The travel brand catapulted a suitcase 130,000 feet through the atmosphere to demonstrate its strength, and they captured the whole thing on video.
Use AI to plan your next vacation
I’m going to Europe soon, and planning my trip was a breeze. Yes, really! AI did a big chunk of the work for me — and it can help you plan your next getaway, too. Here are a few ways to turn AI into your travel agent. For this, let’s stick with using the big bots:
- ChatGPT: My preferred AI chatbot; gives the best results.
- Gemini: Google’s chatbot is integrated into Google Flights and Google Hotels. I don’t think it’s as thorough as ChatGPT, and it often throws in its weird opinions.
1. Start with your likes and wants
Your AI travel buddy can do so much more than suggest tourist traps — it can help you create a truly tailored adventure.
🎨 By interests
AI can curate a list of spots that match your hobbies:
- “Find me the best food tours in Paris that include wine tastings.”
- “What are some scenic hiking trails within 30 miles of Denver?”
- “Suggest must-see art galleries in NYC for modern art lovers.”
☀️ By weather
AI can suggest destinations based on your preferred climate:
- “Find me a warm destination in the U.S. for January with average temps above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.”
- “What are the best ski resorts in Wyoming for late December?”
- “Where can I play golf in May with mild, spring-like weather?”
🎭 By occasion or vibe
Not sure where you want to go? Let AI find the perfect match for your mood:
VPNs: How they work and how to choose the best one for you
I’m sure you’ve heard me mention VPNs before on my show. With hackers, thieves and scammers constantly out in full force, ready to steal your money, now’s the time to get on board.
VPN is short for virtual private network. What this means is when doing your banking online, hackers can’t step in the middle and steal your account information and drain your money. A VPN also stops your internet provider from tracking you and lets you unblock websites and bypass filters. You need it on your computer, laptop, tablet and phone.
Samsonite's lightest suitcase completes a groundbreaking journey to the edge of space
Bit by the travel bug
✈️ These affordable gadgets will make your next trip smoother.
- Can’t sleep in hotels? Try a portable white noise machine to block thumps and bumps (33% off, $19.99).
- A phone holder that attaches to anything, including your suitcase, plane seat or hotel bed ($13.97; click the coupon box for 8% off!).
- Fit more in your suitcase with space-saving bags you can roll the air out of, no vacuum required ($15.76).
- Before international travel, make sure you can plug in your stuff. Each option here lists what countries it works in (6% to 28% off).
- Protect your credit card and keep it close with an RFID-blocking wallet bag. It clips around your waist, and it’s slim enough to fit under your clothes (20% off, $15.95).
- A $12 luggage scale might save you from a huge overage fee if your bag is too heavy.
- Attach an extra bag to your suitcase with this strap so it can’t fall off (50% off, $6.99).
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⚠️ Traveling overseas? No bueno: There’s a terrifying new trend happening all over the globe: Kidnapping tourists for ransoms. A Venezuelan man, for instance, used a dating app to lure in three American tourists over a month-long stretch in the Dominican Republic. He’d arrange a date, pick up the person in his car, and then an accomplice would hop in to help him restrain his dates. All three victims were held at knifepoint and forced to call friends and family for money. So scary.
130,000 feet
How far a Samsonite suitcase fell without taking any damage. The travel brand catapulted the suitcase through the atmosphere to demonstrate its strength, and they captured the whole thing on video.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
💰 Your go-to rideshare app may not offer the best deals, depending on your location. Type your pickup and drop-off points into RideGuru to get a comparison of rideshare options in your area, including Uber, Lyft, Curb, Ola Cabs and DiDi Rider.
Smaller or regional options (like those names above you probably don’t recognize) can be a lot cheaper than Uber. Try Wingz, too, if you’re scheduling a ride to the airport in advance.
Speaking of, many airports add an expensive rideshare fee that gets passed along to you. I know someone who takes the airport shuttle to the nearest hotel or parking area instead of directly to the airport, and they catch an Uber from there to their destination instead.
Safety first
I bet you or someone you know has a scary travel story. These gadgets are no-brainers to bring on your next trip to protect yourself and your stuff.
- Major security flaws have compromised a huge portion of keycard hotel locks. Easy fix: This doorstop with a built-in alarm (17% off).
- Traveling with valuables? Bring your own safe. Hotel rooms don’t always have one. This little portable option is under $24.
- Whether you’re traveling abroad or just going out at night, take a personal alarm. This sleek option is 20% off and goes right on your keychain.
- Only one in four U.S. homes has a carbon monoxide detector. Bet your Airbnb doesn’t. This one’s 33% off!
