 Planning a trip is fun and exciting but the price can put a damper on that fun. Luckily there are many ways to travel without hitting the wallet too hard. Here are some of my tricks on how I save money when traveling.
Plan Ahead The old saying plan ahead is great advice here when its possible to do so. I try and start planning ahead 4-6 months ahead of time when possible on my trips. I book my car rental with the best available price that does not require prepayment. I then check once a month or so up to the trip to see if the prices go down. Many times the prices will drop significantly as you get closer if they have a lot of inventory, the opposite happens when they are short, the prices can sky rocket. Using this strategy for car rentals helps protect you from those sky high prices that may come, but also allows you to adjust to the lower costs should the inventory be elevated. I used the same strategy when it comes to hotels, but with a few other options placed in. I tend to stay at Marriott branded hotels, for multiple reasons, one, I know they have a standard where I should get a clean room, two, I accumulate points which i can use for free hotel stays (I also get bonus points from using my Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card) and three, between getting bonus night credits for having the credit card and for staying at Marriott's, I have gained platinum status which grants things like free breakfast, concierge lounge access and more. When booking I look at the pricing vs points structure. If the room costs $100 a night, ill book it and pay for it on my Marriott Card. If its $400 a night and only needs 20,000 points, ill book it on points since it maximizes the savings and the point value. I also check the pricing once a month or so and adjust the reservation or change hotels if another in the area has significantly dropped in cost. Typically on a 4-night trip, I use points or my free night certificate from the credit card on half the nights and pay for the other half. When flying I always look at credit cards that let me fly free and better yet, let you choose a companion to fly free. Southwest offers promotions that offer you enough points for a few free flights and typically at the beginning of the year even offer a companion pass for a year. I try and apply when they offer that companion pass so myself and my fiancé can fly free for a few trips a year. When booking in points, I still go back and see if the pricing goes down monthly, often it will if they are not booking many passengers, and you can save a lot of points by rebooking the reservation and cancelling the original. They do not charge fees when making these changes using points (Southwest at least). Eat where the locals eat When you find the places the locals eat, not only will you find some great food, but you will find it at great prices. The big chains and tourist traps will take you for all your worth and give you mediocre food at best. I always ask for suggestions, from the hotel or others I may run into. I have found some of my favorite restaurants this way. Maximizing Credit Card Rewards I use multiple credit cards on my every day purchases and do the same when traveling. It is important to pay off these cards monthly and only use them for purchases you are going to make anyway. This will prevent any additional charges and let you maximize great cash back or point offers which help in both traveling and daily life. I use the Discover Card for their rotating 5% cash back category, what ever the 5% category is, I use that card every time. I have another card that gives me 3.75% back in a category of my choice, 2.5% back at Grocery Stores and 1.25% back on everything else. I choose a category that is not the Discover 5% back category for the quarter to be my 3.75% back. I also use deals on my Marriott and Southwest cards when they offer the 10x point offers. I also have a card that gives 1.5% back on everything for any other purchases that do not qualify for any of the larger cash back options. While this may sound like a lot of work, I typically get back between $60-$100 a month in credit card rewards on top of everything else. Use some of these tricks and you will save big on your next trip. Have some more great ideas? Comment below! Safe Travels!
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