As a certified Concur Travel & Expense support partner, we hear from travelers every day looking for ideas for getting the most from their online booking tool. One of our standard suggestions is that they consider the benefits of adding TripIt to their travel platform as a way to enhance the benefits they already enjoy with Concur.
Once a stand-alone company, TripIt was acquired in January 2011 for $120 million by Concur, a move which the cynical among us assumed was a way to halt the progress of a competitor. Concur surprised everyone by keeping the app around and rolling it into their product suite as a companion program to Concur Travel & Expense.
Then COVID-19 arrived and threw the travel industry for a loop. Through the worst has passed, travel restrictions continue to vary greatly and constantly change, meaning the decision to travel—and the process of traveling, still isn’t as straightforward as it used to be.
APP Benefit #1: Travel Restrictions Simplified
TripIt moved to the head of the class by adding the COVID-19 travel guidance feature to show you the latest travel guidelines, restrictions, and requirements—alongside infection rates—for the destinations you’re visiting.
You can find destination-specific information about vaccination rates and requirements, approved vaccines, testing requirements, exemptions for vaccinated travelers, current infection rates, quarantine rules upon arrival, and other information you need to know when visiting the area. For standard TripIt users you see the information as soon as you send the itinerary to the program.
If you’re a TripIt Pro user, you can view all of the above information before you make your reservation. This is available in the Pro tab of the app. (Note: A standard TripIt membership is available without charge, while a TripIt Pro membership has a $49 annual fee.)
With or without a pandemic in the works, TripIt has a lot of other benefits to offer travelers looking to make the travel process easier…
APP Benefit #2: Inbox Sync
Inbox Sync sets up a connection between your Outlook, Gmail, Google Workspace or Yahoo! email inboxes and your TripIt account. Once connected, your travel plans are automatically added to your TripIt account when you get a confirmation email. You never have to remember to forward an email to plans@tripit.com (though that works, too!). TripIt will scan your inbox(es) for travel plans, then automatically import them into TripIt, whenever you have booked something online or with an agent.
APP Benefit #3: International Travel Tools
TripIt Pro makes international travel easier by showing logistics such as embassy contacts, currency conversion information, electricity and plug requirements, required vaccinations including non-Covid illnesses, tipping advice, and more in the International Travel Tools feature. These extra services are available via a passport button on your trip summary. Simply tap on it to find an array of tips and tools customized specifically to the country you are traveling to.
APP Benefit #4: Nearby Places
TripIt’s Nearby Places feature makes it easy to find places close to where you’re staying, whether you’re looking for a place to eat, drink, pick up supplies, or seek medical care. Finding medical assistance while traveling, is also easier with TripIt’s Nearby Places search feature. Find hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies close to your hotel. Including the medical facility’s contact details, hours, and more. TripIt will also show you an interactive map with each option tagged so you can see where it is in relation to your position. Then, you can easily get directions or tap the plus (+) sign to save the information for later.
APP Benefit #5: Comparing Ground Transportation Options
The TripIt Navigator feature helps you get from point A to point B more easily with a search tool that shows you the transportation options available to you. It will also show you the estimated costs and travel times for each option, so you can decide which works best. You can find Navigator within your flight, hotel and rental car details screens.
APP Benefit #6: Neighborhood Safety Scores
Learn about the safety of the neighborhood you’ve just strolled into. You can access hyperlocal safety ratings along any point within your TripIt itinerary for more than 65,000 cities and neighborhoods for both daytime and nighttime. Among the safety categories, you can view a health and medical score—which factors in COVID-19 data—for the area you’re visiting. Since safety looks different to everyone, TripIt has given you the ability to set a personal risk level for the Neighborhood Safety Scores feature. Once you’ve done so, the program will alert you if you’re planning on visiting an area that exceeds your threshold—helping you to make better informed decisions while you’re on foot.
APP Benefit #7: Carbon Footprint
Track the carbon emissions for your flights, your annual flight emissions, and find out ways to offset that environmental impact—right within TripIt. With its Carbon Footprint feature, you can:
- See your flight’s carbon emissions
- Track your annual carbon footprint for air travel
- View practical suggestions to offset and reduce your environmental impact
To learn the carbon emissions for a particular flight, open the flight’s detail screen and then click on the Carbon Footprint section. To view the cumulative carbon emissions for all your flights in a certain year, open your Travel Stats in the More tab. From there, tap on Carbon Footprint for more info and ideas on how to reduce or offset your footprint.
Want to learn more about TripIt? Concur has created a new air travel checklist to help you stay organized—and in the know—as you navigate an ever-changing world of travel. Check it out below:
