Even if you’ve flown only once in your life, you know that it’s hard to stay healthy when you fly. Usually, carriers serve barely edible meals and salt-ridden snacks. Couple that with the lack of nutritious options at the airport, and your chances of eating a balanced meal that day is pretty much dashed.
See our best credit card bonuses here.
To help you stick to your diet goals as you travel, consider our tips and tricks for eating healthy on planes. If you want to read about other great places to visit, see this list of best travel destinations to use the points and miles you’ve earned with your credit card rewards and loyalty programs.
Read our post on Tips & Tricks For Getting Through Airport Security Fast for ways to avoid the crowd!
Drink Water
Drinking water helps to control your appetite and keeps you feeling full longer. Oftentimes people mistake dehydration as hunger, reaching for unhealthy plane snacks instead of a bottle of water. Aim to drink about three liters of water each day.
Avoid Coffee & Liquor
Along the same lines, we recommend you avoid drinking coffee, liquor…and pretty much anything that isn’t water. Flying dehydrates your body, causing headaches and hangover-like symptoms, so it’s best to stick to the good ol’ H2O.
BYO Healthy Snacks
Stave off hunger on the plane by bringing your own wholesome, nutrient-rich snacks, including protein bars, fruits, vegetables and nuts. You’ll want to avoid salt-ridden snacks like pretzels and chips, which will increase dehydration.
Choose A Protein-Packed Meal
If you’re still feeling hungry, go ahead and eat the airplane meal. But choose one with clean protein. We recommend eggs, chicken breast, hummus and yogurt. It might come in a wrap or sandwich, but it’s a much healthier option than chips or cookies.
Leave The Unhealthy Items
Once you have your protein-packed meal in front of you, we recommend chowing down on the healthy parts first (side salad), and leave the unhealthy bits (bread, dessert) on your tray.
BONUS TIP: 4 Stress-Free Credit Cards
Deciding which card is best to maximize your rewards or which perk to take advantage of for a given situation can cause a lot of unnecessary stress. To take the stress out of your trip, we recommend carrying one of these 4 no-annual-fee credit cards as another way to stay healthy while you travel.
But if you rather see a longer list of other options, check out best credit card bonuses here. Also, if you want to read more about no-annual-fee credit cards, click here.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card gives you automatic Hilton Honors elite status and a nice welcome bonus. With this card, you will have one less thing to worry about on your vacation.
HILTON HONORS AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card has a welcome bonus offer for 80,000 Hilton Honors Points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of Card Membership. Our valuation puts the 80k points at around $480 in value ($0.006 per point).
This Hilton credit card earns 7 Hilton Honors points per $1 spent directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Honors portfolio of brands. U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas station spending earns 5 Hilton Honors points per dollar. All other purchases will earn 3 Hilton Honors points per dollar.
Other features include no foreign transaction fees and free Hilton Honors Silver Status. This card has no annual fee. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
The Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card is best for a stress-free trip. It is a no-annual-fee card that earns miles on every purchase. You can still maximize your earnings by transferring the miles to airline partners, so going low-cost does not necessarily mean low-rewards.
CAPITAL ONE® VENTUREONE® REWARDS CREDIT CARD
The Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card has an offer for 20,000 bonus miles after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months. We value these 20k bonus miles at around $280.
This card has no annual fee. The annual fee version of this card is the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, with better features.
The VentureOne Rewards card offers unlimited 1.25X miles on all purchases. You can redeem for statement credits for travel and gift cards. Another option is to transfer miles to airline partners. Read more on this here.
The Capital One® SavorOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card gives excellent cash back with no rotating categories to think about. With this card, you know you will earn unlimited cash back on every purchase as you travel.
CAPITAL ONE® SAVORONE® CASH REWARDS CREDIT CARD
The Capital One® SavorOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card has a $200 bonus when you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months of account opening. This card has no annual fee. The annual-fee version of this card is the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card.
This SavorOne card earns unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment spending. Grocery store spending earns 2% cash back. All other purchases earn 1% cash back. There are no rotating categories to worry about and the cash back won’t expire while the account is open.
The Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card is a straightforward cashback card. A flat earning rate no matter what the purchase is. It does not get any easier than that. And yes, of course, no annual fee to deal with.
CAPITAL ONE® QUICKSILVER® CASH REWARDS CREDIT CARD
The Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card will earn a $200 bonus when you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months. The bonus offer is comparable to its top competitors, but this card earns a respectable 1.5% cash back on every purchase with no limit on how much you can earn. There are no spending categories to keep up with and the cash back won’t expire while the account is open.
People like this card because of the cash back rate, the flexibility to redeem your cash back for any amount, and there’s no annual fee.
For further reading on best credit cards, check out the following guides:
Bottom Line
Eating healthy when you’re at the airport or on the plane isn’t an impossible feat. Simply follow our tips and tricks above, and you’ll be able to keep your diet in check.
Click here for 12 tips for staying healthy while you travel.
READ MORE: SEE THE BEST BANK BONUSES HERE AND THE BEST INVESTING BONUSES HERE.
