I like to keep things simple. I’ve always felt like the more complicated things are, the less likely I am to do them. That’s why I’m choosing to write this post about simple travel hacks.
If travel hacks become too complicated or time consuming, people aren’t going to do them. But if they can be broken down into simple, measurable steps, they are more likely to be utilized.
What Are Simple Travel Hacks?
Simple travel hacks are the easy things anyone can do to save on travel. They can be done one hack at a time or combined. There are no set rules or parameters, other than they should be simple and easy.
I also like when things are principle-based. That way, I can carry over certain principles such as value-based spending and automation to other areas of personal finance and life. Many of the simple travel hacks in this post are not only simple and easy, but also principle based.
Why Learn Simple Travel Hacks?
One of my personal finance philosophies is to keep things as simple as possible. Simple travel hacks fit that criterion perfectly.
For example, if you are able to get $300 off a trip with very little effort, why not do it? It’s simple, easy, and has a really good return on your time. Or if you can save $400 on a vacation with minimal effort, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
Simple Travel Hacks
Here are eleven simple travel hacks that take very little time or effort. Plus, they are things we all can do without training or taking a course on how to do it.
Number 1: Keep It Simple
As aforementioned–when things get complicated, people stop doing them. For example:
- If an exercise program is too complex, people stop working out
- A diet that requires measuring out your food and spending hours on meal prep probably isn’t going to be sustainable
- Budgets that require a bunch of spreadsheets and graphs are going to be abandoned
Same thing goes for travel hacks. The more simple they are, the better. The more complex–and the person is likely to give up on them.
Whatever travel hack(s) you choose, keep them simple. Don’t spend too much mental bandwidth or time because it’s not going to work long-term.
Related: 104 Things to do That Don’t Cost Money (or Very Little Money)
Number 2: Value-Based Spending (Traveling)
Number two on the list of simple travel hacks is a cousin of value-based spending, and that’s value-based traveling. The idea behind the concept is that any travel (pleasure, not business) is because it’s something you really want to do.
Not something you feel obligated to do, or just kind of want to do–but really want to do. If it’s not something you really want to do, save yourself the time, money, and energy and don’t go. Ask yourself the simple, but clarifying question: Is this something I really want to do?
The answer will dictate whether you go or not. Oftentimes the answer to this question is going to be a resounding YES! Other times will be a no, or maybe. Say yes to the trips that really speak to you, and skip the other ones.
Number 3: Spend a Little Time Shopping Around
Spend a little time shopping around. Not hours and hours, but a little bit of time. If you’re flying from San Francisco to New York City for a five-day vacation, spend some time looking at flights and hotels especially.
Look at a few airline options and see if one airline offers better pricing versus the others. On many occasions, I have done an apples to apples comparison of a couple airlines where I’m departing the same day and around the same time. One airline is often a hundred dollars ( or more) less expensive for whatever reason.
As long as all the airlines are high quality, I’m going to pick the airline with better pricing. It doesn’t take long to do this, usually less than a half hour. If I can save a hundred dollars or more just browsing deals for a half hour or less, I’m going to do it everytime.
Related: Is Flying a Discount Airline Worth It?
Same goes for hotels. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found similar quality hotels in the same area of town and one is significantly less than the others.
They could be under-booked for that time period, offering a special for multiple days booked, or just be less for that period of time. Spend a little time to find out and reap potentially big savings.
Number 4: Look at Time Versus Savings
Number four on the list of simple travel hacks is to really look at time versus savings. In other words, how much time you are spending on something to gain savings. In a nutshell, I want to spend as little time as possible to gain the largest savings possible.
Of course that’s not always possible, but I really want to look closely at what I’m doing. If I’m spending three hours to save 20 dollars, that might feel like a win at the time, but it’s not a great use of my time. That means I’m earning $6.67/hour (20 dollars/3 hours). Not a good rate of return.
However, if I’m saving $200 with an hour of work, I’m earning $200 per hour. That’s a much better return, and something that is worth my time and efforts. Especially since sitting on my couch scouring internet deals isn’t back-breaking work.
See the forest for the trees and make sure the time and effort you are putting in is worth the savings.
Number 5: Credit Card Rewards
One of the best simple travel hacks is to use credit card rewards to pay for flights and hotels. Before getting too much into this idea, let me say if you are someone who has struggled with credit card debt and don’t do well holding a credit card, this is NOT the strategy for you.
If it works best for you to pay for things with cash or a debit card because it keeps you out of debt, keep doing what you’re doing.
Under no circumstances is it worth getting into consumer debt just to earn flights and other rewards with a credit card. But if you have always used credit cards responsibly, this is a really good strategy.
Related: 7 Ways to Maintain a Consumer Debt Free Lifestyle
Many cards offer promotional deals where you can earn 50,000+ miles for opening the card and spending a certain amount the first few months. Then you earn the regular miles rate with many cards offering bonus miles for anniversary dates, grocery, gas, etc.
I’ve flown for free (other than paying the small amount of taxes) on multiple occasions because of airline miles. Miles are also a good way to get bumped up from coach to business or first class.
Number 6: Loyalty Rewards
Number six on the list of simple travel hacks is loyalty rewards. Many different providers offer loyalty programs. Hotels and airlines especially. For example, there are many credit cards that offer bonus airline miles on the anniversary date of you signing up for that card.
Companies offer loyalty rewards for one simple reason–to keep you with their company and away from their competitors. Airlines want you to keep flying with them and hotels want you to stay with them whether you’re traveling to Nashville, Austin, New York City, or anywhere else in the world.
