TripCase

by Tina Tripp on October 1, 2010

We have found TripCase to be a fabulous tool for keeping all of us Tripps organized and ahead of the game while we travel. However, TripCase can't help us on our trips if we don't have our trip details in the system. Getting your itinerary information (flights, hotels, rental cars, ground transportation, events, etc) into TripCase is actually pretty easy. When you make a reservation, either by travel agent, travel website, or directly with the airline or hotel, there are three ways to get that information into TripCase. Here's the lowdown on each, in order of ease of use.

Direct Import: If you have a six letter reservation code, there is a chance that you can directly import your reservation from whoever booked it (click on "Import my Booking"). This only works if the place you booked the reservation is a TripCase partner, but that's still about 25% of all North American reservations (and growing), so it's worth a try.

Email It: If you can't directly import the booking, then you can email the reservation confirmation to the fine folks at TripCase at trips@tripcase.com and let them extract the right information from your reservation and add it to your TripCase. In order for this to work, you have to forward the reservation confirmation to TripCase from an email address that is a verified email address tied to your TripCase account. They can only do the email thing for reservations that are travel-related (air, car, hotel, rail, etc), not the non-travel stuff on your trip (like restaurant reservations, meetings, attractions).

Manual Entry: If you want to add the trip event yourself or are adding an event that TripCase can't accept by email (like a business meeting), you can manually enter the event into your trip. The easiest way to manually add an event to your trip is on a computer via the web (www.tripcase.com; the login is the same as on your phone). If you don't have access to a computer, you can also manually enter information on your phone.

by Ted Tripp on October 2, 2010

If you make your reservations in separate places (book your flight with the airline directly and book your hotel with hotel directly), and you use either direct import or email pasing to enter your information, there is a chance that these two parts of the same trip will end up as two separate trips on TripCase.

This is actually done on purpose. The good folks at TripCase realize that many user put both their own and other family members trips into their TripCase and, since both people may be on the road at the same time, don't assume that just because the flight and hotel are on the same days they are for the same trip. So, if you do end up with two parts of your trip as two trips, you will want to merge them together into the same trip. Here's how you can merge two trips into one.

You can only merge the trips together on the web (not on the phone). So, on your computer or on your phone's web browser, go to www.tripcase.com and sign in with the same id and password you use on your phone.

Click on the "My Trips" tab at the top of the page, then click on the trip that you want to merge another trip into (if you want to merge your hotel into your flight, click on the flight).

Click on the link that says "merge" then, on the right side of the screen, select the trip you want to merge into the selected trip. Then click the "merge" button. If the system asks you to confirm the merge, click on "OK."

That's it. Pretty easy, huh.

by Ashley Tripp on October 3, 2010

I have to say, I think the best part about TripCase is the messages they post to your TripCase app while you are traveling. These messages are usually advice or alerts and are based on my specific trip and what's going on at the time. The messages have saved me both time and money, but I wouldn't have seen them if I hadn't checked my TripCase app every once and a while while I was on the road. I'll give you a couple of examples.

Last week, I was flying to a college student leader's conference in Minneapolis. While I was on my way to DFW airport, I got two messages from TripCase. The first let me know that there was construction at the North entrance of the airport that was causing delays. So, I took the South entrance and got in without problem. The second let me know that parking at my gate was full, but that the next section down had available spaces. I skipped the process of searching for a parking spot at my gate and went right to the section with open spaces.

I booked my flight through Delta, and the flight was listed as a Delta flight, but it was actually operated by a regional airline. A few hours before my flight return flight out of Minneapolis, TripCase sent me a message reminding me to check in at the regional airline's ticket counter, not at Delta. The Delta line was pretty long. Had I not seen the message from TripCase, I might have gotten in the Delta line (since it was a Delta flight) and wasted all that time getting to front before learning that I was at the wrong ticket counter.

Although I have more examples, I'll spare you the boredom and give you just one more. Earlier this year I flew to the beach for Spring break. When I arrived, I checked by TripCase app and noticed I had a message. The message informed me that my hotel had an airport shuttle. So I called the hotel (the number was in my TripCase) and hopped the shuttle, saving the cost of a cab (leaving me more to spend on, um, tshirts for my family).

