How to Save Money on Travel
Credit Cards with SkyMiles Rewards or Points for Travel
Credit cards are a great way to earn travel rewards. We use the American Express SkyMiles cards. Each time we use our cards we earn Delta SkyMiles. You can also refer a friend to the American Express SkyMiles card and earn SkyMiles fast! Another great option is the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This card allows you to rack up points to spend on travel, lodging, and more!
Hostels
Find great hostels here. Hostels are a great way to meet new people while you travel. There are room options when getting a hostel, so if you’re group is large enough you may get a private room.
Airbnb
Maybe hostels aren’t your thing, or you’re taking your family along on your journey. We love Airbnb! This is our typical choice when finding accommodations because it’s often much cheaper than booking a hotel. You can choose to find a couch to sleep on, private room in a shared house, or have the entire house/apartment to yourself- the choice is yours.
Hotel rewards programs
While Airbnb is often our go-to option, we are also part of a hotel rewards program that allows us to earn free nights. We use hotels.com. After booking 10 nights, you get one night free. We like to use the free nights for weekend trips! We have been told that Hilton Honors has amazing rewards, too.
Monmondo
If you’re open to using a different airlines, search engines such as Monmondo or Kayak are great options. These sites track flights and find you the cheapest options. We feel loyal to our favorite airline; however, if a Delta flight isn’t available to a location we want, we use this site to find flights.
Pick up a Side-Gig
We all have budgets to stick to, but if traveling is a priority in your life pick up a side gig to earn extra money. There are many blogs out there about how to make extra money, so I encourage you to look at some of those. Lauren has a TeachersPayTeachers site where she creates and sells teaching materials on the internet. The money she makes gets deposited each month into her travel account. Other easy options are working for Uber or Lyft.
Work for an Airline
Airlines offer many different types of employment opportunities. When working for an airline one fringe benefit is free or reduced travel fares when you fly standby. Do you have summers off? Pick up a seasonal job and enjoy the same great flight benefits as full-time employees.
