Road Warrior Travel Planning Strategies

As the pandemic recedes and business travelers get back on the road, a new travel landscape is emerging. Some things will go back to normal, but some changes brought on by the pandemic are here to stay. Many made the life changing decision to relocate to a more attractive place that better fits their desired lifestyle.  Others are making a business decision to expand remote training and meetings based on all the new expertise acquired during the pandemic. Finally, US airlines eliminated change penalties on most fares which calls for a re-evaluation of the travel planning process.

We have prepared some tried and true strategies that optimize for value and comfort for Road Warriors while planning their trips.

Plan ahead and anticipate future trips with a wide brush. 

The elimination of change fees on most domestic and most international travel calls for rethinking the travel planning process. As there are no penalties for changes, it is no longer necessary to wait until firm dates are set or to buy more expensive, refundable fares. You can now lock in possible dates at best prices the moment the trip is on the horizon and keep tweaking it as updates arise. Even if you need to cancel the trip, the credit can usually be used for other trips or future dates. When you do make changes, you have to pay a fare difference if any, but if you got it right the first time, you have the opportunity to secure the best flight, at the best fare and the best seat assignment.

For travelers based out of international air-hub fortress cities, apply a Homebase Stopover Strategy to combine multiple international trips into one ticket.

This may be the single most effective strategy to improve the cost if you are primarily based out of certain cities outside of North America.  Some of the prime examples of hub fortress markets where this trip management technique yields significant savings are London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Zurich, Munich, Vienna, Istanbul, Madrid, Dubai, Moscow, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo.  Cities in the US and Canada used to be on the list, but open skies agreements made this market more competitive. Therefore, this strategy no longer provides much in the way of savings for US/Canadian Hubs.

Air-hub fortress cities are dominated by one or two major airlines which keep local fares artificially high.  Since the airline still has to compete in markets that are not their hub, their pricing outside of their hub is much more attractive. This strategy involves tying 2 or more trips to different destinations into one ticket, always making home base a stopover point. It is not uncommon to see savings up to 70% on premium class airfares this way.  

Consider the example of London. Let’s say you are based in London and need to make frequent trips to both India and the US. You can buy a one way ticket to India to start, and then always issue the tickets from India to the US with a stopover in London, covering both trips in one itinerary.  Most business class fares out of India on British Airways or Virgin Atlantic allow changes with little to no change fees. If you get the right fare, the free stopover in London is allowed in both directions, so is the change of date and the change of the final destination city.  If your office is headquartered in New York, you are based out of London and you have an office in Bangalore that you regularly visit - you would always issue flexible or semi-flexible tickets from Bangalore to NY and have a stopover in London for weeks or months at a time.  If you need to go to Boston instead of NY or Mumbai instead of Bangalore, that is also allowed.  If you do not yet know the dates for the subsequent trips, you can choose the most probable date and change it when you know the exact date. The tickets are generally valid for one year so you have time to use all legs of the ticket.  

A typical ticket with less than 14 days advance purchase from London to Bangalore is about $7,000. Roundtrip business class tickets from London to New York can be as much as $8,000. Roundtrip tickets from Bangalore to NY with a free stopover in London and no change fees is about $6000.  The right planning would allow you to bring your travel bill from $15,000 to $6,000 by combining 2 trips. That is over 60 percent in savings. The traveler still gets all the travel perks, miles and status.  Non-hub tickets are generally more flexible than hub originating tickets, so you would get more flexibility than with the $15,000 ticket.  Some proactive planning is required when employing this strategy, but the savings are well worth it. If savings are not as important as comfort, you could use the savings to move yourself up to a higher service cabin.

Consider booking business trips as bundled packages

We associate packages with vacation and leisure because they are marketed this way.  However, there is nothing stopping you from combining your flight and hotel for a business trip into a package as well. The savings are just as good or better! If you have a trusted travel agent, they will likely find the best options for you for each trip. If you don’t, check out the air/hotel and air/hotel/car pricing on the “Vacation” brand of your preferred airline. Think Delta Vacations, American Airlines Vacations, United Vacations, etc. You can choose your preferred airline and hotel and obtain bundled pricing right on their website.

