Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer travel season. So
if you're planning to hit the road this weekend or take a vacation
over the coming months, here are tips to help keep costs under
control.
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Save money on the road
Download free travel apps.
You can save time and money by downloading mobile applications. For
example, you can use your smart phone to comparison shop for the
lowest gas prices in your zip code with a free app such as
GasBuddy. Here are more
free travel apps
you should consider downloading.
Avoid unnecessary rental car fees.
If you rent a car to avoid putting miles on your own, make sure
that you don't pay more than you have to by saying no to the
add-ons rental companies offer. See
How to Avoid Unnecessary Rental Car Fees
for the extras you should avoid.
Save money when flying
Check fares often.
To find the best price on a ticket, you need to check fares often
because they fluctuate throughout the day, says George Hobica,
founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. Seat availability also varies
during the day. For example, Hobica says an airline might have just
one seat available at the lowest fare at 10 a.m., but it will open
up more cheap seats later in the day.
Sign up for fare alerts.
Don't have time to check airfares every day? Sign up for alerts
from airlines and travel sites -- such as
Airfarewatchdog.com
and
FareCompare
-- so you'll know if prices drop.
Search airline sites individually.
Sites such as Travelocity, Kayak and Bing Travel can help you
compare prices among many airlines. But Hobica says that it pays to
visit airlines' sites because some reserve their best fares for
their own sites. For example, Airfarewatchdog fare searchers often
find lower fares on www.jetblue.com, even without discounts.
Be flexible.
If you don't need to travel on a specific date,
Bing
Travel
will show you when fares are cheapest to a destination of your
choice.
Travelocity
will search most domestic fares and many international ones over a
330-day search period. If you're looking to get away but don't have
a particular destination in mind,
Airfarewatchdog.com
will show you the cheapest flights out of the airport nearest to
you. You also can save money if you're flexible about which airport
you fly out of or into (see
How to Save on Last-Minute Flights
).
Avoid baggage fees.
If saving money by being flexible isn't an option, at least don't
pay more than you have to when you fly. Only Southwest Airlines
lets you check two bags for free. Most of the other airlines charge
about $25 for your first checked bag and $35 for a second checked
bag. So pack lightly in a carry-on or consider shipping your
luggage, especially if you have overweight or oversize bags that
will cost significantly less to ship.
Save money on accommodations
Try Priceline.
I save big on hotel rooms whenever I use Priceline's Name Your Own
Price feature. You won't know which hotel you're booking until you
pay, but you can increase your odds of getting the hotel you want
by
following these tips
.
Get a refund if your hotel price drops.
If you book a room months before your actual stay, chances are the
price will be cheaper when you check in than when you made your
reservation. However, if you book through
Tingo
, your room will automatically be rebooked at the lower rate if the
hotel drops its price. Then you'll get a refund for the difference
(
learn more
).
Consider a vacation rental home
, especially for longer stays. Renting an apartment, condo or house
can often be cheaper than a hotel room. Plus, you'll have access to
a kitchen, so you won't have to pay for pricey restaurant meals.
Check
HomeAway.com
or
VRBO.com
.
Get 100 of our top money-saving tips by
downloading the new iPad app
or
purchasing the PDF version
.
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