26 Secrets to Save on Travel (highlights)
1) Fly when no one else wants to. Fares rise and fall with air traffic -- so says the law of supply and demand. In general, plan to fly on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday afternoon to bag a cheaper plane ticket. If you're taking a weeklong domestic trip, depart on a Saturday and return on a Monday and you'll score a 16% discount on your airfare, according to Kayak.com, the travel Web site. For weeklong international trips, departing on Tuesday and returning on Wednesday of the following week saves 21%, on average. **Quite true! In planning my trip to Washington/Alaska this August, I am finding that flights to Seattle are up to $100 cheaper coming back (on a Tuesday) than heading out (on a Monday morning).
5) Make sure you're buying at the right time with Bing Travel's "price predictor." Just enter your itinerary, and the site will return a list of fares with a recommendation to either buy now -- because it expects the fare to rise -- or wait for a soon-to-come fare drop. And note that domestic airfares are cheapest seven weeks before departure, according to CheapAir, an airfare booking site.
8) Keep an eye on fares, even after you book. You have the right to change or cancel your flight plansfor free within 24 hours of booking, thanks to rules introduced by the Department of Transportationin 2012. So if you find a better fare within that window, you can snatch the savings with no penalty. After 24 hours, if you find your booked fare has dropped, some airlines may be willing to refund you the difference. Use Yapta.com to track any price changes on nine major airlines and score any cash back you deserve.
16) Switch hotels mid stay. Say you're booking a hotel for a five-night stay starting on Saturday night. If Saturday and Sunday are more expensive than Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, you'll typically pay for all five nights at the highest price. Consider switching hotels midway through your trip if you can find a comparable hotel for a cheaper weekday rate.
21) Price it a la carte. To see if a package makes sense, research prices for all of the elements before you commit. For example, a cruise package typically charges per person for hotel rooms at the port of departure. See whether you would save by reserving a double-occupancy room outside of the package. If you can, consider dumping the package or opting out of the hotel portion. **I do this ALL. THE. TIME! I always research how much things cost seperately to a) help set my travel budget, and b) see if there are any specials for bundling things together- or if the bundle I'm eyeing is really worth purchasing. This isn't just for flights and hotels though. If you know a handful of the sites you want to visit charge admission, see if the regional tourism office offers a discount rate or package deal. Most of the time, they do, and can recommend other spots you may have overlooked!
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| Sometimes it's better to shop around for your trip elements! |
That's it for now. I am so excited about my trip to Cleveland later this month! I'm even more excited about knocking FOUR more states off of my list by the end of this summer!
See you guys soon!
