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Hopefully you did these first things a long time ago. If you’re travelling internationally, make sure your passport is valid for at least six months after the date you are returning home from your trip. Also, be sure you have any required visas necessary to enter the countries you are visiting. Check all of your travel documents to ensure names are spelled correctly and match your passport, birth dates are correct, and travel dates and cities are accurate.

I find it’s a good idea to take pictures of all of your travel documents, passports, visas, etc. and keep them on your phone just in case the paper copies disappear. This is a good time to remind you to be sure you keep you phone locked. Fingerprint, password, whatever….just make sure if your phone disappears (lost, stolen, etc.) whoever finds it can’t access your data. Another tip related to your phone: change your lock screen to say something like – if found, please email  “your email address” – That way if someone does find your phone, they can reach you. You can check your email from any number of places and connect with the good samaritan who found it so you can get it back. Remember, don’t say call me at….since you won’t have your phone.  If you’re traveling with a companion, you can each put the other person’s number instead of your email address.

Banks used to ask you to notify them that you are travelling so they don’t decline your credit card charges when you are in a foreign country.  Many banks now say that is not necessary, but I have still had issues on occasion, so it can’t hurt to call the number on the back of your credit cards and let them know you’ll be making international charges. Some banks will even allow you to enter your travel plans online instead of calling. Every bank handles this differently, I once received an automated text after buying a plane ticket informing me that the credit card company “saw” the purchase and had automatically entered the dates and country I was traveling to in my account so they would not block the charges when I was out of the country.

There are also a few things you can do to help prevent any issues at home while you are away.  Put a hold on your mail and newspaper deliveries. This can easily be accomplished online, by stopping by the post office, and/or calling your newspaper. Get some timers, or if you have a smart-home, set your devices to go on and off at various times throughout the day and evening so your home still looks lived in while you’re relaxing on that beach halfway around the world. And it’s always a good idea to let your neighbors know you’ll be out of town.  They can keep an eye on things in case anything unusual happens while you’re away.

One of the last things you can do is check-in online for your flights. With most airlines this is available 24 hours before departure. Doing this in advance can save you time at the airport. More and more airlines are now allowing you to bid for and/or buy last minute upgrades. Sometimes this is available before  the 24-hour check-in window, so be sure to check your specific airline for their policy. I have seen some great deals, as low as a few hundred dollars to upgrade to lie-flat business class on an international flight that would have cost thousands if purchased in advance.

These are just a few of the things we do before going out of town.  We’d love to hear some of your best tips, so send an email to [email protected] and let us know what you do to ensure smooth sailing when you travel.

Written by Doug Orens, Vice President, Plaza Travel

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