Travel Tips for Everyone

By David Goodin

Are you frustrated by travel delays?

Need knowledge on the travel best deals?

Want to maximize points?

Written by a consultant who travels over 45 weeks out of the year, this book gives you the inside scoop of the travel industry from a travelers' perspective. You will learn little known secrets on getting out of change fees, rebooking after flight cancelations, maximizing points, and even traveling for free. Inside you will find information on the following.

Booking tickets
Packing
What to expect at the airport
TSA
Customs
Train Stations
Airport Lounges
Maximizing points
Much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Goodin Author
• Release date: Dec 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393933229

David Goodin

David Goodin has completed hundreds of projects for several Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies throughout a 30-year career. David has been doing IT work since 1994. He holds a Bachelor of Science from DeVry University in Computer Information Science and a Master of Science in Digital Forensic Science from Champlain College. Mr. Goodin's many certifications include MCSE (NT4, 2000, Messaging, and Communications), MCITP, MCTS, MCSA, A+, CHFI, CEH, and CISSP.

Book preview

ONE

PREPARING TO TRAVEL

Depending on the purpose of the trip, the amount of preparation may be different for you. For example, if the entire family is traveling, different arrangements may need to be made.

The transportation security authority (TSA) offers TSA Pre, and Global Entry for anyone who is interested in prescreening. This process takes time to set up but will save the traveler countless hours in airport screen lines each year.

Seasoned road warriors know that working on the road can be difficult enough without adding additional stress. However, necessary tasks such as continuing education are just as important as the work itself.

TWO

AVOIDING INJURY

It may sound obvious but rushing to the airport is not fun that can lead to wasting time and promoting personal injury. Usually, I try to get to the airport at least an hour before my plane leaves, and sometimes that isn’t enough time because of unforeseen delays, etc. If you plan to check your bags, ensure that you allow for an extra 15 to 20 minutes to get your bag checked by the porter or airline personnel. If carrying on, be sure to have all toiletries ready on the outside of your bag for quick access. This a timesaver for you and a courtesy for anyone behind you.

Another very good reason that I stress slowing down and smelling the acrid aromas of the airport, train, or bus station is preventing an injury is key when traveling because if you pull too hard on your bag or step off a curb the wrong way it can ruin your entire trip. Trust me, I have done both and each time I was in a hurry to catch my flight or train. In both cases, it took me off the road for several months to recover. This is not fun when you are expected at the client site. This was several years ago before teleconferencing was a viable option but sometimes it is necessary to visit a customer, especially early in the sales cycle or when a project is not going as planned. Be on the lookout for getting injuries in unexpected areas such as boarding an aircraft, getting into a taxi, or even getting out of the shower.

I will talk more about this in the Packing like A Pro section of this book, but it’s best to get into the habit of packing light. Always pack an extra pair of socks and underwear just in case you need to extend your trip. Keep in mind that that there is most likely dry cleaning or laundry available where you’re going. I pack lightly but sometimes I pack extra computer stuff I don’t want, but might need. I buy a hard drive to store encrypted data for every client I work for, and when you carry four or five extra hard drives with you, they are heavy. Also, check your computer bag for any extra cords, pocket change or anything else that will create extra weight. Do this on a weekly basis between each trip as it helps.

I’m in the habit of throwing extra change into one pocket of my computer bag, which caused problems on trips. My bag got flagged at TSA for this black hole looking object in my bag, which turned out