- Today, we are going to tell you about
our best travel tips and hacks to save money,
have better experiences while traveling,
get upgrades and avoid scams
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- Our first travel hack is to hit airline status.
We book an economy ticket every time we fly
but we're never sitting in the back of the plane.
We're almost always getting free upgrades
to either premium economy or first class
which comes with nicer seat, better service
more leg room, and also snacks, alcohol, even meals.
- We suggest doing a little bit of research
on the various airlines to find out what the benefits are
and which ones you prefer.
Personally, we wouldn't pick a budget airline like Southwest
because even when you get status,
you can't get upgraded to first class
cause it doesn't exist on their planes.
Even if you think you can't afford it
it is worth it to get status,
build it up over time by sticking with one airline.
The next tip we have for you
is to search for flights in incognito mode.
When you're browsing normally browser cookies are placed
and sometimes when you go back
and search for those same flights at the same times
the price will go up as a sales tactic
that the airline is using to put some urgency
on your purchase and make you think
that the prices are going up.
You can also browse with a VPN,
where you can locate yourself in different countries,
different places to try to see
what the price differences might be.
Especially if you're changing the currency and language.
We have saved hundreds of dollars by doing this.
And yes, it is time consuming
but it's some extra money in your pocket.
This trick of using a VPN
and switching around the currencies
and languages also works for other sites
like rental cars, finding your lodging,
transportation like buses and things like that,
and loads more sites.
So it's worth giving it a try.
Another tip for flights is to pre-select a meal
when you can do this,
you can select low sodium, kosher, Gluten-free,
vegetarian, different options like that.
And that will usually mean you're getting your food first.
And also that you're not getting the last picks
of whatever's left on the flight.
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- The next thing we highly recommend
are travel credit cards.
Now, disclaimer here.
I only recommend this if you both have good credit
and are willing and able to pay the balance in full
on your credit card every single month
if you don't do that this probably
isn't gonna be worth it for you.
But if you do, there are tons of credit card options there
that give you so many travel benefits.
One that we love is the Amex Platinum Card.
It does have a hefty annual fee at about $550
but it comes with so many travel credits
upgraded status at several different hotel chains,
a bunch of different rental car companies,
provides us with tons of other benefits,
including lounge access at airports
which makes our travel days
something that we actually look forward to
instead of dreading it because we can
instead of waiting where everyone else waits,
we go into a lounge, we get free food, free alcohol,
fast wifi, plenty of places to plug in
our computers and work.
If that's something you're interested in
we'll link to that down in the below.
The Amex platinum is by no means the only option for you.
There's a lot of great options out there
so you can research which one's best for you.
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- Join local Facebook groups,
especially if you don't know anyone where you're going
to find out the vibe of the city
ask your questions, get local recommendations.
And the easiest way that we know to do this is
just search the city name
or the country name and ex-pats or travelers.
So for instance, we're in Wahaka
we would look up Wahaka foreigners,
Wahaka travelers, Wahaka ex-pats and join those groups.
- Something else we love doing when going to a new city
is looking on TripAdvisor for the best things to do
and the best places to eat.
When going to those top rated places on TripAdvisor,
we're rarely let down
- And sure this might be the most touristy thing to do.
Those might be the most touristy places,
but like he said we're rarely disappointed
and that's a great way to dip our toes in the water
of a new place while we're still getting our bearings.
Next thing we highly recommend doing
before going to another country
is figuring out data or how you're going to use your phone.
That might be talking to your current cell phone provider
and seeing what their plan is
or that might mean you have to pick up a SIM card
when you get there, but figure out what the situation is
ahead of times,
so you know about how much it should cost.
Something that you can ask in a Facebook group
if you can't find that information online
because inevitably you're going to arrive at the airport
and very likely feel super overwhelmed with tons
of people trying to push flyers on you
or tell you to go to certain places or do certain things.
And this is a great opportunity to be scammed.
So if you know what the situation is ahead of time
and how much you should pay
or whether you can use your current plan
it's going to make for a whole lot more
of a stress free time when you're entering the country.
- And one more, very important tip.
If you're using your current plan,
you have to go into your phone settings
and turn on data roaming.
