Welcome to Inspiware.com’s business travel guide for the corporate road warriors.

The definitive business travel guide by Inspiware.com is a comprehensive resource for those who travel for work. Even with web conferencing and video conferences, business travel is imperative for many of us.  Professions as diverse as consulting, sales, client implementations, investment banking et al., necessitate extensive travel.  Unless you are a ten-million miler a la George Clooney in the movie Up in the Air, there are tips and ideas you can take from this definitive guide to business travel.

Business travel can be rewarding, enriching, and fun even though there will be moments of frustration. The goal of the business travel guide is to help you a) optimize your travel experience b) maximize the benefits from the travel and c) minimize the pain and suffering typical of traveling in today’s world.

The Definitive Business Travel Guide – Table of Contents

1. Before you go
2. Points, Miles, Loyalties, and Rewards
3. Credit Cards as a Critical Travel Tool
4. Optimize your Travel Experience

Before you go: Preparations for Business Travelers

Travel starts much before you board a plane or gas up your car or get on a train.   Let’s look at some of the critical steps you should take before you commence your business travel adventures.

Understand Policies and Procedures:

Each company has different policies and procedures.  Generally, they license travel management software – a la Concur – and mandate all employees book travel. Plus, there may be preferred vendor relationships where you pay a lower, preferred corporate rate.

Expense submissions also vary by company. Some companies will accept electronic receipts while others would like you to mail the receipts to a processing center.

And of course, when a company issues a corporate credit card, they force you to use it for all official business.  There are of course exceptions – for example when an establishment does not accept a particular brand of credit card or something similar.

Companies also have guidelines and deadlines for when to book travel, the class of travel, and the submission of expense reports.

Learn to live with the rules and yet look for avenues where you can reap the rewards and perks business travel brings along.

Knowing the travel policies in-depth will help you make decisions and choices to maximize the loyalty program benefits. For example, many companies allow business class travel for destinations that are more than six hours of flying time. So, if you travel from Boston, MA to Seattle, WA technically should qualify to buy business class outright. On the other hand, a flight from Boston, MA to Mexico City, Mexico clocks at less than six hours. So, based on company policies, the domestic route may not qualify for purchasing business class, but the latter may be OK as you are going to a different country.

But international borders do not matter in some instances.  For example, within Continental Europe most flights are less than 4-hours, even when you may flyover more than a couple of countries.

Passports and Visas:

If your travel involves overseas travel, you may already have a Passport. If not, please apply for and get a Passport immediately.  You can apply to get a US passport either through a Post Office or in Person. Learn more from the USA.Gov website.  The rules may be different for U.S. permanent residents (Green Card holders), and hence please review the laws and regulations before you board an international flight.

And many countries require a visa – some countries require that you apply and get a preapproval and in some cases, you can apply at the port of entry in the destination country.  The US State Department provides country-specific entry and documentation requirements.

Make Entry and Exit a Breeze:

TSA-PRE and Global entry can save you a lot of time and frustration.  After a long flight, you arrive home and then have to face long lines at international ports of entry.  In such cases, Global Entry allows you to breeze through immigration.  Similarly, TSA Precheck will enable you to keep your shoes, and light jacket on as well as not remove the cosmetics and laptop out of your bag. Of course, regulations may change and hence check with the authorities or airline before you travel.

Driving Abroad:

The fact is for most Americans driving in a foreign country is well “foreign.” The traffic patterns, the rules, and regulations, driver behavior, as well as signs will be different.  In general, it is advisable to use Uber, Lyft, or other ride-hailing services. Or your local host may arrange a car and driver.  And local public transportation may be an option.

However, some of us want to experience local life and driving in often chaotic conditions is one of the charms.  Or you may always dream of driving on the autobahn in Germany. Whatever be your motivation, if you plan on driving while traveling, check with your localhost or the US embassy on the local driving requirements. Some may accept a US driving license, but most won’t. In such cases, an International Driving Permit may be a good option. Check out the IDP information by AAA (American Association of Automobiles).

