— after years of logging serious miles, these are the moves I build into every single trip I plan.
There are approximately ten thousand travel hack lists on the internet.
Most of them are about packing a Ziploc bag or downloading an app to find cheap flights.
This is not that list.
These are the moves that my most experienced travelers use. The things that make the difference between a trip that goes smoothly and a trip that feels like it was choreographed for you. After years of planning luxury travel and logging serious miles of my own, these are the ones I actually swear by.
Get Global Entry — Not Just TSA PreCheck
TSA PreCheck is good. Global Entry is better.
Global Entry includes PreCheck automatically. It also gets you through US Customs in minutes when you return from an international trip — no standing in the immigration line for an hour after a transatlantic flight when you are already exhausted.
The application process takes a few weeks and requires an interview, but it is worth every minute. If you travel internationally more than once a year, this is non-negotiable. Many premium credit cards reimburse the fee entirely.
Always Call the Hotel Before You Arrive
Not to confirm your reservation (although doing this can also be a good idea). To introduce yourself.
A quick call to the concierge desk two or three days before arrival — letting them know you are celebrating something, or that this is a special trip, or simply that you are arriving and looking forward to staying — changes the experience at check-in.
Hotels remember the guests who reach out. They rarely remember the ones who just show up.
I do this for every client. The difference in how they are received is real and consistent.
Request the Room — Don’t Hope for It
The best room in the hotel is almost never the one automatically assigned to you.
Corner rooms have two exposures and more light. High floors are quieter. Rooms away from the elevator avoid foot traffic noise. The room with the view is often held back.
Ask specifically. Not just for an upgrade — for the particular thing you want. A high floor. A quiet side. A view of the water. Hotels have more flexibility than most guests realize, and a specific, polite request almost always outperforms a vague one.
Pack Your Carry-On Like Your Checked Bag Didn’t Make It
Because sometimes it doesn’t.
I am not suggesting you travel without checked luggage. I am suggesting your carry-on contains everything you need for the first 24 hours. One change of clothes. Your toiletries. Your medications. Your chargers. Anything irreplaceable.
A delayed bag on arrival day is an inconvenience. A delayed bag when you are dressed for a dinner reservation at a restaurant you booked three months ago is a different problem entirely.
Pack accordingly.
Download Everything Before You Board
Maps. Restaurant reservations. Hotel confirmation. Museum tickets. Ground transportation details.
Download them all. Screenshot what you cannot download. Save everything offline.
Connectivity on international flights is unreliable. WiFi at your destination hotel may take time to set up. The first hour in a new city should be spent arriving, not troubleshooting.
Google Maps allows offline map downloads for specific areas. Do this the night before you fly.
Know Your Airport Lounge Access
If you are flying business or first class internationally, you almost certainly have lounge access.
Use it. Every time.
The difference between spending two hours in a terminal and spending two hours in a well-appointed lounge with proper food, a quiet space, and a shower available — particularly before a long overnight flight — is considerable.
Know which card you carry and what lounge network it accesses. Priority Pass, Centurion, Chase Sapphire, United Club Card — each has different partnerships. Your travel advisor can walk you through which properties you have access to at the airports you use most.
Arrive a Day Early
This one sounds simple. It changes everything.
Building in an arrival day before your trip actually begins — before the tour starts, before the cruise boards, before the family gathers — gives you a buffer for delays, a chance to adjust to the time zone, and one unhurried day to simply arrive and breathe.
I have seen clients miss the first day of a river cruise because their connecting flight was delayed. I have seen jet lag turn a first day in Italy into a wasted one.
Arrive early. Sleep well. Start the trip rested. This is the most underutilized luxury travel move I know.
Let Someone Else Handle the Details
Every hack on this list works whether you plan the trip yourself or bring in help. But here is the honest truth: a good travel advisor already handles several of them for you, before you even think to ask.
The hotel that gets a personal note ahead of your arrival. The room request, followed up on directly with the property instead of left to chance. The restaurant reservation made months out, in the local language, with a mention of the occasion. The transfer timed to your actual flight, not your scheduled one.
These are not things that happen by accident. They happen because someone planned them — and when that someone is not you, the whole trip feels different from the moment you arrive.
That is the real hack. Not any single tip on this list, but having someone in your corner already handling all of them at once.
Ready to travel like you mean it?
Visit amoretraveldesigns.com/contact-me or reach me at cathy@amoretraveldesigns.com. Let’s make your next trip effortless.
Check out my other blog posts:
7 THINGS NOT TO DO IN HAWAII