Book a custom-made mystery trip with American Express’s ‘Nextpedition’

Are you itching to take a trip but not exactly sure where you want to go? Have you ever wished you could take part in an adventure, such as the Amazing Race, in which details of your journey are revealed one segment at a time? You may be an ideal candidate for American Express’s Nextpedition.

Here’s how it works:

First, you’ll need to fill out your Traveler Profile, 15 questions to reveal whether you’re a Histocrat, Poshaholic, Gastronaut, Trengineer, Blisstorian, or one of 20 trendily-named travel personality composites. Once you get your Traveler Profile, Nextpedition will ask you to enter a a few personal details so that an AMEX travel consultant can contact you about your Nextpedition. After setting your budget and travel time and booking your trip, you need only wait for your dossier and vouchers to arrive at your doorstep – approximately one week prior to the start of your trip.One of the coolest components of the Nextpedition package is the Travel Console, a smartphone device that reveals your destinations and mystery activities over the course of the journey. The wi-fi equipped Travel Console also gives travelers the chance to create a Travel Log, which is shareable with your friends and family on Facebook.

As long as you’re willing to give up micromanagement of your itinerary, the idea behind AMEX’s Nextpedition is very appealing. Indeed, the experience hearkens back to the good old days, when you let travel agents worry about open jaw tickets and trip activities while all you had to do was pack. What’s more, the dose of mystery that AMEX infuses into the whole Nextpedition process lends it a hip, reality-show-type feel. What happens if you find out you’re traveling to a place you don’t really like? That’s not addressed in the Nextpedition FAQs. But given that Nextpeditions are limited to destinations in the U.S., Canada, and Europe and trips range from $1,000 to $3,500 per person for a 7-day getaway, you can be the intrepid traveler you always wanted to be without losing any creature comforts.

Does this sound like the kind of trip you’d like to take? Would you be interested in seeing other travel companies offer this type of package? Leave your comments below.