Business Traveler Health:

Business travel takes a toll on your health and hence it pays to take care of your health.  There are several things you can do before, during, and after your travel to keep good health.

Get your Vaccines: Depending on your destinations – particularly if you travel overseas – check what immunizations do you need to safeguard against illnesses.  CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommends getting these vaccines at least a month in advance of your travel.

CDC also offers a nifty tool where you can look up the immunization requirements and related things.

Taking Care of your Health Needs While Traveling Abroad:

Getting healthcare while you are traveling is a complicated endeavor.  The first step is to ensure you have enough supply of your prescription medications and preferably a destination specific travel health kit with essentials.

When you travel outside your zip code, typically you don’t have access to your primary care physician and the local clinic. (You may be able to contact your PCP via email or phone though.) And it is not as easy as walking into a clinic and getting treatment.  Your insurance company may have different coverage options while you are traveling. You will need to consider what is in-network coverage and out of network coverage, the latter costing more out of pocket.

And imagine the degree of difficulty when you travel abroad.  Note down what your insurance company offers with regards to healthcare coverage and physician access in the destination of your travel. Please ensure your local host has your emergency contact information.

Many of the tips to safeguard your health during travel are basic common sense.  Don’t drink tap water when in third world countries. Do not eat raw food or street food. Eat a fully cooked meal. Do not imbibe cocktails with ingredients you do not understand.  Use sunscreen and bug spray. And sleep well.

While we don’t recommend it, should you be pursuing sexual escapades outside of your regular partner, please make sure you pack some condoms as sexually transmitted diseases are prevalent and can be severe.

Be Safe on your Travels.

Being safe while traveling on business is an important consideration.  From petty crime to sexual assaults, from kidnappings to terrorism, there is a range of risks that an international business traveler has to confront.  Forget overseas travel, even within the US, in large cities like Los Angeles or Chicago; there are some areas where gangs and violence are prevalent.  Hence, it is essential to know what risks you encounter in a particular location even before you go.

One of the first steps we recommend is signing up for the STEP program.  The U.S. State Department offers a program called STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program).  The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service which allows U.S. citizens and nationals traveling and living abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate and get free alerts, tips, and safety information. Also, if there is an emergency, the Embassy or consulate can get in touch and help you navigate the issue.

Also, your company may offer appropriate safety and security protocols and be sure to know and follow them.

Points, Miles, Loyalties, and Rewards:

No business travel guide is complete without a discussion of points, miles, rewards, and redemptions. Any person who travels for business should delve into the world of loyalty programs. If you play your cards right (pun intended), your travel experience will be better, and you may get occasional free travel and upgrades for your personal trips.  For all the pain and suffering you go through as a road warrior as well as your spouse/kids who bear the brunt of your absence, it is a small reward to fly business or first class, stay in an exotic resort in a suite and have access to the lounge for breakfast, snacks, and drinks.

The whole points and rewards field (travel blogging or point blogging) has become more than a cottage industry with dozens of blogs doling out advice on which credit cards to get and how to use rewards currency to book and enjoy free or almost free travel.

A few necessary steps will help you make the most out of your business travel spend.

1. Sign up for Airline Loyalty Programs.

Most of the airline loyalty programs are free, and it is easy to join.  It may be advisable to set up an account and get a frequent flyer number from all major airlines that operate out of your home base.

Just opening an account may get you a number but not much more.  To get any meaningful perks, you must become an elite member.  That is why most business travelers choose one airline as a primary choice and route all their business which will elevate your status.  In some cases, you may need a primary carrier which you use for domestic travel and another for overseas travel. This is where airline alliances matter quite a bit as they immediately provide the network effect beyond the destinations your primary airline offers.