Like I said earlier, the messages TripCase sends you through the app are really valuable, but you have to see them or they are of little value. The messages appear below the flight, hotel or other event information when you are looking at the details of your trip. You might have to scroll down to see them all, but it's definitely worth it!

by Austin Tripp on October 4, 2010

I Have a quick tip today that will help you keep your trips organized.

Dad was going to Chicago a couple of times a month and booked his trips in advance. I looked at his TripCase and noticed he had four trips coming up that all had very similar names like "Chicago 10/19″ and "Chicago "11/8." Turns out, this is the way the trips were being added to him by his corporate travel department and he didn't know how to go in an give each a more specific name.

I let him know that if you click on the "Manage" button while you are looking at a trip, then on the Add/Edit button (or just the Edit link next to the trip name on the web), you can give the trip your own custom name. Now Dad's trips to Chicago say things like "Chicago: Product Review Meeting" and "Chicago: Client Presentation," which he says helps him stay more organized.

Hope this helps you!

by Ted Tripp on October 5, 2010

In my line of work, I understand the value of networking, of contacts. The same goes for TripCase. I normally want my assistant and family to have a copy of my full itinerary, including any changes that occur to the itinerary. If I have someone meeting me or picking me up at the airport, I want to make sure that person gets my flight alerts so he or she will know if my flight is on time or delayed and what gate it will be coming into.

Before you can designate which connections you want to receive either an itinerary or flight alerts, you need to add them as connections and they have to confirm that they want to receive travel information from you. You can only add connections on the web (either on a computer or the web browser on your phone, although I find it easier to do on the computer if I can), but once they are added you can set them to receive itinerary or alert information from your phone. Go to www.tripcase.com and log in with the same id and password you use on your phone. Click on the Settings tab, then on the Connections box. From here, you can add or delete connections, edit email addresses and define how they receive updates. When you save a connection for the first time, the TripCase system will send your connection an email to verify the email address is correct and to verify that the connection wants to receive your updates.

by Ashley Tripp on October 6, 2010

Mom and Dad use TripCase's sharing features to email itineraries to family and coworkers who need to know where they will be during a trip. I rarely use email, so I choose to share my travel info with my friends on Facebook and Twitter. It's really convenient to be able to post updates to my Facebook and Twitter accounts directly from TripCase; when I am checking TripCase to see if my flight is on time and what gate it's at, that's when I post that I am about to go to my next adventure.

The best thing about publishing to my social network is seeing the feedback I get back from my friends. Last month, I posted to Facebook that I was flying to Los Angeles for the weekend and one of my friends, who I didn't know has a brother in LA, posted a comment giving me some great insider advice on places to go that I hadn't come across elsewhere. Some really cool places.

by Tina Tripp on October 7, 2010

I know that you can find the weather online and on your phone in a thousand different places. I have two apps on my iPhone that are both dedicated weather apps. I just type in the name of the location and the weather report is at my fingertips.

The problem with travel is, in my haste to plan and pack and get everything done before I go, I frequently forget to go online and check the weather of my destination. That's why I like that TripCase has a handy weather tool built right in. When I am checking my flight status the day before the flight, I see the cute little weather icon (the sun and cloud in the dark blue icon bar) and it reminds me to check the weather and make sure I have the right clothes for the trip. I don't have to enter a city name or know the zip code, I just click the icon and TripCase pulls up the 5-day forecast for my destination. Very handy.

by Ted Tripp on October 8, 2010

If you're like a lot of people these days, you have more than one email address. One for work, one from home, one web access (like Gmail). I want to make sure that TripCase recognizes my confirmation emails when I forward them and adds them to my account, regardless of what email address the confirmation is sent to, so I have verified all of my email addresses in the TripCase system.

