When you go on a trip, it can be time-consuming to keep track of all of your plane tickets, hotel reservations, car rental programs, and rewards programs. But thanks to a company called TripIt from Concur, all of that information is conveniently available and ready to use at a moment’s notice.
Jen Moyse, TripIt’s Director of Product, spoke to RewardExpert about the advantages. “The app brings all of your travel information into one place, which makes it the perfect tool to have in your pocket no matter what kind of trip you’re on,” she said. As Director of Product, Moyse leads a team of product managers, designers, and customer support reps.
Taking Off from Small Beginnings
TripIt’s journey began in 2007 in its home city of San Francisco. “Our founders basically saw there must be a better way than combing through their email inbox to find the fifty thousand booking confirmations that they had generated by booking their travel,” stated Moyse.
Thus the TripIt app was born, with a particular focus on frequent travelers. That focus on frequent travelers remains today and is fueled by the corporate backing of enterprise travel software company Concur, which acquired TripIt in 2011. Concur has since been acquired by SAP.
Travel Plans at your Fingertips
TripIt’s primary feature is taking various trip reservations and putting them in one convenient location. For instance, if you make a reservation for a flight, hotel, car or restaurant, simply forward your confirmations to plans@tripit.com. This will automatically integrate your reservations into your TripIt account and create an itinerary. This itinerary can then be shared, stored and accessed from virtually anywhere on almost all devices, including the Apple Watch.
One of the key features is that a traveler can share different parts of a trip with different people. “We give you full control over what you want to share,” said Moyse.
The TripIt app is compatible with a wide variety of airlines and hotels, giving more choices to the traveler.
Find More Features with TripIt Pro
While the basic product is free, TripIt offers a premium version as well. TripIt Pro has features like gate notifications, alerts about flight delays, and cancellations. TripIt’s price tracking service will notify you if there’s an opportunity for a refund if the price drops. “TripIt Pro is all about helping you get to where you need to go more quickly and easily,” said Moyse.
Take the Team with You
In addition, TripIt offers another premium service designed for whole teams to travel. It allows workplace colleagues to coordinate flights, share a car from the airport, and coordinate a business dinner.
This feature also helps companies save time and money in their travel departments. “A company could manage travel for a bunch of executives and be able to have that oversight through TripIt to see what their travel plans look like,” stated Moyse. Another important thing to note is that if the company uses SAP Concur, the team may be one of the many travelers with a complimentary subscription to TripIt Pro. All they have to do is visit the SAP Concur App Center to connect their accounts.
The TripIt Advantage
The TripIt team recognizes that travelers have a lot of choices, but Moyse said the continued dedication to the frequent traveler is what continues to set TripIt apart. “We’re bringing you the features that you need to help remove stress from your trip,” she said.
She pointed out that features like flight alerts can help alleviate travel stress. TripIt also has an offline mode that travelers can use to show hotel addresses to taxi drivers in foreign countries. This feature can be a lifesaver when international data is not available or is prohibitively expensive.
Reward Yourself
TripIt Pro users can also be sure that their reward points will get properly tracked in one convenient place. After all, there are so many programs and numbers to keep track of, from airlines to hotels to car rentals.
The app will even send an alert if points are about to expire. “This feature has really saved the day for a lot of our travelers. They didn’t realize they were about to lose thousands of points so they booked a flight or hotel to extend the life of their rewards,” said Moyse.
TripIt | TripIt Pro |
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30-day free trial |
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Key Features | Free | US$49/year |
Organize travel plans in one place | X | X |
Access on smartphone/tablet with free app | X | X |
Add or edit plans manually | X | X |
Sync travel plans with your calendar | X | X |
Selectively share travel plans | X | X |
Store travel documents in one place | X | X |
Receive real-time flight alerts | X | |
Locate alternate flights | X | |
Find out when a better seat is available | X | |
Get fare refund notifications | X | |
Track reward-program points in one spot | X | |
Share plans with your inner circle automatically | X | |
Save money with VIP travel benefits | X |
TripIt’s Next Frontier
So far, TripIt has been used by more than 15 million travelers. But the company has even bigger goals.
One of the areas that TripIt has been researching is adding voice commands to its service. The company is hoping to build on its already existing Siri shortcut.
TripIt has also been busy adding new languages to its support service. It now supports travelers in English, French, and German. “It’s been a huge boon for our international travelers,” said Moyse.
Take TripIt on your Next Trip
While TripIt is aimed at frequent travelers, anybody can use it. Moyse said that it’s a great idea to follow the company’s Twitter account to keep up with all the news and developments. Visit TripIt.com or download the app (Apple, Google) to make keeping track of travel reservations incredibly easy.