Which airline you pick as your primary is both an art and a science.  For example, if you live in Atlanta, you may not afford not to rely on Delta Airlines. Or you may be hard pressed to find other choices beyond American Airlines if you are flying out of DFW airport for most of your travels.  However, if you happen to live in Los Angeles or New York, you will have more than one choice – again based on your travel patterns and which airlines are preferred vendors of your company’s travel policy.

While it may seem a no-brainer to choose Delta in Atlanta or American Airlines from Dallas, it is not that easy.  In their main hubs, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of super elites clogging the system.  Unless you are executive platinum with American, a Premier 1K with United, or a Diamond Elite with Delta, you may not get many, if any, upgrades.

Furthermore, airlines have become very stingy in allowing business and first class redemptions.  While you may have a million-mile balance in the account, what if there is zero availability in business class on a flight to Australia or Hong Kong or Cape Town, where you will need to spend 15-hours plus cooped up in the airplane. (Of course, there are millions of Americans who travel in the cheapest economy and still enjoy their vacations. So, this is not a judgment or a reflection of the reality, but most road warriors realize how much that free trip in lie-flat seats in business or first class on vacation with family means to them.)

Here are some of the major airline loyalty programs for those of you who live in the United States.

Of course, even if you are a resident of the United States, you may still choose another airline – primarily based on how much you travel to those destinations and the value of their loyalty program.

For example, if you live and work in the United States, but your company headquarters are in London, and your primary business travel is visiting the home office 4-times a year, it may make sense to get a British Airways loyalty program. However, another option is to fly British Airways but credit your miles to their domestic partner – American Airlines (a part of the OneWorld Alliance.)

Similarly, if you are in the auto parts industry and sell to the automotive giants in Europe, you may consider Lufthansa loyalty program.  Alternatively, you can fly Lufthansa but credit your points to United Airlines (a part of the Star Alliance.) Or better still, if you are a frequent visitor or use one of the Middle East hubs as a connecting point, you may consider Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines, or Etihad as your primary airline.

After you enroll in the frequent flyer programs, make sure the profile within the travel portal your company uses has the frequent flyer information so that you can get credit for all your travel.

How to Boost your Points Earnings with Airlines?

In addition to getting points for flying on business (or on paid personal travel), you will have a chance to boost your points accumulation by using other techniques.

• Co-branded Airline Credit Cards:

We will address the wild and vast world of co-branded airline credit cards in a subsequent section but suffice it to say, using an airline card helps boost how many miles you earn as well as redemption bonuses and discounts, in addition to perks like expedited boarding, luggage allowance, and more importantly sign up bonuses.

You can read about the co-branded airline and hotel credit cards in a subsequent section. If you can’t wait, please click here to jump ahead.

• Dining Programs:

If you eat three meals a day while traveling on work, and also eat out with your family on other occasions, sign up dining programs that most airlines offer to their members. You can earn valuable miles/points for your restaurant spend. In some cases, if you use the airline credit card, there may be additional points accrual.  Please remember that while some airlines boost your mileage for your credit card spend, for at least the highest elite status, these dollars do not count. Nonetheless, they will increase your rewards points pool which you can use to redeem various things, including travel and hotel stays.

Please check the specific terms, conditions, and rewards of each dining program before signing up. (Though it may not make sense to sign up for one airline dining program while the other is your primary carrier.)

Choosing a credit card that offers additional points for restaurant spending may help you in padding your points.

American Airlines Dining Program

Delta Airlines Dining Program

United Airlines Dining Program

Alaska Airlines Dining Program

Jet Blue Dining Program

South West Airlines Dining Program

Caveat: Many of these dining rewards programs not only require you to be a member of the frequent flyer program but also may necessitate linking a credit card for credit points.  Please do not consider this a recommendation to get a credit card. Please consult your accountant or financial advisor about the risks of taking on debt and credit cards.

Online Shopping Portals:

Each of the major airlines and credit card companies offers online shopping portals.  These portals are gateways to other e-commerce sites.  You will have to log on and click on the shopping portal for you to receive the points and benefits.  So, if you purchase stuff through these shopping portals – for those items you are going to buy anyway – you can boost your points earnings.