You can add additional email addresses to your account on the website at www.tripcase.com. Click on the settings tab at the top of the page and then go the Email Settings under the Profile tab. Just like when you verified your primary email address at the time you first registered, the system will send an email to the any email address you add for you to verify it is a working email address that you have access to.

by Ted Tripp on October 9, 2010

I was at a conference a few weeks ago and all set to fly home. On my way to the airport, TripCase pushed me an alert that my flight had been cancelled. I clicked on the Alternate Flights icon (the calendar icon above the departure information for a flight) and noticed there was another flight out later in the evening and seats were still available. I immediately contacted the airline and rebooked on that flight. I learned from the agent that most passengers on my flight were being automatically rebooked on a flight the next day, but, thanks to TripCase, I was able to learn about the cancellation and act in time to get home that night.

I can imagine that there are many other uses for Alternate Flights information in TripCase, like if your meeting ends early and you want to head home sooner.

by Ashley Tripp on October 10, 2010

A couple of friends and me decided to take a road trip down to see our football team play an away game. Mina said she had made a hotel reservation for us, but she didn't guarantee it with a credit card. We arrived at about 8:00 pm, but our reservation had cancelled at 6:00 pm because it wasn't guaranteed. Of course, they had sold out. So, here we were, in enemy territory at night without a hotel.

I pulled out TripCase, clicked on Manage and the Add/Edit to add a new hotel. The top option, Search from my Current Location, returned a list of hotels in order by how close they were to our current location. For each hotel in the list, there were pictures of the hotel, information and ratings. Best of all, each had the phone number I could call with one click. We skipped over some hotels that were not desirable, and had to call several of those we liked, but we found a room at a place only a couple of miles away that we liked.

Weekend saved.

by Austin Trip on October 11, 2010

Whenever I set up a part of a trip in TripCase, I make sure that I include a phone number (or that a phone number is a part of the imported itinerary). That way, if I need to contact the airline, hotel, restaurant, attraction, etc., all I need to do is click the phone icon above the segment in the trip. No fumbling for the number, looking it up or calling directory assistance needed. It couldn't be any easier

by Tina Tripp on October 12, 2010

If you enter your flight information either by forwarding your email confirmation or manually enter your flight information, TripCase cannot check for changes to the flight schedule. So, if you book your flight for 2:00 pm on November 10th and the airline changes the schedule so that the flight is now scheduled for 1:30 pm on November 10th, this will not be reflected in your TripCase. In most cases, the airline itself will contact you to let you know of any changes to your flight schedules. It's always a good idea to check with your airline a few days before you flight and then again 24 hours before your flight to make sure there haven't been any changes to your flight schedule.

If you were able to directly import your flight information by entering the 6 letter reservation number, then any changes made to to the flight schedule will be automatically reflected in your TripCase. This is a great reason in itself to try the flight reservation number first to see if it can be directly imported before emailing or manually entering your flight info.

The scheduled time that shows on your TripCase is different from the flight alerts that are sent the day of travel. Regardless of how you enter your flight information (direct import, email import or manual entry) on the day of your flight you will automatically receive all critical flight alerts (delays, cancellations, gate changes). So you will be on top of any last minute changes on your travel day however you enter your information into TripCase.

by Ted Tripp on October 13, 2010

If you are like me and live your life by your calendar, make sure you try the calendar import options on TripCase. There are two ways to imports your calendar: via live subscription and file import. To get to both options, go to www.tripcase.com in a web browser (login is the same id and password as on your phone) and click on the Settings tab at the top of the page and then on the Calendar tab below.

For online calendars and other calendars that can access the internet, the best option is to set up a calendar subscription. The url to import your TripCase information into your calendar is right there on the page at the Calendar tab. With a subscription, every time your calendar accesses the Internet, it will check the url and see if there are any changes to your itineraries since you last connected, keeping your calendar synched with your TripCase. If you want to share your TripCase information with someone else's calendar you can that person the same url and they too will have a subscription to your TripCase itineraries. At any point, you can change the url (to stop others you've given the url to from seeing your information on their calendars) or stop the TripCase calendar feed altogether.

If your calendar doesn't connect to the Internet or you don't want a live connection with your travel information, you can do a one-time download of all of your TripCase travel information and import it into your calendar. With this method, if you add or change anything on your trips, the information will not be automatically updated and you will need to re-download the file and import it again (of just manually make the change on your calendar if it is an easy change).

by Tina Tripp on October 14, 2010

It’s nice to have all flight and hotel information in TripCase. Also great to have rental car info when I rent a car. I’ve found that one other area where TripCase can be a lifesaver is with restaurant reservations.

