Summer bookings are up by 60%. Battle of the leisure travelers is on.

• Searches for domestic travel are up 60% for summer travel since Feb 20 compared to year prior according to airfare app Hopper.
• Business and International travel is still 80-90% off normal levels.  As a result airlines are adding flights back into the schedule.
• Southwest Airlines is adding 17 new destinations including Myrtle Beach, Palm Springs and Bozeman, Montana.

Vaxed travel aka vaccinated travel is leading bookings.

My first vacation booking can be canceled without losing anything. I just booked flights to Hawaii departing in two weeks at the lowest price I have ever paid. I got coach there for $203 and first class return for $480. In the past the same flights would be from $800 to $1200.

Some destinations like Hawaii require a negative pre-travel Covid test to avoid quarantines and now also make a quarantine exemption for those who can prove they are fully vaccinated on the mainland and in possession of a CDC Sars-COV-2 vaccine card, a CLEAR HealthPass record of it or CommonPass app record that is associated with the mandatory pre-travel Hawaii Safe Travels website where anyone looking to step foot in this Pacific paradise must complete well before their flight.

I learned a lesson when trying to create a CLEAR HealthPass Vaccine record and screwed up entering info.  There is no easy way to undo or backup once you’ve advanced into the pending status where my application for my first vaccine passport sat pending in limbo for weeks.   Calling, texting and email CLEAR where I am already a member to skip airport lines got me nowhere fast.  Eventually a call-back from some of the CLEAR support team offered a solution to my glitched up vax passport.  And its a good thing, cause like it or not, if you want to spread your wings around the world, you will need one regardless of whether you think you should.

Vaccine Passport is the future of travel

Your next travel or large format gathering may depend on proving you have a current vaccination. These vaccine passports coming are digital certificates in your phone may be needed to take a flight, attend a concert, and gain entry into a theme park.

The U.S. which leads in so many areas of technology, is acting like a 3rd world country with no focused vaccinated health passport. What we know is that most civilized countries are leading toward the idea that vaccination passports from origin countries will be the standard.

That means that the USA needs to figure out a plan yesterday because the rest of the world is building out a standardized vaccine passport for their people. Future travel to other countries will depend on a standardized vaccine passport that can be trusted by the hosting country. Travel economies are depending on vaccine passports to speed recovery.

I hate lines and have already grown impatient with constantly shelling out of for PCR Covid tests related to travel.   I get that some think a passport is an invasion or privacy and much like big brother, and you are correct.  That does not changes or weigh heavier than my need to be happy and travel instead of be right.

We have some good ones brewing in America but nothing standardized and it looks like a national plan will not be coming together similar to our western partners in democracy.

Most Popular Vaccine Passport Apps

• VeriFly app is being used by several travel brands including American Airlines.
• United Airlines made its own vaccine passport called Travel Ready.
• CLEAR, the biometric security technology that lets you breeze through TSA checkpoints without showing an ID, has developed a Health Pass vaccine record.
• CommonPass app. the one being embrace by Hawaii is universally available at zero cost.

 

How to Plan a Trip You Can Unplug without Losing $$

I just booked my mom to Italy in business class roundtrip in Sept for around $3200 that she can change if she needs to postpone.vAfter March 31, tickets like this one come with hefty change fees of up to $500 per traveler. AirBNB shows refund policy for its hosted properties during the reservation process. Make sure you know when you can get a full refund for future trip that gets canceled. The AirBNB home in Tuscany I booked for my mom refunds 100% if canceled within 30 days of stay.

Airlines with expiring change fees

• American
• Delta
• United
• JetBlue
• Frontier

 

3 Tools for Summer Travel

SeatAlerts app – free app notifies when seats empty or get crowded on your flight
TheMilesGuy.com – best service for booking first/business class tickets using points. You only pay fee if you decide to fly.
ExpertFlyer.com – subscription site shows raw inventory on flights and help find award tickets

 

Tips for Booking Flights

• Book by 3/31
• Flexible with days of the week to get price/routes
• Track flights for crowding on seat alert app
• Check Covid test requirements
• Download Airline App for contactless airport experience

Travel Tips and Tricks to Plan the Perfect Post Pandemic Trip