It’s 2020 and as a travel addict, you may have already had a list of places to visit, but you think that you are short of the money that is necessary to complete your intended trips. Well, in this case, there are some smart ways for you that can save your money while travelling, if you just realise and execute. 

Loyalty Programmes & Credit Card Bonuses

A Toronto-based personal finance and budget travel expert, known by the name Barry Choi, remarks: “It may seem tedious, but it’s worth joining every loyalty programme you can find”. In his view, just for signing up, most hotels’ loyalty programmes grant you an immediate early check-in and just by being a loyalty member, you can earn points which can be very useful. To illustrate this, holidaymakers get rewarded two points from Expedia for spending every £1 on flights, hotels, cars and other packages. Likewise, certain credit cards award customers sign-up bonuses. Choi believes, “If a bonus is worth at least US$200, it’s a good card.” He further states, “You may also consider a credit card that doesn’t charge the standard 2.5% fee when buying abroad. It may not sound like a lot but 2.5% certainly adds up over time.”

Purchase Flights on Weekends 

In 2019, Airlines Reporting Corporation, abbreviated as ARC, in collaboration with Expedia Group published a report that implies that booking flights on weekends induces a reduction in cost, rejecting the well-established myth that Tuesdays are the most ideal day for booking and saving money. According to the report, the travellers who reserved or purchased flights on the weekends, with Sunday being the most favourable day, had secured a 20% saving. 

In contrast to the expense of a plane ticket, the hotel charges tend to be higher and most of the time, the highest on Sundays. Additionally, Sunday is counted as the most expensive day to travel. However, an exhaustive study by Expedia has found that the best day to book a hotel is Friday, because, on Fridays, the price is observed to be the lowest and business-leisure tourists travelling to top corporate travel locations, such as London, New York and Los Angeles, can save up to 25% by adding a Saturday night.

Avoid Unnecessary Frills

When you travel, you should be very much cautious in identifying which are essential and which are not. For example, while taking a flight you need to think about whether you really need those services like preference boarding, seat selection and additional legroom, which can boost your overall journey expense. Likewise, when you book a hotel, make sure you are not paying for unnecessary services like the Tibetan wake-up call. 

Nick Ewen, a Senior Editor at The Points Guy, an American travel website that assists you to maximise your travel money through providing travel information, advice and guidance, suggests saving the ‘fun money from various sources to satisfy a few added travel expenses. For instance, cash-backs from such sites as Ebates and Mr Rebates can be a useful box of vacation money if they are safeguarded.

Home Swap

The concept of home exchange or swapping is as awesome as you like. It can grant you a vacation with no hotel charge. Although it may sound crazy to let strangers stay in your residence, nobody can deny its advantages. It is not only economical but also comfortable and gives you an in-house feeling. Sometimes, it offers vehicles and different lifestyle facilities like gyms and ski accessories. According to the members of Love Home Swap, a popular home exchange website, the annual savings on accommodation alone is around $3500. However, a possibility is also there that a home swap may ask you to clean the bathroom or dust down pieces of stuff, but it is definitely worth the tasks. 

Use Price Comparison Websites

There was a time when one had to open multiple tabs on a browser to compare different flights in order to find out the cheapest one. In this present world of today, there is no need to perform or execute such an action as a handful of websites are now there for you to do the task required to present you with the most cost-effective fare. Various sites like Google Flights and KAYAK notify you about the price drops through an email when they happen, if you set up a price alert. Similarly, Skyscanner is exceptional in presenting a smart overview of figures after a speedy comparison, AirfareWatchDog is proved to be the champion in providing information about low-cost deals and finally, the largely advertised Trivago is indeed incomparable to numerous other websites when it comes to affordable places to stay. 

Check Your Dates

There is a considerable debate regarding when to book a flight. The bulk of the people believes in the tagline: “the sooner the better”. But in the opinion of a few like KAYAK, eleven months prior to the departure date, the prices of long-haul flights are mostly high. The most economical Los Angeles and New York flights are issued six months prior to departure and on the other hand, for the lowest Tokyo and Sydney flights, you have to book eight months before the exit date. Now, for short-haul flights, the most ideal time to book is 70 days prior to departure. No matter what, always look for deals that can save you some money and then plan your journey accordingly. It has been observed that most Asian airlines generally offer more reasonable flights during Christmas and Easter, as they set their rates adjusting to their national holidays.

Go All-Inclusive

Going on an all-inclusive vacation refers to a well-planned holiday with loads of enjoyment and absolutely no surprise costs. This kind of vacation covers everything including your stay, eating, drinking and all sorts of other recreational activities. As they usually include all the things from transportation and accommodation to attractions and meals, Barry Choi advises to go ahead and book a tour. However, before doing so, he expresses his view that not all tour operators are the same and thus, urges travellers to browse through some comparison sites like TourRadar.com to detect the ones that suit them the most.

Split-Ticketing

Split ticketing in the travel industry indicates buying two or more tickets instead of a single one for a single journey in order to save money. This may sound disloyalty, but nobody defines it as a violation of rules. As a matter of fact, there is no need to stay loyal to an airline or train company, when ticket-splitting can save you a bunch of money. In this regard, Nick Ewen says, “I saved nearly US$100 by using this strategy on a recent trip” and advises to call the airline following the booking to make sure that your two reservations are connected so that the possibilities of being split up go down to a minimum. Google Flights is an excellent flight search engine tool that helps you to find the cheapest flights in moments. Other reliable and dedicated fare-splitting sites include Split Your Ticket, Money Saving Expert and Ticketclever.

Dining Out

Meals at renowned hotels are largely expensive and if they are located within or near tourist spots then imagine how much money a meal is going to cost you. Nick Ewen claims, “We’ve saved a lot by booking Airbnbs and eating ‘at home’,” and asks to “Investigate local grocery stores and stock up for less.” An excellent idea to save a handsome amount of money is to go and dine somewhere away from the tourist points. You can also look for street food, which in general are keenly priced. But always make sure that they are dirt-free and good for what ails you. 

Buy Annual Insurance

Barry Choi believes that buying annual travel insurance is probably going to be more cheap and cheerful for you than taking separate single-trip plans, with the condition that you travel three or more times a year. You perhaps do not realise it, but there is a possibility that you may already have ‘free’ travel insurance. Travel medical insurance, trip cancellation and lost or damaged luggage come under the standard benefits granted by several travel credit cards and employers. Therefore, reading and understanding the details of your policy is very important to know what you have got covered and what you don’t. Take, for instance, trips lasting more than 31 days are usually not considered in the range of annual travel insurance to take care.