When I’m traveling, my smartphone is an indispensable tool that makes my travel both more faith-filled and more convenient. Today, I’m launching a new series called “Itinerary Apps” that will be a weekly look at the apps that help me get where I’m going, both logistically and spiritually!

United Airlines App

I’m a committed United flyer, so one of my most used apps on both my phone (a Galaxy Note 3) and iPad mini is the official United Airlines app. Within the past few months, this app has been updated and refreshed to make it far more user friendly and efficient than it was in the past.

What It Does

Key features (as noted by the United website):

Flight booking — Book flights on United, including award travel, directly from the app on your mobile device
Check-in and mobile boarding pass — Store your mobile boarding pass for easy access at security and during boarding
Flight status — Check your upgrade status and view inflight amenities, departure gates and more
Flight reminders — Receive automatic updates on your mobile device for selected flights
Seat maps — Select seats and choose Economy Plus® seating
Frequent flyer account access — Check your MileagePlus account information
United Club — Access location information and purchase one-time passes
FlightView — See real-time maps of flight paths and weather conditions
Travel Wallet — Keep all of your upcoming travel information – including reservations, mobile boarding passes, flight status notifications, one-time passes and more – all in one place
Currency Converter — See what the exchange rate is before you go

Why I Love It

My trip starts long before I leave home. I use the United app to choose my seat and check on upgrades. I set flight reminders which include both gate notifications and delay updates, which I receive by text. I use the app to check in and obtain a mobile boarding pass (although at this point I still print backups just in case I have a phone issue). The app helps me while traveling to plan for connections — it tends to more current sometimes than airport monitors, although you should definite check both and ask in the event of a discrepancy. Finally, I love having my MileagePlus card in the app for handy access when I have to call United customer service en route. I hadn’t noticed the currency conversion tool in the past but will definitely be using this for upcoming trips.