Gift your favorite traveler something they really want.
My idea of the ideal traveler gift remains as always: something that (1) focuses on travel and (2) is an extravagance that you’re sure the traveler would enjoy but is not apt to arrange for him/herself. Giving something a traveler has already asked for is easy; just buy it. Other travel gifting isn’t as easy, because so much travel is tied to specific times.
If you can gift a trip with specific dates, start shopping: My inbox is full of “Black Friday” deal promotions on sale for another week or so. Tours, flights, hotels, restaurants, you name it: Just start searching for a destination you know your traveler would like or call a travel agent.
But many deals are date-specific and not feasible as gifts. That’s why my top choices for years have been travel extravagances not tied to any specific schedule. The easiest way to give an unexpected trip with open dates is to buy a hotel or resort package from
Livingsocial or similar source. (Groupon, a former resource, seems to be out of the trip business.) Those deals usually cover a two-day to weeklong stay at a leisure-oriented hotel or resort. You can find a wide range of options, from less-than-$100 regional weekends to foreign luxury. The big advantage to these coupons as gifts is that they’re typically valid for several months, so your traveler can set his/her own schedule; just make sure the validity window is appropriate. Also, watch out for hotel deals that carry a stiff resort fee that the user has to pay.
Another approach is to provide access to a welcome experience—provided it’s access your traveler doesn’t already have. My top suggestion for a traveler who isn’t already in a program is an airport lounge program.
Priority Pass provides access to more than 1,400 lounges, worldwide—a mix of airline and independent—and airport restaurants. Annual membership ranges from $99, providing discounted entry-per visit, to $469 for unlimited no-fee visits. Lounge access works best if your traveler’s home airport or frequently-traversed hub has a participating lounge location.
Gifting gets a lot easier if your traveler already has a specific trip planned and you can arrange some component of or add-on to that known trip:
- A theme park day pass.
- A day excursion from Viator
- A museum or attraction membership.
- One-time lounge access through Lounge Buddy
If your gift target travels frequently, consider a service that would help him or her finagle their way out of cattle-car economy or “main cabin” air trips without paying the outrageous fares that premium cabins typically entail. Several annual-subscription services specialize in ferreting out premium-cabin flash sales, promotions, and good mileage deals:
First Class Flyer, with three service levels starting at $97 per year;
Mighty Travels Premium Pro, $99 per year; and
Point.me $129 per year keep you alerted to flash sales and buy-miles offers that bring the price for business and first class tickets down to reasonable levels.
Buying additional frequent flyer miles to pad your traveler’s account sounds appealing, provided you buy when you can find the miles at a “sale” price less than 1.5 cents a mile. The airlines’ regular mileage sale prices are about three times what the miles are really worth. But that approach is too much like “gifting” underwear or a large pack of AAA batteries—useful, sure, but no fun and no surprise
I’m against gifting travel gadgets such as passport wallets, USB chargers, foreign plug adapters, and such. Most travelers either already have the gadgets and accessories they really want or have very specific requirements for the gadgets and accessories they want to take on their trips. Either way, all too many such “stocking stuffer” travel gifts quickly become “drawer stuffers.” Buy only if you’re sure you found the right gadget or accessory—and even then, try to focus on something you know the traveler wants but isn’t likely to buy him/herself.
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