Thanks to (@AllianzTravelUS) for sponsoring this post, providing travel coverage for the unexpected. Stuffed Suitcase received financial compensation from Allianz Global Assistance (AGA Service Company). #TravelHappy
Planning a vacation takes a lot of time and effort, but once you’ve got everything planned there are a few things that need to happen before you bolt out the door. Don’t forget to do these 5 things before you head out on your next vacation.
1. Confirmation
It’s a good idea to confirm all your bookings. Confirm and check in for your flights. Verify all your hotel bookings. Purchase and file any admission passes. Anything you booked for your trip needs to be confirmed or verified. It’s easier to fix a mistake from home before your trip rather than at the location the day of.
2. Travel Insurance
The 2016 Allianz Travel Insurance Vacation Confidence Index, which is produced by and tracks American’s confidence they’ll be able to take a summer vacation and reports how much they intend to spend while vacationing, found that while fewer Americans will take a summer vacation in 2016, they’ll spend 11% more than last year.
Knowing that vacations are costing more it’s a good idea to have a plan to protect your financial investment in the case that your trip needs to be cancelled or interrupted for unforeseen circumstances.
from Allianz Global Assistance will reimburse prepaid deposits and expenses if you have to cancel your trip for an illness or injury, or their unexpected situation covered by your policy, giving you peace of mind when you travel. They also can come to the rescue in the case of a covered medical emergency; travel insurance will pay to have you transported to the closest appropriate medical facility, providing peace of mind while traveling.
3. Banking Alert
Once while traveling in Canada we had a cart full of items and no way to pay for them after our credit card company froze our credit cards for suspicious use. A simple phone call quickly cleared up the situation, but we learned from that experience to notify our banking institution if we’d be using our cards abroad. Even if you’re traveling domestically, it can be a good idea to let your bank and/or credit cards know.
4. Prep Your Home
As you get ready to leave for vacation, you don’t want to forget to take care of what you’re leaving behind. We try to get a neighbor or friend to housesit for us while we’re gone, helping to keep our home looking lived in. I created a checklist with some of our must do home prep steps before leaving for vacation.
5. Pack Smart
The final step before you leave for vacation is to pack smart, and I highly recommend using a packing list template to get started. I like to print out my list in advance, adding any extra items to the list as I prepare for the trip. Then when I’m ready to pack I have a detailed checklist of what to bring, making packing an ease and helping make sure I don’t forget any important items.
If you’re one of the adventuring Americans looking at spending almost 90 billion combined on summer travel, it’s important to be ready for your trip. By doing the 5 steps of, confirming, insuring, alerting, prepping, and packing, you’re sure to be ready for a great trip!
Great tips! I feel like in today’s world travel insurance is more important than ever.
Thanks Tamara! Busy lives and unknown happenings definitely makes travel insurance something to consider before leaving for vacation.
These are great tips. I also get my kids, who are quite anxious, ready for the trip by trying to converse with them about their hopes and fears for the trip. This is a nice way to plan anything extra they were hoping to do or at least relieve their fears.
That’s a great tip Lisa. I find open communication with family vacations can really help the whole experience go smoother!