18 Travel Tips
The travel season has begun and this month our firm is focused on saving you money. Here are my best tips including the last one which is never stop researching.
- Research free days and free visits. Do as many free things as possible.
- Ask for advice on discussion groups like TripAdvisor and FlyerTalk.
- Take flights going and coming on Tuesday and Wednesday and red eyes, if possible.
- Know the local holidays and avoid them. Prices go up then.
- Go direct to properties to pay a lower price because they don’t have to pay a commission. Ask for the discount.
- Pay in cash for lodging, in some countries, to get a further discount. (Ethical consideration here)
- Think of Sunday nights as the most available for lodging and lowest price.
- Follow travel blogs and credit card reward programs on sites like thepointsguy.com awardwallet.com TravelZoo and One Mile At a Time.
- Use Booking.com, Hotels.com or a direct hotel program like Marriott. I use the Chase Marriott credit card and get a free night each year. I have four free nights via Hotels.com built up after using one on current trip. Look for free cancellation deadlines.
- Look for family freebies like kids eat free.
- Look for coupons on online sites, local maps and tour guides produced locally.
- Use points when you can if they make cents (sense). Know the value of each point or mile before you use them.
- Use a house sitter if you have pets. They’re free and vetted through several organizations.
- Try to eat just two meals a day to lower food costs. Find free water and fill up that bottle.
- Look at the cost of travel insurance. We have a credit card that if used for travel provides a good insurance policy at $95 a year fee after the being free the first year and with 55,000 points to boot. Found it on thepointsguy.com. You can shop around for trip insurance too. Our travel agent found us a cheaper policy last time.
- Use a travel agent when things get complicated or special interests are involved.
- Car rental is another story. Shop around. Get advice and look for discounts and restrictions before you commit. Take pictures and video of the car before and after. Might save you some big bucks.
- Never stop researching. There are deals and info all over the internet and from locals.
