Steve Robinson

Hedge Trips Against Financial Surprises

Although cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms or cheap vacation packages are great ways to start planning an affordable trip sometimes unexpected negative economic events, such as losing a job, makes would be travelers to later question if they should be taking their planned trip.

The following are suggestions as to how to protect you against future economic uncertainty:

·       Look into purchasing travel insurance, specifically insurance that provides lay off protection, or select a policy with a “cancel for any reason” clause.

·       Keep watching airfares and hotel prices being quoted during the times you will be at your destination.  Although most airlines charge change fees and have cancellation penalties, sometimes it is still worth it to make changes in order to take advantage of lower prices on airline tickets and hotel reservations.

·       Read reviews online of the travel services you are considering purchasing prior to finalizing your plans.  A little research can help you avoid a fleabag hotel, a distasteful restaurant meal, or reserving a chronically late flight.  Hotel reviews are available on most large travel online sites that sell hotel reservations.  Restaurant reviews can be found online at Yelp and Urbanspoon, whereas airlines on time records are listed at FlightStats.  JDPower is a reliable resource for ratings of car rental companies and airlines.

·       Prepare a back-up plan to deal with surprises such as a lost passport or stolen wallet.  Make a copy of your passport and credit cards taking one set on your trip.  Keep that set in a different place than your originals and leave another set with a family member or friend at home.  If you send a PDF copy to your email account, you will be able to access it from any computer anywhere.  It is also smart to keep a couple of spare passport photos on hand.

·       Keep yourself current on exchange rates, which often fluctuate, by checking out online sites that offer smartphone currency apps such as XE or Oanda.

·       Develop a trip budget that has some flexibility.  The reality is that most trips ultimately cost more than were originally budgeted.

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