Tips to Take Stress Out of Travel

Consider the following tips to reduce travel-related anxiety and help you make the most out of your time away.
Lake dock with chairs and a canoe.















Vacations are meant to be relaxing, but underplanning and overspending can lead to financial stress. Consider the following tips to reduce travel-related anxiety and help you make the most out of your time away—whether journeying across state lines or overseas.

  1. Create a travel budget. To help you make well-informed financial decisions while away without compromising your long-term savings goals when you return, stick to a plan.
  2. Think mini getaway. Taking shorter, more frequent trips versus one big faraway bonanza not only requires less planning and is generally less expensive but offers more opportunities to unwind year-round.
  3. Plan in advance. Trip planning can be stressful. Research destinations, make reservations, and prepare itineraries. Create a reasonable timeline and budget and ensure you have your affairs in order (impending deadlines, medication needs, and baby-sitting, dog-sitting, or house-sitting arrangements).
  4. Control what you can. Unexpected surprises like flight delays or lost items can quickly sour your vacation mindset. Travel insurance can help you recoup some of your expenses and soften the blow to help with smooth sailing. Some credit cards, especially those designed for travel, offer protection for delayed flights, lost luggage, trip cancellation, accident insurance, and more.
  5. Accessing accounts abroad. When traveling outside the United States, make sure to inform us your plans to avoid an account freeze or declines for “suspicious activity.” Before you take off, log into your mobile app or online banking and set a travel notice on your West Gate Bank debit card. Under "Card Management", add a travel notice that includes the places that will be traveled to and the dates for travel. It's simple! You can also start a chat with our Solutions Center reps inside of Digital Banking and they can set the notice for you.

As always, remember that as your trusted community bank, West Gate Bank is here to help. Please consider these tips and enjoy a well-deserved vacation.