Take advantage of loyalty rewards by choosing companies that offer the best benefits. Also making sure that any expenses (such as annual fees for credit cards) don’t cut too much into the reward.
Case in point: If an airline offers you 5,000 bonus miles but charges an annual fee of $500, you’re not winning. The 5,000 bonus miles isn’t worth $500. But if you have no annual fee, or a low annual fee, the bonus miles look pretty good.
Number 7: Upgrades
Next on the list of simple travel hacks is getting upgrades. Now, full disclosure–I’m not the best at this, but I know about the strategy so it’s worth mentioning.
I was recently listening to an interview with Chris Voss, author of Never Split the Difference. In the interview, he talked about how to get upgrades at hotels and other places. He is oftentimes able to get upgrades to suites or larger rooms by establishing rapport with employees and asking for it.
Even when he fails, he often gets drink tickets at the bar or some other type of perk. So practice your negotiation skills and get upgraded for free.
Number 8: Off Peak Days and Seasons
One of the easiest of the simple travel hacks is to travel off-days and off-season. This is especially relevant for people with flexibility in their line of work or retirees. The majority of travel for most people is done in the summer and during school breaks.
Makes sense because the kids are out of school or the job is a little slower during the summer months and/or holidays. Traveling during off-peak days and seasons will almost always get you a lower price than on-peak times.
If you have flexibility, try traveling during the fall, winter, and early part of spring. You will see big discounts in flights, hotels, entertainment, etc. The price difference between going somewhere in early October versus the peak of summer is significant.
For those without that kind of flexibility, see if you can depart and arrive mid-week. Prices are often much less leaving on a Tuesday or Wednesday than a Friday through Sunday trip. Go to any airlines website, plug in a few different date options, and you’ll see this mostly holds true. Same for hotels and entertainment.
Number 9: Be Flexible
Number nine on the list is to be flexible. Think of various places you’d like to go and pick the best option at the time. Here’s an example.
Imagine that Jimmy has a bunch of different places he’d like to visit. At the top of his list is Australia, New Zealand, New York City, Paris, Munich, Hawaii, Austin, San Francisco, and Fiji. Lots of places and unlikely that most people can see all those places in one year.
Jimmy can be flexible in the sense that he can pick the best option that year. If flights to San Francisco are on sale, that could be his first trip. If the American Dollar is strong (as it is now), it might be a good time for him to travel internationally. Or if there is a great price at a resort in Hawaii, that might be the time for that trip.
Be flexible and pick the best available option. Most people have lots of places they want to go so it’s not hard to create a list like this. Of course, if you have just one bucket list item left, pay the cost and take the trip!
Number 10: Combine Trips
When I was in my mid-twenties I took a cross-country roadtrip across the United States. I hit a bunch of cities on the map–Austin, New Orleans, Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago, Denver, etc. Some of these cities I had been to before, others it was the first time.
If I had tried to visit all these cities on separate trips it would have taken me a couple years and a lot of money in plane flights. However, since I was driving all around the country, I was able to see all of them in a two-month time span.
Although I didn’t have a name for it at the time, what I was doing was using the strategy of combining trips. Combining trips allowed me to see a bunch of different places in a short amount of time because I was already in the area. Austin is close to New Orleans, New York City is close to Philadelphia, which is close to Washington DC, etc.
I’m not suggesting you take a two or three month roadtrip (although I loved the trip), but I am suggesting using the strategy of combining trips. If you have the time and ability, try and see places that are close together in one trip.
If you are going to New York City, see about adding a couple days and going to Philadelphia or Washington DC. Or if you’re in Europe for a couple weeks, try seeing multiple cities that are close together like Paris and London. It’s not always going to work out perfectly, but if you’re already in the area, see if you can combine trips and get the most bang for your buck and time.
Number 11: Look for the Quick and Easy
The last of the simple travel hacks is also one of the easiest to implement. I’ll use myself as an example. My family and I were recently coming home from the airport and needed a ride. It was late at night so no friends were going to pick us up and family was already with us.
So the option was basically Uber, Lyft, or a traditional taxi (like how people used to get rides). Since it was very late at night and there weren’t a lot of available drivers, the prices were higher. Completely understandable, but I wanted to get the best price possible.
I checked out the taxi who quoted an outrageous price, so that was out. Then I looked at one of the rideshare apps which was priced around $110. However, the other rideshare app was closer to $60 so I booked that one.
All in, I spent less than two or three minutes putting in a tiny bit of extra effort. A minute or two talking to the cab driver and another minute checking both rideshare services. That very tiny extra effort saved me about $50 though. Not life-changing money, but well worth the extra bit of time.
The point of this tip is there are a lot of quick and easy wins available, we just have to look for them. If I had gone with the taxi or first rideshare quote, I would have paid a lot more. But putting forth a little more effort saved good money and got the quick and easy win.
Related: How I Saved $50 at the Store in Less Than 45 Seconds
Conclusion
I don’t like a lot of complication in my life, especially when I’m supposed to be traveling or on vacation. That’s why simple travel hacks are so appealing to me. They don’t take a lot of time and effort but have nice payouts.
In many cases, just a little bit of effort can provide good financial benefit. Like checking out a couple rideshare options to get from the airport to home. Or using a credit card that provides me with airline miles for purchases I was going to make anyway. Same for traveling off peak or in the middle of the week.
There are lots of simple and easy options available, we just have to find them.
What are your favorite simple travel hacks? Let me know in the comments so other readers can use them!
