The more I travel the more I depend on my phone to organize and manage my schedule and travel information. For a while I would use the built-in notes app to record my flight and hotel confirmation numbers, but now I’ve discovered two apps that help make traveling a little less stressful. Both TripCase and TripDeck let you manage your travel itineraries from your mobile device. Keep track of flights, hotel and car reservations, as well as extras like restaurants, meetings and other attractions. Of course updating two apps is cumbersome, so I can only choose one to continue using.

TripCase

To start using TripCase, you’ll need to sign up for an account and then click a link inside the verification email. I didn’t like that I couldn’t start using it right away, but the registration process didn’t really take that long (just a name, email and password).

TripCase uses push notification to send you alerts regarding your flight. In addition to flight status, you also get live flight tracking and gate status. The app also shares airport information, including baggage claim, and in some airports, parking information and vendor deals near your gate.

TripCase lets you organize all aspects of your trip in one itinerary, including flight and hotel, car rental, restaurant reservations, meetings and other activities. Should you miss your flight, or need to change it, there’s an in-app search for alternate flights with real-time availability. You can also search for nearby hotels. Once your flight is selected, you can even check in right from the app.

Of course, when you’re traveling, you’re never quite alone. TripCase lets you publish flight details to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – you’re able to select which details you’d like to make public before sharing. It also sends automatic alerts to friends or family about your trip status so they don’t have to worry.

There’s a ton of in-app extras, including a seven-day weather forecast for your destination. You can also export your itinerary to your calendar. Perhaps my favorite feature is that you can forward confirmation emails to TripCase and they will update your itinerary for you. Some things still need to be cleaned up a bit, but it sure beats entering in every piece of information by yourself.

TripDeck

The first obvious difference of TripDeck is that I didn’t have to sign up for an account before use. TripDeck does sync with TripIt, so if you have an account, it’s worth connecting the two. Similarly, TripDeck lets you manage your flight, hotel, and all other necessary itinerary information into well-designed cards. It offers easy access to check-in times, seat assignments, gate details and other airline information. And, of course, if you miss your flight, you can search for alternates.

Unfortunately, TripDeck is lacking in terms of features. Many of the perks that TripCase offers for free are paid in-app add-ons. Push notifications and real-time updates aren’t a standard feature. Neither is flight tracking or live stats for gate changes. These are pretty important details and I think I would have swapped out something else in order to make these standard. The price to upgrade is $3.99, which seems foolish since there are other free apps that are all inclusive.

With all of that said, I still do prefer the design of TripDeck. It’s clean and sleek, and reminds me of something Apple would create. The information is stored on cards so it almost looks like a deck or a rolodex. But while the design is visually appealing, I feel like TripCase did a better job of making their app more intuitive.

Winner: TripCase

I felt that TripCase was a better app based on its features and functionality. For me, getting real-time updates is important. And if an app is willing to include that for no extra charge, great! It’s especially important since many travel sites will update you via text message. It seems like it shouldn’t be an add-on, but something that comes standard. The ability to forward confirmation emails is just another bonus that travelers can find solace in.

Ultimately, I think it depends on what you’re looking for in a travel application. Both apps do a remarkable job of storing and managing your travel itineraries. They both have enough extras that any traveler should be content, but there wasn’t enough wow factor in TripDeck to sway me into paying the $3.99.