Tightwad Travel- Ways To Save Thousands Beyond Airfare and Hotels!

Spring for real savings – how to get the most break for your buck:

	Brought to you by Jennifer Jolly jenniferjolly.com

Travel deals are popping up everywhere: go online today and you can find week-long all inclusive trips to Las Vegas for $300 per person, Cancun for a week for $600, bargain basement ski trips to Sun Valley and beaches in Barbados. If traveling were the stock market, now would a time to buy, buy, buy. But as every frugal mom knows, cheap travel is just the first step to truly getting more break for your buck this year. Here are some other top ways to save on the go!

Fly, Don’t Drive
Nearly everyone thinks that they’ll save money by stuffing the kids in the car and heading out on the open road – and with gas prices really low right now, there are times a good old fashioned road trip is fun. But, Airlines are gutting their bottom lines with ridiculous fare sales and chances are, if you do some homework you’ll find flying saves time and money.

• Counter intuitive as it might seem, right now, it’s often cheaper to fly than to drive — especially if you’re going more than 200 miles round trip.
  • Cost to drive from Washington DC to Orlando $280
  • Cost to fly on Southwest Airlines: $175
    (*cost to drive includes gas and estimated wear and tear on your car based on AAA calculations)

• Southwest is already showing summer savings – one way prices as low as $39.

www.southwest.com

The Other “F” Word
That’s right, free. Free is everywhere right now. Hotels are offering free breakfasts on top of free nights on top of already deep discounts. Anytime you think about traveling, tally up the free stuff first:

Hotels: make sure you get free breakfast, free parking, free internet access.

• Best Western is a great example here. Last month, I spent $50 for a bowl of oatmeal, glass of orange juice and cup of coffee in one hotel. A few days later, at a Best Western in Phoenix, I sat down to a choice of waffles, eggs and sausage, fresh fruit, yogurt (you get the picture) for free. Internet access is always free at BW too. At the “other” hotel, I paid $12.95 for it. 
• Also, when it comes to food – check out www.kidsmealdeals.com and choose to eat out where kids eat free. I saved about $200 doing this in Washington DC recently.
• Another thing that can save you here – anytime you dial directory assistance – do that for free too, by calling 1-800-free411. www.free411.com. Most people spend about $2 every time they dial 411 – this way, get it for free. You can also get the weather report at 1-800-free411.
• Make your first stop the local visitors center and collect coupons, brochures, free maps, etc. Ask the staff about insider tips — free days at museums, matinees, free parking.

www.Bestwestern.com
www.kidsmealdeals.com
www.free411.com

Average Savings: $300 or more

Tech Savvy Traveler:
The number one tech gadget most people overspend on during a vacation is their cell phone and service plan. Roaming fees, 20 cent text messages, out-of-network calls, dropped calls — nightmare.

• I use a Boost Mobile phone and their new Monthly Unlimited plan because it features unlimited talk, including long distance so you can make calls back home, text and wireless Web – all for $50 a month. It’s the pre-paid, no contract wireless plan that keeps my most-used tech gadget predictable and affordable. This seems very simple, but a big fee, especially for students, families and teens is post-vacation cell phone bill hell!
• But be careful, most other pre-paid plans only let you talk within your “home calling area” – which means basically where you live. This isn’t a problem with Boost Mobile new stimulus plan – their Monthly Unlimited plan – that lets you talk anywhere in the US and Canada for one super low cost.

Check out www.boostmobile.com for more details.

Remember the Two P’s: Packages and Points
Rewards points and “inclusive” vacation packages that give you huge deals on airfare, hotel, food and fun — these are ways to travel dirt cheap right now.

Packages: Book an air-hotel package and save $300 or more.

• The packages we’re seeing are outrageous – savings of 50-70% in some cases. Why? In many cases, this is the only way to sell these empty seats on planes and rooms in hotels. Luxury resorts offer the biggest discounts through these packages because they don’t want to publicly announce price drops, so this is their way of hiding them.
• A search online found an air-flight/car-rental package on Orbitz for five nights in a luxury-view suite at the Palazzo Las Vegas for $847 per person — a savings of $828.
• As a rule of thumb, the more you bundle, the more you save.
• Do your homework, if you don’t care about free spa services – don’t opt in for them just because they’re part of a vacation package!

www.travel-ticker.com
www.orbitz.com

Points: Most hotels, airlines and car rentals are offering double or triple their rewards points right now because they want to get more business now and retain that business when the economy gets better.

• Be sure to use any membership privileges you may have access to when booking reservations.
• AARP, AAA or American Express Rewards points will save on average 5-10% off most bills including lodging and car rentals.
• Also, for the first time every you can pool all your points in one place: Go to www.points.com to track, redeem, earn, and–for the first time ever–trade your points and frequent flier miles with other people in order to accumulate enough for a free flight, free hotel nights, or to do some shopping. I’ve used points.com not just for free travel, but to get free hotel stays, free merchandise or gift cards… from Marriott and Choice Hotels, Target, Chili’s and Amazon.com

www.points.com

Home Away From Home:

House Swapping is another big 2009 trend. Why not try house or apartment swapping? It is a smart way to travel to distant lands and stay for free. Home exchange allows you to stay in someone else’s home — while they stay in yours.

Check out:

• www.FreeHomeAwayFromHome.com
• www.vrbo.com: a two-bedroom condo at the Outrigger Palms in Wailea, Hawaii, for $260 a night.
• www.roomorama.com: a New York–based peer-to-peer rental agency, lists more than 300 apartments in New York, Boston, Chicago and Toronto. (Users can vet accommodations using feedback from previous visitors.)

Full kitchens can save an average family of 4 over $100 per day on restaurant bills alone.

www.FreeHomeAwayFromHome.com
www.vrbo.com
www.roomorama.com

Other important travel tidbits:

• National Parks: Every “A” on a report card earns $10 off the room rate (up to $30) at the Grand Canyon. (Use the code STAY4A.) You’ll find plenty of bargains at state parks, too.
• Have someone drive you to the airport, or take public transportation –save up to $100 on parking fees
• Buy your souvenirs at Wal-Mart. K-MART, Target or online in whatever town you’re visiting – save up to $200 on t-shirts and knick-knacks.
• Don’t forget to buy or pack a cheap cooler, load it up with lunch making supplies and snacks and have a picnic instead of always eating out!
• Check out a site like www.totallyfreestuff.com (expect to get some spam) for free samples on sunscreen and other good travel must-haves.
• At www.BillShrink.com, you can find the cheapest gas stations on your road trip route!

What makes me “so smart” about this?
I’m a serious road warrior these days. In the first 90-days of 2009, I traveled from Oakland/San Francisco across the county 39 times! I’ve been to: Seattle, Phoenix (three times), Los Angeles, Irvine (three times), Manhattan (four times), Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta, Maryland, Virginia, Orlando, Tampa and Philadelphia. (Members of my family have traveled internationally, but I have yet to make it out of America… hint hint…) I’ve traveled with and without kids, with and without a moments notice, through storms and no sleep, in the car, the air, trains and even a bus or two. And with very little (or no) money in my pocket or credit cards to throw around. I’ve done most of the traveling for work, soaking in every experience along the way so that I can share the very best advice with you. One thing I always take along for “me time” no matter what: my running shoes. Even when I’m exhausted, I go for a walk or slow jog (“slog”) wherever I am. It reminds me to breathe, look around and remember what makes me “me.”