3 Tips for Booking Cheap Travel
Being in school or having to work shouldn't be a reason why you can't travel... at least that is the mentality that we have come up with since moving to Florida. In addition to having our families in different states, both of us love to explore and see new places. One thing we have found is that traveling on a budget is possible - it just depends on where you set your priorities and expectations! Here are a few things we have found useful when attempting to travel on a budget.
Plan ahead, but stay flexible
It is important to be intentional about planning for your trip, but flexibility is what will help you save some $$$. Our strategy for booking trips with a busy schedule is being intentional about the dates we have free, but being flexible about the type of trip we might take - whether it is a short road trip or a flight across the country.
For us, there are only specific times of the year (usually over school breaks) that we have the ability to get out of town. We try to lock these dates in ahead of time and plan to go on some sort of adventure. I try to request this time off a few months in advance from work. I realize not everyone has a flexible work schedule, but adjust your planning time frame to what works for you. Vacation is important - it is good to take a break!
Here is where the flexibility part comes in... Set your dates early, even if you don't have a plan for where you will visit. We try to be flexible on our destination. Some places in the country will be more expensive certain times of the year. Pick three top destinations and keep an open mind! Sometimes the places you never thought you would visit are the places you enjoy the most.
Watch flights and accommodation rates
This is one of the areas that is so easy to overspend on if you're not planning ahead. Yes, sometimes we have found last-minute deals in flights and accommodation, but most the time it is much safer to look in advance. Adjusting your expectations for accommodations from "this is my vacation" to "this is just for sleeping" will also help you save! When we go on trips, we let the experience outside of our accommodation be the exciting part (within reason obviously ... no one wants bedbugs!). What we tend to aim for booking small, cheap places that are comfortable enough to get a good nights rest for the majority of our trip. We then will book a nice, more-comfortable night or two just as a treat! Finding good deals has become a bit of a hobby for me! I like to set up price alerts with Kayak.com and look for cheap places to stay on Airbnb.com or Hostelworld.com
For accommodation we have:
camped
stayed with friends (it is always fun to reconnect and share adventures!)
stayed in Airbnbs
stayed in hotels
stayed hostels (fun experience! some have private rooms instead of dorm-style)
slept in our car
If you're willing to let the destination be the adventure and settle for less luxurious accommodations, that's where you will see the savings pour in!
Take advantage of travel credit cards
When I say go get a travel credit card, I say it cautiously because this shouldn't be an excuse to spend more than you have. We treat our travel card like a debit card and pay it off completely every month. Most of our recurring monthly bills are automatically charged to our card and we use it for purchases we were going to make anyway, allowing us to accumulate points for flights and hotels without doing anything different.
Where you can gain some serious momentum with this tactic is by searching for the card with the best sign on bonus. For example, our favorite card is the Chase Sapphire. We got a 50,000 point sign on bonus when we opened the card about two years ago and another 5,000 when I added Matt as an authorized user. In addition to the sign on bonus, we like the features of the card - travel insurance, 1:1 point transfer to other rewards programs (like Southwest Rapid Rewards), and double points for things like travel, gas, and restaurants! In addition, when you book travel through the Chase.com portal, your points are worth 25% more! This means that a flight that is normally $100 only costs $75 in points. Using this strategy, we have booked thousands of dollars of travel over the past couple years without changing our spending habits.
Be aware, however, that in order to qualify for a sign on bonus, most cards require you to reach a set spending amount in the first 3 months. Plan ahead if you are getting ready to make a large purchase - it might be a good time to open up a card so you can meet the balance requirements! (I've linked the two cards we use most for booking reward travel!)
We hope you found these tips helpful for planning your next adventure! What are some of your best budget travel tips?