Whether you travel by train, plane or automobile, a trip around the U.S. can be the greatest adventure you ever have. But even when you’re traveling in your own country, some things can be confusing. Can you buy travel insurance for a short domestic trip? Do you need a passport to visit Guam? And how does TSA Pre-Check work?

Domestic Travel Glossary

Annual travel insurance: A travel insurance plan you buy once that can cover all your trips for 365 days. Annual travel insurance is perfect for anyone who wants affordable protection for multiple trips — and it covers both international and domestic travel.

Bumped: When a flight’s overbooked, an airline may boot you from the plane — voluntarily or otherwise. Fewer people have been getting bumped on U.S. airlines; in 2016, the bumping rate was 0.62 per 10,000 passengers.¹ Of course, sometimes getting bumped means a nice travel voucher for a future flight! Here’s a guide to getting bumped that can help you decide whether to give up your seat or stay put.

Cross-country trip: Driving cross-country — that is, from one U.S. coast or border to the other — can be an epic way to see the United States. There are many ways to do it, such as taking  U.S. 50 from Ocean City, Md. to Sacramento, or U.S. 6 from Cape Cod to Long Beach. Or, for a totally different experience, drive north to south along the Jefferson Highway, known as the Pine to Palm Highway.²

Destination: At Allianz Global Assistance, we define a “destination” as a place more than 100 miles from your primary residence where you spend more than 24 hours of your trip. That means you can (and should) protect your domestic trip with travel insurance, even if you’re only driving three hours to the beach. Domestic travel insurance, like the low-cost OneTrip Cancellation Plus Plan, can protect your prepaid travel costs with trip cancellation/interruption benefits.

Long-distance rideshare: Uber and Lyft will only take you so far, so there are now ridesharing options for longer domestic trips. One is OpenRide, a city-to-city, peer-to-peer ridesharing service. It doesn’t set fares or provide insurance; it simply connects passengers and drivers, processes payments and allows members to rate each other. Another option is Rdvouz, a long-distance rideshare aggregator. Simply enter your location to see who’s passing through and where they’re heading.

Lower 48: The contiguous United States, aka all the states except Alaska and Hawaii. One programmer figured out the perfect road trip that makes at least one stop in all lower 48 states; only stops at national natural landmarks, national historic sites, national parks, or national monuments; and never leaves the U.S. The route is 13,699 miles long, taking about 224 hours to drive.

Mishandled baggage: Airline-speak for bags that are delayed, lost, stolen or otherwise misplaced. The good news is that airlines are steadily getting better at keeping track of suitcases. In 2016, domestic carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 2.7 per 1,000 passengers, the lowest rate since 1987.³ The bad news is, if you’re one of those 2.7 people, you won’t be very happy. The best protection is a domestic travel insurance plan that includes baggage loss/damage and baggage delay benefits.

Pre-Check: Sometimes written as Pre✓, this is the TSA’s program that pre-screens travelers so they can get through security faster. Pay $85 for a five-year membership, pass the background check, and you can zip through security without removing your shoes, laptops, liquids, belts and light jackets. The TSA says that in August 2017, 97 percent of Pre-Check passengers waited less than 5 minutes in security.⁴

Rail pass: Did you know Amtrak offers rail passes for long domestic vacations? Choose how long you want to travel and pay a set price, from $459 for a 15-day pass to $899 for a 45-day pass. (Each pass includes a set number of segments.) It can be an affordable — and fun! — way to see the country.

Staycation: A vacation you spend at home, or in your hometown. When you’re trying to save money, or if you just love being home, a staycation can be sweet. Just make sure you schedule your activities, just as you would a far-off vacation, so you feel like you’ve had a real break. Get helpful staycation planning tips.

Trip: In your travel insurance plan, a trip is defined as round-trip or one-way travel to and from a place at least 100 miles from your home. It can’t include travel to receive health care or medical treatment of any kind or commuting to and from work.

TSA: The Transportation Security Administration. TSA agents are the blue-shirted officers who check IDs, run the security line and keep U.S. airports secure. They’re often grumpy, but we would be too if we had to look at thousands of strangers’ bare feet every day.

U.S. Territories: For a domestic trip that feels like an international vacation, consider visiting a U.S. territory: Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island (Olohega, a tiny atoll) or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Each of these islands, whether in the Atlantic or the Pacific, is known for its unique culture and tropical beauty. U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who travel directly between parts of the United States, without touching at a foreign port, are not required to present a U.S. passport or green card.⁵

Related Articles

• Travel Insurance for Domestic Vacations
• Stateside Destinations with Foreign Flare
• 5 Staycation Tips For A Real-Vacation Feeling