✈️No extra paperwork is needed for entering Europe—for now

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Special Travel Edition Spring/Summer 2023

A Note from Caroline

Welcome to the latest edition of Forbes Advisor's quarterly travel newsletter. I'm Caroline, a full-time traveler and I'll be sharing the latest travel updates and news with you from around the world. Om swastiastu from Bali, Indonesia! 🇮🇩

Europe was set to implement an electronic visa-free entry system in November 2023, but this has been delayed again—at least until 2024. This is great news for travelers from the U.S. though, as the entry system will require them to fill out an online application at least a few days in advance of travel to Europe. Enjoy your trip across the pond, paperwork free, for another year.

In this issue, I'll also be sharing some of my top tips to save money on summer travel, as well as some important tips to protect your wallet and ensure a smooth and enjoyable trip.

Happy traveling!

Caroline

Caroline Lupini

Managing Editor, Credit Cards & Travel Rewards

Big News: You Won’t Need a Visa To Travel to Europe This Year

The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), a planned travel authorization system to help the EU keep track of non-EU visitors, has been postponed multiple times due to technical and organizational problems.

This program will make travel to Europe a little more complicated and just a touch more expensive, too. It’s expected that the application will take around 10 minutes to fill out and requires a 7 EUR (about $7.60) fee. Application approval is expected to take about 96 hours, or two weeks maximum. Once approved, the ETIAS will be valid for three years or until the end of the validity of the travel document registered during the application, whichever comes first.

Luckily, we don’t need to worry about this added headache until at least 2024.

That said, Europe isn’t the first to require an electronic travel authorization (ETA) before traveling. The U.S. created the ESTA program in 2008 and made it mandatory for non-U.S. visitors in 2009. Many Americans (including yours truly) have arrived at the airport without filling out the application for Australia’s similar program—which, luckily, typically issues approval within minutes. South Korea, Sri Lanka and New Zealand all have ETA requirements for American travelers, too.

Trends in travel insurance purchases show that sand and sun are still high on the list for trips outside the U.S. Data from Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison provider, shows that Mexico leads the destination list for Americans going abroad.

Caroline's Tips To Save Money on Summer Travel

The Best Time To Buy Flights

There’s no best day of the week to save on flights, but there are a lot of other strategies. The best ways to save on your airline tickets are to start looking at prices early, use discounts and tools you have available and book when you see a good price or a dip in the price. According to a study by Expedia, you’ll save an average of 10% by booking international travel six months in advance versus two months or fewer. But even though we’re a couple of months away from summer, it’s not too late to save.

Google Flights is a great tool to use when you’re looking for flights. It shows a chart indicating whether a specific flight is priced low, average or high compared to normal. It also gives you the option to set price alerts on trips you’re eyeing and will send you an email when the price dips or jumps. When you see a significant dip in the flight price or if you notice that it’s already priced lower than normal, it’s probably a good time to book your trip.

Consider Positioning Flights

Sometimes the best flight deals aren’t from your preferred departure city or to your preferred destination, but that doesn’t mean that you need to miss out on the deal. A positioning flight is a flight that you take to get to your departure airport for your main flight or to your final destination.

For example, if you live in Austin, Texas and you want to fly to Madrid, you might book a great deal on a flight from Miami to Madrid and then book a positioning flight to Miami. Similarly, maybe you find a great deal from Austin to Paris, and then you book a positioning flight from Paris to Madrid. It’s possible to book positioning flights both for your departure and your destination, too.

Positioning flights can be a great way to save money on airfare, but they can also be risky if you don’t plan correctly. It’s important to make sure that you have enough time between flights when you’re two separate tickets with different airlines because no one will care if you miss a connecting flight that’s booked on a different ticket. My recommendation? Use this as an excuse to visit another city for a day or two.

Hit the Lounge on Your Travel Days

Travel days are tiring, and eating and drinking at the airport can add to the travel costs (even more so if you have multiple travel days due to positioning flights). Some of the best travel rewards credit cards offer airport lounge access as a benefit.

But with recent reports of overcrowding, are airport lounges still worth it? It depends. Some lounges, especially in the U.S., have problems with overcrowding, but aren’t as crammed internationally. Big airports may have more than one lounge, so depending on your lounge access program, you may have a choice to avoid a more crowded lounge.

If you’re a frequent traveler, you’ll probably be able to save some serious cash by avoiding paying for food and drinks at the airport—but if you’re an occasional traveler or you travel with a group where not everyone will have access, it might not make sense. Similarly, if you know your home airport always has crowded lounges, it may be best to just pack snacks from home if you’re looking to save money on food.

Protect Your Wallet with Travel Insurance

No matter where you're traveling, it's always smart to protect yourself with travel insurance. Travel insurance can help cover unexpected expenses, such as trip cancellations, medical emergencies and lost luggage. Some of the best travel credit cards offer travel protections for no additional cost, so make sure to check your benefits before booking.

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