Here are the shopping portals of the major airlines.

American Airlines Shopping Portal

Delta Airlines Shopping Portal

United Airlines Shopping Portal

Jet Blue Shopping Portal

South West Airlines Shopping Portal

Alaska Airlines Shopping Portal

Caveats: Please consider these four things before you spend money on shopping: a) While discounts are great, how do prices compare to other e-commerce sites? b) Do you need and can you afford these purchases c) Are you in a financial position to pay off these credit cards without incurring penalties and interest? And d) Are you better off using a cash back card or a service like eBates instead of airline shopping portals.

2. Sign up for Hotel Loyalty Programs

Similar to the airline frequent flyer programs, hotel chains also offer loyalty programs.  Most of the loyalty programs have several elite levels and in addition to the number of stays and dollar spend, there are additional ways to boost earnings and gain extra perks.

While nothing prevents you from signing up for all major hotel loyalty programs, you will need to choose your primary hotel chain to maximize your rewards possibilities.

The choice of the hotel chain may depend on the following factors:

1. The footprint of the hotel chain in the cities and towns you travel for business. For example, if you go to small and medium-sized cities in the rust belt, a premier hotel chain like the Hyatt may not have the necessary presence. If you are primarily traveling in Europe, a Euro-centric hotel chain may be more valuable.
2. The price range is within your company’s budget parameters for hotel stays. If your company’s budget for a top tier city tops off at $200, then you may not be able to stay in a four-star hotel in midtown Manhattan.  So, while you may not be able to stay at the four or five-star properties, if the chain also offers budget properties, then you may be able to fit it within your budget.
3. The preferred vendor relationships. If your company chooses a particular hotel chain as a preferred vendor, you will need to show cause for not picking them for any given destination.
4. Ability to redeem the points for vacations in properties and destinations which may be aspirational. For road warriors who travel a lot for business, this last point is a critical factor in choosing a hotel chain. For example, if you are aspiring to take a vacation to Australia and stay at Park Hyatt Sydney, that won’t happen unless you have points in your Hyatt account.  That is why many people choose large chains with a range of hotels from the high end to the low end. So, even when you stay at a budget property while traveling for work, you may choose one of the higher-end aspiration properties for your vacations. A vacation stays in a suite in a palatial resort on a pristine beach may help melt away all those frustrations of day to day travel.

Business Travel Guide – Top Hotel Loyalty Programs for you to consider:

How to Boost your Points and Rewards with Hotel Loyalty Programs?

Co-branded Hotel Credit Cards:

Co-branded hotel credit cards offer additional point earnings per dollar spent on the hotels as well as other expenses. Also, many bestow elite status and credit for certain nights of stay, which in turn makes achieving the next level of status a bit easier.

We will review the specific co-branded hotel credit card options in a subsequent section.

Dining Programs Offered by Hotel Chains:  You will receive points for dining in the on-property restaurants. Also, hotel loyalty programs span additional dining options and work similarly to how the airline dining rewards work.

Hilton Honors Dining

IHG Rewards Club Dining

Marriott Dining Rewards

Cross Promotion with Airlines:

You can also earn both hotel points and airline miles with some crossover programs.  Points and miles aficionados call it “double dipping.”

Hyatt Hotels and American Airlines have announced a new partnership.

United and Marriott Crossover program.

Unfortunately, the partnership between Starwood Hotels and Delta Airlines has been discontinued.

3. Sign up for Car Rental Programs

If you rent cars for your business trips, please do sign up for the appropriate rental car loyalty program.  Again, these rewards may not be significant, but perks like upgrades, skipping the counter and driving off will make the experience better.

