Points To Go!

My Picks

I frequently get asked for my recommendations in the travel and technology spaces. So, I decided to start keeping a running list of my picks in these areas!

Communicating While Traveling

  • Best Travel Cellular Service – Airalo – Simple worldwide eSims at affordable prices.
  • Best Messaging App – WhatsApp – Free, encrypted, and widely used messaging app that works in nearly every country.

Money While Traveling

  • Best Travel Credit Card – Capital One Venture X – No foreign transaction fees, good travel insurance, and nice perks like airport lounges.
  • Best Airline Credit Card – United Mileage Plus Explorer – This depends a lot on what airline you fly most but I think this card is a great value given the free checked luggage, discounted award flights, discounted in flight purchases, and two United lounge club passes – all for $95/year. Check out how it helps with Basic Economy fares in this post.
  • Best Debit Card For Withdrawing Cash at Foreign ATMs – Fidelity Cash Management – Not only do they not impose any fees but they will reimburse ATM fees too. Not convince? – At the moment you can also keep much of your cash in a money market that is paying nearly 5% interest too!

Booking Travel

  • Best Site for Booking Travel Experiences – Viator – Great site for booking activities and tours.
  • Best Site for Finding Flights – Google Flights – My go to site for searching for airfares. That said I frequently book directly with the airline or through Capital One or Chase Travel after finding the flights depending on where I can earn the most points or get the best benefits.
  • Best Site for Hotels – It Varies – This is a tough one as I don’t have any single place that I always go. I find Hotels.com to have a good range of options and sometimes use them for searching but I find that often it is best to book directly with the hotel for the best rate and/or benefits. For example, I have Marriott Gold status but that won’t be recognized unless I book direct with Marriott.
  • Best Site for Car Rentals – Capital One Travel – This assumes you have the Capital One Venture X card. If you do then this gets you 10 points per dollar back as well as the rental car insurance of the card. If you don’t have this card then I’d recommend seeing if your credit card has similar perks.
  • Best Site for Small Group Tours – Intrepid Travel – Small group tours that span the globe. Check out my review of their Morocco Uncovered tour to get a better feel for what you can expect.

Items To Consider Packing On Your Next Trip

  • Waterproof Shoes – Having a pair of waterproof shoes is a travel essential for me. On rainy days nothing is worse than having your feet get soaked and having to try and dry out a pair of shoes. A pair of waterproof and breathable shoes or hiking boots makes every trip better!
  • Extra Glasses and/or Contacts – If you wear glasses like me then you should always have a backup pair when traveling.
  • Dryer Sheets – Dryer sheets are amazing at helping to keep your clothes smelling fresh while traveling. I put a couple in my suitcase but then also keep a ziplock bag filled with them that I can swap out during my trip, particularly for the dirty clothing bag.
  • Wool or Wool Blend Socks – Yes, they may cost more but they are worth it. I find them more comfortable and they definitely decrease odor, meaning you can wear them multiple days on a trip. There are lots of options out there but I have liked Busy Socks like these from Amazon.
  • Collapsible Bag or Backpack – These are great for dirty clothes or for an extra bag coming back if you bought a few too many souvenirs. Here is just one of many examples.
  • A Dry Bag – Great for water activities and will keep anything inside dry no matter how much water you splash on them. I use these whenever I go on a boat to make sure things like towels and my wallet stay dry.
  • Ziplock Bags – Having a few extra of these packed is always a good idea. You never know when you might need to stash away something or keep wet clothing away from everything else.

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