The same applies to international airlines.  For international premium class travel, it is quite common to see the bundled vacation price be lower than the flight alone when purchased on the airline website.  You will be able to take the same flight and stay in the same hotel potentially for a lot less than if you were to  book separately. You still earn the miles, but often fewer miles than if you purchased full price tickets and hotels. If you are not booking through a travel agent, reaching a vacation company can be more difficult than just handling changes on flights and hotels directly. Take that into account when considering the options.

When booking a one way for long haul international trips, consider adding a return leg with a minor fare difference.

When you find that you need to book a one way long haul flight, especially in premium cabins, you may be better off adding a return even if you do not immediately plan to use it.  Do the return in the least expensive, semi-flexible fare which allows date and route changes. Economy for the return leg is okay as you will always be able to upgrade to premium or business class when you are ready to use it. You can push the return  out as far as possible, up to one year from your departure date. The cost is often similar to or even less than the one way.  Applying this return has many advantages as opposed to buying a new one way ticket. 

Some of the advantages of this strategy are:  

• Effectively locking in historical fares of the date of purchase even if you change routing, date or service cabin of the return leg.
• No longer needing to worry about advance purchases 
• Gaining flexibility at a much lower cost as you always have a way of getting last minute tickets at low fares
• The cost would almost always be significantly less than a new one way ticket.  In the unlikely event you do not get to use that ticket within a year, it is not much of a loss as the fare was about the same as one way anyways.

Since some extra planning efforts are required, I suggest creating a spreadsheet to manage your unused flight segments. Your travel agent could be a great help in effortlessly pricing out these different exchange options and managing your banked travel legs.

Take advantage of last minute upgrade offers.

Booking last minute flights can be very expensive, especially if you usually travel in premium or business class. Whenever you see plenty of space in business but high fares, this strategy for last minute flights can yield significant savings. Book the least expensive economy seat on your desired flight and then use the online check-in feature to see if last minute upgrades are available for purchase.  If check-in is not yet open or you do not see an upgrade offered, wait about 24 hours. Many airlines will email you an upgrade offer at a fraction of the regular cost. Most airlines allow you to cancel your ticket within 24 hours of booking, so you effectively have a 24 hour risk free window to cancel the trip if the strategy does not work for your booking.  Many airlines are now allowing you to bid for business class upgrades, so check out if this option is available for your flight.  This also works on changing the return of an existing ticket, although the 24 hour window is not usually available on exchanges.  The airlines usually will not charge a penalty if this does not pan out and you want to pay the difference to fly business. You also get the best availability for upgrades and awards last minute. Be sure to check that as well. A good travel agent may save you time by checking all of these options in minutes and helping you make the best decision.

Have the right credit cards.

We recommend that you should have at least one of the 3 super cards in your wallet (and your Google/Apple Pay app). It is not just about earning the maximum number of reward points. All of thepoints can be transferred to many partner airlines that may save you in situations of cancelled and delayed flights. Get a refund on a cancelled flight and use the points to get you a good deal on another airline’s flight. A card like AmEx Platinum will also immediately upgrade you to Gold status with Hilton, Marriott, Hertz or Avis and allow you to save time, give you priority in problem resolution and get upgrades to keep you comfortable on the road. Finally Chase and AmEx automatically cover you with travel insurance at no extra cost, which may help you cover the cost when things go wrong.

Take a closer look for value on hotel stays. Partner with an agency with a variety of hotel programs and a partnership with an amenity consortium.

If your employer is not big enough to command major hotel discounts, consider partnering with a travel agent who can offer you a range of amenity programs when they book hotel stays.

Booking luxury hotels (like Ritz Carlton) with amenities sometimes presents better value than booking cheaper full service business hotels (like a Marriott) when you take into account the perks you can get. Almost every major hotel group offers a luxury brand amenity program for their preferred agencies. Marriott offers Ritz stars and Luminous, Hilton/Waldorf Astoria offers Impresario, Hyatt offers Privé and so on. You could book the room for $250 with Marriott. However, if your agent is part of the program, you could book a $350 room at a Ritz Carlton and get a room upgrade, early check in, late check out, free breakfast for up to 2 people and $100 credit which can be used on food and beverage or in-house parking (benefits may differ between properties).  In that case, a one or two night stay at a Ritz Carlton with amenities is actually a better value than the same stay at a Marriott. Consider doing your breakfast and/or dinner meetings at the hotel’s restaurant to take advantage of those credits.  You could actually stay at a 5 star luxury property with top notch amenities and service, while not spending more overall than at a regular full service business brand. There are also amenity programs that offer similar benefits and are not tied to specific hotel groups offered by American Express, Virtuoso, Signature and Travel Leaders affiliated agencies.

