Summer flies by for everyone. Between summer vacation and school breaks, Fall tends to sneak up on us. With the week between Christmas and New Year being the most popular (and most expensive) time to travel, you definitely do not want to book last minute! We urge you to avoid making these mistakes this holiday season:
1) Confirming Travel Plans Too Late: It may seem a little silly thinking of escaping the cold when it’s 80 degrees out, but trust us – the earlier the better. Particularly around the holidays and new year’s, we see limited (if any) availability and skyrocketing rates every year. You can literally save hundreds of dollars locking in plans ahead of time.
2) Not Considering TSA Pre-Check: Personally, there have only been a handful of flights where having TSA Pre-check didn’t prove to be a major advantage. More often than not, this designation shaves off a significant amount of time getting through security. During a high-volume travel season, this can help avoid the crowds and chaos at the airport.
3) Confirming Travel Plans Too Late: Worth noting again - we can’t say this enough. The farther in advance you can plan your holiday travel the better off you will be.
4) Sitting on a Dated Passport: Traveling Internationally? Make sure your passport is updated. Expiration dates typically need to be valid 6 months after your return home. Take a moment to find it, check it, and renew it if you need to. Avoid any expediting fees and have the peace of mind knowing you’re ready to go.
5) Confirming Travel Plans Too Late: We want to make sure you really take this one in. We have clients every year who want to go to New York City to see the Macy’s Day Parade or to watch the ball drop only to find a very depleted and very expensive list of options they were not expecting. But you can avoid it!
6) Not Looking into Global Entry: If you travel internationally often and didn’t have to clear off any dust for #4, we’d recommend looking into Global Entry. Like TSA Pre-Check, this designation can save you tons of time going through customs. Take note, not every city has an office to process Global Entry. But if you get it, you’ll also receive a TSA Pre-Check number (woohoo!).
7) Confirming Travel Plans Too Late: Seriously. Please don’t do this. Talk to us. Like …. now.
(614) 237-4488
leisure@uniglobetd.com
Written by Ali Iovino
Ali is the Director of Marketing at UNIGLOBE Travel Designers. She is an avid road-tripper and will use any excuse to hit the open road. In her spare time she can be found volunteering in Columbus, hanging out with other people's dogs, or visiting family on Long Island.
