5 Easy Ways to Save Money on Travel

Travel can cost a bundle, but there’s no reason to bang your head trying to find a good deal. I’ve found several simple ways to save money without spending countless hours on the Internet researching. Here are five easy ways that I use to to save money on travel.

Sign up for E-mail Alerts

Go to the Websites of airlines, hotels, and rental car companies and sign up for their email notifications. Visit sites like Kayak, Travelocity, Orbitz, Airfare Watchdog, and Priceline to set up price alerts. Is there a certain route you’re looking to fly? These alerts will notify you when the price drops. Sign up for TravelZoo’s Top 20 or ShermansTravel’s Top 25 weekly newsletters. They scour the Web for all the best deals. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars and scored luxury hotels in New Orleans and San Francisco from their weekly emails. Don’t want to have an inbox full of travel-related e-mails? Set up an account that is only used for this purpose.

Sign Up for Coupon Sites

With sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, it’s easy to score deals in your own backyard. Why not sign up for notifications in the area you are visiting? I did this for my trip to New Zealand. I bought deals for a cruise, a train tour, and dinner, while saving over 50% off the regular prices.

 Be Flexible

If you are flexible, your chance of saving money increases. Try to fly on off-peak days {Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday}; often prices are drastically lower on those days. Consider flying out of a less-expensive airport, even if it means driving a bit further. Stay over Sunday. Friday and Saturday nights are normally the most expensive; the other five nights of the week are often less expensive. Don’t have your heart set on one specific location. Make a list of the places you’d love to go and keep an eye out for deals for those locales. If your heart is simply set on going to one specific place, consider the off or shoulder seasons. Not only are the prices cheaper, but the crowds are smaller.

Pick Up the Phone

Sometimes scoring a great hotel deal is as simple as picking up the phone. There may be times that third-party sites {Travelocity, Expedia, Hotels.com, etc.} are the cheapest, but not always. Call the hotel directly, not the corporate 1-800 number, and ask for the best rate available. Even if you’re traveling out of the country, money could be saved by simply making a cheap international call.  Be sure that you’ve priced the room on their Website, as well as third-party sites. If the hotel can’t beat the price, ask them to throw in parking, breakfast, or Internet for free. Sometimes that is worth more to you than a slight discount. Always ask for an upgrade, and be sure to mention a special occasion you may be celebrating. What’s the worst they could say?

Find a Good Credit Card

Plastic is powerful in the travel world. Credit cards normally offer the best international conversion rate, thus saving you money. Don’t be fooled into buying car rental insurance. A good credit card will cover your rental in the event of damage. Make sure you read your credit card terms and call the credit card company to ensure you are covered before declining insurance though.

A little planning goes a long way when it comes to travel. Knowing you’ve gotten a great deal on something you were buying anyway makes it that much sweeter. Who doesn’t like getting more for less? Besides, the more you save the more you can travel.