During our domestic and international travels we’ve found certain products that greatly simplify travel and make it more organized, efficient, cost effective and secure. Below is a list of the travel related products that we discovered and now use on a regular basis and highly recommend.to others!
| Travel Product | Description and Our Comments | Click for More Info |
|---|---|---|
| TripIt | TripIt organizes all your travel reservations (air, hotel, cruise, car rental, etc. and travel notes) into an easy to use format with both a high level summary of multiple trips, and a quick easy way to display the details of each individual reservation. It’s available in a phone app and web site, and in both a free and premium version. TripIt has become an absolutely indispensable tool for organizing all of our future travel reservations, as well as a nice way to look back at the details of past trips. | TripIt |
| Google Fi | Google FI cell phone plans offer low cost international data access and reliable local cell service critical for international travel. It works in most international countries and connects quickly and easily as soon as you arrive providing international data access at the same cost as the US. Google FI has been our only cell phone plan now for over 2 years replacing our plan from another major cell phone provider that charged an extra $10 / day for international service. | This referral link gives you a $60 credit when you join Google Fi Wireless |
| Traveling Mailbox | Traveling Mailbox (TM) offers a great service for those traveling from home on extended trips. You’ll get a personal TM address where the US Post Office can forward your mail. Then when your mail arrives, TM scans the outside of the mail and sends you a notification with a picture of your mail. You then decide what to do, e.g., TM can open the mail and scan the insides, hold it for you, forward it to you, shred it, etc. This gives you the ability to see and access your important mail remotely, and then have TM forward them to you when you’re back home. We have used Traveling Mailbox for many years while away from home on extended trips and they have always provided great mail handling service for us. | Traveling Mailbox |
| Solis WiFi hotspot | Solis (formerly known as SkyRoam) provides portable WiFi hotspots that work great both in the US and most international countries. They provide several different hotspot devices and low cost data plans. We have successfully used multiple generations of Solis WiFi hotspots around the world in the US for several years, and they offer WiFi data usually at lower costs than your cell phone provider. | Solis WiFi |
| Celebrity Cruises | Great food and service catering to adult passengers seeking a great product and good value! Our favorite cruise line! | Celebrity Cruises |
| Alaska Airlines Visa | Low annual fee travel card with a Great Companion Fare Benefit! We’ve had this credit card for many years and used the annual Companion fare many times for free round trip companion flights to Hawaii and other great locations. | Alaska Airlines Visa |
| Frequent Miler blog | While not really a “Travel Product”, this is a favorite website and blog if you’re interested in learning about earning credit card points that you can use for free travel. We’ve benefited a lot from the credit card points earning and redemption information shared by Frequent Miler enjoying many international airline trips in business class and stays in nice hotels using credit card points. | Frequent Miler |
| Retirement and IRA Show | Another website and blog that we strongly recommend for those approaching or already in your early retirement years. The financial professional hosts provide solid financial advice for retirement in a straightforward and entertaining manner. Their approach obtains” secure income” that will never run out to provide for the “must have” required expenses in your retirement. This frees up a portion of your assets for “fun money” to allow fun activities like travel especially during those early “go-go” years of your retirement. http://theretirementandirashow.com |