever you are. Of course, some airports even have theaters, including Portland International that runs an hour's worth of locally-made entertainment around the clock.
• Get a day pass to the airport lounge. Maybe you just want some quiet space and to get a little work done. If you feel like the cost of access is justified, most lounges have free snacks, drinks, nice bathrooms (some have showers) and desks with outlet. 

6+ hours

• Rent a car and get out and explore. We once had 8 hours to spare in Vancouver, BC, so we hopped in a rental car, went to one of the city's popular parks, got some walking in, visited the conservatory, had lunch, and then drove to the salt room nearby and got a bit of relaxation in.
• Meet a friend. On an 8-hour layover in San Francisco, a friend came to pick us up at the airport, and we did some city things, hand lunch and dinner, then she dropped us back at the airport and we continued on our trip. It was like two trips in one.
• Get a room. Once on a trip through DFW, we found a really great deal on an international flight to Ecuador, but we had a 14-hour layover. Even with a hotel room at the airport Marriott, it was a deal, so we checked in, hit the town, took in a movie, got a good night's sleep in a nice bed, grabbed a continental breakfast and got back to the airport and onto our main trip. It was fun.

Sometimes you just have to make the best of a bad situation if you didn't plan it or you're trying to save money. If you end up with a long layover due to the airline's fault, then make sure you get compensated.

• Download the GateGuru app before you leave home so you can find all the shops, restaurants and amenities near your gate and everywhere else in the airport. 
• Have some cash on-hand, just in case. you never know what might happen.
• If you aren't traveling with just a carry-on (and I highly recommend you do), make sure you have spare clothes, pajamas, and toiletries with you. I also suggest snacks, so you aren't paying the crazy mark-up at most airline shops.
• If your flight is delayed more than two hours (or you get bumped), you are owed compensation. Ask for cash, if possible. The airline regulations clearly state that compensation should be paid in cash, electronic transfer or checks, unless the passenger chooses to accept travel vouchers instead. If you choose travel vouchers, then you have rules you have to adhere to and can only use it on the airline you booked originally.
• You can also sometimes finagle airport vouchers for drinks and food.
• If the delay is responsible for an overnight stay, the airline owes you a voucher for a free hotel night. 
• Some tips for getting the most from your cancellation/delay: 
• Be nice. You need to keep your cool when talking to airline counter agents. They can't do everything, but if they can, they are way more inclined to do it if you're nice to them.
• Ask. It never hurts to ask. The worst that can happen is they'll say no, but hopefully give you something worth more than what they were going to give you.
• Know your rights. Make sure you know what you can ask for under which situation. Weather delays are not in the control of the airline, so in that case, keep the airline's 800-number on-hand to call and rebook. Usually they will waive fees for you. If all else fails, take to Twitter to contact the airline for help.

What's the coolest thing you've done on a layover?

Be A More Frequent Traveler

Every successful budget traveler knows the importance of frequent flyer miles. If you want to save money on your trips, then doing everything possible to get free plane tickets - or upgrades or even a partial ticket - is going to help you greatly when trying to spend less and still get to where you want to go. 

Traveling on a budget doesn't mean that you can't visit far off and exotic places. It just means you have to be more creative with your planning and spend a little more time searching for bargains on things you want to see and do. Not quite sure how they work or how you will ever fly enough to earn a reward seat? Then read on!

Sign up for your favorite airlines

You can't earn miles if you don't become a mileage member. You can sign up for as many or as few as you want. I suggest signing up for preferred one or two airlines and try to fly exclusively on those. It's free and easy. You just need to enter your member number when you book a ticket. Don't forget that you can earn miles between companies that are codeshare partners and book rewards seats as well.

 
Earn on the ground

It would be a long waiting game to a reward ticket if you could only accrue miles when you flew, unless you fly a lot for business and can use your personal mileage account for those flights. Luckily, you can earn frequent flyer miles for a ton of other things:

• Get a credit card that earns miles - Maybe your debit card already has this feature or it is available as an add-on through your bank. If not, there are a ton of other cards out there to choose from. You might as well earn bonus miles for things you will be buying anyway.
• Rent a car - You can rack up miles by driving! When you fill in your reservation info online, make sure to add your frequent flyer number before you finish booking.
• Stay in a hotel - Just like with a rental car, you can gain miles by sleeping in most chain accommodations.
• Buy stuff online - Buy items from travel merchants through your airline's retail site to maximize your points. You can also sign up for ThanksAgain.com to bulk up your mileage by eating, parking and shopping at the airport and other off-site merchants.
• Eat out - If you dine out regularly, check out your mileage dining program. Register your preferred credit cards and eat out as usual. You'll automatically earn points at participating restaurants when you use those cards.

So, as you can see, frequent flyer miles aren't as mysterious as they sound and they can be super easy to earn quickly if you take advantage of all the ways you can accrue them. Now you just need to pick a destination, pack your bags and start planning!