(From a girl who loves a good deal just as much as she loves catching a flight)
No matter my financial situation, you will always catch me trying to find the best deals. My favorite kind of deals? The ones that allow me to see more of the world. By using the tips below, I’ve quite literally saved thousands of dollars (which, to be fair, has just gone towards more travel).
1. Be Flexible
You’d be surprised just how much money you can save when you have a bit of flexibility in your travels. Even if your travel days are set, try to be open to locations! If you can be flexible with your dates, try using a website like Google Flights to explore price differences between dates.
2. Find a Good Deal on Major Website, but Book Directly with Hotel/Resort
I’ve had to learn this one the hard way, so try it out and learn from my mistakes. If you find a hotel, resort, VRBO, or Airbnb that you are considering booking for your stay, see if the stay can be booked directly with the owner/company. More often than not, the hotel will match competitor pricing or give a discounted price. I’ve seen hotels and rentals offer anywhere from 10-20% discounts!
3. Checkout “Going” App
I have to say, this has got to be the BIGGEST money saver. Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) is a company that constantly tracks flight prices all over the world and notifies customers when flights out of their preferred airport are abnormally low. The app is free, but users can pay a bit more for premium access (aprox. $99/year, and they have great intro deals). The app is fueled by Google Flights, so you are able to book directly with your favorite airline or flight booking site.
Last year, Going let me know that flights to Dublin from my local airport were just $150 round trip, with a checked bag. Normally, these flights would go for over $700! This was by far the best deal I could have booked if the timing had been better on my end, but I have booked several trips because of Going. Amsterdam for $500, Madrid for $400, Sydney (Australia) for $600… this app is no joke!
If you’re curious, use my referral code for 20% off! : Going – Flight Deal Alerts Subscription
4. Check Your Company’s Benefits for Travel Discounts
Many companies and universities will offer employees travel discount benefits either internally or through an external partner. Just last week I was chatting with a close friend who was looking at booking a hotel for my wedding (yay). After checking out her company’s travel discount benefits, she was able to save several hundred dollars! I got a little curious and was looking at what my company offered, and saw that I was able to get local MLB game tickets for about 30% less than the big ticket retailers. It’s always worth a little research!
5. Consider a Travel Credit Card
No matter your preferred airline or how you like to earn points, there’s a travel credit card for just about every need. If you consistently fly with the same airline, you’ll most likely benefit most from an airline-branded card. However, if you’re open to airlines and want a bit more flexibility in how you earn rewards, an independent travel card such as the Capital One Venture card or Chase Sapphire.
Capital One: Bonus 25,000 Miles
Limited time offer – Earn 100,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire Preferred
6. Recheck Prices After Booking
This one might be a bit controversial, but it has quite literally saved me thousands of dollars! Flight and hotel prices are always fluctuating, and keeping an eye on prices even after you have booked can save you big dollars. Just a few weeks ago, my fiance booked a great hotel room for our upcoming wedding. Being the deal-lover that I am, I took a look at the going rate for our hotel room on our specific dates. While the hotel hadn’t lowered prices, it did have a new promotion (with coupon code) running! I kid you not, we ended up saving 30% on the hotel! And if you have ever been involved in planning/paying for a wedding, that’s pretty dang huge.
FRIENDLY DISCLAIMER: Before you cancel change your flights/hotel, make sure that your purchases are fully refundable (or refundable at a level that makes sense for you). The last thing we want is to pay twice for the same vacation.
The Friday Edit 
Leave a comment