6 Ways to Save Money When Planning Your Next Vacation

This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure page for more information.

Vacations can cost a lot of  money, but there are many ways to save money while planning your trip.  I have been able to save hundreds, even thousands of dollars over time by using some of these methods.  A lot of the legwork happens before we take the trip during the planning phase, and it does take time.  But if it can keep more dollars in the travel fund it is definitely worth it.  Check out these ways to save money whiles planning your next adventure!

Credit Card Rewards Points

The key to saving money with Rewards Points is to not ever carry a balance. Credit Cards offer sign on bonuses when you are a new user and after you have met a minimum spend amount and these points can be converted to cash or directly used to pay for travel, such as car rentals, excursions, hotels and flights.  These rewards cards also have other great benefits such as travel and product protection and extra car rental insurance.  Although there is an annual fee for most of them, the benefits outweigh the cost if you do not ever carry a balance.   There are several Facebook groups/blogs that are amazing resources to use if you want to learn more.  (Mommypoints, Award Travel 101, and The Points Guy.)

The most recent card we have benefited from is the Chase Ultimate Rewards card. (Preferred or Reserve Card). Over the course of 18 months, with two cards and a referral bonus to my husband, (I was awarded 10K points for referring him to apply for the card) we have enough points to book 5 roundtrip airline tickets for free! Check out the groups above if you want to learn more or ask in the comments.  If you would like to check out the sign on bonus for Chase Ultimate Rewards click Here for the referral link.

Facebook Groups and TravelWebsites

There are many other resources out there that can help you save money. On facebook, I follow Fly4free USA flight deals and Secret Flying– These sites will post random cheap flights from various destinations. I have it bookmarked to be the first thing I see on my page so that they do not get lost in the mix of posts.  This is where I first saw the cheap flights to Hawaii $350 and Beijing $550.   I often don’t get to take advantage of these great deals but it is still fun to dream.   To save money on flights, it pays to be patient and flexible in your dates.   Google Flights or Momando are also great places to to see which flights are cheapest. You can also sign up for email alerts for when your rates for a specific date drops. Sometimes it is cheaper to fly different airline carriers for each leg of the trip. These two websites will piece the flight together and show you the cheapest flight.

Email Alerts

If you find a site you like, be sure to sign up for the email alerts because prices change fast and you don’t want to miss out of the low fares.  I get emails from Scott’s Cheap Flights who sends out flight deals from all over the US to various destinations, and Next Vacay ($25/year) which is a paid service to alert you to specific amazing deals for flights just from your nearest airport.  This is how I was able to book a trip from the USA to Iceland and Norway for $400.  We saved over 60% by being flexible in our cost and booking when the price was lowest.

Referrals

You can save money on hotels by referring your friends and you don’t even need to be a blogger.  Most sites have referral links.  If you send one to a friend and they use it, they get a credit and so do you.  An example of this is AirBnB. By using this link, you save  $40 on your first stay and by me referring you I get a $20 credit! Once you set up your account you can refer your own friends and family!  Be sure to time these right because the credits do expire in some cases.    Another site that allows this is Booking.com If you refer your friend, you get a $25 credit and once they have their first stay, they do too!


Booking.com

Discount Booking Websites

Websites that sell flights, hotels and activities at discount can also save you money. When booking a hotel I always like to look it up on Trip Advisor to see how it is rated.  This site is no longer just one to use for reviews, because they also allow you to book rooms.  You can even book Bed & Breakfasts and Youth Hostels on TripAdvisor. Expedia and Travelocity are a few other discount sites worth checking out for the lowest prices. I usually compare this price to the one being offered directly from the hotel chain, especially if it is one I am collecting rewards points for.  If the price is nearly the same, I book directly with the hotel in order to earn the points.  Hotels don’t let you earn points when booking through a discount site.

Groupon and LivingSocial are two other sites I check to see if there are discounts on food or activities where I will be traveling.  I found some show tickets for a new and upcoming show in Las Vegas that normally sell for $60 and they were just $15 dollars a piece. I always log in first with Ebates to get the cash back as well.  (Ebates was paying cash back of 8% from the groupon site and the groupon site had a 20% off code so the tickets were 28% less then even the groupon list price.) By clicking this link and signing up, you get $10 credit after your first $25 purchase.

Airline and Hotel Rewards Programs

Whenever you fly or stay at a hotel chain, be sure to sign up for their rewards program.  Even if you don’t travel often you may still benefit.  I had only flown Icelandair once and had enough points to credit my next flight by $70 or purchase an item on their rewards website.  Some points expire and some do not.  If they do expire it does not hurt to call them and ask to have them reinstated.  That has worked in my experience.  Some hotels like Hyatt let you pay for rooms with a combination of points and dollars so even if you do not have too many points, they may still come in handy to save money.

All of these travel hacks may seem overwhelming but they become natural over time. If you can stretch out your dollars when booking and planning a  vacation, that leaves even more dollars in the travel fund!  What ways do you use to save money?  Are there any I should add to my list?

Happy Travels!

Jennifer