*Old Midleton Distillery in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland*

We’ve enjoyed several distillery tours over the years in Scotland and Ireland, and Kevin shares his passion for whisky on his YouTube channel, Whisky Riffs.

What does whisky have to do with traveling, aside from being a delightful way to unwind after a long day of exploration? As whisky matures in casks, some of it evaporates into the air, a phenomenon known as “angel’s share.” Just as distillers lose a portion of their spirit, we too have noticed that some of our money seems to disappear into thin air. Despite our best efforts to minimize these losses, they often feel like an inevitable part of the adventure, no matter how experienced we are. When distilling whisky, more of the spirit is preserved when barrels are stored in cooler environments because the whisky vaporizes more slowly than in warmer conditions. Similarly, we’re learning how to be mindful of our travel costs, but we also give ourselves grace when some of our cash slips away. It’s somewhat of a bridge troll charge to live this travel lifestyle, and the benefits far outweigh the sunk costs. In this article we explore some of the areas where you could be losing your “angel’s share” and how you can reduce or minimize those losses and when you just may need to accept the times that give you this lifestyle.

Angel’s Share = Lost Money

Below is a fairly comprehensive list of ways your money can evaporate. Later we’ll talk about how you can mitigate some of these, but sometimes just knowing they can be gotchas can help you plan for them or at least be a bit more flexible when you encounter them.

Sunk Costs

Non-refundable tickets: Purchasing non-refundable airline or train tickets that cannot be changed or refunded if you end up missing your flight or if you need to adjust your plans. Occasionally change fees are as expensive as the tickets themselves. Personally, even though they can be a sunk cost, we never book refundable tickets to offset this because the occasions where something could go wrong do not exceed the high cost of these types of tickets.

Flight changes or cancellations: Additional costs incurred from rebooking flights due to cancellations or missed connections. We are very careful when we mix airlines to save money. We give ourselves a lot of extra time between flights in case the first one is delayed. At times we’ll even pay for an airport hotel between legs so that we don’t have to worry about the cascade effect of a delayed flight. We’re also very careful that we understand beforehand if we have to travel to a different airport in the same city to make a connection.

Accommodation increases/adjustments: In the event of airline strikes in certain parts of the world, your connecting flight might be grounded and you need to be double booked—your original accommodations as well as the ones you need in the location of your forced layover. There also are occasions when a host or hotel cancels on short notice because of a repair issue or overbooking and you need to find last-minute accommodations that are significantly more expensive than your original option.

Wrong location: It’s possible that despite all your due diligence, accommodations might be of poorer quality than you anticipated, in an area of town where you feel unsafe or is harder or less pleasant to navigate than you intended, which could result in additional costs for finding alternate lodging.

If ever you don’t feel safe in your accommodations for whatever reason, find an alternate place to stay and worry about recouping your costs later. Your safety is of paramount importance.

Layovers for canceled/delayed flights might require an extra hotel night and getting to and from those accommodations might not have been part of your original budget.

Our hotel accommodations in Rome at Hotel Donna Francesca were superb, but sometimes you have to keep looking to refundable options.

We weren’t delayed in Serbia, but we did face some unexpected healthcare costs.

Medical emergencies: We hope this never happens to you, but you may encounter an unexpected health issue that prevents you from departing on time or requires unplanned medical costs or even evacuation if you are injured in a remote location or one inadequate to care for your medical issue.

Lost or stolen property

Usually an airline will cover the cost of lost luggage, but you might have to chase after this money for a long time. Even delayed luggage may require you to buy essential items (e.g., clothing and toiletries).
Lost items can include accidentally dropping cash when reaching into your pocket, forgetting to repack clothing left in a hotel closet, or misplacing sunglasses, a hat, or even a cell phone during an excursion where recovery isn't possible.
Of course there’s also theft through pickpocketing or a break-in.

Transportation costs

A *luggage scale* *can be a real life saver so you know in advance if your luggage is overweight!*

Taxis and rideshare services are often more expensive than public transportation. And there are a lot of unethical taxi drivers who take advantage of tourists if you’re not careful or aware of what a reasonable price is to pay for a ride.
Car rental: While we don’t rent cars outside of the US, it’s easy to miss speed limit changes or drive through a toll booth. Fines for these can be very expensive and they often show up months after your trip has concluded. There also can be fees if you return the car late or run out of time to replenish the fuel before dropping it off.
Overweight baggage: If your airline decides to weigh your suitcase or requires it to fit into a sizer and you end up having to check your bag, the fees at the check-in counter are significantly more than they would be if you paid online for checked bags.
Tour delays impacting travel plans: We recently had a tour in Peru that ran longer than expected and we ended up needing to pay extra for private transportation.

