What’s the worst mistake you’ve made when traveling?
I’ll go first.
Last year, I had a flight planned from Tokyo to Seattle: departing Friday evening Japan time, flying overnight and landing midmorning Pacific time.
I needed to book a separate connection home to North Carolina. So I aimed for a three-hour layover and booked that second flight for Saturday afternoon.
The problem was, the plane from Japan actually landed Friday morning — not Saturday.
Brain glitches like mine are an all-too-common mistake among time-hopping transpacific travelers. But there are plenty of other travel snafus to avoid:
The important: Obviously, you shouldn’t travel on an expired passport. But there’s an even more common passport mistake many travelers make that can ruin a trip.
The practical: If you download your boarding pass and it doesn’t say “TSA PreCheck,” there’s a good chance you missed a little step. Here’s how to fix it.
The not-so-obvious: Always check those airport codes! There was a viral mistake last year that led to someone ending up on a continent they didn’t intend to visit.
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Photo Credit: FIZKES/GETTY IMAGES.
🗓️ Status check
It’s Feb. 17, which means American Airlines AAdvantage members have 11 days left to qualify for 2026-27 status. Here’s one (unusual) way to earn a boatload of last-minute Loyalty Points.
Here's how to get upgraded on American Airlines flights, including by redeem AAdvantage miles, buying a paid upgrade offer and using systemwide upgrades.
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