Get Global entry (it includes TSA Precheck). Consider Clear if you live and travel to markets serviced by Clear.

See this article for more details here.

Don’t check in-luggage, if you can help it. 

Learn to travel light, it has more advantages than you may know. See this article for travel strategies here. 

US citizens can have 2 passports, if eligible.

It is not a widely known fact, but you can get a 2nd US passport. It is valid for 2 years instead of the usual 10. If you travel to counties which require turning your passport in to obtain a travel visa (Think Russia, China and Saudi Arabia. Brazil and India used to be on the list), it may be worth looking into. See this article for more details here.

Make the most of your smartphone apps

Your smartphone is the single most important tool when you are on the road. Just like with the human brain, most of us use only a small percentage of its potential. Take a moment to examine if you are making most of your phone apps. Get the details from our article here.

A good travel agent is worth their weight in gold.

Yes, they still exist and it has been a growing field for the past ten years.  There are many great ones out there and if you are not working with one already, you should.

Here is what a good travel agent brings to the table:

Service

Travel agents can be your one stop shop for all things travel.  They can issue and manage all of your airline bookings, hotel reservations, car rentals or chauffeured transfers.  All in one place, no more airlines extended hold times. A simple email, text or phone message can get your ticket issued or changed, your preferred seats assigned, and delays or cancellation handled.  You deal with a person who knows you and your preferences and is part of your team.  A resourceful travel agent is a godsend with last minute delays or cancellations.  If your flight is delayed or cancelled,  they can reissue a new ticket for you faster than you can run from one gate to another.  The best ones offer 24 hours coverage and concierge services to help you with restaurant reservations and on the road troubleshooting. They can also generate reports and help you track down receipts.

Access

Travel agents have access to perks you cannot get otherwise. The best travel agents have a pull with airlines and hotels, to waitlist and confirm space on sold out flights.  Many of them are members of American Express, Virtuoso or other Consortia that get you additional perks like room upgrades, free breakfast for 2 daily, F&B gift credits and early check in and late check out when you book premium hotels through them. When you need to resolve a problem, they can be your fiercest advocate with travel providers. They have special access to hotels, airlines and lists of vetted partners to get things done.

Expertise

Travel agents spend their days servicing clients who likely have similar experiences and needs as you. They have lots of practice finding best options, resolving problems, interacting with airlines and hotels. They also are “in the know” about trends and possibilities that may not be obvious to the average traveler. A good travel agent will tell you if that room really looks like it does in the picture, or  if this picture is from 10 years ago.  They know things like if there is a huge construction site right next to the hotel which did not make the photo. They have likely booked people there before and gotten their feedback already.  They will also know if a new hotel opened closely that you should try out.

They can also help you strategize on which frequent flyer programs to align with. They can help you track your status and meet goals. They can pull strings with their sales reps to make sure you get rockstar treatment when applicable.

Savings

Travel agents earn commissions from airlines, hotels, car rental companies and other travel suppliers, but most also charge fees as not every booking is compensated by commissions or commissions may not adequately compensate for the work they have to do. Generally, when there are fees they are a small percentage of the total transaction.  At the same time,  travel agents often have access to lower fares than what you can find on your own.  They also may allow you to realize significant savings by seamlessly implementing the different money saving strategies we discussed above. In the end you may end up paying less even with the fees, while saving you time and getting you additional perks.

Find the right agent

It is important to partner with the right travel agent for you. Take your time and do research to find the right fit. Interview a couple of agents like you would a staff member. Some of the things to look for are shared values, turn around times, around the clock availability, access to amenity programs, preferred status with your airlines of choice, and service commitments.  Most do not require signed contracts, so if things do not work out, you can switch.