After more than a decade of business travel near and far from home, my frequent flyer husband has learned a thing or two about how to make things go as smoothly as possible. Here are Steve’s top tips.

Develop a packing system

You want to avoid checking a bag at all costs because it’s a huge time suck at the airport. To do this, you need to pack light.

Packing light means packing smart. You don’t want to take unnecessary items, but you also don’t want to find yourself without something you really need. Steve used to have some dress shirts with French cuffs and invariably, he would pack them without packing cufflinks. He now has a stupidly large collection of cufflinks because he’s had to scramble to buy them on the road several times. He no longer wears French cuffs. There was a period of time when he kept forgetting to pack belts as well. Once, he forgot pants.

You need a list. Preferring all things digital, Steve uses a packing app called Pack The Bag. It allows you to save packing lists for different types of trips, which is helpful and also offers an exhaustive list of every thing you could possible pack to get you started. There are other similar apps out there. Find one that works for you. You should also make sure to check the whether before you go. Even if you generally know what the conditions are like in the location your travelling to, unusual variations can find you unprepared and looking disheveled for an important meeting. Note that Steve was woefully under-packed when Snowmageddon hit Boston this past winter.

Packing cubes are also great for business travel because they keep you organized and offer slight compression so you have more room in your luggage. I could go on forever about how great packing cubes are. In fact I did in this previous post.

Global Entry

If you travel in Canada and the U.S., Global Entry is a brilliant system that allows you to be categorized as a “trusted traveller.” With Nexus Card in hand, you can speed through security and you can whiz through customs when those line ups stretch well beyond comprehension. You can find out more about this tip in a previous post as well. It’s $50 well spent.

Never roam, get a SIM card

No matter how mobile phone providers try to spin it, their roaming fees are crazy expensive! Get an unlocked phone and change out your SIM card for a local one. Do a bit of research online for the best rates in the country you’re visiting. A good place to start is this SIM wiki site.  A local SIM will allow you to stay connected when you’re away from wifi and to use Google Maps to navigate unfamiliar streets. Many times you can purchase your local SIM at the airport when you arrive.

Be loyal

There are lots of travel loyalty programs vying for your business. Use them to your advantage.

In Steve’s experience, the biggest bang for his loyalty buck comes from Air Canada Altitude. It takes a lot of miles to earn status with an airline, but once you’ve got it, it’s hard to live without. That has Steve booking flights with extra legs to maintain his Star Alliance Elite designation (such as Winnipeg-Calgary-Vancouver-Seattle). No fee baggage check, access to the Maple Leaf Lounge (including a guest—ah-hem—that would be me), and occasional upgrades to business class make business travel much easier to bare, especially when you’re facing flight delays and missed connections.

Know your travel benefits

Flight delayed? Luggage lost? Missed connection? Become familiar with what coverage you have for these inconveniences through the airline you’re flying with and/or your credit card’s travel insurance, if it applies. You don’t want to scramble to find this information when the unforeseen happens (and it will happen).

Tripit Pro

This is a must-have app for any frequent business traveller. Tripit allows you to forward flight, hotel, car rental, and any other travel bookings you’ve made online to the app via email. Tripit then organizes the information by date and time for a customized itinerary of your trip.

If your flight is delayed or cancelled, Tripit Pro (paid version) will alert you and provide possible alternative flights.

The “inner circle” feature allows you to identify key people in your life (work colleagues, spouse) who will be notified of all your trip details. I LOVE this feature. I always know what hotel Steve’s staying in and when his flight is arriving/departing etc. Keeping track of Steve’s busy travel schedule would be impossible without it.

Got any of your own business travel tips? Please share with a comment.

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