I never travel without my Apple Watch because of this one feature

I’ve been traveling a lot this year. Thanks to seemingly endless work trips that have seen me fly 36,000-plus miles so far in 2024 — and with many more trips yet to come — I’ve spent much of this year walking through airports, having dinner in Delta Sky Clubs, and trying (and failing) to sleep on red eyes.

As much as I enjoy traveling, I’ll be the first to admit that it can also be hectic. Thankfully, I’ve enjoyed far more good travel days than bad ones, and a large part of that has been thanks to my Apple Watch. It’s a great all-around smartwatch, but it’s also a phenomenal travel assistant that I wouldn’t want to fly without.

The best way to find your boarding pass

Joe Maring / Digital Trends

What is it that makes the Apple Watch such a great travel companion? It all has to do with a handy feature that was introduced last year with watchOS 10. If you have a boarding pass saved in Apple Wallet, it automatically appears in your Smart Stack on the day of your flight. Swipe up on the screen or spin the Digital Crown upwards, and boom — there’s your boarding pass, just like that.

This is an admittedly small feature, but it’s one I’ve found unbelievably convenient. It’s not difficult to open the Delta app on my phone to see my boarding pass, but it’s so much easier to nudge the crown on my Apple Watch, tap on my boarding pass, and instantly have all of my necessary travel info come up. Plus, if you have an Apple Watch Series 9 or an Apple Watch Ultra 2, it’s even easier; just pinch your index finger and thumb together to perform the Double Tap gesture, and your boarding pass appears.

All of your travel info right on your wrist

A boarding pass on an Apple Watch Ultra 2. — Joe Maring / Digital Trends

Not only is finding your boarding pass on the Apple Watch dead simple, but Apple also does an excellent job of presenting boarding pass info on such a tiny display. Boarding passes have been available on the Apple Watch for years, but that doesn’t make them any less useful.

Open your boarding pass, and you immediately see your QR code to scan at the gate to get on your plane. Getting out your phone and opening an app to find your boarding pass is perfectly fine, but holding your wrist over the gate scanner gets you through faster and is kind of magical. It’s also way easier if you’re juggling a carry-on, food, or anything else you bring on the plane.

Plus, if you scroll down from the QR code, you’ll see helpful info about your flight — including your boarding time, gate number, boarding zone, and seat number. As someone who has to look at this stuff every five minutes to make sure I remember everything correctly (the joys of being an anxious traveler), I can’t tell you how nice it is to have such easy access to all of this.

The Apple Watch is my favorite travel accessory

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 laying on the ground, showing the Modular Ultra watch face. — Joe Maring / Digital Trends

Traveling in 2024 is a really seamless experience. High-quality airline apps and digital boarding passes make it easy to stay informed and get where you need to be. Traveling with a smartphone is the right way to do it, but traveling with an Apple Watch is the best way.

It may seem silly to place so much emphasis on being able to get your boarding pass and flight info on your smartwatch instead of your smartphone. Still, even the smallest conveniences can be substantial during a hectic travel day, and that’s precisely why I love wearing my Apple Watch during them. It’s also great to see similar functionality expand to Wear OS watches — ensuring simpler travel days for as many people as possible.

I have a few big trips coming up to close out 2024 — including a quick jaunt to Berlin, a week in Hawaii, and even some time in New Delhi. For all of them (and any other unexpected trips), you can bet I’ll have an Apple Watch on to make those travel days as easy and stress-free as possible. And for any trips you have coming up, you should, too.