Happy Monday Everyone!
Today starts the new schedule of the blog/youtube series postings. I am very excited to be kicking things off and look forward to the road ahead. This first video is based on my views of domestic travel as a mom and a business traveler. There are a lot of factors to consider when booking air travel and I hope this helps!
My favorite airline to fly is Southwest. I love the friendly atmosphere and the free checked bags are a huge plus for me. When I travel if I can avoid carrying a ton of luggage through the airport, I will do it. I tend to cruise and fly a lot with my daughter. Not having to carry my luggage plus hers is a giant bonus. The factors I consider when checking bags are how quick my connection flights are. If I have more than a 45 minute layover, I check my bags. When I go on cruises I bring my own snorkel equipment so with Southwest having 2 free checked bags it allows me to put my snorkel stuff in its own bag versus trying to stuff it in with my clothing.
At the airport I prefer to just have a small shoulder bag with me. My bag usually consists of my iPad (laptop as well if I’m on business), a change of clothes, a swimsuit, my make up, charging cords/power bricks, wallet/passport, photography equipment and travel documents. I usually pack my actual purse in my checked bag so I’m not lugging that with my shoulder bag through the airport. I usually wear very comfy clothes (yoga pants, zip up hoodie and flip flops). It is easier when you are in a rush at security check point (let’s be honest, TSA glares at all the slowpokes going through the check point) to have shoes that just slide right off. For those of you who would prefer to have socks, some slips with socks would work just fine too! I’m just usually flying some place warm so flip flops reign supreme for me!
Next topic: liquids. Aside from deodorant and perfume, I tend to not pack other travel liquids. I will usually buy shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc when I get to my destination. If I do have to put liquids in my checked luggage they go in a good gallon size ziploc bag. I just don’t like the chance of anything opening or breaking. It never fails that even when I have them in a bag that they still break open and make a mess of the other containers in the gallon size bag.
I have flown just about every main domestic airline. Southwest and Jetblue tend to be my favorites. I know that when I finally make it overseas that I’ll probably be using a larger carrier like Delta or United at some point and time. I just really enjoy that southwest doesn’t have change fees which let’s me cancel and rebook travel with the remaining credit if the price has dropped.
If you have questions about points and awesome airfare deals I would highly suggest that you check out “The Points Guy” blog! He is absolutely amazing and has given me hope for European airfare!
http://thepointsguy.com/
Stay tuned for news and tips. There will be a new post and video this coming Friday! Make sure you watch the video for some extra tips and stories! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. If I don’t know the answer, I will help you find it 🙂
Twitter and Instagram @haleewithaflair
Enjoyed the scope! Very similar travel preferences (btw, window seat) I try to fly SW as well, mainly because you can cancel or change w/o penalty. At a previous job I was American to the bone. I still have 200K miles to use. I have had gold status with Hilton since 2000, tho now it’s cause I spend a lot on the Amex card. I took the SW card last year and got the 50K miles.
Window seats are the best! I try to get miles any way that I can. You’ll have to come stay at my Hilton with all your points!