Don’t stress holiday travel! Learn these easy tips to avoiding the stress of traveling during the holidays including such things as planning ahead, using your time and miles wisely, and packing smart. For the full article, visit http://accent.chubb.com/ease-holiday-travel-stress and for more easy traveling tips and advice, check out http://accent.chubb.com/travel.

1. Ease Holiday Travel Stress
By car or plane, tips for the savvy holiday traveler.

2. You may have heard the well-worn travel wisdom that
the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the busiest of
the year, often rife with delays and cranky passengers.
But there are volumes of other travel advice gems out
there for those who dread the holiday rush.
Try these strategies to make travel more enjoyable.

3.  Get There Really Early
This may sound obvious, but your usual hour window at
the airport may not cut it on a busy holiday weekend.
Allow yourself even double the time for traffic, check-in
lines and security.
If you haven’t checked a bag, a nice gate agent may even
take pity and put you on an earlier flight.

4.  Don’t Drive Yourself to the Airport
Airport parking prices can rise dramatically around the
holidays. If you fly from a smaller airport with inflexible
prices, parking can be a fine idea.
If your airport raises prices steeply around the holidays,
get a ride.

5.  Don’t Check a Bag
Yes, it’s the holidays, so you’ll have lots of presents. Why
not send them ahead—along with your clothing—by post?
Depending on how much you send, you’ll likely spend less
than $50-and-up bag fees, and won’t have to check, wait or
fight for overhead space.
Another bonus:
While TSA personnel may unwrap gifts for inspection, you can
ship your gifts wrapped.

6.  Use Miles Wisely
Rather than spending miles to get a seat in economy, buy
the seat and use your miles to upgrade. Most upgrades are
a far better value than buying a seat.

7.  Fly or Drive on the Holiday
It’s nice to wake up at Grandma’s house on Christmas
morning, but it’s also nice to save money on a flight or not
have to battle ferocious traffic.
Traveling on the holidays can be a good value; conversely,
days such as the Wednesday before Thanksgiving are often
the most expensive.

8.  Enjoy the Ride
It’s easy to view a drive to your holiday destination as a
chore. Consider building it into a vacation by adding a
place you’ve wanted to explore on the way, or staying one
night in a nice B&B. - See more at:
http://accent.chubb.com/ease-holiday-travel-
stress#sthash.pXl9Hp55.dpuf