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The global travel meltdown of July, 2024, left millions of travelers stranded or delayed due to a technical bug that has cascading effects. As a self-professed expert traveler, here are ten tips on how to avoid or deal with travel meltdown delays in the future.
Travel Tips for a Global Travel Meltdown
Why you should listen to me
Thank the lucky stars – I returned from my Sparkling Summer(™) three-week trip to Iceland, France and Switzerland three days before the travel issues seen at Delta, Hilton, and others across the world. I narrowly missed the Great Southwest Debacle of Christmas 2022, as well.
However, my experience traveling dozens of times per year, top tier airline and hotel status means that I am at professional-levels of travel. Expert levels.
Travel tips from an expert
Any tips for dealing with a global travel meltdown come down to: Prepare. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
1. AirTags in luggage
I once lost a pair of AirPods in a parking lot of a rest stop on a rainy day in Oregon. I had an AirTag on them, so I was able to track them to an exact address, drive there, and get them back. (Yes, I rolled up to a random trailer park in Oregon to get them! I really like my Rifle Paper Company case, okay?) You can bet I have AirTags on everything, including my dog, wallet, and luggage.
Use an AirTag with a carabiner holder to clip into the elastic or zipper inside your luggage. I have one that I switch from my small to large luggage. No affiliate links here, but if you buy 4+ at the Apple Store you can get initials or an emoji printed on them for free.
Consider putting one in your backpack, purse, or wallet as well for travel. Starts at $25. 12-packs of batteries are available at Costco for $12.
2. Travel insurance
Admittedly I do not always purchase travel insurance for my trips. I travel a lot for work, and I know I can expense hotels, additional flights, and food in order to get home. Travel insurance will often cover trip interruptions or delays, plus lost luggage. It will be interesting to see how the travel insurance landscape changes in response to the global meltdown. I recommend World Nomads Insurance (aff link), as they are popular in the travel world. I haven’t had to make a claim with them yet (knock on wood).
What I do have at all times is emergency medical coverage. This is provided by my work, and covers emergency medical care and evacuation if necessary. I’ve heard stories from coworkers who have used this in natural disasters. Check at your job to see if your job provides international medical or evacuation coverage. If not, look at World Nomads or other travel insurance providers.
3. Print out boarding passes, confirmations
On my most recent trip to Switzerland, my sister and I booked a Swiss Rail Half-Fare Card to get half off all train travel. We needed to show the QR code for every ticket purchased. I had a printed copy of the pass which made it easy to show the conductor each time.
Similarly in the travelpocalypse, I heard that Hilton was not able to check in guests unless they had a copy of their confirmation printed out.
Printing out tickets, boarding passes and confirmations means you do not need to use your phone battery or data to access it every time. I’m not one to print out hotel confirmations each time (I stayed at ten+ hotels on my Europe trip), but it might be worth it now.
4. Print out directions to your hotels
Seven years ago I was in Malaga, Spain for a friend’s wedding. I somehow thought that it would be a small town and I would have no problem finding the AirBnb I was staying in up on the pueblo. My taxi driver spoke little English; I spoke little Spanish; neither one of us had a GPS map with cellular data.
He drove me around for 1.5 hours before I finally got out on the side of a hill and declared I would walk or die on the hill.
Now before planning a trip, I always print out a full itinerary with day to day agenda and activities plus:
– flight information arrival and departure times with record locators
– hotel booking references, address, phone number, check in/out time and a screenshot of the location, plus driving/transit directions printed out
– emergency contact numbers
– travel insurance policy number, 1-800 number, and medevac details
Having a screenshot of the location and broad transit directions helps so you do not have to rely on data immediately upon landing.
5. e-Sim/plan for no data
When I landed in France last month, AT&T and Verizon had a global network outage so my group could not get onto the local network to call an Uber or even text each other to meet up. An e-Sim for your phone is usually cheaper than paying day-to-day for data on AT&T and uses the local carriers, which may be more reliable in the event of a US carrier outage. I have heard good things about Airalo. You can save 15% if you are a new customer with: NEWTOAIRALO15.
6. Be nice to FA/gate agents
When traveling on a long haul flight, I try to bring the flight attendants some local chocolate or snacks. In turn, they have brought me local candy (Iceland), champagne (England), whiskey (France), pilot’s wings (North Carolina) and many, many drinks. My mom originally heard this tip from Samantha Brown, and as someone who travels a lot, it’s a nice gesture to thank the folks who work very hard.
In the event of another global travel meltdown, a kind gesture could go a long way with a gate agent, who has likely been yelled at for hours by other passengers. I gave some chocolate to a gate agent in Raleigh and she traded me her pilot wings pin!
