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Taking a trip? Check out these 8 must haves
I like my travel tight. Get everything I need in as small a space as I can possibly fit, BUT I also know that I’m a packrat and I’ll probably buy some stuff I don’t need, but I’ll have to have because who knows if I’ll ever get the chance to buy a snowglobe on the Great Wall of China again? You know you feel me. So I’ve put together a collection of things that will keep your phone charged, laptop backed up, possessions safe, AND do it in style and in the most compact way possible. If you’re taking a trip…Check out these 8 must haves that WE USE ALLLLL the time.
Tumi Alpha Bravo Backpack
This is my second Tumi backpack. My first was in college and I busted it to save up for one. I worked at a Neiman Marcus part-time just so I could buy a Tumi backpack and two Hugo Boss suits during the friends and family discount. I quit two weeks later. Is that silly? Who knows and it’s not the point – the point is I’ve never turned back from Tumi backpacks. They’re highly durable, stylish, and this Alpha Bravo has pockets built for the road warrior or the casual weekender.
Hartmann 7R Global Carry On Spinner
I’ve used Hartmann luggage for a long time, and I really have my eye on this upgrade. Hartmann has a great warranty and personally I think the 7R looks super handsome.
Ebags packing cubes. I really do use them everytime I travel.
Anker Portable Power Banks
I travel with 2 or 3 of these bad boys. They’ve saved my life…or least my life as a blogger with a phone who’s battery likes to die right before boarding.
I use a GoPro Hero 5 but I really want the new Fusion so I could record in full 360.
These guys are fully water proof and offer true 4k video ( 5.2k with the Fusion). They aren’t cheap, but I’ve found them to be really fun to film with and the image/video quality is great. The new Fusion is currently on sale for $597.
Macbook Air + Seagate portable hard drive.
- My Macbook Air is Slim, fast, and it’s Miles’ favorite. The only downside…it doesn’t have a large hard drive…that’s where the Seagate comes in
Miles whips this bad boy out no matter if he’s on the plane…or lounging in Bali at Mandapa!
Eagle Creek “No Matter What “Duffel Bag
I love this thing. I bought it in 2015 for our Safari and it ends up getting packed into my roller. If I buy stuff…Bam! I unpack this bad boy and I have a durable bag to toss it into. Hello Madison Wisconsin 🙂
Things are things I actually use. I’m not paid to endorse any of these items, but the link provided are affiliate links and I’d make a small bonus if you used my links. I appreciate you using them, but these are honestly things that I use and enjoy.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account openingÂ
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:Â
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.Â
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.Â
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