Overpriced food and drinks

Your meal budget might go down the tubes if you’re dining in touristy areas or in places where you’re not comfortable eating the local foods. Anticipate that burgers and pizza will be much more expensive when you’re eating those foods in Asia, and restaurants that cater to non-locals will charge significantly more than the restaurants where locals eat.
There will be occasions when trying unfamiliar foods where you leave a meal unsatisfied or hungry and end up compensating by purchasing additional snacks or a meal to compensate.

*The ATMs in Marrakech limited how much we could take at any one time, resulting in extra fees*

Foreign currency costs and fees

Exchanging money at airports will typically come with high fees or an unfavorable exchange rate, but if you’re arriving in a cash-based country without the local currency, you might end up needing to pay the premium prices to have immediate cash on hand.
Using a debit card at places when you don’t have cash and that don’t accept credit cards might mean that you incur foreign exchange fees. Although our Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card has no foreign exchange fees, the same is not true for our debit cards.
Additionally, some credit cards charge fees for using non-network ATMs and also certain cards charge a premium percentage for foreign currency adjustments.

Travel insurance issues

Canceled or delayed flights or trains, missed connections and accommodations, or medical issues can all result in lost money.
Exclusions: Even if you have travel insurance, it’s possible that they don’t cover certain incidents or expenses or they don’t offer sufficient funds to recover your losses.

Change in Itinerary

Change fees: Paying extra fees to change flights, accommodations, or tours due to altered travel plans.
Costly detours: Unexpected detours or changes in plans that add additional travel expenses.

Costs You Can Recoup

So where can you recoup some of your lost money? Let’s run down the list:

*ATM in Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley, Peru*

ATM Fees, Currency Conversions Snafus, and Lost Cash

Invest in a Charles Schwab checking account and submit non-network ATM fees for reimbursement
Choose to be charged in the local currency of the country you're in versus having the machine provide a conversion rate to the currency of your native country
Always check that you’ve taken your bank card and your cash and that it’s safely in your wallet. Look around you before you leave the ATM to ensure nothing gets left behind. It can be easy to miss that something fell out of your pocket when you pulled out your wallet. It’s natural to want to avoid lingering around a cash machine longer than necessary, but you can also make careless mistakes by rushing
Whenever possible use an ATM that’s connected to a bank in case you don’t receive the correct funds you requested
Use a good currency conversion app (I use My Currency Converter) and make sure you understand the conversion of the currency of the country you’re in. It can be easy when you are doing a lot of traveling to make errors when handing over cash. Slow down, look at the cash you’re handing over to ensure that you aren’t giving more than you intended. Most people are honest, but there are times when it’s easy to massively overtip and someone will assume you meant to be just that generous. We made that mistake when we handed over a much bigger tip to a bike tour guide than we intended in Thailand because we were used to the currency in Vietnam.
It’s easy to lose track of how much money you’re spending if you aren’t tracking your cash. It’s typical to tip 10% in some countries, but if you aren’t counting what remains in your wallet each night, you may not realize that you spent more than you thought. A week or two can go by and you may be shocked to discover that there is $50 or more over a course of a week that you can’t account for. That’s enough for a nice meal in some places. You may be fine to be giving those tips, but use a spending app or the notes on your phone so you don’t go days or weeks without having a reconciliation of your spending. This is especially critical if you’re on a tight budget.

Accommodations

Take overnight flights or trains to reduce the number of nights of accommodations you need on a specific trip
Do your diligence so that you don’t end up in hotels or Airbnbs, etc. that are in a bad neighborhood or in poor condition. Ensure that the photos match what you’re getting and read every review. Don’t minimize certain warnings that have been posted. Read the listings carefully to ensure the amenities you need are included. You aren’t saving money if you end up having to move.
Sometimes vendors offer a discount for extended stays of a week or a month. We were in Uruguay for six days, but discovered we’d save $23 by booking an entire week, even though we had to leave a day early in order to get the cheapest flight.

