How I’ve grown as a traveler Upgraded to Economy, February 21, 2024March 2, 2024 In October 2021, I finally had some time on my hands to travel. After several grueling months of work, I decided to take a well-deserved vacation. At the time, many foreign destinations were closed to visitors. Furthermore, almost all of the destinations open to foreigners required proof of vaccination against COVID-19 and negative COVID tests. Nonetheless, I was insistent on going abroad. After being stuck in the United States during the pandemic (minus my trip to Dubai), I was fed up. I just had to travel. I decided my first post-vaccination trip was going to be to Montréal, Canada. I had never been there before, but I was very interested in going, as I had taken French in high school and figured this would work for the meantime in lieu of visiting Paris. At the time, as far as I remember, Europe’s borders were still sealed shut and wouldn’t open up for another few months. I was excited to go to Montréal, but I had a lot of preparation to do for my trip. Hallmarks of a new traveler I was very much not a seasoned traveler at that point. I remember there were several differences between back then and now. Back then: First, I made a checklist of everything I’d be bringing with me. At the time, I wasn’t exactly sure what to pack. I’d bring travel-sized toothpaste and put all my toiletries in plastic bags. Second, I didn’t pack light. In fact, I checked in a suitcase. To be fair, part of it was because I needed to carry some bulky items (like a scale to weigh myself) and a huge North Face jacket, in case it got really cold (and that ended up being necessary). However, this slowed me down at the airport, and furthermore I realized that I was carrying a lot of stuff as “insurance” that I later realized I never used on the trip. Also, I probably wasn’t folding my clothes very efficiently, because I had trouble fitting things in my carry-on suitcase. Third, I had to pay for my checked bag. I did not have status (yet) on American Airlines, so I had to pay $30 until I earned status (which, thankfully, was pretty fast at the time and happened during my flight from Montréal to Las Vegas). Fourth, I did not have any special airline travel credit card. The best I carried in my wallet was my trusty Chase Sapphire Preferred, but that didn’t get me lounge access, nor did it get me 5x back on flights. Fifth, I didn’t have any hotel elite status yet either. There was no point in booking the chain hotels. I was a nobody to them, so what’s the point of booking with Hilton, Hyatt, or Marriott? Sixth, I did not have Global Entry or NEXUS, so the security wait at the Montréal Airport, combined with the even longer wait for the primary CBP inspection, was a bit tedious. Seventh, I did not have my airport security routine down to the tee quite yet. I’d go through ID checks and fumble with putting my ID back in my wallet and trying to find a place in my bag to put my wallet and phone. And eighth, I boarded relatively late and never got seats near the front of the plane, nor did I get free extra legroom seats or exit row seats, much less free alcohol. Now, two saving graces I can name: First, at least I had some credit cards in my wallet that didn’t have foreign transaction fees: the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Amazon Prime Visa Card, and the Apple Card. I also had a debit card that I could use to withdraw cash from foreign ATMs and get the fees reimbursed. Second, I had TSA PreCheck. That at least got me through security relatively painlessly, save for the need to spend another minute making sure my bag was ready to go through the X-ray machine. What it’s like today Things are very different today. I’ll address each of the points I made above with the situation as of the present day (in February 2024). First, I have a mental checklist now that I’ve fully internalized. See my next point to see what I mean by that. Second, I rarely travel with a checked bag these days. Short version: I stopped carrying useless crap with me and now I only carry essential crap. Long version: I fit everything into my backpack and carry-on suitcase. Clothes and toiletries go into my carry-on suitcase, while electronics, accessories, medication, identity documents, and my wallet go in my backpack. I also keep a special hanging toiletries bag filled with my travel-specific items, such as my folding toothbrush and my 2.5-ounce roll of toothpaste. Whenever I’m ready to travel, I pack enough t-shirts, underwear, socks, pants, and dress shirts to last me the trip. There’s always a plastic toiletries bag in my carry-on that I took from a hotel I’ve stayed in, in which I store my dirty laundry. After I load my clothes, I take my toiletries bag and put it in my carry-on. That’s pretty much it for my carry-on. As for my backpack, it’s solely for travel, so I keep a special set of travel chargers in there at all times that I don’t remove when I get home. I also keep a battery pack in my backpack in case I need to recharge my iPhone or iPad while traveling. For emergency medication, I keep a bottle of Tylenol in my backpack, just in case. I also put my daily medication in pill organizers, as they snugly fit in my backpack. Then, I put a 