By From scoring the best travel deals to requesting free hotel upgrades, here are six ways to save money on your next vacation from top travel experts.
1. Avoid Credit Card Fees
Before using a credit card when traveling out of the country, check whether there are fees for foreign transactions. People often don’t realize the extra fees until its too late. On larger purchase, like a trip, these amounts can really add up.
Trish Sare, Director and Founder, BikeHike Adventures
2. Use Miles To Pay For One Way Tickets
Many airlines enable passengers to redeem miles towards tickets. If a travelers doesn’t have enough accrued miles to pay for round trip airfare, book a one way ticket with miles instead. In other words, consider buying a one way ticket with miles and pay out of pocket for the other flight.
CompareCards.com allows users to quickly compare rates, benefits, and more for popular airline credit cards.
3. Plan Vacations Around Deals
Sometimes it’s best to not choose a destination but to have the destination choose you. Don’t pick a destination and then look for the cheapest airfare, look to see where the bargain airfares are going.
Lisa Shusterman, Author
When it comes to cruises, if you can book your trip well in advance, you’ll not only get first dibs at cabins, you’ll get the early-bird discount, which can be significant. If you don’t (or can’t book early) sometimes booking at the last minute can mean big savings, but you risk higher airfare and not getting your first choices.
Sherri Eisenberg, Travel Reporter
4. Book During Shoulder Season
Visit popular destinations during “shoulder season”. Traveling to touristy places right before or after “peak season” can be a great way to save money and avoid crowds. And — stay just outside of big cities – you’ll find more upscale hotels offer cheaper rates and parking will be much more reasonably priced.
Neil Emerson, Tourico Holidays
MORE: Does purchasing travel insurance early qualify you for more benefits?
5. Ask For Upgrades and Fee Waivers
When you check in at your hotel, don’t be afraid to ask if you are eligible for a free room upgrade or if you can get free internet; some hotels won’t mind waiving a fee here or there!
Rick Castellano, Upromise
6. Research To Save
Shop around and find creative ways to save. For example, if you need a passport, snap a pic with your digital camera and upload to ePassportPhoto.com. You can edit the picture as much as you want, and it will save you about $20. Take advantage of all the free stuff you can find. Look up free museum days. Grab some free maps. Sign up for Skype for free phone calls to anyone, anywhere.
Maggie McCombs, Creative Lodging Solutions
Want more money saving advice? Follow these 10 personal financial experts on twitter:
10 Rules to Remember When You Borrow Money via @Moneyprinciple http://t.co/NcRblocULc
— Jeff Rose, CFP® (@jjeffrose) January 21, 2015
My latest for @MONEY 3 smart ways renters can protect their finances http://t.co/jsbZ6iGowV
— Farnoosh Torabi (@FARNOOSH) January 21, 2015
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— Clark Howard (@ClarkHoward) January 21, 2015
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— Jean Chatzky (@JeanChatzky) January 21, 2015
True or False. The richest 80 people on Earth are now as wealthy as the world’s 3.5 billion poorest people?
— Suze Orman (@SuzeOrmanShow) January 20, 2015
If hard work, integrity, thrift, and perseverance have caused you to succeed….then you don’t owe anyone an apology for winning.
— Dave Ramsey (@DaveRamsey) January 18, 2015
What do you think about these money saving tips? Agree or disagree?