You can only add restaurant reservation information manually (through either the phone or the web), but I’ve found it to be worth the minimal effort. Once the restaurant reservation is saved, it becomes a part of my TripCase, so all the information I need is there, including restaurant name, time of reservation, confirmation number, and address. In addition to having the information along with the rest of my travel plans, having the reservation information in TripCase gives me simple one click access to a map of the location and to call the restaurant if needed. And, like the rest of the itinerary, I can share the information with friends and family via email.

by Austin Tripp on October 15, 2010

When I am away from home, I try to use WiFi on my iPhone as much as I can. Saves me bandwidth on the 3G data plan. I’ve noticed, though, that when I use free WiFi at restaurant, coffee shop, airport or hotel, that often I have to “accept” their terms of use before they will let me connect.

Last week I was at an airport with my family and opened my TripCase. I could get to the stored data, but it wouldn’t connect to download the latest information. I kept getting an error. Turns out, I had to open my web browser (Safari in this case) and “accept” the terms of the airport WiFi before the airport would let me connect.

So, if you are trying to access WiFi and find you can’t connect to TripCase, open your web browser and see if you need to sign into their WiFi.When I am away from home, I try to use WiFi on my iPhone as much as I can. Saves me bandwidth on the 3G data plan. I’ve noticed, though, that when I use free WiFi at restaurant, coffee shop, airport or hotel, that often I have to “accept” their terms of use before they will let me connect.

by Ashley Tripp on October 16, 2010

Most of us are pretty comfortable using simple technology like TripCase on both the web and phone. Some, like my Grandma, aren’t gonna get it no matter how much we explain it. She can answer her cell phone when it rings, but that’s about it.

So, I use my TripCase to help out Grandma when she travels. I will enter her flight info and then call her with all the information I see on TripCase. I’ll give her the gate number and expected flight times. If there is a change or delay I see, I’ll call and give her that info as well. She knows that if she can’t find a confirmation number or a phone number to the hotel, she can call me and I’ll have it on my TripCase.

Since TripCase is free, including flight alerts, Grandma doesn’t feel guilty letting me help her out. Of course, it would be easier if she used TripCase herself, but I am glad that I can help her out.

by Tina Tripp on October 17, 2010

I know some people think that keeping up with passwords is a hassle, but for security reasons, I like to change all of my passwords on a regular basis, just to be sure nobody can access my accounts.

Changing your password is easy in TripCase. Go to the web site at www.tripcase.com and log in with the same id and password that you use on the phone. Click on the Settings tab at the top of the page. Then, click on the Profile box under the word “Settings.” At the bottom of the left column is where you can enter a new password and click “Change.”

by Ted Tripp on October 18, 2010

Although I always have my itinerary with me on TripCase and can add connections who can receive my itinerary (and all changes) via email, there are times when I still need to print my itinerary to hand to someone.

The easiest way to print a copy of your itinerary is to email it to yourself at your primary email address and then print the email. To send the itinerary to yourself, go to the website at www.tripcase.com and log in with the same id and password you use on your phone. Click on MyTrips at the top of the screen, then on the name of the trip you want to send to yourself on the left side of the screen. When you are in the trip, click on Tools and then on the Share Itinerary icon. On the screen that pulls out on the right, click on Connections. Your primary email address should be one of the Connections listed, click on the Share link next to your primary email address and the itinerary is on its way to you.

Once you receive the itinerary via email, you can print out the email and have a hard copy of your itinerary.

by Tina Tripp on October 19, 2010

When I am on the road for business, I often find myself in locations I only vaguely know how to navigate, if at all. That's why I like to add my meetings to TripCase, including the meeting location. By adding the meeting information to TripCase, I have in the same, central location on my phone my meetings, right alongside my flight, hotel and rental car information.