Otherwise your phone isn't going to work
- Next tip is to scan all of your important documents
and keep them somewhere cloud-based for emergencies.
In case heaven forbid your phone gets stolen
you will still have somewhere to access these documents.
Something else that we recommend is downloading a handful
of apps like the app for whatever airline you're flying.
So you can have your boarding passes
and up-to-date information on the flight.
And I like having the Amex app
because we're using our Amex card.
And then it allows me to see the transactions
immediately after using it.
So that helps avoid scams.
And this would be the case for any credit card you have.
I'm pretty sure every major bank has an app these days.
So you can see the charge
cause there is a very common scam
the price is listed in pesos
you think for instance that it's 400 pesos
which is about $20.
They charge your card for $400,
hoping that you're not going to see that
until you're back home.
- Or another common scam here in Mexico
is when you're getting gas
and you pay with a card,
they tell you to your card didn't go through
and then you either pay again
or pay cash is what they're hoping for.
But if you have that app you can be like no,
- Here you go - it went through.
Another app we love to have is Lounge Buddy
because we can put in what credit cards we have
we can put in what airline status we have
and our flight itinerary and all that.
And it tells us exactly
what lounges we have access to in every airport
so it makes that really easy.
- Finally, one last travel app that is completely free.
Like these others we've mentioned is WhatsApp.
That's basically how everybody communicates here in Mexico.
Even now that we have Mexican phone numbers
I don't text anyone via that Mexican phone number
because everybody uses WhatsApp, including businesses,
so that's a great way to communicate,
especially when you're abroad,
cause it's absolutely free and encrypted and all that jazz.
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When it comes to finding a rental,
we usually look at two different places,
Airbnb and Hotels.com.
Airbnb can be a little bit tricky to navigate
which is why we made a video on the mistakes
that you should avoid when booking an Airbnb.
But we do like using it
because we can include specifications like pet friendly,
wifi, includes parking, tons of other options.
So it's pretty convenient in that way.
Our hack, when it comes to using Airbnb,
that not a lot of people know about is that
you can message the host
of a place that you're interested in.
If it's a little bit out of your price range
and ask them to send you a special offer.
Recently, we did this in Mexico
and I'm pretty sure it saved us like $300 per month
on one that we were looking at.
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- Our first transportation tip is to use Uber
whenever it's available.
This is gonna allow you to avoid scammy taxi driver
- Not to mention it's usually the best price
- Yeah - To get around.
- And some places the taxi unions have forced Uber out
and DiDi is an option in some places
like where we're staying right now.
It's the Chinese version of Uber,
but it's also kind of like the ghetto Uber,
because we can't pay with credit card.
We have to pay with cash
but it still allows you to book it through the app.
You have that set price
so there's no negotiating or anything like that.
- And you put your destination in.
So especially if you're in a country
where you don't really know the language
you don't actually have to communicate,
okay I'm going here,
you take a right here, whatever the case
they have it in the app,
they've got the direction.
So it's pretty similar to Uber
but just a little bit clunkier I would say.
Our next tip, when it comes to transportation
is to utilize the heck out of Google maps.
I am an avid Google maps user,
especially because over the years
they've included more and more features.
So when we're new to a place
and we don't know anything about it or how to get around
we can go on there and look up restaurants.
We can see the pictures, social media,
phone numbers if we need to call them,
their hours, even though admittedly they're generally wrong
in Mexico (chuckles) they still have a general idea.
- And also walking directions, driving directions,
and when it comes to that,
I recommend downloading the offline version of Google maps
for whatever area you're going to
because this is gonna allow you to get access
to all of that stuff.
Even if you run out of data
don't have service in some location or anything like that.
- Yeah totally invaluable and it's free to download them.
So you've definitely wanna take advantage of that.
Don't be afraid of bus travel,
in the U S I generally would avoid for instance
like the Greyhound buses
that would take you from city to city
because often they're pretty expensive.
And sometimes they're not that nice,
but here in Mexico for the long distance buses
are actually super nice.
They're like luxury buses
and they're really, really affordable.
So that can sometimes be an extremely cheap way
to get around and it's nice and it's air conditioned.
