The best trick to avoid lost luggage

Good morning from somewhere north of Beijing, China!

While I enjoy my cozy winter cabin in the mountains, here are some travel tips for you to cozy up to:

• ✈️ How to access airport lounges without a credit card

• 🧳 Keep tabs on your luggage (for under $2)

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

✈️ How to access airport lounges without a credit card

For many travelers (myself included), airport lounges are the thing that gets them interested in this magical world of miles and points.

I remember the days of walking past lounges, seeing people fork over a mysterious plastic card, and being allowed to just walk in.

Of course, whenever I tried to enter myself, it didn’t quite go like that…

But when you get into the world of points, miles, and credit cards, accessing airport lounges is easy as pie, thanks to a suite of credit cards that offer lounge access as a perk.

But for many people, accessing lounges is not worth paying $400, $500, $600, or *gulp* $700 a year for a single credit card…

Thankfully, there are a number of ways to buy access to lounges, sometimes at discounted rates. For example, Priority Pass (the world’s largest network of lounges) sells memberships.

They have well over 1,000 lounges located just about everywhere in the world.

Right now, in fact, they’re offering a Black Friday sale on two of their membership tiers.

This could be a great option for people who fit into the following categories but still want lounge access:

• You don’t travel enough to need unlimited access

• You can’t get U.S. credit cards

Here are the current rates for the various tiers:

• Standard: $69 per year (normally $99) - this requires you to pay $35 per visit… it’s not a great deal

• Standard Plus: $245 per year (normally $329) - This gives you ten visits per year at no additional cost, then allows you to pay $35 per visit after that

The top tier is not discounted, sadly, but it could still be an option for very frequent travelers who don’t want (or can’t get) credit cards and want unlimited access all year long.

Priority Pass is one of my lifelines as a traveler. In the last two weeks alone, I’ve visited TEN different Priority Pass lounges.

Sometimes, Priority Pass even gets you into other airlines’ business and first-class lounges, like this Hainan Airlines business-class lounge that I just visited a few days ago:

To make things even better, Priority Pass sometimes has mini airport hotels, sleeping pods, and even spas where you can exchange one of your visits for a bed.

This transit hotel sleeping pod thing in Dubai lets you take a 4-hour siesta in exchange for one of your Priority Pass visits. 👇

Even in the U.S., there are over 100 Priority Pass lounges you can visit, and there are even pod-style sleep rooms like the ones I just showed you in Dubai.

In Nashville, for example, you can use Priority Pass to access Minute Suites, which gives you access to a nice little private room with a couch, desk, and TV for an hour.

Anyway, here’s the bottom line:

Sometimes, accessing airport lounges, sleep pods, and other experiences is as easy as buying a membership with Priority Pass (not sponsored, by the way).

It’s not as optimal as getting a credit card that offers it as a perk, but it’s open to more people and a no-fuss way to travel with a bit more comfort.

🧳 Keep tabs on your luggage (for under $2)

I first have to remind everyone by saying I am a strange creature that perpetually lives out of a small backpack.

This is not normal behavior.

But for the majority of you “normal” people, you probably check your bags from time to time (or maybe every time!) when you travel.

If I were to check a bag, I would ONLY do so if I had an Apple AirTag to stick inside my bag… 👀

Most of you are probably familiar with AirTags, but if you aren’t, they’re a little coin-sized tracking device that sends out a secure Bluetooth signal that can be detected by other nearby devices.

Basically, it allows you track its specific location, no matter where in the world it is.

And if you put it inside your checked luggage? You probably guessed—you’ll be able to track your luggage no matter where it is, right from your phone. 🙌 

What’s even cooler is that Apple has announced that it will be partnering directly with major airlines in the coming months to use geolocation technology to pinpoint missing luggage and more effectively get it back to the passenger!

Some of those 15 airlines include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United, Air Canada, and Delta.

This is actually amazing, and all the more reason to get on the AirTag bandwagon.

Which reminds me… You could get an AirTag and a secure holder strap for under $2 😮

Here’s how: If you sign up for our favorite shopping portal, Rakuten, you can get $40 back after you spend $40 on one of their retailers within 90 days of signing up!

It just so happens that purchasing an AirTag and a secure holder strap come to $41.95 before taxes…

That means if you:

• Sign up for Rakuten with this link

• Go to Apple.com (via Rakuten’s site)

• Add an AirTag and secure holder strap to your card for $40+

• You’ll receive a $40 rebate from Rakuten 🎉

This is literally the perfect time to get an AirTag (for basically free!!), prevent your luggage from ever getting lost again, and be ready to go when Apple officially launches its geolocation-tracking partnership with major airlines!

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

The correct answer is... Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)!

Ready or not, the holiday season is approaching! And, most of you are probably on the lookout for the best deals and flights to make your holiday travel a little less stressful.

It sounds like Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas is where it's at. The airport snagged the top spot for its lower-than-average fares, with flights from LAS averaging around $382—$100 less than most major airports.

So, if you’re flying out of Las Vegas during the holidays, you’re in luck, and your wallet will thank you.

On the other end of the spectrum, travelers should consider avoiding San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which ranked the lowest for holiday travel.

Safe travels, and here’s hoping your holiday travel is smoooooth sailing! Read more from the study here. 

That’s all for today, folks!

Sometimes, the best travel tricks are not related to points and miles at all! But don’t worry - tomorrow will have some classic points and miles talk, so make sure you watch your inbox!

Take care,

40.4319° N, 116.5704° E