17 Ways To Save On Travel In 2017 From Cheapflights.Com

Travel Experts Share 17 Ways to Save This Year

 The New Year brings new travel aspirations and money saving motivation. To help you manage both at the same time, the experts at Cheapflights.com, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, have compiled a list of 17 Ways to Save on Travel in 2017 filled with can’t-fail tips and tricks to stretch your travel dollar farther in 2017.

Starting with a currency check-up and moving through perfect planning, swap and save ideas and a round-up of other tips and tricks, Cheapflights’ list is a cheat sheet you will want to clip and save for travel planning all year round. Below is a sampling of the insider tips that will help you go farther for less in 2017:

·         Fly by night (or in the early morning) – The time a flight departs can also impact the price you pay for it. Traveling at night (between 6 p.m. and midnight) or in the early morning (think first flight out) will save. A general tip to remember: fly when people would rather be sleeping. After all, families with small children aren't usually lining up to take a 4 a.m. or 11 p.m. flight. And, an added bonus for the early bird: the first flight out is the least likely to be impacted by delays.

·         Clear your cache to save some cash – Internet users should delete their browser history every time they search for flights. Prices can increase based on the number of times searchers revisit a particular website.

·         Compare all of your options: Don't assume going directly to the airline is the cheapest way to travel. Sometimes small travel agents use flight search sites to sell off packages and flights that people have canceled. Travel providers have more flexibility to offer discounts on flights + hotels or flights + rental cars or other packages since they’re not sharing (and thus undercutting) the specific price of a room or a seat on the plane.

·         BYO - With shops and restaurants in airport departure terminals charging a premium, why not save some money by bringing your own food to eat onboard? Not only is it a sure-fire way to save money, it’s likely to be healthier too. Try our in-flight food hacks for in-flight dining at its best.

·         Stay ahead of the sales – Sign up to airline and travel providers’ travel deals newsletters and be sure to follow them on social media so you’re ahead of the game when it comes to flight sales, discounts and special offers. Oftentimes, flash sales and travel deals will be announced there first.

Here are 12 more tips you can use to play and win the holiday booking game: embrace the strong dollar by choosing destinations accordingly; use ATMs overseas for the best exchange rates; double your vacation time by combining holidays and weekends; combine business trips and pleasure into bleisure trips; pick a type of trip rather than a destination; compare prices at nearby airports; travel mid week for cheaper fares; look for the best fares 50 days out from your travel; consider traveling on holidays for big savings; use travel apps to make planning and traveling go smoother; be smart about data usage on the road; and use a la carte pricing to pay for only the travel perks you want. For the entire lowdown on how to save significantly on travel throughout 2017, consult Cheapflights.com’s 17 ways to save on travel in 2017at www.cheapflights.com/news/17-travel-save-ways-2017.

About Cheapflights.com, part of the Momondo Group

Founded in 1996, Cheapflights is a leading global flight comparison and deals publishing platform. It is now a market leader in the UK, U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand generating over $3 billion in global downstream revenue for its partners as it expands into numerous other territories. More than 120 million users visit its websites and apps each year, receiving more than two billion search results a month from across 900,000 routes. The 10 million strong opt-in subscribers to the Cheapflights newsletter receive the best deals from over 120 travel businesses – for whom it has driven more than $65 million in revenue this year. Together, the Cheapflights platforms generate enough bookings for its partners to fill a Boeing 747 every five minutes. 

In 2011, Cheapflights became part of the privately owned online travel search and inspiration network, Momondo Group.

Travelore Tips: The 9 Best Money-Saving Travel Tips

1-Pick Destinations Based On Currency Exchange Rates
My destinations are selected based on where the dollar is strongest. Flexibility in choosing my vacation allows me to be opportunistic.

Reviewing online currency valuation articles helps determine where the exchange rates are best. A strong dollar stretches my travel budget without having to sacrifice luxury. An incredible boutique hotel in Colombia was only $262/night including a lavish breakfast.

Consider whether you think the currency will go up or down by the time you check-out of the hotel. If you think the dollar will go down, then look for rates that require pre-payment in dollars otherwise pay at check-out. Use a credit card without foreign transaction fees. There is a fee built into the rate each time the currency is converted so limit the number of conversions.

