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6 Travel Apps Every Globetrotter Needs

By U.S. News & World Report

For globetrotters, quenching wanderlust is a simple task thanks to the slew of travel apps at their disposal. With these tools, researching new destinations, checking reviews and comparing prices on the fly is easier (and more popular) than ever before. According to Statista, an online statistics portal, the amount of time consumers spent on travel apps grew by 89 percent in 2014. However, more time is only beneficial when you’re using the right apps. To refresh your travel app arsenal, we scoured the Web to find cult favorites and new apps worth downloading. These six apps will help fuel your travel inspiration, track down deals, plan an itinerary and pack what you need for a worry-free trip.

Hitlist

Price: Free

For: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch

Complete your travel bucket list with flight deals on dream destinations, courtesy of Hitlist. The app notifies you when there’s a deal on any of the destinations you’ve selected. And the “Explore” section features curated lists, such as “Top couchsurfing cities,” “Best cities for vegans” and “Whale-watching destinations,” that users can thumb through to find new destinations to add to their hitlists.

In the “Trips” section, you can also browse suggested trips, such as Labor Day deals and Caribbean getaways, or find flights with no destination or dates in mind. The one drawback is that the app is a bit clunky when it comes to purchasing a flight: Skyscanner opens within the app and then directs you to the airline or an online travel agency (like Expedia) when it’s time to book.

Tripomatic

Price: Free

For: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Tablet, Android, BlackBerry

Need help creating a detailed travel itinerary, complete with travel time and weather forecasts? You might want to download Tripomatic. This app features attractions, tours, daytrips, hotels, car hires and more. Attraction descriptions include a brief overview, the amount of time needed for each activity, a list of related tours and a feature that allows you to request a ride through the Uber or Lyft apps. You can create an itinerary for multiple days and see the total time you’ll need to set aside for select attractions.

All the attractions are mapped, so it’s easy to plan according to distance, and the estimated travel time between each attraction is provided within the itinerary. If the weather takes a turn for the worse, editing your itinerary is simple — you can drag and drop icons representing each attraction. Although Tripomatic is useful for mapping out your days in a destination, you can’t book hotels and tours within the app. Instead, you’ll be directed to Booking.com for hotels and Viator for tours. Other drawbacks include limited information on certain destinations and the steep price tag ($18.99) for offline maps.

MAPS.ME

Price: Free

For: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android

MAPS.ME is an easy tool for navigating offline. Users can download maps of countries around the globe and use the app to search for nearby restaurants, hotels, sights, Wi-Fi, gas, parking, shops and more. Once you select a category, you can search on your downloaded map. Green dots marking the different locations will appear, and you can navigate to your selected destination, much like Google Maps. Before a trip, you can drop pins on places you plan to visit and easily locate them on the map later. MAPS.ME solves the conundrum of looking up directions with no Wi-Fi connection.

Foursquare

Price: Free

For: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android

Find nearby restaurants, museums, parks, shops and more on the go with Foursquare. Unlike Yelp, Foursquare provides personalized recommendations and short, character-limited reviews. Users can indicate their personal tastes by adding tags such as “margherita pizza,” “live DJ” and “friendly quick service.” The app uses this information, along with previously visited businesses, to generate suggestions.

Aside from standard categories, such as shopping and dessert, you can also search “Trending this Month,” “Nearest,” “Specials” and “Top Picks.” Pay attention to the “Specials” category, in particular: it generates a list of nearby places offering deals. To narrow your search, adjust any of the filter options, including recommended by people you follow and happy hours.

PackPoint Premium

Price: $2.99

For: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android

Don’t ruin a well-deserved vacation by forgetting an essential at home. PackPoint Premium creates a comprehensive packing list based on your destination, travel dates, weather, planned activities and more. When it generates the approximate number of clothing pieces you should pack, the app even factors in whether you’re willing to repeat wearing basics and if you’ll have access to laundry facilities. You can also view your packing list online with a shareable website link.

You can download the app for free or, for a few more bucks, upgrade to its premium version, which includes TripIt and Evernote integration, as well as custom packing templates. With TripIt, PackPoint automatically creates packing lists for your saved trips, and Evernote allows you to access your lists across all devices.

Hopper

Price: Free

For: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch

In the realm of airfare predictors, Hopper is a difficult app to beat with the company boasting it can save users up to 40 percent on flights. After putting your destination in the app, it generates color-coded calendars that indicate when it’s cheapest to fly from your home airport. Once you select your departure and return date, the app informs you of the best deal available and advises you on whether to book or wait.

You can also set notifications on specific trips to find out when prices change. The price prediction gives you a timeline on the projected rise and fall of prices, including the estimated price increase after a specific date. Hopper even features a tips section that provides information on the cheapest travel dates and the most affordable arrival and departure airports.

More from U.S. News

4 Essential Apps for Airfare Savings

8 Mobile Apps that Will Make You Love Your Next Layover

7 Destinations With Apps as Smart as Your Phone

6 Travel Apps Every Globetrotter Needs originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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