When I was younger, I dreamed about the jet set lifestyle associated with traveling for business. Power suits, high-profile meetings with clients in fancy restaurants, chic hotels with killer views of Paris, New York, oh my!

Anyone that has traveled for business can tell you, this is almost the exact opposite of what it is like to be on the road, especially for work during the busy holiday season. The reality is far less glamorous, and ten times more stressful. Flight delays, tiny hotels in less-than-picturesque locations, missing your husband and babies; not stopping work because you know the only thing that awaits you in your postage-sized hotel room is a hot shower and cable TV.

Despite all of the negativity surrounding business travel, there are plenty of positives. I get to have time to myself, meet new people and visit destinations that I wouldn’t have thought about otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Most recently, Joe and I traveled to Santa Fe; it was a work-iversary trip, originally scheduled to coincide with our wedding anniversary, however, we ended up “working” the entire time… taking in inspiration and talking about future projects and jobs we could see in our future. What was supposed to be a relaxing trip turned into something… different. And we liked it.

That being said, there is one thing I absolutely loathe about traveling, for either business or pleasure, and that is the “one thing” phenomena. The “one thing” phenomena is that moment in time, which usually occurs when I’m strapped in my airline seat awaiting takeoff when one realizes they forgot something. Typically something important.

While I was consulting, it was a box of hard copies of a presentation that I was going to give in Dallas. Flying to New York, I forgot a pair of presentable pants (flew in leggings). And when I tried to fly to Cannes, I forgot to correct my personal information to receive my ticket. Thankfully, that international flight was delayed. For 16 hours, just barely enough time to correct the oversight with customer service.

Knowing my personal history with forgetfulness and just being incredibly overwhelmed in general, I’m no longer leaving anything to chance when it comes to travel. With the holidays around the corner and 2019 shaping up to be a busy travel year, I’ve got to lean on a someone (or something) to help! As a small business, I’ve relied on American Express since 2012, to help with the day-to-day of running my business, and thanks to these day-to-day transactions, accumulating Membership Rewards® points over the years has been easy.

These Membership Rewards® points can be used for better things than a travel alarm clock (my parents would use their rewards for these and give them as gifts when I was growing up!), and I plan to put them to good use this year. Hong Kong, Belize, London, New York, and that is just the first half of the year. While I’m looking forward to all of these trips, I’m already stressing about the incredible amount of planning that will be required. It’s great to know that you can use Membership Rewards® points before you travel to book flights, hotels and even rental cars.

By far, the biggest, and best part of using Membership Rewards® points is that they can be used to book hotel rooms and plane tickets, since points can be transferred to 16 airline loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio.

In short, I continue to be a huge fan of American Express and their Membership Rewards program. Learn how you can take advantage of points this holiday season when traveling by clicking here.

–

Ed. note: This post was sponsored by American Express. The compensation received in exchange for placement on Wit & Delight is used to purchase props, hire a photographer, write/edit the blog post and support the larger team behind Wit & Delight.

While compensation was received in exchange for coverage, all thoughts and opinions are always my own. Sponsored posts like these allow for the development of additional dynamic content to be produced, unsponsored.

Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.