Hi, and welcome back to the channel.
If you're new here, my name is Megan,
and on this channel, I share tips and hacks on all things travel-related.
In today's video, I'll be sharing my favorite websites and apps
that have saved me time, money, both during my travels
as well as before I actually go.
If there's any websites that you like that I fail to mention,
please let me know in the comments down below,
as well as give this video a thumbs-up if you find it helpful.
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Maybe you're making a booking or you're shopping on Amazon,
and you see all of these five-star reviews,
and then you get a little bit skeptical, like,
"Hmmm... Are these real reviews? Or is this fakes news?"
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The first website on my list is FakeSpot.
It's a free tool that allows you to analyze reviews
and identify if they're legitimate reviews from real travelers.
Simply copy the URL from Yelp or TripAdvisor,
and paste it into the search bar on FakeSpot.
You'll get an overview of how reliable the reviews are
as well as other insights,
like the most positive review and the most negative review.
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If you are part of multiple loyalty programs,
you're going to love Points.com.
Points.com allows you to not only track your loyalty programs all in one place,
but also lets you exchange points between different programs.
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I just used 30,000 Miles&Smiles,
which is the Turkish Airline rewards miles program,
to get a blender!
Because the miles were expiring, I didn't know what they were worth,
and I didn't know how to use them.
Wish I had discovered this site sooner.
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TripFate is a free flight notification tool
that emails you the best flight deals from your home airport.
TripFate makes getting notified so easy.
Enter your email, create a password, identify your home airport,
and you're all set to start receiving deals straight to your inbox.
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There are very few of these flight-finding websites and apps
that I've actually gotten value from, and TripFate is one of them,
which is why I'm so excited to have partnered with Tim,
the founder of TripFate, on this video.
Now, you'll get a ton of value from just the free version,
but if you decide you'd like to give premium a try,
Tim was actually kind enough to extend an offer to give you a premium account
for a full three months, completely for free.
You can also cancel any time.
I bumped my account to a premium membership,
and I'm totally loving that I can add more than one departure airport,
customize the alerts based on where I want to go,
and get notified of crazy price drops before anyone else.
This is so key because seats sell fast when it's a great deal.
In order to take advantage of this offer, just go on to the TripFate website
and you'll see in the bottom corner a little chat box, click on that,
let Tim know that you were referred by this channel,
and he'll set you right up.
I highly recommend it, it's no risk, it's completely free,
and you'll see if you can get any cool flights out of it.
All of this information,
as well as a little bit more about why I love TripFate,
can be found in the description down below.
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If you're planning to fly internationally with a one-way ticket,
you probably know that you often won't be able to board your flight
if you can't show proof of onward travel while boarding.
You also usually need to show proof that you will be exiting the country
while making your visa application.
This can be frustrating if you don't know the date
that you're going to leave the country in advance
or if you haven't booked your flight out.
It's also a challenge if you plan to travel
around different countries over land
and are never planning to book a flight out of the country at all.
For about $12, Onward Ticket issues a real airline ticket
with a one-way flight out of the country you're traveling to.
Your ticket is booked and fully confirmed.
You can download it directly from their website
and you'll also receive an email that contains the same ticket.
You can show this ticket at the check-in counter with no problem.
The check-in agent can even verify the PNR in their system
and it will come back as confirmed.
This is a real ticket with a real confirmation number,
that you can even verify yourself on a major airline's website.
You won't have any trouble using it
as long as you use it within the 48-hour period prior to it expiring.
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AirHelp helps travelers get the compensation they deserve
if their flight is delayed, overbooked, or canceled.
New compensation rules kicked in for 2020,
and the good news is that passengers will be entitled to more compensation
for delayed, overbooked, or canceled flights.
The problem is that it's up to the traveler to file a complaint,
and most of us don't actually know what we're entitled to.
AirHelp claims to have helped over 16 million passengers
understand their rights and secure compensation
when their flight is delayed, canceled or overbooked.