And sometimes you're getting a food on board
and you've got the TV for entertainment in front of you
so don't rule that out as a travel option
especially if you're on a budget.
By the way we've been talking all this time
and you don't have any idea who we are.
My name is Maddie,
this is Jordan.
And if you hear any tip tapping
it's (indistinct) here in the room.
That's our Husky.
(dog barking)
(chuckles)
We've been traveling around Mexico
and other places in the world for three years now
making videos all about our life and experiences.
So if you wanna see more videos hit that subscribe button.
(lively music)
Perhaps one of the biggest downsides
of travel are those long travel days
which can be pretty boring especially
if you're on an airplane with no wifi
or at least none that's affordable
So some things that we really enjoy doing that pass the time
are listening to audio books on audible,
reading books on a Kindle.
If you have YouTube premium
you can actually download YouTube videos,
just like this one (chuckles)
and watch them offline with no wifi needed at all.
And also for Netflix,
you can sometimes download the movies from there
if you have the right device.
So our biggest tip here though
is whatever floats your boat
make sure to manage that, take care of that.
Download those things beforehand
so that you have something to pass the time..
- There's a few physical items we recommend that
will help make your travel day a lot better.
For example, if you're gonna be on an overnight flight
or something, I highly recommend getting a sleep mask.
I love this one,
I was never a believer in a sleep mask
until I found this one.
It solves all the other problems
that all the other sleep masks get wrong.
So we'll link to that down in the description.
- The great thing is you can also use it to kidnap somebody.
I don't recommend that.
- I would also recommend getting a power bank
because your phone is probably going to die
and having a power bank to allows you
to recharge your devices on the go
- There's one that I've been using for like
five, six years now I believe,
and it's still going strong.
It's lipstick size
so it's super portable
and it gives me a full charge on my phone.
We'll also link that one down below
if you're looking for ideas on it.
- Another thing that I like to have
is noise canceling headphones,
comfortable ones that is
- The last very important step
to make your travel date better
is take pictures of everything.
So for instance, when you park your car at the airport
take a picture of it.
When you arrived to your hotel room,
take a picture of the number on the door.
If you're going past a lot of different things
take a picture of landmarks to help you get back
to wherever you came from.
Even if you think you are going to remember these things
travel days can be super hectic and won't
we won't, you won't, let's just be honest.
Just take the pictures is going to help you so much later.
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If you're traveling to a country with another language
I recommend trying to learn a few words
but if you're going for a week somewhere
it's not really feasible to learn the language.
- Yeah (chuckles)
- So in this case, I would recommend using Google translate.
They have lots of features
where you can have a conversation with someone
or you can translate by scanning a picture
or by typing anything in.
- And if you don't like Google translate
there's tons of free apps out there.
Just make sure you have one
and specifically one that can work offline
with Google translate.
You can actually download an entire language
so that you don't need wifi or data to use it.
If you're traveling to a country with a different currency
something that I think not a lot of people know is
that you can type in whatever the amount is
in that currency to your home currency
to find out what the most up-to-date conversion is.
For instance, 50 MXN pesos to USD
gives you the most up-to-date information
on how much that costs.
- If you do a lot of travel outside of your home country
I would highly recommend getting a bank account
that not only charges no ATM fees worldwide
but also refunds all ATM fees that you are charged.
We have a Charles Schwab investor checking account
which does exactly that for us,
- And honestly Charles Schwab,
where are you at?
And we're not sponsored by them,
We've mentored them so much
probably given them so much business.
Anyway moving on.
Another thing when it comes to navigating a country
with a foreign language
that is extremely valuable for us is a VPN.
We did mention using one of these earlier
but this tool has come in handy for so many things.
In this case of VPN, you could locate yourself
locate yourself in the U S for instance
that way all the websites you're visiting will stay
in your native language
and the currency that you want it to be in.
And this applies to other countries as well
but there's nothing more frustrating than for instance
I'm trying to go to Best Buy
And then all of a sudden everything is in Spanish
and in pesos, and I'm trying to have it shipped to the U S.
So it just creates a lot of headache
that you can avoid by using a VPN.
A VPN also gives you access to location,
restricted content like on Netflix
or certain shows that are only available
in the U S or elsewhere.
