Welcome to Week #2 of Travel Tuesday! Subject? Saving Money on Travel. I couldn't get too far into the Travel Tuesday series without giving a few tips on this. Let's face it, I think most of us would travel endlessly if we could possibly afford it. Hopefully some of these tips will make it a little easier...
General Savings:
Join a credit card rewards program that saves you money on travel. I have a Capital One card that I charge everything to (and then pay off immediately). I've also heard good things about the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card.
Research as much as you possibly can. Tripadvisor is THE BEST for reviews. Kayak is awesome for comparing prices without checking a million different websites.
Travel in the off-season times. This can literally save you hundreds and maybe even thousands. I know this because I enjoy torturing myself by checking the prices of flights during off-season times even though I know I can only travel during school vacations (aka ridiculously inflated price time).
Choose more "off the beaten path" places. People always ask Eric and I why we ever decided to go to Arizona last February. From Boston, the natural place to go in winter is Florida. Since everyone thinks this, it's about $500 cheaper to go to Arizona instead of Florida. Score for us!
Join AAA. Not only will you be in good hands if you get a flat tire or you accidentally leave your lights on, but you will also will be eligible for great travel rewards. I rarely find a hotel that will not give me a AAA discount.
Set up an automatic savings for travel. I've mentioned before my love for my ING savings accounts because I can give them different names and you better believe that one is called "Trips." If you save $50 a week for a year, that's $2600 which is plenty for an awesome trip!
Plane/Transportation:
Subscribe to the e-mail updates from your favorite airlines. They offer tons of discounts especially if you can travel on Tuesday or Wednesday. Also check the flight prices on Tuesday as well, that's when most airline sales start.
Join the frequent flyer programs and use them to book your flight. They are free so there is no harm even if you don't think you'll use them enough to gain a free flight.
Bring food on the plane so you don't have to pay for airport food or anything on the flight.
Do some research on trips you can drive to, you'll save on flight costs and rental car.
Hotel
Join Vacationist (if want to, let me know and I'll give you my referral code). They offer awesome sales on really nice hotels. Eric and I stayed at a luxury hotel in Scottsdale this vacation for over $100 off per night from what it was supposed to be. Wahoo. Plus I find it kind of fun to look at luxury hotels in Morocco... just me?
Also join the Hotel Rewards program anywhere you may go. Just like the airline programs, it doesn't cost anything to join and you may have benefits starting at your first stay. We got free internet in Arizona because we were rewards members, that's a savings of $14.99 a day!
Look into renting a house or apartment. Tripadvisor now has reviews on what it calls "Specialty Lodging" which includes houses you can rent. This can be an awesome deal for a group of people and will save a TON if you have a kitchen you can cook in.
Restaurants/Things To Do
If you are visiting a city, join Groupon for that city before you visit. You may be able to score some awesome deals.
Ask for local recommendations or use Yelp. It's easy to get stuck in tourist traps if you rely on information once you are already at your hotel.
What are your tips for saving money on travel? Share with everyone!
Posts
i'm sooooo bookmarking this post! too often i don't travel because of the cost. no more! great post :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! There are so many ways to save money when you travel. For me, it's all about doing the research. Find out if museums are free certain days or discounted at night or if there is a museum pass for the city you are visiting (if you are going to a museum-heavy city like Paris). Renting an apt was definitely huge in terms of saving money - and I feel like I had a more authentic experience!
ReplyDeleteI'm planning our summer vacation right now. This post is helping me get excited!
ReplyDeleteGreat recommendations!!!!!! I would also add TravelZoo to the list of places you should sign up for . . . they have awesome deals!!!
ReplyDeleteBTW could I have your referral code?
ReplyDeletethose are great trips! thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteI just have real problems getting another credit card. I think you are right, some of them offer some really great deals...but I Always think there HAS to be a way they can offer those deals, and that somehow I am losing money..maybe not??
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to join Groupons in the city you are traveling to. I never would have thought to do that.
I always check out museum free days and other free activities going on in the places we are going. While in Chicago we found free museum days and cheap happy hour prices! And I check out Groupon.
ReplyDeleteI just booked a trip and used some of these tips. Looking forward to using more of your ideas! Arizona is such a good idea!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips!!
ReplyDeleteI think you can save a lot of money on food. On one hand, the amazing food is part of the experience when traveling, on the other hand, you don't have to have amazing food 3 times a day! When we were in Europe we usually went cheap for breakfast and lunch and then splurged on nice dinners!
Starring this one too! Great tips!!!
ReplyDeleteawesome awesome advice. I wish i knew more of this when I started traveling. I sign up for all the airlines ff miles now, but I haven't been good about any rewards programs with hotels!
ReplyDelete