The holiday season is upon us and that often means traveling to visit loved ones or spending time at your dream destination. Due to high demand, families can expect to see high prices for travel but all is not lost. With these 5 Tips, you can expect to save big bucks on Holiday Travel.
1. Consider Traveling the Day of or a Dead Week
Are your travel dates or arrival times flexible? If so, your family can greatly benefit from traveling the day of the Holiday, two weeks before or the week after. Not only are flights and airports less crowded but you’re guaranteed the best possible travel deals.
Bonus Tip: Is Your location flexible? If so, this is the best possible way to save money. By using apps like Sky scanner or the Google Flights feature, you can search your month of travel and leave the destination open. The search will return the cheapest possible flights out of your home airport thus giving you the cheapest travel.
2. Travel to Places with an Off or Shoulder Season
If you’re wanting to travel during the holidays and see massive savings, now is the perfect time to visit places when they are a little less desirable. While all the snow birds are flocking south for warm temperatures, consider booking a trip to a colder climate. If it’s rainy season in a destination that you’ve been dying to get to, this could be your cheapest chance. While there may be some weather challenges, you’re guaranteed a less crowded getaway and the cheapest accommodations from hotels needing your tourist business.
Tip:Keep in mind that while it may be winter here, the season may be different elsewhere. For example, our North American Winter is South America’s summer or that Hawaii is delightfully warm year -round but our winter is their rainy season. With the right research on off seasons, you could save a ton.
3. Take Advantage of Sign up Bonuses
Travel Hacking is still unmatched when it comes to saving money on travel expenses. Many credit card companies offer large sign up bonuses that can be used toward travel expenses. Simply charge the holiday purchases that you would be purchasing anyway, pay the card off and enjoy the point benefits. Already have a rewards card? If so, expensive holiday travel is the perfect time to redeem those points. Some reward programs also allow you to pull points together with other friends and family members who may be traveling in your party so be sure to take advantage of these features.
Click HERE to read about 5 Ways to Save Money for Travel
4. Book Package Deals
Did you know that booking a packaged vacation can save you an average of 30% off your total cost of travel? Not only does booking a packaged vacation help you save money but it also helps to eliminate some of the stress of the booking process. Airlines, hotels and sites like Groupon allows you to book your flights and hotels in a one stop shop process. The perfect time to check out these holiday package deals is Black Friday or end of the year deals that are going on right now. So, if you’re a last- minute shopper, you’re in luck!
Tip:If you are a loyalty member for an airline, don’t be afraid to give them a call and ask what offers are available to you. The deals could be deeply discounted in addition to your loyalty discount.
5. Find Alternative Accommodations
After the cost of the flight, your next biggest expense could be your hotel and food. By trading a hotel for an AirBnB or Home Away, you could easily cut your accommodation cost in half. Plus, AirBnB’s allow you to have a full kitchen to cook and save the cost of eating out on your vacation. This is especially a good idea for larger families. Plenty of homes offer multiple bedrooms to fit your family’s needs.
Tip: The longer you stay at a BnB, you will typically receive a higher discount. For example, if your trip is only 5 days; I recommend booking for a full week and leaving it vacant the last two nights. The return is typically a 20% to 30% savings. Be sure to ask your host about all of your options.
Get $40 off your AirBnB home booking and $15 toward your AirBnB experience of $50 or more by using my link HERE!
