Saving Money While Booking Travel

One of the questions that I get the most is "how can you afford to travel so much?" 

Don't get me wrong, it's a combination of making travel a priority and cutting spending elsewhere. There isn't a golden ticket spend-a-million-dollars-on-vacations-a-year-on-a-teacher-salary plan. But, along the way, we did pick up a few tips and tricks on how to save money without missing out on experiences.

Hotel

When we travel, there are three main lodging choices that we use to get quality places to sleep at an affordable price. The first is by using AirBNB. If you haven't used this, you can rent a room in someone's house, or a whole house or apartment, for a cheaper price than a hotel room. Personally, I usually choose the "whole house" option, rather than sharing a room, but it's even cheaper if you want to do that. We use this anytime we're in a big city, or looking to get some "local flavor". I think my favorite was a spacious apartment in Budapest with a cool host who showed us around, and how to use the public transport system.

If you have your heart sold on a real hotel, we use either Hotels.com, if I have a specific place in mind, or Hotwire.com if we don't. I like these because they have rewards programs to earn free nights.

Rental Car

Again, if you don't care what kind of car you're driving, Hotwire is also the cheapest. You can also save on insurance by checking if your credit cards cover the insurance. I know our American Express does, so we save on paying extra for the (optional) rental insurance. 

Flight

The best thing that we do for cheap flights is to get an air miles reward credit card. We're Delta fliers since Minneapolis is our main hub. Using the credit card (we pay it off each month) for everyday purchases, we usually earn a couple of free domestic flights a year. If you want something a little more exotic, you're adventurous and can handle flexible dates (#teacherlife), I recommend Scott's Cheap Flights. It's a free email list that goes out every day or two with abnormally cheap flights. Over the past week, I've seen roundtrip tickets to Iceland for $250, and Japan for $400. Not all of these are ones you'll want to jump on, but it does make for cheap prices if you're willing to book suddenly. 

Tip for Creatives

If you're really bold and willing to get said "no" to, you can also pitch hotels for a discount or free trips. The trick here is not to ask to be paid, just for a discount or a free stay. Sometimes they say yes, other times they say no. If you are a creative person, you can also offer things like photography or blog posts in exchange for free or discounted hotel rooms. 

Your turn -- what's your #1 tip for saving money on traveling? I'm always up for a good bargain!

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