I have been a professional travel writer for 25 years.
But, like most people, there was a time in my life when the idea of traveling the world seemed far beyond my financial means.
Back then, finding ways to save money for travel seemed incredibly difficult, especially when I was working multiple jobs just to make ends meet.
These days, with rising prices for just about everything from groceries to getaways, finding innovative ways to save on travel can make a big difference to your bottom line.
Read on for our tips on how to save money for travel, including money-saving advice on flights, hotels, rental cars, travel gear, and more.
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Guide to saving money when traveling
- Save money on flights
- Save money on rental cars
- Save money on hotels
- Save money using travel credit cards
- Traveling during the shoulder season (or off-season)
- Volunteer through Trusted Housesitters, Work Away or WWOOF
- Buy used travel equipment
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1. Save money on flights
One of our favorite money-saving tips comes from consumer advocate Clark Howard, who suggests finding a cheap flight BEFORE you choose your travel destination.
We’ve done this for flights to Kenya, Hawaii, Alaska, St. Lucia, etc., and there are a variety of different services that make it easy.
Flight aggregators (aka airfare search sites) make it easy to save money when booking a flight. Book a flight allowing you to select how much you are willing to pay and then showing you available destinations in your price range.
You can also break it down further by entering your preferred travel season or month.
These services can save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars on your trip, leaving you with more budget for food, tours, and other adventures once you arrive at your destination!
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2. Save money on rental cars
Taking road trips through Norway, Sweden, and the Blue Ridge Mountains has produced some of our favorite travel memories.
But rental cars have become increasingly expensive in recent years and there are ways to significantly reduce those costs.
Clark Howard recommends that experts Travelers should reserve their rental car when they book their flights, because in most cases these fares are 100% refundable.
Then, about a week before your departure, she suggests checking car rental rates again, to see if you can find a better deal for the travel destination you’re visiting.
“You can end up cutting the cost of a rental car in half or more if you buy it again the same week of your trip,” he says.
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3. Save money on hotels
It’s no secret that hotel rewards programs offer a great way to save money on travel., offering members the opportunity to earn points that can be used toward hotel stays, vacation rentals, flights, tours and activities, and retail purchases.
A recent story in US News and World Reporting ranked the Wyndham Rewards program No. 2 among 15 major hotel brands (No. 1 was more focused on business travel) for travelers who frequent popular destinations in the United States, CaribbeanEurope, Mexico and Asia.
Program members earn points every time they stay at any of the more than 9,000 properties in the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts portfolio, including Days Inn by Wyndham, Dolce Hotels and Resorts by Wyndham, La Quinta by Wyndham, Ramada by Wyndham and Wyndham Grand.
They also have partnerships with numerous airlines (including American Airlines and United Airlines), car rental companies (such as Avis and Budget), and Caesars Rewards from Caesars Entertainment, allowing members to earn points in many different ways.
Best of all, your qualifying nights can carry over to the following year, making it easier for your members to achieve a higher status!
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4. Save money by using travel credit cards
It goes without saying that you should never put anything on a credit card that you can’t pay off that month, otherwise you’ll end up paying a ridiculous amount of interest.
But using the RIGHT credit card responsibly is one of our favorite ways to save money for travel. We personally use Capital One’s Venture One for that.
It allows us to earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day.
With the points you earn, you can travel on any airline and stay at any hotel, with no blackout dates. Plus, you can transfer your miles to over 15 leading travel loyalty programs.
Their current introductory offer includes 75,000 miles for a $95 annual fee, plus you’ll get up to a $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓!
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5. Travel during the shoulder season (or low season)
The myriad problems created by mass tourism have been well documented in recent years, but avoiding overtourism is often simply a matter of time.
For example, in much of Europe the high season runs from mid-June to early September, while in the Caribbean islands it runs from January to early April and from mid-June to late August.
During peak season, crowds are often larger, temperatures are often higher, and hotel prices can be more than 30% higher.
But by visiting these destinations in the off-season, you’ll not only save money on travel expenses, but you’ll also ensure you have a little more room to explore the area.
Many popular destinations for American travelers (including Belize, Costa Rica, and Mexico) offer great deals during the rainy season, which lasts from mid-summer through October or November. But even rainy days usually have long stretches of sunshine!
READ MORE:Effects of mass tourism (How overtourism is destroying destinations)
6. Volunteer through Trusted Housesitters, Work Away or WWOOF
When people talk about how to save money to travel, they often ignore the amount of privilege that comes with the topic. Not everyone can afford to travel like we professional travel writers do.
But there are opportunities to travel for practically nothing, simply by exchanging your time and energy for free rooms (and sometimes free meals too)!
One example we often use is TrustedHousesitters, which connects experienced and well-reviewed house and pet sitters with people who need those services.
Once you become a paying member, there is no exchange of money: the house sitter gets a free place to stay and the homeowner gets someone to care for their pets while they are away.
Other examples of volunteering organizations where you can exchange money for travel include Workaway (where volunteers contribute a pre-agreed amount of time per day in exchange for accommodation and food) and WWOOF (where volunteers work on organic farms for accommodation and food).
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7. Buy used travel gear
Even though we make a lot of money to live comfortably, we save a lot of money by rarely buying new clothes or other expensive travel gear.
On average, a piece of clothing is worn only 6 times before it is thrown away or donated to charity.
When shopping at thrift stores, we’ve found everything from gently used convertible pants (for African safaris) to complete suits (for travel and conferences) at a fraction of the cost of new ones.
Similarly, savvy shoppers can use sites like eBay, GearTrade, REI, and Patagonia to find used travel gear, from backpacks and carry-on luggage to tents, sleeping bags, and more.
By spending $10 on an Egyptian cotton dress shirt that sells for $100 or more new, or spending $50 on a tent that sells for $400, you can save money on flights, hotels, and tours faster than you can imagine! –by Bret Love