Hertz Car Rental Loyalty Program

Avis Car Rental Loyalty Program

Enterprise Rent a Car Loyalty Program

Budget Car Rental Loyalty Program

Dollar Car Rental Loyalty Program

National Car Rental Loyalty Program

In many cases, the car rental programs will allow you to credit the points to an airline mileage plan or a hotel points plan.  You may choose one of those as an option if you value the hotel points or airline miles more than the car rental loyalty currency.

Explore if your company has a relationship with one or more of the car rental firms, where they may automatically bestow a status for being an employee of that firm. Besides, you will be availing of the lower corporate rates.

Credit Cards as a Critical Travel Tool:

Inspiware is neither a personal financial site or a credit card shill machine masquerading as a travel blog. Nevertheless, we will have to acknowledge the role credit cards, sign up bonuses, and perks are changing the face of travel.

It is also worth noting that the credit card offers and opportunities may not help all of us. For example, if you are a corporate business traveler, you may have company policies to reckon with.

A typical large company travel policy may look something like the following:

• Must book official travel using <Concur or Other Similar Corporate Travel Management Suite>
• Must book the most restrictive economy class for all flights of less than 8-hours. For business class tickets, prior approval of an SVP (Senior Vice President) is necessary.
• Avoid car rentals and rely on free hotel shuttles or ride-hailing services. If necessary, you must book <Hertz, Avis or another preferred vendor>
• Must incur all expenses on <Corporate Card>. No exceptions.

The actual policies will have a lot more nuance and clauses, but generally, the Fortune 500 travel policy landscape will look similar.

If so, you may not be able to avail yourself of using a personal credit card to book the travel.

Even if you have a corporate credit card, many credit card providers allow you to sign up for their rewards program.

For example, according to the American Express website, whose Green Corporate cards are ubiquitous in the corporate world, states the following:

{Membership Rewards® Program:

Enrollment in Membership Rewards® program‡ offers the opportunity to get points redeemable for gift cards, merchandise, air travel, hotel stays and more. Receive one point for every dollar of eligible purchases charged on enrolled American Express ® Corporate Cards. Membership Rewards points have no expiration date. However, points may be forfeited as described in the program terms. And our easy-to-use online tools simplify the way you manage points, track points and select rewards.}

Even though most employees in large firms must comply with corporate card usage mandates, you may still benefit from travel card cards.

Broadly, there are a) Co-branded Travel Credit Cards b) General Credit Cards with Travel Related Rewards and c) Cash Back Cards.

If you are a small business owner where every penny matters, you may opt for a cash back card for most company related expenses, including travel.  Some people swear by general credit cards (not co-branded ones) that offer a currency that you can use across several travel entities.

Co-Branded Airline Cards:

United Airlines Credit Cards:

United Offers co-branded credit cards with Chase bank.  They are both personal credit cards and business credit cards that fit various purposes.  If you predominantly fly on United and/or Star Alliance, one of these cards may be useful.

American Airlines Credit Cards:

American Airlines has relationships with Citi bank and also Barclays bank.

For more information, please review the American Airlines Credit Card information page. If you predominantly fly on American Airlines and/or One World Alliance, one of these cards may be useful.

Delta Airlines Credit Cards:

Delta Airlines and American Express feature several co-branded travel credit cards. If you fly Delta or the Sky Team airlines, consider these cards.

Jet Blue Credit Cards:

Jet Blue and Barclays offer co-branded credit cards for frequent Jet Blue flyers. Despite its limited footprint, many business travelers consider Jet Blue’s transcontinental business class – Jet Blue Mint – to be the gold standard.

Co-Branded Hotel Credit Cards:

Marriott Credit Cards

Hilton Credit Cards

Hyatt Credit Cards

IHG Credit Cards

Radisson Hotel Card

Optimize Your Travel Experience:

Book Smart:

If you are a business traveler, you may have to book through your corporate travel portal, and this may limit the chance to do comparison shopping, monitor price trends, and reserve the right schedule/price/comfort combination.

However, even if ultimately you have to call your corporate travel agency or book online, you must consider the following tools.

