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After traveling for work for just under 3 years and taking approximately 800 flights during that time, I have learned a few things about business travel. So if you are new to the world of corporate travel, welcome! This week’s Wanderlust Wednesday post will give you 7 business travel tips to make your life easier.

Sign up for TSA PreCheck

It always amazes me when veteran travelers haven’t taken the TSA PreCheck plunge. Traveling becomes much easier and more enjoyable when you don’t spend all your time in airports and waiting in lines. For this reason, signing up for TSA PreCheck is one of the most important business travel tips.

TSA PreCheck provides expedited security screening benefits for flights departing from U.S. Airports. This costs $85 for a five year membership, and many credit cards now include this as a perk. This allows you to not have to remove electronic devices from your bag, keep your shoes on, and leave your 3-1-1 liquids in your bag as well.

Not surprisingly, this usually makes things go a lot faster in line as people aren’t having to take their stuff out. The TSA reported in January that the average wait time for TSA Pre-Check was 5 minutes.

I cover some additional logistics about TSA PreCheck in another post here. If it is an option at your home airport or in airports where you will be traveling, consider signing up for CLEAR. You can learn the difference between TSA PreCheck and CLEAR here.

NOTE: If you plan to travel outside the country at all in the next 5 years, you should get Global Entry INSTEAD of TSA PreCheck. I cover that information and the details about why in this post.

Join Loyalty Programs

Corporate travel becomes so much more worth it when you get to translate it into some fun. This is why it is super important that you sign up for every loyalty program out there. Car rentals, hotels and airlines all count. Even if you don’t think you will continue to use the program, sign up.

I recently posted about how I stayed in an overwater bungalow in the Maldives for free which came from points from a loyalty program.

As a new business traveler, the thing you may not realize right away is which hotels and airlines you will use most regularly. While you might think you want to use Marriott, the area where you tend to travel may have much better Hilton hotels. The same could be true for certain airlines. If you pick up a new account or territory, all of the sudden you may find a new awesome direct route on an airline you didn’t previously prioritize. That’s why you should sign up for any and all frequent traveler programs.

Be a loyal traveler

This one can be tricky as it may take you a bit to figure out which airline and hotel works best for your situation. Regardless, one of the more important business travel tips is be loyal. One airline, one hotel chain, and one rental car company.

The more loyal you are, the more likely you are to obtain status with each loyalty program. Status not only gets you upgrades, but it also helps you accrue points much more quickly. Accruing points more quickly means more free personal travel. Check out this post if you want to learn how to earn Marriott status.

Download the Apps

There is very little worse than having to head quickly to your gate at the airport and not realizing that your gate was actually changed. This can totally be solved by downloading the relevant app. Most airlines, hotel chains, and rental car companies have their own apps. If you download these in advance of your trips, it can help with securing your room earlier, learning quickly of a gate change or delayed flight, and your rental car assignment.

Carry On your Luggage

As a business traveler, the last thing you need is to arrive at your destination and find out that your luggage did not. This might cause you to need new clothes for your important meeting, or worse, not have the meeting materials at all.

Learn how to pack your suitcase to avoid having to check your bag. Coordinate your clothes so that you need minimal pairs of shoes (ie. Everything should go with black shoes, or everything should go with tan shoes. Don’t pack both.) Wear your larger items of clothing such as a suit coat or a jacket. Additional tips for packing your suitcase can be found here.

Purchase Quality Luggage

Quality luggage can make your travel experience much better. When I first started corporate travel I was using luggage that I had previously on hand. This bag made it about 100 flights before one of the wheels fell off and I ended up getting forced to make a purchase. Once this happened, I realized that I should have upgraded a long time ago.

Don’t do what I did.

You don’t have to go all-in with a $500+ bag to get a quality piece of luggage, but anything under $75 is likely not going to be as good. I use TravelPro and the spinners practically spin themselves. Makes for a lot less lugging through the airport and it’s essential for during those tight connections.

Keep your bag packed… mostly

When you constantly travel for work, one of those most helpful business travel tips is to keep your essential items packed and ready to go for your next trip. This makes it much easier for you to pack, and you are less likely to forget key items. Items such as toiletries and chargers can easily stay in their cases between trips.

Business Travel Tips

While these business travel tips were geared towards the corporate traveler, they still can apply to the leisure traveler as well. Do you travel for work? Share some of your tips in the comments!

You May Also Enjoy These Posts…

• How to Eat Healthy While Traveling
• How to Use Travel Hacking to Fly for Free
• How to Earn American Airlines Miles

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