7. Carry a premiere travel credit card
Similar to travel insurance, your travel credit card might protect you in the case of lost luggage, delays or cancellations if you booked your trip on that card. I researched the cards I have, and it looks like it’s less about the bank and more about what level of Visa or Mastercard you have. I have a Visa Signature level card from Capital One (aff link), and a Bilt Mastercard (very happy with the point.me integration for this one and the ability to pay rent with it) (aff link).
I asked this question on Threads and most people suggested a Chase Sapphire Rewards card. My sister swears by this card, too!
Given the low coverages, this might be okay for a short individual trip. For a longer trip, I would still purchase travel insurance (aff link), especially with a family. The Bilt limit is an $1800 reimbursement total; for a family you may incur more expenses to travel insurance makes more sense.
As an example, below are the terms from the Visa Signature card. Check with your credit card provider for up to date coverages and make your own purchasing decisions. Please do not use this as an exhaustive list.
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
When you use your covered card to purchase an airline or common carrier ticket, you can be eligible to receive reimbursement for your checked luggage or carry-on baggage and their contents in the event of theft or misdirection by the airline or common carrier. Certain terms, conditions and exclusions apply. In order for coverage to apply, you must use your covered Visa Signature® card to secure transactions. For complete terms and conditions, contact your issuer for a copy of your Guide to Benefits.
Trip Delay Reimbursement
Anticipate delays when you purchase air travel with your covered Visa Signature® Card. With Trip Delay coverage you can receive up to $300 when you’re stuck for more than twelve hours due to a covered hazard. Certain terms, conditions and exclusion apply. In order for coverage to apply, you must use your covered Visa Signature® card to secure transactions. For complete terms and conditions, contact your issuer for a copy of your Guide to Benefits.
Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Reimbursement
When you purchase your travel ticket with a covered Visa Signature card and you must cancel or interrupt your trip, this benefit can help reimburse for the non-refundable cost of your passenger fare. This coverage applies to more than air travel – it also can be in place when a covered Visa Signature card is used to purchase a ticket for travel via other forms of eligible transportation, such as a ferry, rail, bus or cruise ship. Certain terms, conditions and exclusion apply. In order for coverage to apply, you must use your covered Visa Signature® card to secure transactions. For complete terms and conditions, contact your issuer for a copy of your Guide to Benefits.
Baggage Delay Reimbursement
If your checked baggage is delayed or misdirected for more than four hours, you can be reimbursed for necessities you purchase up to $300. Certain terms, conditions. For complete terms and conditions, contact your issuer for a copy of your Guide to Benefits.
The Bilt Terms are similar: Trip Cancellation, Trip Delay 6+ plus
8. Carry cash
Admittedly, I am very bad at this. I made it through two trips to London and one to Switzerland without ever taking out any cash from the ATM. Most of Europe, especially large cities, is tap-to-pay with your credit card. However, I’ve been in many a situation where I’ve split cabs with strangers to or from airport hotels. Cash is king, and might ease the situation to split or convince a driver to take your fare.
9. Bring extra clothes and medicine in your carry-on bag
This tip comes from my mom, a former airline employee (ATA airlines, anyone remember that throwback?). She taught me from a young age to always pack an extra change of clothes in my carry-on bag. What this looks like when I pack my carry-on:
- Pair of leggings, tshirt, underwear and socks – can double as PJs
- If traveling to a warm location, swimsuit and flip-flops
- If traveling to a cold location, at least a hat goes in the carry-on
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, retainer, face soap, and any medicines
I follow these packing tips even if I am taking a day trip for work. I’ve gotten stuck overnight when the last flight of the day is cancelled, and this ensures I have what I need to sleep comfortably. This lessens the stress of not having immediate access to your checked bag for whatever reason.
If you do get stuck overnight due to a travel delay, your airline might make a reservation at a hotel for you. In the past, I’ve just booked my own hotel last night. You can use Expedia or Booking.com for this.
10. Lounge Access
I paid for Alaska Lounge+ membership last year and it was worth every. single. penny I paid for it. Alaska Lounge membership is great if you are flying domestically in one of their major hubs (Seattle, Portland, SFO, LGA or LAX). The Plus membership lets you use partner lounges, primarily American Air lounges, in other airports.
Many credit cards also come with Priority Pass memberships. I’ve never been a PP girlie myself, but folks swear by it.
Lounges can provide a quiet place to sit and charge your devices, get a bite to eat, a drink, and there is usually not a line for the bathroom. For a delay caused by a global travel meltdown, having access to this can be priceless.
What other things do you do to prepare for a travelpocalypse? If I forgot something, comment down below or let me know on Threads.