- Two words: Fanny pack. Wear it across your chest for extra street cred (I do!). This one’s inexpensive and looks great.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
✈️ This new rule is so fly: Woohoo! U.S. airlines now have to give you a cash refund if your flight is significantly delayed or canceled. The best part? It’ll happen automatically; you won’t be required to ask for a refund. Airlines will have to pay you back within seven business days if you paid by credit card or 20 calendar days for other payment methods. See ya, vouchers.
🏰 Vacation tip: A guy traveling in Italy used ChatGPT as his tour guide, but he got creative and prompted the bot to play a more engaging role. Instead of outputting boring, dry facts, at the Pantheon, ChatGPT told him, “When you enter, look up,” then added a little history. I had ChatGPT do a travel itinerary for me for when I visited Berlin, Vienna and Paris, and it was great. You might want to try that, too!
🎈 Not just a lot of hot air: Sir Richard Branson plans to copilot the world’s first stratospheric balloon flight in 2025. This balloon is nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower and will float 20 miles above the earth’s surface for amazing views. If they pull it off, it could kickstart space-like tours for regular folks … well, regular folks with $125,000 lying around for a six-hour trip.
✈️ Travel hack: Google Flights is rolling out a “cheapest” tab for rock-bottom fares. On your phone, search flights.google.com, and you’ll see the “best” options. Now there’s a “cheapest” tab to the right, focusing strictly on price. The catch: Inconvenient times, layovers or returns to a different airport. Hey, but you’ll save money!
💸 The next big thing? Former Apple designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman are working on an AI-powered device. Details are scarce (of course!), but they say it’ll handle advanced tasks like booking travel and identifying plants from photos, with more power than the average smartphone and fewer disruptions than a standard phone.
💔 So very sad: A 73-year-old New Jersey woman lost over $50,000 in a romance scam. A man named “Henry” on Facebook wooed her. All she had to do was send him money and gift cards for travel, which he promised to give back and more. When her son found out, the money was gone. A detective confirmed the transfers went to Nigeria.
Fix anything, anywhere
Travel prepared like a good little scout. (Fun fact: I was a Boy Scout leader. It’s a long story.) Bring these nifty gadgets to fix:
- Hiccups, with a straw that stops them instantly (need this for the studio).
- Bad breath, with pre-pasted disposable toothbrushes under $8.
- Glasses, with this $2 repair kit.
- A dead phone battery, with a compact Anker power bank that’s 17% off.
- Everything else, with pocket-sized, go-anywhere duct tape on sale. Sure wish I’d invented that!
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
I keep pressing the spacebar, but I’m still on Earth: NASA’s new solar-sailing spacecraft has successfully spread its wings above Earth. Just like the wind pushes a sailboat, this spacecraft uses energy from the sun to propel itself through space. In the coming weeks, engineers will test its maneuvering capabilities. The goal? Low-cost travel options that could help us reach more destinations across the solar system.
💄 All glammed up and no place to go: TikTok is loaded with people complaining that concealer, fake lashes and overlined lips in your passport photo can lead to big delays if you travel bare-faced (paywall link). You confuse both human and tech scanners. Btw, my passport photo is a publicity shot, and I’m happy to report I never get held up.
$20,000 a month
Selling iPhone photos. A TikTokker says she makes bank by submitting photos from her camera roll to Shutterstock and Adobe Stock. Her most-sold photo? A picture of Monterey, California, that made her $26,000 from 4,000 downloads. Pro tip: Nature and travel photos are some of the most popular with businesses. Yeah, I’ll be looking through my camera roll, too!
Weird-but-cool buys for under $10
- Yeehaw, hydration! Little cowboy hats to cap your Stanley tumbler (or any other travel mug), now four for $7.
- Thin Mints superfans, sprinkle Girl Scout cookie-inspired seasoning (under $5) over vanilla ice cream, yogurt, popcorn …
- Fungi-tional! Cable ties that look like little mushrooms, on sale for $8.
- When bumps and bruises need a sense of humor, emoji bandages will do the trick.
- This magnetic cloud can help you keep track of your keys in small spaces for under $8.
- Love the everything but not always the bagel? Sprinkle everything-bagel-inspired seasoning on wraps, cottage cheese, salads, toast — the sky’s the limit!
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✈️ Travel smarter
These affordable, unique accessories should be in your bag:
- Add an extra layer of security with a portable safe. Secure it with a cord when you arrive at your hotel. It’s on sale for $16.70.
- On a plane that makes you plug in your headphones? Try these wired Sony earbud headphones, now 50% off ($9.99).
- Tangled cords are the worst while traveling. Tidy up your wired earbuds with this cable winder for $9.99.
- This travel wallet can hold your boarding pass, passport, ID, cards — whatever you need to have on hand quickly. It’s on sale for $13.99.
- Organize all your cords and wires with this accessories bag, now 21% off. Brilliant.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.