*We didn’t splurge for a proper sleeper carriage en route from Vienna to Kraków, and it wasn’t ideal. Sometimes it’s worth the extra money!*

Missed Flights, Trains, Tours

*Flybondi was far and away the worst airline we’ve ever (not) flown on—they canceled flights on us twice*

Whenever possible see if the vendor will give allow you to reschedule at no additional cost. We missed a train connection in Italy because our connection was too far of a walk for the time allotted. We stopped at a kiosk to see what could be done and the attendant told us to get on the next train and let the ticket taker know what happened and that we were told we wouldn’t need to repurchase our tickets. Group tours will sometimes allow you to change the date if you give them a little bit of an advance warning, even on non-refundable tickets. Flights will occasionally allow you to reschedule after the plane departs if you have a reasonable explanation for why you missed your flight. In the case of transportation, it’s always helpful if you have some sort of loyalty membership with the vendor.

We have scheduled tours in advance of our destination only to find out that we over scheduled ourselves and didn’t have the energy to take the tour. Sometimes we’re willing to lose the sunk cost because we need the rest more than we need to see a specific museum or excursion. Factor time to decompress and downtime away from crowds, especially if you’re introverted (or traveling with someone who is). Our article, How to Reduce Stress for Anxious Travelers, contains more tips for managing energy levels and comfort while traveling.

It’s always a good idea when planning excursions to understand in advance how far each of them are from one another. Give yourself time to get from one to another—no more than two per day—including time to eat and get hydrated. You don’t want to underestimate the distances and be unable to meet your next tour. They might not be able to wait for you, and you don’t want to lose money because you didn’t understand all the logistics of getting from one place to another.

Do your research when you are traveling on discount airlines and understand in advance how reliable it is. We thought we were saving money in Argentina when we booked with Flybondi, but they ended up canceling two separate flights. They gave no reason for canceling the second flight, but it resulted in a lot of lost costs (hotel, excursion, last-minute accommodations) that have been very hard to try to recoup.

Airport Food, Baggage Fees and Confiscated Items at Security

There are many hidden fees that are gotchas to be on the lookout for, especially if you have oversized luggage. We carry a luggage scale so we don’t have any surprises at the gate, and we research which airlines are likely to require us to weigh our bags. We’d rather pay to check them than pay inflated fees if they catch you at the check-in counter.

We try to always put things in the same place in our bags so we know when something is in place. We created this Travel Day Checklist to ensure that we don’t leave anything behind, which can be angel’s share that we really don’t want to lose.

We also recommend owning a credit card that offers a lounge perk. We have saved so much money by eating in international airport lounges for free versus paying high prices in the airport. The savings here can be significant. We use Chase Sapphire Reserve, which has Priority Pass lounges as a perk. Although we each have our own account and card, they allow us two free guests apiece. If you don’t already have a card with a lounge perk, our link will give you 60,000 bonus points at no additional cost to you. Priority Pass is accepted at over 1,700 airports in more than 600 cities in 148 countries.

Priority Pass gives you lounge access in many airports

Deposits

It’s always a good idea to put any booked item on your calendar and notate it that you’ve put a deposit down on it. Set an alarm for at least 24 hours in advance so that if you forget to cancel a reservation you no longer need, you don’t lose the deposit. If you keep your reservation, make sure that the deposit is credited to your bill if it was taken out at the time of the reservation request.

Make sure your deposits are notated so that you don’t overpay for an excursion or other item. Don’t trust the vendor to remember that you prepaid since they may have different arrangements depending on whether the excursion was booked through a third party.

Taxis

Whenever possible we choose to use ride-share apps like Uber, Lyft, Bolt, and Grab, depending on the country we’re in. We like them because it makes it convenient to follow along with the journey that’s mapped out for us, so deviations are more obvious if they are happening. We don’t have to worry about not having sufficient local currency for the ride, and we don’t have to haggle or worry about getting squeezed for a price other than what we negotiated at the beginning. It’s much easier when you know the fare before you even hail your ride. Taxis are one of the most common parts of travel where tourists are scammed, so we’re willing to sometimes pay a little more to have a little more protection by knowing in advance what we’re paying by using ride-share apps.

While some of your money will inevitably be a part of the angel’s share, we’d love to hear the ways that you have found to mitigate some of those losses by leaving them in the comments below.

Minimizing the Angel’s Share While Traveling