6 Easy Hacks for Cheaper Travel
When I posted these hacks on my Instagram, the post had 10x my normal amount of saves. Why? Because I promise that you haven’t heard of at least one of these hacks. Every travel influencer likes to talk about credit card points and flight hacking… and although both are great ways to save money, sometimes we don’t feel like running a whole marathon for $20 off a hotel. Here are 5 easier (and FREE) ways that you can save on travel:
Use Safara for 10% off hotels…every single time
Safara has been my newest travel hack discovery, and I’m absolutely obsessed with it. Booking hotels through Safara gives you an instant 10% back on literally EVERY booking. That’s it. No gimmicks or tricks. Plus, Safara will match any publicly available rate AND they neutralize the estimated carbon emissions of your stay. And yes, no carbon offset program is perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction and better for the planet than booking on any random booking site.
For $50 off your first Safara stay and 10% off every hotel booked with Safara, click here.Use Delta x Airbnb for miles with every booking
Like every twenty-something in the world, I’ve been booking Airbnbs for as long as I can remember. But what I didn’t know until recently (A.K.A. two weeks ago) is that you can earn Delta points with every Airbnb booking. Just head over to deltaairbnb.com and make sure that you book through their portal. Eligible bookings earn a mile for each $1 spent. The best part? Your Delta SkyMiles never expire!
Pro tip: open up a second window when using the Delta Airbnb portal. I’ve found that for some reason, it can be much harder to navigate the booking map when using their portal. I’ll often determine the place I want to book first through Airbnb.com, and then find the same booking through the Delta portal.Check for last minute offers
This hack works especially well at boutique hotels, and I noticed it a handful of times while traveling around Europe. Sometimes these boutique hotels will offer a special reduced rate for last minute bookings. Obviously, they’d rather fill a room at a reduced rate than make no money on the room at all. I’ve seen these last minute offers be up to $120 off the typical nightly rate! In general, I always think it’s smart to check a hotel’s direct website and try to book there as opposed to a 3rd-party booking site, but it’s also smart so that you don’t miss out on these last minute offers.
Enroll in hotel loyalty programs
At this point, everyone knows that you should be enrolled in airline loyalty programs. I mean…I feel like I’ve been enrolled in at least 5 since birth! I’m probably enrolled in airline loyalty programs that I don’t even know about…lol.
What I didn’t realize is that hotel loyalty programs can be just as powerful…if not better. Most of the time, airline loyalty programs require you to spend a decent amount before you receive any perks, but depending on the hotel loyalty program, you might receive perks without lifting a finger. If you have an American Express Platinum card, you get automatic Gold status with Hilton Honors and Gold Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy. Because of this automatic status, I’ve experienced automatic room upgrades, upgrades to free breakfast, hotel credit, mobile check-in and more. Get 80,000 membership reward points when opening an American Express Platinum card today.
But regardless of whether or not you have a travel-oriented credit card, enrolling in both of these programs is totally and completely free.
And, after only one stay with Hilton Honors, I was able to cover the full cost of my hotel for one night in Florence. Plus, with Hilton’s eStandby Upgrade program, I was able to upgrade my room from their cheapest room to the King Deluxe room for only €20.Use Going (previously Scott’s Cheap Flights) for 40-90% off of typical flight prices
Going is one of the best things you can sign up for if you’re down for any adventure. A Going subscription signs you up for a curated newsletter with insane flight deals (most are 40-90% off typical fares) from your local airport.
If you’re a more avid traveler, consider a Going subscription, which opens you up to more deals and notifies you about them first (before free subscribers). For my partner, Luca, he regularly saves $300-$600+ on international flights, which makes the $49/year subscription more than worth it.
For example, he has booked a $400 roundtrip to London and a $550 roundtrip to Tokyo (both from Houston, for reference on how insane these deals are).Connect your Starbucks rewards and Lyft/Uber accounts to earn miles + points
I don’t think I know a single person that would be mad at a few extra miles. Here’s how to connect your Starbucks, Lyft, and Uber accounts to earn more miles on your daily spending!
For Starbucks you’ll want to head over to deltastarbucks.com and sign in to your Starbucks Rewards account. From there you’ll need to enter your first and last name and have your Delta SkyMiles account number handy. In a few clicks, you’ll be earning miles on every Oat Milk Shaken Espresso!! The best thing about Delta SkyMiles is that they never expire, so even if Delta isn’t your airline of choice right now, you might as well earn Delta miles on your regular spending!
For Lyft you’ll want to open your Lyft app. Open the side menu by pressing the hamburger button (3 stacked horizontal lines) in the top left corner. Click on the Rewards tab (has a sparkle icon next to it) and scroll until you see the Loyalty Rewards section. From here you can actually pick between Delta Skymiles, Hilton Honors, Alaska Mileage Plan, and Bilt Rewards!
For Uber you’ll want to open your Uber app. Navigate to your Account by tapping on the Account icon in the bottom right corner. Scroll down until you see the Partner Rewards tab and open that up! From there you can connect a Marriot Bonvoy account to start earning points with their system (which can apply to any of the Marriot Bonvoy brands, including The Luxury Collection, Design Hotels, Moxy Hotels, Ritz Carltons, W Hotels, and more).