We mentioned in our last video
we're binging gossip girl right now
when it turned over to the new year, it went away.
But thank goodness for VPN
because we located ourselves in Japan
and apparently Japan still has gossip girl.
And yes, I know we're totally late in the game
for this gossip girl thing, but what are you gonna do?
(chuckles)
So this will also allow you to continue
watching the shows
that you're watching. When you go to another country
you can find our favorite VPN at TangerineVPN.com.
That's our affiliate link
and it will take you right there.
If you use the code Tangerine at checkout
you're going to get 84% off and four extra months free.
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- After three years of traveling
there are some very important things
that we will never leave out of our luggage.
And also some tips when it comes to packing.
- When we're traveling to a foreign country
something see people overlook a lot
is outlets and voltages are different in a lot of countries.
So wherever you're going,
look up to see what their outlets are.
And so you know what adapter you need to get.
- Somewhat related to that is very helpful to
have an extension cord with multiple outlets on them.
There are a lot that are made that are really affordable
and they often have USB ports in them.
So when the plugs are really inconvenient
or you can't find a lot of them often
this is the case in an airport.
You just whip that out,
It's very small and then you can plug in all of your devices
and charge your phone and do everything you need to do.
- And I can't tell you how many places we've stayed
especially when using Airbnb
that have such a limited amount of plugs around
and they're in convenient places.
So this comes in handy a lot.
At the end of every trip, you have dirty shoes.
So you can take the shower cap
from a hotel and put them over the sole of your shoe
so you keep everything from getting dirty.
- Arguably, I think my shoes are dirty
before and after the trip
which is why I like using the Shower cap method.
(laughing)
But plastic bags will also work as well.
It's just nice that you can have a shower cap
that closes all the way around it.
Along those same lines,
it is always useful for us to have zipper baggies
to put like various things that might leak
also just extra plastic bags to put wet clothing,
dirty clothes and really any bag will work.
But the plastic bag keeps stuff
from seeping out into all of your other stuff.
Also related in the bag front, are packing cubes.
I think I converted you
after a little while into using packing cubes
because they're like your bag stressor.
So especially if you're doing a lot of travel,
like back to back travel
and you're really living out of your bag
it saves it from becoming a chaotic mess
after the first time you open it.
One note on this, we have tried out compression cubes
which is where it squashes your stuff down.
Supposedly save space.
Neither of us really liked them.
And I don't think that does much for your bag
- I dealt with this recently
and something that would have helped me
when the airline lost my bag was to have a picture of it.
So take a picture of your bag
before you get on the airplane.
- And when it comes to luggage,
always do what you can to
make it really identifiable amongst the others.
Especially if you have a common color like black,
put a tie around it, put ribbon,
put a T-shirt over top where the handle can come out
from the neck hole,
put anything on their to make it different
from other people so they're not gonna to be confused
into taking your bag.
Another really important step
into helping you out if your bag does get lost
or in case somebody else takes it by mistake
is to have not only a tag on the outside
with all of your information
but put one on the inside as well,
because there is a chance
that that outside tag gets ripped off.
When it's going through all the conveyor belts
and everything, after you hand it over to the airline.
Next travel tip we have for you is to wear
your bulkiest and heaviest items.
For me that's usually like a big coat,
which can double as a pillow when I'm on the plane
and keep me warm in those freezing airplanes.
And this obviously just save space in your bag
for other things so you can carry more stuff.
And so that you don't get charged overweight baggage fees.
- Another way to avoid baggage fees
is to get that airline status we were talking about earlier,
when you're traveling,
you always want some extra cash stored away
in case of emergencies,
in case of a robbery or something like that.
There's a million ways to hide cash.
So just do a Google search on this.
There's so many creative ways hiding it
in like feminine products
or rolling it up in your toothpaste tube with a paper clip
- They're actually really entertaining
if you ever get bored.
- Please subscribe to our channel.
And (bell ringing)
gong that bell to be notified when we release a new video
these are our best tips for travel in 2021.
Let's cross our fingers that we will actually
be able to do some travel this year.
We hope that you wanna see some more videos from us.
If you do click on something that's on the screen right now
just click anywhere and watch another video
and we will see you next Saturday.