Over the past 22 years of nonstop travel, I’ve repeatedly claimed that such long-term travel doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Sometimes, finding ways to save money while traveling is as easy as taking free walking tours, or staying in a hostel, Stay away from major tourist areas Use local buses and trains to get around.
But it’s not always that easy. Depending on our travel style, destinations, length of flights, and our need for more comfort, some of the above money-saving methods may not be reasonable.
Fortunately, life has taught me that there is always a way to save money. always.
Here’s a collection of my favorite tips, tricks, and ways to save money while traveling that I’ve used during my global adventures.
Credit cards
Covering expensive travel costs is one of the reasons I use my credit cards to buy everything. Between my country Chase Sapphire Reserve (ID card) and my country Chase business ink is preferred (Business card), and all my living expenses are on my card.
I can then redeem these points for hotels or flights at a premium rate.
With the above credit cards, I earn points ranging from 1 point per dollar spent to 3 points per dollar spent on travel. Some rewards offer extra points for certain purchases. It could be 10 points for every dollar you spend on Uber or at supermarkets or restaurants, for example. It pays to stay on top of these deals and then take advantage of them. Points can accumulate quickly, and this leads to free travel.
The credit cards mentioned above are just two of many that offer these points programs. It’s important to do research on which card is best for you. This only really works if you’re committed to paying your credit card bill every month.
On my current trip, I’m using points for a 6-night hotel stay in New York City. The cost of my stay will be $0 I will be in a hotel in the heart of Manhattan. If I paid for this same hotel, it would cost me $175 per night.
I use Booking.com To book most accommodations when I travel. If you book with them enough, you can enjoy some savings when you become a Level 1 or Level 2 “Genius” member. The higher the level, the greater the savings and perks.
Also, before you book through Booking.com, You should always open the Booking.com app on your phone Firstly. Through the app, they tend to offer “mobile-only rates” that are cheaper than what you might find on their website with your laptop. This can easily shave another $20 off your nightly rate, making it one of the quickest ways to save money while traveling.
This is what I did during my next trip to Istanbul. The hotel I wanted to stay at cost $47 per night on Booking.com, which was the cheapest price I could find. When I searched the app, the price dropped to $39 per night with the mobile-only rate and I booked it.
Rented car
Last week, I had to move Matcha (my cat) from Florida to my sister’s house in North Carolina. I also wanted to take all of her belongings, so I needed space.
My decision to drive to North Carolina for the 11-hour trip was based on this very reason.
To do this, I rented a car from National Car Rental. It cost me $3 in taxes for the 24-hour rental one way.
Here are some car rental tips:
- Sign up for the loyalty program of each car rental company you may use.
- Check your credit card to see if a perk represents high-level status for any car rental company. For example, my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card gives me executive-level status for National Car Rentals and Avis. I need to activate it through the credit card website, but then I will keep that status as long as I have the credit card. With this status, I can choose any car I want from the collection and get perks like free one-way rental.
- Once you join the loyalty program, call the customer service phone number designated for loyalty program members.
- Ask them for better rates. One of the most Untapped ways to save money While traveling is simply to ask. Don’t be afraid to ask Airbnb, hotels, activity providers, and car rental companies for better rates, as there is almost always a way for them to find you a lower rate.
- Many people rent cars often, perhaps for their work, and as a result, they get extra days free. These free days usually have an expiration date and can remain unused. Ask around and you might find someone who has an extra free day to offer you. This usually involves them giving you their coupon code for a free day and applying it at checkout.
- For example, do a quick Google search for “Avis promo code” and you’re very likely to find some websites offering a variety of codes for you to try. Although not all of them may work, some of them will probably work and you will save a good amount of money as a result. The sites I tend to find codes on are Retail Me No and To Gather But there are many others out there.
Once again, my car rental from Florida to North Carolina cost me $3. It cost me $6 to rent my car from North Carolina to Washington, DC. Those were the taxes I had to pay after reclaiming the free day’s rent my mother had accumulated through work. And I didn’t have to pay the fine one way because of the executive status I have with National. Everything went well.
When I was in Las Vegas recently, I rented a car for a week with Alamo Car Rentals. I reserved it online but used a coupon code I found on Retail Me Not. It immediately saved me 40% of the total cost.
Flights
In terms of ways to save money while traveling, finding a cheap flight ticket is always a point of interest. Here are the tricks I used…
Trick #1: Hidden leg trips
Let’s say you’re flying from Atlanta to Istanbul (this works for either destination) and the lowest cost you find is $1,000. Head to Kiwi.com Try searching there. Kiwi.com now has a feature it will show you “Hidden leg trips which will likely be cheaper. With a blind flight, you can book a ticket to another destination, with a flight that passes through the destination you want to reach.
