Who doesn’t enjoy going on a relaxing or adventurous vacation?! But even if spending a week in the Caribbean or backpacking across Europe isn’t your craft-beer-equivalent, chances are pretty high that you have to occasionally do some traveling and we want you to save big. Americans pour a lot of money into travel- to the tune of 972 billion dollars on domestic travel alone back in 2019. But it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. We want you to experience all the joy of travel while lessening the financial pain of it. In this episode we cover a litany of tips and tricks that will allow you to save on your next trip. We cover many different aspects of travel, giving you the knowledge and resources that you can keep coming back to in order to save money every single time you book a trip in the future.
Additional links:
- Google Flights – their date and price grid is fantastic for comparing prices.
- Skiplagged – make your layover the destination.
- Kayak.com/explore – if you have ultimate flexibility on your dates and location, you’re definitely going to be able to score rock bottom prices.
- Cheaper travel – Our “how to guide” for using credit card points to travel for free!
- Scott’s Cheap Flights and AirfareWatchdog are both great sites for tracking low airfares.
- Rome2Rio will help you find the most affordable way to get from point A to point B.
- TripAdvisor if you’re looking for a Yelp equivalent for your travels.
- AutoSlash tracks the lowest car rental prices.
- Priceline & Hotwire are the best overall sites for booking discounted lodging and check out the forum BiddingForTravel to get informed of the best rates.
- CruiseCompete and CruiseCritic are great sites for researching and finding affordable cruises if that’s your thing.
- TravelSense.org will lend you a helping hand with planning your trip.
- CostcoTravel has some great vacation packages. In fact, the savings from 1 trip could make your entire membership worth it (and more!). Also extra discounts are sometimes available for executive members.
- SquareMouth & InsureMyTrip are both good companies to consider if you’re looking to insure your trip.
- Credit Card Tool – Looking for the right credit card for you? Then check out our new credit card tool that’ll help you to easily filter through all the cards based on your preferred airline, whether or not they have an annual fee, or simply by the cashback offer! Just toggle the sliders and you’ll know which card to consider.
During this episode we enjoyed some Vacay Daydreams by Pipeworks Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!
Best friends out!
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Another downside to booking through third-party hotel sites is that you are put on the bottom of the hotel’s booking list. It’s happened to my mom twice that she has booked through a third-party site, arrived at the hotel and was told they didn’t have a room for her. Her understanding, as it was explained to her, was that when they overbook, the people who reserve through the hotel are the people who receive the rooms first. Both times she ended up sleeping in her car in the hotel parking lot and then using their lobby bathroom in the morning for a “hobo shower” and still partaking of their free breakfast. Now I always book through the hotel, unless the third party deal is that much better. For the most part, pricing is similar at the hotels I stay.
Hey Matt, thanks for sharing your mom’s experience- unfortunately reservations do sometimes get dropped if there is too much demand. I agree with you that if the savings is only a few bucks, book direct with the hotel since it might not be worth the hassle that would come with finding a new room during a last minute scramble. That’d be cheap, not frugal in my book.
BUT, I’d still recommend to use those 3rd party sites. Not to book a room, but to find the lowest possible price. Then contact the hotel directly and see if they’ll match that price. Some hotels like Marriott will not only match but also offer an additional 25% off!
Hi guys! Loved this episode, but you forgot something. Check your credit cards! I found my Capital One card offers “Concierge/Travel Services” as a benefit at no charge. I called them and was directed to a third-party travel company who helped me book all my flights, hotel, and transportation using most of the same sites I had been checking (multi-city). In addition, they were able to upgrade our rooms and even sent a welcome basket at our first stop and a very nice anniversary basket with champagne while on our trip. Second benefit of checking your credit card: if deposits and fares are booked using certain cards, you may be covered if you have to cancel. We had a TERRIBLE experience with travel insurance so I always check to see if purchases might be covered by the card. Thought I’d share our experience and keep up the great work!
Great tips Lisa! We’re all about utilizing those additional credit card benefits and we should’ve mentioned some of those- especially when they’re comp’ing some bonus welcome baskets, that’s great!
Was this recorded in 2015? Some of the advice was really out of date.
With the rise of discount airlines and one-way fares, Saturday night stays are rarely important anymore.
But more importantly, Priceline’s name your own price/bidding feature for hotels has been discontinued since 2016. And biddingfortravel.com is read-only/discontinued by its administrator.