FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS TO SEIZE UPON FLASH SALES
“Follow places you’re interested in staying at, eating at or visiting on Twitter and Facebook,” Sampson says. She also advises following your preferred brands on Yelp. “If they’re offering a discount to followers or perks for those who check in, chances are good that’s how you’ll find out,” she adds.
Dubash also highlights social media as a key platform for taking advantage of time-sensitive flash sales and discounts. JetBlue even posts flash sales on its @JetBlueCheeps account. “They often extend offers only to folks who follow them on social media, or offer discounts for referring to a social media promotion,” Dubash says.
CARRY THE RIGHT CARD
If you’re a frequent international traveler, it pays to invest in a credit card with no foreign transaction fees (you’ll otherwise pay a 1 to 3 percent charge on transactions overseas). It’s also a benefit to invest in a cobranded airline credit card to circumvent exorbitant travel fees.
“Get an airline credit card to avoid paying the fee for checked bags on some airlines,” Dubash says. While picking the right card depends on your habits, goals and travel patterns, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card are ideal for those “who travel and want to save money on travel and earn points which can be transferred to hotels and airlines.” Even better, some cobranded credit cards offer automatic benefits like points bonuses, priority boarding access and travel accident insurance.
TRY A REPOSITIONING CRUISE
If you want to set sail and are flexible with your travel dates, consider a repositioning cruise – when ships relocate to different ports of call during select seasons. On these select one-way itineraries, cruise lines dangle deeply discounted fares. Look for repositioning cruises in the summer, when you can embark on transatlantic voyages from popular U.S. ports like Florida’s Fort Lauderdale to Europe.
In fall, after the peak summer cruising season, search for Alaska itineraries, as ships relocate to the Caribbean. Aside from snapping up a bargain, you can also make calls at lesser-known ports and take advantage of more space with fewer fellow vacationers.
VISIT FREE MUSEUMS AND JOIN FREE WALKING TOURS
For culture vultures, paying to enter cultural institutions can add up quickly. Rather than paying sky-high admission rates, search for off-the-beaten-track art museums that offer free entry to curb costs. For example, LA’s Getty Center, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Smithsonian museums in the District of Columbia are free to the public.
And in Europe, London’s Tate Modern and National Gallery are free to explore. If you would rather join a group led by a knowledgeable guide, consider searching online at FreeToursbyFoot.com to discover free walking tours in major metropolises such as New Orleans and Paris. Prefer to roam on your own? Check out the VoiceMap app, which offers themed tours in many cities.
PICK A REWARDS CARD WITH LUCRATIVE PERKS AND BUILT-IN FLEXIBILITY
If you’re an occasional traveler, skip trying to attain elite-status perks such as priority boarding and free checked bags by traveling, Dubash says. “Most hotels and airlines have credit cards which gets you the entry-level or mid-tier status with most airlines and hotels,” he explains.
What’s more, in the year ahead, American Express will debut “a premium Hilton credit card which gets you top-tier Hilton Diamond status,” he says. Alternatively, invest in a flexible credit card that allows you to transfer points with partners. For instance, cardholders can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt at an attractive 1-to-1 rate and transfer American Express points to Hilton Honors at 1-to-1.5 transfer ratio.
DINE LIKE A LOCAL
Dining as locals do offers a simple, hassle-free way to curb meal costs. “Every meal doesn’t need to be from a restaurant, so find a local grocery store to stock up on snacks, breakfasts or easy lunches,” Sampson says. Perrin also suggests trimming meal costs by sampling street foods (where safety isn’t a concern) and picking up provisions at a local market to plan a picnic. She also suggests visiting expensive restaurants for lunch rather than dinner. “In many countries people make lunch their big meal of the day anyway,” she adds. Another way to reduce meal costs is looking for coupons on sites such as Restaurants.com or Groupon.com, Dubash says.
LOOK FOR COUPON CODES AND OTHER DISCOUNTS
To save on hotel rooms, look for current coupon listings and promotional codes. Scour Coupons.com and Coupon Sherpa for current coupons available and search for discounted rates on attractions, fights, car rentals, tours and other travel expenses. And if you’re an AAA or AARP member, don’t forget to inquire about military and government rates and other available discounts.
You can often find promotional codes on third-party booking sites like Orbitz and Travelocity. If you would rather not put in the legwork yourself, use the hotel deal site goSeek.com, which focuses on surfacing hidden hotel discounts and enables you to save 20 percent or more on accommodations.
INVEST IN A CITY PASS
“Many cities sell passes that give you unlimited use of their public transit systems for a certain number of days,” Perrin says. “Many cities also sell passes that provide unlimited access to a collection of local museums, tourist attractions and other sites – and often allow you to skip the lines too – for use within a certain time frame,” she explains.
For example, rather than buying individual admission to the Louvre, buy the Paris Museum Pass for access to more than 60 attractions and skirt lines at top collections. And in Southern California, opt for a CityPass for entry into Legoland, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure and SeaWorld San Diego at a discounted price.
CIRCUMVENT THE SINGLE SUPPLEMENT
Thanks to the rise of single travelers, a variety of companies waive the dreaded single supplement fee – the extra charge single guests often incur for staying in hotel rooms and cruise cabins with prices based on double occupancy. With adventure tour outfitter Intrepid Travel, for example, solo sojourners do not incur a single supplement fee, but they still have the option to pay for their own accommodation at an added cost, depending on the destination and itinerary.
Meanwhile, with the tour company G Adventures, soloists are matched with roommates and forgo the single supplement. Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line have also rolled out solo-friendly studios with waived fees to lure solo sojourners.
CLEAR YOUR SEARCH HISTORY
Don’t allow your search history to impact the airfares you spot on the web. Instead, clear your cache on your computer before you start your search. Doing so will help ensure booking sites aren’t tracking your history and travel patterns for repeated flight searches to serve inflated prices based on your IP address.
Though there’s no sound evidence that major carriers monitor user behavior and activity, it’s a wise idea to give yourself some leverage by scouring the web for flight in private mode on Safari, Firefox or Chrome (open an incognito browser). Alternatively, book your flights on a different computer or from a separate location to circumvent getting your search history tracked.
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