So instead of a direct flight from Atlanta to Istanbul for $1,000, you might find a flight from Atlanta to Istanbul and then from Istanbul to Vienna, and the price will be much lower. You can simply take the flight from Atlanta to Istanbul and then not be able to go to the second leg to Vienna. In the end, You’re on the same direct, original flight but for a lot less money.
I’ve used this trick many times. It’s not something you want to do over and over again, especially with the same airline, as they may start to notice that you book flights but don’t show up at the second leg. But if you use it now and then, it works.
A one-way ticket to Dallas cost about $300 at the time. But a one-way flight to Austin, Texas, with a stop in Dallas, costs just $150, on the same airline. So I booked a flight to Austin, took the same direct flight to Dallas that would have cost me more money, and simply got off in Dallas instead of continuing to Austin. And I saved $150.
One downside is that you may not be able to check luggage if you have a short layover as your luggage will be sent to the final destination (such as Vienna in the example above). However, when I use this trick, I usually try to choose the longest possible layover between the two flights. If your layover is longer than 12 hours, I’ve found that airlines will let you check your luggage into your first destination only because it’s reasonable that you’ll need it.
Trick #2: Break up the trip
Sometimes, there is no single airline, or group of partner airlines, that covers the flight from your starting point to your final destination. As a result, the price of an airline ticket can be very high, and finding ways to save money while traveling can be difficult.
But if you split the trip, that can change quickly. This involves booking two flights. Maybe there’s only a small airport where you live, or no major international airlines fly there. But if you can book a round-trip ticket from your home airport to a major city in your country or a neighboring country, that can change everything.
First, you book a round-trip ticket to a major nearby city, and then you book a separate round-trip ticket from that city to your final destination. And when you do, the savings can be significant.
You’ll probably have to try different destinations to get it right, but it’s worth it You can reduce the cost of your airfare by hundreds of {dollars}.
Trick #3: Add flights to your journey
This is one of my favorite tricks. It may seem counter-intuitive but it works. Last time I used this it was the perfect example.
The cost was about USD 650 for a one-way flight with TAP Portugal Airlines.
However, I also knew that I needed to travel to Casablanca, Morocco a few months later to operate one of my flights Morocco tours. I knew that I would then need to return to Valencia after the tour.
So, I went to Kayak.com And he did a Search for “Multi-City”., adding all three flights mentioned above. In the end, I found that I could book all three flights together (Miami to Valencia to Casablanca to Valencia) for $680 on Royal Air Maroc, which is of course a much better deal.
The way it works is that if you’re flying to multiple destinations and there’s one airline that covers all of those destinations, there you go The price of a combined flight ticket will likely be much cheaper than purchasing the flights separately.
Once I did this, it was crazy. I needed to fly from New York City to Bucharest, Romania and the cost was $595 one way. But then I added a flight from Bucharest to Delhi, India and the total cost for the two flights together was $530. That’s why I love this trick!
*NB: No matter which search engine you use to find your flights, I always recommend booking directly with the airline once you find the best flight ticket. The main reason is that you will still get the same price and it will be much easier to make changes, cancel, or deal with things like delays if you book directly with the airline itself. If you book through a third-party website, it always makes things more complicated when you need to change something.
Other ways to save money on travel
- Always look for a discount. Finding discount codes and deals isn’t limited to car rentals. If there is any activity you want to do, look for a discount. While in Las Vegas, we wanted to take a helicopter ride. Georgiana searched for “Discount on helicopter rides in Las Vegas‘And before we knew it, we booked two places using Groupon. It was a highly rated sunset helicopter flight over the city and Red Rock Canyon National Park. And it costs $40 less than the regular advertised price. That’s a saving of $80 for two people.
- Provide useful comments. Recently, I have had a lot of problems with American Airlines. Between two canceled flights, screwing up my reservation, creating an unnecessary challenge when I was traveling with Matcha, and providing almost no customer service, it was frustrating. So I did a quick online search for an OED email address. Then I wrote them a short email explaining my experience. My goal was not to get angry or ask for anything at all. My goal was simple – to explain what I went through and show what might need improvement from the client’s perspective. They responded 2 days later and started a conversation with me (which lasted for 5 emails). In the end, they gave 10,000 flight points as thanks. Again, the point is not to argue or get angry. But providing truly helpful reviews for all kinds of travel-related businesses is often rewarded with points, perks, promotions, and sometimes money.
I hope the above has provided some ways to save money while traveling that you will be able to take advantage of! And if you have any questions, just let me know!