As a frequent traveler, either on business or leisure, there are several essential items I always carry with me besides my passport. These are not necessarily critical but they can certainly make your travel life much easier.
APEC Business Travel Card
If you are a citizen of any of the APEC member countries, you can apply for this card which allows you visa free travel within the APEC countries and 90 days stay. Unfortunately, this card is not easily available to everyone and requires endorsement from your company. Approval also takes at least 3 months as all APEC member countries need to pre-approve you for visa free travel. But if you can get it, you can skip through long immigration queues. You get to go through the ABTC/diplomatic/air crew immigration channels. Just think of how much time you can save. You can find out more about this card at http://www.apec.org/about-us/about-apec/business-resources/apec-business-travel-card.aspx
Business Lounge Cards
Don’t you hate waiting at the public airport lounges, packed with people, and looking for place to charge your mobile or trying to get a wifi connection? If you go the airport restaurants or coffee shops, you get charged exorbitant prices just to have a cup of coffee. Independent airport lounge access cards lets you have access to executive lounges in airports all over the world without having to buy a business class ticket. The only catch, you need to pay an annual membership fee. This only makes sense if you travel often as the membership fee will pay for itself after several visits to the lounges. I’m using Priority Pass which has the largest lounge access program and is complimentary from my bank.
Travel Plug Adaptor
How often do we get to some hotel or airport and need to charge our laptops or mobiles and realize that our plug doesn’t fit the electrical socket? A universal travel adaptor is a necessity especially one with a USB charging port for all our mobile devices. I always carry 2 sets – a small one in my carry on bag, and a larger multi-plug one in the check-in baggage.
Beyond the Little Red Dot 