Travel Tips

I don’t get to travel as much as I would like to, but as a college student addicted to skiing, I have found some pretty good ways to travel on the cheap. Here are a few tips for maximizing your vacation:

h3. Air Travel

Once you select your destination, go to the website of the closest airport and see where they have non-stop flights. Chances are that there is an airport nearby that has non-stop flights to your destination. I have always taken non-stop flights and from what I gather, they are a much better experience with a reduced likelihood of flight delays, cancellations, lost baggage, etc. It is probably worth driving up to two hours to another airport to reduce your flight time considering most layovers take more time than that anyway. To get the best deal, check the regular travel sites like “Expedia”:http://www.expedia.com, “Travelocity”:http://www.travelocity.com, and my favorite, “Kayak”:http://www.kayak.com. Once you find the best airline, book through the airline’s website. This saves you $5-20 in fees that the online travel agencies charge, and it is usually easier to make any modifications to your plans and tie in to the frequent flyer program if everything is on the same website.

h3. Loyalty Programs

The first tip is to join the airline frequent flyer program. No matter which airline you choose or how many times you expect to use that airline, frequent flyer programs can always come in handy. My favorite is “Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards”:http://www.southwest.com/rapid_rewards which has a great deal for college students. If you sign up with your university email address, you instantly get 4 credits and in addition you get double credits on all flights. It takes 16 credits for a 2 rewards credits which count towards each leg of your trip (so 2 rewards means 1 round-trip ticket). They also typically have the lowest cost on tickets, so you get a free ticket with very little investment. I have had bad experiences with the frequent flyer programs of other airlines as they seem to be subtly making it hard and harder to redeem tickets with blackout dates and having it cost double points if you don’t book a year in advance. Southwest has been very fair in my experience and you can nearly always get a seat at the very last minute. Most hotel and car rental chains also offer some sort of loyalty program and sometimes tie in to the air program. It doesn’t cost anything to sign up so why not join? Also check the partners for other ways to earn miles. I joined the Delta program, got bonus miles for a credit card, signed up with Earthlink for more miles (which was cheaper than Time Warner anyway), and ended up with a free ticket back to Salt Lake City within 4 months of signing up that would have cost $1,600.

h3. Credit Cards

Most loyalty programs also offer some sort of credit card and there are literally hundreds of credit cards targeted toward travelers. Once again, I recommend the “Rapid Rewards Visa”:http://www.southwest.com/rapid_rewards/visa.html from Southwest Airlines and Chase. You receive 1 Rapid Rewards credit for every $1,200 charged to your card and the annual fee is fairly low at $59. Make sure you read the fine print on any credit card offers and only accept an annual fee if you think the rewards of the card will make up for it. Southwest is definitely worth it – I have used my rewards for tickets that would have cost over $1,000 had I bought it without the awards. You can also change your flight for no penalty or fee so if you are not sure when you will need to come home, pay normal price for your departure and use your reward credit for the return leg.

h3. Cars and Hotels

If you are under 25, renting a car affordably is near impossible. Rental agencies typically tack on a surcharge of $10-25 per day just for being under 25, but one way to get around this is to check with your hotel and see if they have any packages that include a rental car. If they book the car through their corporate account with the agency, the age of the renter doesn’t matter so you can probably get a corporate discount in addition to not having to pay the extra fee. Check the usual travel sites as mentioned above, but if you know anyone that has a timeshare or belongs to a timeshare company, they have a program where you can get last minute condo deals. An efficiency is like $150 for the entire week and $50 for a guest fee. I did this to get my hotel room at Snowbird and it was great. I only was able to stay 4 days but it was still cheaper than paying the $150/night rate that I would have had to pay for comparable accommodations. I also got a kitchen and had groceries delivered so I could save on dining expenses.

Other incidentals like ski rentals, transportation, and activities are harder to give advice for since they are so specific to where you go. Get on the internet and look for several places that offer what you want and pick the best price with the most convenience. It is your vacation after all and it isn’t much of a vacation if you are going way out of your way to save a buck or two.

Enjoy your trip!

Share on Facebook

Related posts:

1. International Travel
2. Online Bill Payment – Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
3. mmm Cheesecake
4. Back to blogging…