2-Use Discount Travel Sites
Scouring sites such as luxurylink.com or jetsetter.com is similar to looking for a bargain on a sales rack. Not all packages are deals since they include suites or champagne which may not be important to you. Reviewing the details is critical. A 10-night trip to India at 5-star luxury Oberoi hotels with breakfast and airport transfers was $2,375 or $238/night on jetsetter.com.

Investigating the section entitled "Highest Percent Off Retail" on luxurylink.com can yield bargains, especially to lesser traveled destinations. A recent 3-night stay at a 5-star boutique hotel in Paraguay cost $195 for 2 people for 3 nights and included breakfast. The $40 booking fee was covered by my first-time user discount for a final price of $185 or $62/night. Additional discounts can be earned when you refer friends who book a stay. Please feel free to say I referred you.

3-Travel Off-Peak
Hotel calendar schedules are still based on historical weather data despite the unpredictability of the weather. Use this to your advantage. An off-peak rate trip to Brazil has 70 degree temperatures. This can be hit or miss so bring an umbrella and extra layers just in case. There are also less crowds and shorter lines.

4-Optimize Frequent Flier Points
Some airlines such as Delta use zone pricing to determine the number of points required to purchase a trip. Select pricier destinations within the zone to increase the value of the points. Visiting Paraguay is a costly route but it's the same number of points as visiting other southern South American destinations.

Incorporate overnight stays or add extensions. A round-trip to Luxembourg from Zurich costs $1,400. Yet, United allowed me to add it to my round-trip NY-Zurich ticket as a free extension.

5-Play The Credit Card Game
Credit card companies are offering bonus points when you open a credit card and spend x dollars in a defined time period. After I meet the minimum requirement, I stop using the card and apply for a new card. My revolving door of credit cards allows me to accumulate a massive amount of points very quickly.

Chase United credit card offered 50,000 bonus miles if I spent $2,000 dollars in the first 3 months. The bonus miles allowed me to raise my United 10,000 balance to 60,000 points. That was the amount I needed to fly round-trip to Zurich with my Luxembourg extension.

6-Diversify Your Credit Card Portfolio.
Hotels offer credit card incentives as well. The Hyatt hotel program offers 2 free nights after spending $1,000 in the first three months with no fee for the card. My two nights in Seoul were free.

Points accumulated on these cards can be used toward additional free stays when you charge on the card. My 1-night stay at the Zurich Park Hyatt was free.

Other cards such as Barclays, Chase Sapphire and Capital One allow you to accumulate points that can be used to erase travel expenses such as tours, restaurants and taxis on your credit card bill that would not be covered by traditional point programs. Programs vary so check the details.

My Capital One card allowed me to remove a 12-course tasting menu dinner at DOM in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The dinner charge meanwhile accumulated new points toward a future travel expense.

7-Compare Online Pricing to Travel Agent Rates
Online hotel sites or calling the property directly does not always secure the best rate. The price for a room at The Belmond Iguazu Falls hotel was the same on various hotel sites, their own website and when I called the hotel directly. Amex Platinum Fine Hotel Rate (FHR), however, had the same rate but included an airport transfer, a late checkout at 4 p.m. and a free buffet breakfast for two. Checking rates with travel agents or companies such as Amex FHR or Virtuoso may not lower the price but can include valuable and pricey perks.

8-Compare Rates for Each Day of your Stay
On a multiple-day stay, compare rates between the various programs for each day of your stay. For a 6-night stay at Seoul Park Hyatt, Amex Platinum FHR had the lowest rates for two of the nights which included a buffet breakfast and afternoon tea. Calling the hotel directly yielded two nights at an even lower price. The final two nights were really expensive through both programs because the property was near capacity. I used the two free nights from my Park Hyatt credit card certificates on the most expensive nights and booked two nights through Amex Platinum FHR and the remaining two nights directly with the hotel.

9-Book tours through the Hotel Concierge
Booking day tours directly with the hotel concierge reduces the cost since there are less people profiting from the booking. The concierge at top hotels know the city's best guides.

Traveling to exotic locales doesn't have to break the bank but it does take being savvy.

Contributed by Janice S. Lintz 

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