No Power, No Problem With These Travel Tips

Saturday night's power outage left tens of thousands in New York City, a popular summertime destination for travelers from all over the world, without power. So what happens if you find yourself in a blackout while you are traveling? These tips can help make sure a lack of electricity doesn't ruin your trip.

Carry Cash

While we here at TPG are all about credit cards and the benefits they provide, but in a blackout plastic becomes useless. Keeping cash on hand can help make sure that you still have purchasing power if you need it. You might miss out on a few miles or bonus points, but being able to get the things you need or get where you need to be without the use of a card will help take some of the stress out of the situation.

Prep Your Tech

So much of our lives these days involves the use of technology, mainly smartphones. Having some key apps installed and ready to go can help expedite things if you need to make changes to your plans due to a blackout.

• Hotel Tonight: This app allows you to book last-minute hotel rooms at a discount. So if the power goes out in a part of the city you are staying in and you want to move to a new location, this app can help you find a place to stay at the last minute.
• Ride Share Apps: Having a ride share app like Uber or Lyft installed on your phone means that you have easy access to transportation if the power outage has impacted public transportation like a subway system. Good news here though: you can still use a credit card to pay for the ride, just make sure you're using the best one to pay for that Uber or Lyft.

Have a Backup Plan

If you're going to be employing all that tech to make things easier during a blackout, you're going to need a way to keep things charged. While most phones these days have pretty good battery life, having a back up way to keep your phone charged when the power goes out is a great idea as well. Power cells or battery banks are a great and lightweight way to make sure you can keep your phone charged up when the wall outlets are letting you down.

Go Analog

While tech helps make our lives easier, sometimes when the power is out using and accessing technology isn't an option. One way around this is to keep a paper copy of important information with you when you travel. Having a printout of your hotel and flight information as a backup is a great idea. Another thing you should consider is keeping a written or printed copy of important phone numbers. If those contacts are stored solely on your phone, accessing them if your phone battery runs out will be impossible.

Be Safe

If a blackout or power outage does cause you to change where you are staying, remember to gather things from the hotel safe before you leave. Most hotel room safes are powered by batteries, or at least have battery backups. If you need to leave the room until power is back, you should still be able to use the room safe to store valuables.

A few simple smart precautions like the ones above can make sure you're ready should the power go out during your trip.

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Featured Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images