Check-up list prior to overseas travel

Even for someone like me traveling so frequently, trip preparation can be stressful. Finding the right connections and right deals for hotels can take forever. Given these days how strict the regulations on air travel and the limitations on what you can put into your carry-on luggage are, packing is always one of my biggest headaches, especially if it is an overseas trip and it involves more than one passenger.

Before any of our overseas trips, I always follow our check-up list to ensure that (i) necessary and important documents are on-board with us and that (ii) there is no over-packing.

So here is my check-up list prior to any of my overseas trips:

(1) Valid passport (of course!) with valid visa (if necessary). Some countries require at least six months prior to the expiration date of the passport.

(2) Print out the airline itinerary, hotel reservation records, and/or car rental receipts. Keep also these documents online (via emails, or Google documents).

(3) One or two days prior to departure, call the credit cards (Capital One) and banks (Charles Schwab) to inform them about potential overseas charges.

Capital One credit card and Charles Schwab bank card are the only cards we use overseas. The former does not charge any foreign transaction fee, and the later does not charge ATM fee, even if you withdraw from an overseas ATM.

Capital One also has an automatic system to allow you to enter the duration and destination of your travel. Even better, you can customize your Capital One with your pictures.

(4) Two or three days prior to departure, arrange mail hold with the postal service. This can be done from https://holdmail.usps.com/duns/HoldMail.jsp.

(5) One day prior to departure, update the iPod Touch. Load it up with tons of free games and applications. So far this is the best gadget available to kill the boring wait-time at the airports.

(6) If we fly the economy class and it is a long flight, then we also pack noise-cancellation headphones.

(7) Converters for all electronics (especially laptops).

(8) Double-check the locations of airline lounges if there is a connecting flight and a long layover. I am a firm-believer that these airline lounges make a long flight so tolerable. On top of that, many airlines tend to share one lounge in foreign airports, so your money gets extra mileages.

Things that I never bring:

(1) Money belt. I do not see the point here and do not know why every tour book would advise Americans to take this ugly and naive thing with them. Whenever I see someone wearing a money belt, it is like he or she has “I am a first-time tourist” written all over the forehead. One could be better off with a thin and stylish messenger bag, which does not take a lot of luggage space nor add much weight, but provides far more functions than a money belt.

(2) Inflatable pillow. Unlike they are extremely cute, wearing this thing around the neck and walking back and forth in the cabin just looks so… (while, you know what I mean). They are comfortable to certain extent, but not worth the hassle.