1-liter plastic water bottle (the kind from Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ozarka, Arrowhead, etc.), always empty until I go through security, at which point I fill it up at the lounge. If I’m heading to the East Coast and am renting a car, I also put my E-ZPass in my backpack. This was a super long and comprehensive overview of how I pack these days, but I guarantee you it’s made traveling so much more streamlined and predictable for me. Third, I can’t remember paying for a checked bag since I was at Montréal Airport in 2021. I usually fly on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, and thanks to my elite status on them, I don’t ever think twice about checked bag fees anymore. Fourth, I now have three travel credit cards that give me lounge access: the Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Capital One Venture X. Each of them give me unique benefits and unique points back on varying categories that make the cards pay for themselves, which lets me justify the high annual fee behind each of them and convinces me to keep all three of them. I rarely ever wait at the gate anymore; you’ll catch me at the lounge with plenty of time to spare before boarding. Fifth, I have hotel elite status now. My Amex Platinum guarantees I’ll at least have Hilton Gold and Marriott Gold. The former gives me a bevy of benefits that makes me pretty comfy whenever I stay at a Hilton. The Marriott Gold is not great but is better than nothing. Sixth, not only did I get Global Entry, but I finally have NEXUS. Now I have fast track entry into the United States and Canada, along with TSA PreCheck benefits. Seventh, I have my airport routine down to the tee now. Thanks to PreCheck, I never take off my shoes in the U.S., nor do I need to take out my laptops/iPad. I often wear a leather belt because if I get upgraded to first class, I need to dress professionally and presentably. I now always remember to take it off and put it in my backpack before I put my bags into the X-ray machine for screening. And finally, eighth, my elite status gets me priority check-in, priority boarding, and free extra legroom seats that really makes a difference during long flights. I almost always enjoy free alcohol on board, which helps me pass the time and reduce my fear of turbulence. Of course, the best part is the free upgrades to domestic first class. Depending on the route and season, there’s often a real promising chance I can get upgraded, which is pretty awesome. What caused me to change? First, this one came from packing and repacking. I would refer back to my list for the first year I traveled, but eventually I got lazy and said “YOLO” and turns out now I have memorized everything I need to bring. It also helps that I started kind of living out of a suitcase, as there’s always things in my suitcase, and I eventually acquired a backpack dedicated for travel. Second, after learning what I didn’t need and going for shorter trips, I took the leap once and reduced my belongings to just a carry-on and my backpack. Plus, carrying a huge checked bag around Europe turned out to be extremely cumbersome and downright embarrassing when I transported it on the train or hauled it along historical cobblestone streets. Nowadays, the annoyance I have about waiting for checked bags means I only do it when I travel internationally and need to bring back gifts or liquids. Third, I gained airline status after I played the game of earning enough elite qualifying miles and dollars on American Airlines (later Loyalty Points) to get AAdvantage Gold and then Platinum. Fourth, I eventually signed up for credit cards after reading about them and taking the leap of faith to apply them and pay for them. They ended up being extremely worthwhile. I explain my credit cards in various posts on this blog. Fifth, the hotel elite status either came from my status matching (in the case of Wyndham -> Caesars -> MGM -> Hyatt), credit cards (Hilton and Marriott by virtue of my Amex Platinum), or it naturally earned itself (Hilton Diamond—thanks to my myriad of hotel stays in Europe with Hilton hotels). Sixth, I explain in various posts on this blog my journey through applying for my Global Entry, followed by my loooooooong NEXUS application process. Seventh, this came with practice. After going through security over 100 times (not exaggerating—I counted the number of flights I’ve flown), you eventually get the gist of it. Eighth, refer back to my third point. Night and day difference Reflecting back on my experience visiting Montréal, being a naïve and carefree tourist was both fun and also much more inferior than the experiences I get to enjoy these days when traveling. My many experiences traveling since that fateful trip to Montréal have shaped me trip by trip, allowing me to practice and iterate on how I travel. That’s made me the traveler I am today. This was a nice trip down memory lane for me and I hope it serves as inspiration to anyone who might be considering jumping into the traveling life! Related Posts What happens when the NEXUS lane is closed but you are a trusted traveler?Looking at Niagara Falls from the Rainbow Bridge at midnight. (My own picture.) 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