Google Flights is a smart tool to compare prices and schedules across airlines.

SeatGuru can be a valuable tool to look at seat configurations on airlines and book something that works for you.

Hipmunk allows you to sort your flights by what they call the agony factor.

Pack Smart:

Ensure you have all your essentials.  Pack clothes that are versatile and ones that you can layer as well as use with many combinations.  Each of us has different preferences about checking a bag or fitting everything into a carry-on.  So, follow your heart but ensure you run afoul of airline regulations of the size of your carryon.

Make a checklist of things you will need for your trip so that you don’t have to suffer the “oops” factor and go out to the nearest store to buy the missing things.

Arrive Early:

In most major metropolitan areas, traffic is a mess.  Even getting to the drop off point at airports is clogged beyond imagination – between antsy travelers, ride-hailing services, taxis, rental car shuttles, and what have you.  So, you don’t need the tension of missing a flight – you have enough stresses and strains already.  Arriving early helps you to unwind and also use the time to catch up on your email or make a couple of quick phone calls.

Lounge Around:

Lounge access is a highly sought after perk among business travelers, particularly when traveling internationally.   On long international destinations, a bit of rest and a shower in a lounge can rejuvenate your mind and body.

You can get lounge access free of charge for international travel if you have elite status (varies by airline) or if you are flying economy plus or business class.

And if you want regular access, airlines sell access either on a pay-as-you-go basis, annual memberships or as a perk of having one of their credit cards. (The standard yearly fee of cards with lounge access is around ~US $500. So please check the actual price and whether it makes sense for you.)

In addition to the airline lounges, you may also consider lounges by Priority Pass or American Express.  Many premier travel credit cards offer Priority Pass as a perk. So, you may want to look for the benefit schedule of such travel credit cards.

Grab better food before the flight:

Except for a few airlines on select routes, airline meals are not something you look forward to with bated breath and anticipation.  So, whether it is eating in the lounge or at your favorite restaurant in the airport, or picking up a grab and go meal, you cannot go wrong with any of the choices.

Minimize consumption of Alcohol:

At high altitudes, drinking too much alcohol is not a great idea.  However, if you must, limit your consumption and drink a lot of water before, during, and after to keep yourself hydrated.

Stretch:

Stretching, walking around, and even while sitting moving your limbs is a great idea. For longer flights, it is a necessity to avoid any risks such as deep vein thrombosis.

Other Onboard Accessories that may help your flight more comfortable.

• Get a Pair of Noise Cancelling Headphones
• Use an Eye Mask
• A Sweater or a Hoodie
• A pair of pajamas for overnight red-eye flights

See the business travel checklist for a comprehensive set of items you will need to consider.

Start Adjusting to the New Time Zone:

If you are traveling across time zones, it may be a good idea to arrive a day early to get adjusted to the new time zone so that you are not jet-lagged and sleepy all through the workday.  Try to sleep early or late so that you can get in sync with the new time zone.

Select the Right Room at the Hotel:

Book a hotel that meets your needs. Do you need a gym? Or a pool? Or do you want it to be right next to your client or office location? City center within walking distance to restaurants or a quieter place even if it means room service.

When requesting a room (or picking a place) consider what is essential for you? Do you need peace and quiet? Or you want a room with a view? (Of course, both may not be mutually exclusive.)

Depending on your needs, you may want to request a room that accommodates your preferences.

Include these in your corporate travel profile as well as when you check in to ensure your state your preferences.

Remember to File your Expenses:

Today, most companies accept electronic or credit card receipts or a picture of an actual receipt.  Know what your is company policy and try to comply.

Many business travelers lose out by not remembering specifics and then let go. Hence it is vital to keep a diary of the expenses or use an app to accomplish the same.

Hope you like our Definitive Guide to Business Travel. If we missed any topics, please let us know. If you like the business travel guide, please share it with your friends and colleagues on social media.