Travel can sometimes be stressful. However, with a little knowledge and planning, your holidays can become more relaxing rather than stressful.
Prefer websites you know and trust
Scammers are excellent at creating fake travel apps and websites to deceive you — and AI tools make building them easier. Fortunately, there are clues you can monitor to avoid them.
◾ Read online reviews and ratings on sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, or Google. Extremely positive and negative reviews can be fake. Look for a balance in the reviews.
◾ Accreditation and licenses: Many reputable travel agencies are members of recognized organizations, such as the American Association of Travel Consultants or are accredited by the International Air Transport Association. Check their website for credentials.
◾ Transparent pricing: Legitimate websites are clear and straightforward about all costs. Beware of websites that have hidden fees or don’t clearly explain costs.
◾ Secure payment options: Reputable travel websites offer secure and familiar payment options. Beware of sites that only allow bank transfers or money orders.
Track your bag
Lost luggage can ruin your trip. Many major airlines (such as United, American, Delta, and Air New Zealand) allow you to track your luggage in real time via the company's official app, so download it before you start your trip.
Tip: Searching app stores can lead you to counterfeits. Visit your airline's official website and look for the link to the app at the top or bottom of the page.
Place an Apple AirTag in your checked luggage for extra peace of mind.
◾ Apple's AirTags are ideal for iPhone, Mac or iPad.
Set Gmail and Drive to offline mode.
Sometimes, the connection is so bad that you can't even load your inbox. Fortunately, you can prepare your replies in advance if you schedule them.
In Gmail on your desktop:
◾ Tap the settings cog > See all settings.
◾ Click the Offline tab, then check the Enable offline mail.
◾ From here, select how many days of messages you want to sync.
◾ Click Save changes.
Now, do the same for the documents you use most on Google Drive. You need to do this for each document, so make sure to do it in advance.
First, enable the setting:
◾ Open Google Drive.
◾ At the top right, click the settings cog > Settings.
◾ Enable Offline.
Depending on your storage space, recent files will be saved automatically offline. To select non-automatic files:
◾ In the file you want to use, click File > Make available offline.
Your phone is worth a lot
Think about all the accounts connected to it: your bank and other financial apps, your incoming emails, and your personal text messages containing who knows what.
◾ When in public, shield your PIN. If you really need to unlock your phone in front of people, use Face ID or your fingerprint.
◾ If you do not want to use Face ID, use a password with numbers and letters, if your phone allows it.
Source of information: eu.usatoday.com