You can add your meetings to your trips either on the web (www.tripcase.com) or on your phone by clicking on Manage when looking at your trip, then on Add/Edit (or on Add Something Else on the web). Select Meeting and fill in the information. Click on the Location link to add the address of the meeting.

by Ashley Tripp on October 20, 2010

In an earlier post we talked about how TripCase will automatically sync your itinerary information on a daily basis when the itinerary is imported from a partner booking (by using the six letter reservation code). If you know your travel has changed (like if you make the change) and you want to sync your TripCase to the new information right away, there is a great way to do that.

On the web (at www.tripcase.com), click on the MyTrips tab and then click on the trip you want to sync on the left side of the screen. When you've highlighted the trip, you should see a Sync Booking link under the trip name. This will automatically sync your TripCase with the latest itinerary information.

by Austin Tripp on October 21, 2010

You may have noticed that in each trip segment on TripCase there is a box called "Note." This box is for you, the TripCase user, to add notes for yourself about the trip or the segment.

I've used the Notes box a few times and it was really helpful!

The first time I used it was when the airline didn't accept my frequent flyer number when I booked my flight. I didn't know if I had the wrong number or there was a problem with their system. I wanted to check with the airline when I got to the airport, but was afraid that in the hustle and bustle of checking in and security, I would forget. So, I entered a note in my TripCase for that flight, reminding myself to check my frequent flyer number and make sure it was with my reservation. When I got to the airport, I pulled up my TripCase to check on my flight, and there wasy reminder…right when I needed it most.

by Ashley Tripp on October 22, 2010

We briefly mentioned this in one of our first posts, but I think it is an important enough feature of TripCase to warrant it's own space. With TripCase, it's easy to keep friends and family up to date on the arrival of your flight.

The most obvious benefit of this is for those who are picking you up at the airport. Most of the time that I am having someone pick me up at the airport, I don't need to (or want t0) give them my entire itinerary, but I do what them to be immediately notified if my flight is delayed, is going to arrive early or if the gate changes. When I visit my Grandma, I take a cab from the airport to her house, but she still wants to know when my flight lands, so I add her for arrival updates as well.

When you are looking at your trip, click on Tools and then on Arrival updates. You can select the flight you want to inform a connection of and then pick the connection or connections that you want to be updated on your arrival information.

by Ted Tripp on October 23, 2010

If you find yourself in a pinch and needing to find a rental quickly, TripCase can help you out. Just like with hotels, TripCase gives you 3 ways find and add a rental car.

The first is by distance from you current location. You have to give TripCase permission to use your location, but when you do, TripCase can show you the rental car lots nearby, sorted fro closest to furthest. The next way to find and add a rental car is by searching around a specific address. The final way is to search around a location already created in your trip.

Once you have located the place you will be renting you car from, don't forget to add pickup to your TripCase itinerary

by Ashley Tripp on October 24, 2010

If you use an iPhone, TripCase takes advantage of the built-in connection to Google Maps to allow user more uses of the maps. With the Google map view you can drop location pins, get directions, see traffic, and switch between satellite and map views. Cool stuff.

To get to the Google Map view, click on the map icon when looking at a trip segment. Below the map is a button that says View on Google Maps. Click on this button and it will map the location on Google Maps.

by Ted Tripp on October 25, 2010

This tip is specifically for the BlackBerry users in the group.

On some BlackBerry configurations, users will get a prompt when they install TripCase. The prompt asks if the user wants to connect to either https://www.tripcase.com or http://www.tripcase.com. You must accept this prompt in order to use TripCase. If you do not accept the prompt (or click on "No"), you will not be able to download TripCase data into your phone and can only use TripCase on the web. The reason this is important: It is very difficult if not impossible to reverse this decision if you click on the wrong button.

This is part of the BlackBerry platform and TripCase has no control over the prompt or recovery from it.

by Tina Tripp on October 26, 2010

One of the first things I want to know when I land at my destination airport is what baggage claim will have my checked bags. More than once, an baggage claim announcement has been made 30 minutes before landing only to have the actual baggage claim location changed between the announcement and landing.

