Danny Recommends: TripIt
Every so often we dip our toes into a series called Danny Recommends:, posts that tip you off to the stuff that I…you know. The recommendations might be products for use in your ministry, resources that will help you develop leaders around you, or just fun stuff that you need. Want. Whatever. I have a full list of recommended books and such over at the Reading List, but these posts will go into further detail. For other posts in the series, check out the link at the bottom.
Whoever said half the fun is getting there has obviously never been stuck on a tarmac while they turned the plane off and back on, been subject to a rerouted flight, or gotten an “upgrade” to a hotel room that involved being next to a location where people are apparently just tossing boulders and baby elephants down an elevator shaft all night long.
I believe that nightmare travel should be less nightmareish, which is why this month’s Danny Recommends: is my whole-hearted nod to an app I’ve used for years.
TripIt takes every conceivable step of your travel plans – flights and rental cars and hotels and meetings and meals and you name it – and packages everything in a neat-and-tidy itinerary. When you receive your emailed itinerary from your airline, hotel, whatever, you simply forward that email to your TripIt account. Their robots then extrapolate the pertinent data into an at-a-glance list. It’s seamless, simple, and stress-free.
And on the off chance that TripIt gets something wrong or you don’t have a copy of the itinerary, it’s easy to manually add or edit your trip as needed.
TripIt syncs between the web and your iDevices with ease. It can update your calendar on your behalf, adding flight and check in times. And you can easily share your itinerary with anyone you’d like.
The best part? TripIt is free. There’s a Pro version ($49 per year), but in full disclosure I’ve (a) never used it because (b) I’ve found the cheapskate’s version to work just fine. Pro gives an impressive list of bells and whistles (you can see those here), but I’ve found that most of those are benefits I’m already getting from other sources (for example, my airline already lets me know they’re running behind, so why double down on the insult?).
Whether you’re a casual vacationer or a million-miler on seven different airlines, I can’t recommend TripIt enough. Check it out today.
See all posts in the Danny Recommends: series.
Disclaimer: FTC watchdogs will probably want to know that the vendors listed / linked above did not ask for this endorsement, nor did they provide me with free swag in order to do so. I’m just a really satisfied fan who wants to let you know where you can hear some great information and entertainment. I only promote items that have benefitted me and that I believe will benefit you. So there.