AirHelp just makes the process so simple,
and is completely risk-free.
I mean, they're only getting paid if you're getting paid.
Simply submit your flight details
and you'll find out for free if you're entitled to compensation.
You can then take that information and speak to the airline yourself
or you can have AirHelp fight for the money on your behalf.
AirHelp operates on a "no win, no fee" basis.
So, if AirHelp is successful in getting your compensation,
they will take a commission of about 35%.
If they're unsuccessful, you won't be charged anything.
You can't lose here.
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Rakuten is a free cash-back browser extension
that sends you a check in the mail with up to 10% cash back
on all of your online shopping.
Rakuten is amazing for getting cash back when shopping on sites like Amazon.com.
But it's particularly awesome for us travelers
because it works with booking sites like Expedia and Booking.com.
Flight and hotel stays are expensive
so, getting cash back on those bookings will add up fast.
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The reason I talk about Rakuten all the time
is because it is honestly the easiest way to save and...
It's almost like you're making money. You're getting cash back.
So, you pay $1,000, you get 4% cash back,
It's just a check that gets sent to you for $40
and you don't do anything different; you're still shopping on the same sites.
It's so easy, the sign-up is so simple.
They don't ask you for a credit card, nothing sketchy like that,
and you can start earning immediately.
If you do decide to give Rakuten a try,
I have a link in the description
that will start your cashback account off at $10.
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You likely put your phone on airplane mode to avoid roaming charges while traveling.
Free messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are great,
but they only work if both users have the app downloaded
and have each other added as a contact.
Textfree solves this problem by giving you an absolutely free phone number.
Text messages are sent and received over Wi-Fi or data
if you do decide to get a traveler SIM card
in the country that you're traveling to.
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You essentially get a designated virtual phone number
that you can use to text other people's cellphones
as well as receive texts, either from the app on your phone
or from your laptop.
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If you have ever been on a layover and not been able to connect to the Wi-Fi
because you need to enter a phone number or because you don't have the password,
then you're going to love the founder of the travel and tech blog, foXnoMad.
Anil Polat, created a crowdsource map
with up-to-date wireless networks and passwords
from airports around the world.
This includes log-in details for the airport lounges.
This means you can sit outside of a lounge
and have free access to their high speed internet.
The map can be found online by googling "WiFox"
or can be downloaded as an app.
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The easiest way to keep track of all of your bookings and your travel plans
is by using TripIt.
Trip it creates a master itinerary of all of your travel plans
and gives you access to it anywhere, anytime.
This is one of my ultimate go-tos for keeping things organized.
What makes TripIt stand out from other travel organizers
is that you don't need to manually enter all of your booking information.
Simply forward the confirmation email from flight, tours, hotels, and so on,
to plans@tripit.com.
TripIt will automatically build the itinerary
and include all relevant information
like addresses, times, and confirmation numbers.
You can share a live link of the master itinerary with anyone,
whether they use TripIt or not.
Whenever you update your plans,
it will update the shared link automatically.
TripIt is a completely free way to seamlessly organize your travel
and keep travel partners, or family back home, up to date on your plans.
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While flight tickets are getting cheaper, luggage costs are at an all-time high.
I was shocked to find that some airlines are now charging you for carry-ons,
and that some checked baggage fees are even higher than the flight ticket
when it comes to budget airlines.
The world baggage comparison chart on FareCompare.com
can save you from booking a cheap flight
only to find out that checking a bag
is going to add an additional USD 60 each way.
You can easily see the expected baggage costs
for all airlines in one place.
allowing you to make an informed decision on which airline to book with.
There you have it, those are my absolute favorite websites and apps.
Please, please, please, leave in the comments below
if there's any that you found that you really enjoy
that I didn't mention on this list.
Or even if you enjoyed them and I did mention them.
Don't forget to give this video a thumbs-up,
and I hope you'll subscribe because I'm back here every single week
with a new travel-related video.
Hope to see you next week, and until then, happy travels.
Bye!