The first thing I do when I land is change my phone over from Airplane Mode (no cell reception) to normal mode and open TripCase. When I open my TripCase, there in the message stream, is the baggage claim location. The baggage claim number is also frequently located in the flight details, the same page that shows the type of aircraft and notes.

If the baggage claim number changes at any point, TripCase will update the message stream with the new location, so I am never left watching bags from another flight go round and round while my bags are someplace else.

by Ted Tripp on October 27, 2010

The standard, free version of TripCase is packed with features that help make travel easier for everyone. Flight alerts (for flight delays and cancellations and gate changes), weather reports, the ability to email your itinerary to friends and family, in-transit advice and alerts, maps, alternative flight lookup…the list of free features goes on.

There are a few features that provide even more power to TripCase that have been bundled into TripCase PRO. These features include:

• Full flight schedule lookup
• Delivery of alerts via SMS
• Seat maps for booked flights (including available and undesirable seats), and
• Turn-by-turn directions from locations in your itinerary (and others you can add)

Right now, these PRO features are FREE to everyone. No commitment, no obligation. You don't have to enter a credit card number and you don't have to remember to cancel to avoid being charged (free trials will automatically expire at the end of the trial period). It really, truly is free to use, with no catch, for a limited time.

You don't have to download a new version of TripCase, getting free access to the PRO services on your current version is as easy as clicking a button. To get the PRO features for free you can do either of the following (don't need to do both, just one):

1. Go to the website (www.tripcase.com) and login with id and password you use on your phone. Click on the Go PRO Today area at the lower right of the Home screen, and then on the green Go PRO button.
2. Or, on your phone, click on a trip, then on Tools. Within the tools menu, click on one of the PRO services (like Seat Maps), then on the green Go PRO button.

It's that easy. And, it really is free.

by Tina Tripp on October 28, 2010

My favorite of the TripCase PRO features is the turn-by-turn driving directions. Before TripCase PRO, when I picked up a rental car in a new city it would be hit or miss as to whether I could follow the directions to my hotel provided by the car rental counter clerk. Now, with my itinerary already loaded into TripCase, I get complete driving directions with a couple of clicks. I don't have to know or input the address of the airport (TripCase already knows that) and I don't have to look up and input the address of my hotel (TripCase knows that, too). I just click on the two locations in my itinerary that I want to go to and from and TripCase does the rest. And, I can email the driving directions to myself or someone else.

If I need to get to somewhere that is not in my itinerary, TripCase also allows me to enter an address or search for a location based on my GPS location (handy for my starting location).

Thanks to TripCase, I am always on the right path.

by Ashley Tripp on October 29, 2010

The TripCase PRO services that I use the most is the seat maps. I usually pick a seat when I book my flight, but I also know that people are always changing flight or letting flights on hold expire, so you never know when a better seat comes available.

With TripCase PRO, which is free to all users through December 31, 2012, I can check the current seat map for my flights, including seats that are taken, seats that are open and undesirable seats…and do it at my convenience from my phone.

by Ted Tripp on October 30, 2010

One of the things I love about TripCase PRO is the ability to search flights on most airlines to and from two cities for up to a year in advance. The search also shows seat availability for most flights. Just last week I was talking to a client by phone from my car about visiting their office. I used the flight search to see, right on my phone, what my flight time options were to the city they are located in, so I was able to schedule time with the client with flights already in mind.

TripCase PRO is available for free to all users through December 31, 2012.

by The Tripps on October 31, 2010

Today is the last of our Tips from the Tripps that we have been posting throughout October. Hope you have enjoyed the tips on how to get the most out of the smartest travel app, TripCase.

One of the great things about TripCase is that it is always getting better. The TripCase team listens to user feedback and is always adding new features and improving current ones based on the thoughts of the users. The best way to keep up with the latest and greatest of TripCase is to follow them online. There are several way to follow TripCase:

On Twitter: Follow @tripcase to get TripCase announcements and links to interesting travel stories

On Facebook: Click on "Like" on the TripCase application page. You can search on TripCase and click on the the one with the arrow logo that says "Application" underneath.

On the blog: The TripCase Blog (www.tripcase.com/blog) is a great place to find the latest on TripCase.