Newbies (& those who don't travel often) Archives

What Medications Should You Bring With You When Flying?

Preparing for an airplane trip can be stressful. There are so many rules to follow when packing and now you’ve waited until the last minute and are scrambling around gathering clothes, electronic gadgets, tickets and whatever else you want to bring with you. To help keep me organized, I have a Microsoft Word document called “Packing List” that I print before my trips longer than a weekend (Sharon still laughs at me for doing this). (Note from Sharon – Well, yeah! I can’t believe that for as often as we travel, you still need a flippin’ list?!?!?! LOLOL!) The first page is mostly clothes and things I’ll tend to forget like an umbrella and backpack. The second page is toiletries and medications. The last page is my final checklist for things I absolutely can’t forget. The final three items on that list are:

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Going Out of Town? What to Bring, What Not to Bring & Tricks of the Trade

Joe is definitely the points and miles person in our family. Me, I enjoy the benefits of his hobby but really don’t care about which plane is newer, bigger and better, how many cents a point is worth at any given moment, or what hotel gives you feather pillows and a personal concierge. As long as we get from Point A to Point B in a reasonable amount of time, and as long as our room is clean and relatively quiet, I’m good.

However if there’s one thing I’ve gotten really good at for all these trips to all these different places, it’s how and what to pack. For those of you who travel a lot, you probably already know all the ins and outs of this stuff. But for those of you who only go out of town here and there, here are some things to consider:
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For Newbies: What Do Credit Cards Have To Do With Hotels Besides Paying For Them?

HELLO POINTS & MILES AND TRAVEL NEWBIES! First off and most important – I am one of you and you are my people! Joe is the guru about ALL THE THINGS POINTS AND MILES and I’m like, “Yeah, OK. Whatever.” Don’t get me wrong – I certainly LIKE getting the occasional free flights and plane/hotel upgrades because of his hobby but really, except for the little bit of info that’s gotten into my brain that gives me the ability to tell off people touting credit cards at airports, I really don’t have a clue.

So in order to have a better idea of what he’s talking about, I did a little studying. Not much, because I’m still like, “Whatever.” But just enough to have a clue. And now, because I’m a giver, I share this info with you.

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Newbies & Non-U.S. Citizens: TSA Pre-Check, Global Entry, CLEAR, NEXUS, Sentri: What’s The Best For You?

With more and more people traveling, depending on where in the U.S. you’re flying/driving/floating into or out of, the lines at TSA checkpoint and/or customs/immigration can be ridiculously long sometimes (I’m looking at you, Orlando International Airport, but there are others, too). Fortunately, there are ways to bypass the queues. Fortunately or unfortunately, there are several options of programs nowadays, some government-run, one not, and unless you sit down and read each one, it’s hard to decide if, or which one, you should consider. Hopefully, this will help.

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What’s An Open Jaw Flight And Why Should You Care?

The simplest of round trip airfare consists of flying to one city and then flying back from the arriving airport to your origin airport. One example would be flying from New York JFK to London Heathrow and back.

Two map dots and a single line connecting them.

However, it’s possible to book a round trip ticket where either the return trip either departs from or arrives at a different airport. That’s called an open jaw:

denoting or relating to a trip in which an airline passenger flies in to one destination and returns from another.

Here’s where I imagine some people are preparing comments like, “WHO DOESN’T KNOW WHAT AN OPEN JAW FLIGHT MEANS!!!” or, “WRITE ARTICLES WITH REAL INFORMATION!”

If you’re thinking that, obviously this article isn’t for you. There was a time when all of us, including me and even you, didn’t know what an open jaw flight was. This article is for people just getting into points and miles who have never heard of open jaw flights before, or if they have, really aren’t sure exactly what the term means.

And if you’re one of the people who have never heard of open jaw flights, ignore the people who make comments like those above.

Now, back to the post:

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