- M. Jennings
Travel & Your Wallet
Updated: Dec 8, 2020
From time to time, I'm asked "how do I travel so much as it is so costly". But it isn't costly, if you take time to search and plan! I talk about this from time to time but today I'm going to put it all into one place. I hope to see you travel more (if this was your only concern).
Buy Now, Pay Later
This is not my favorite method but sometimes you have to use it. Say for example, you don't get paid until next week but your friends need to book today. Or another example, you found a flight deal right now but you don't have the funds just yet (as you weren't planning to buy today). There are plenty of different circumstances where the buy now, pay later may occur. Here are two suggestions to assist with this method and get you the most out of it.
Travel Credit Cards
I'm not condoning to sign up for more debt! So manage your debt wisely and try to pay off the month of your purchase. If you need assistance with debt, visit The Budgetnista! She is a great person to walkthrough managing your debt and living richer! (Note: I'm not sponsored by her for this post, she is just amazing!) So if you are not in the best financial position, I do not suggest signing up for another credit card.
Travel credit cards are great as most usually provide no foreign transaction fees, spent dollars which transfer to points (to discuss later), and plethora of other great opportunities to help on travel.
Here are my two frequently used cards and their perks:
American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card:
Annual Fee $195
Annual Companion Pass
First Bag Checked Free
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Global Assist Hotline
Redeem points only for Delta Airlines
Many More Benefits...Read about them and sign up here (I may get bonus points but you will too)!
Chase Sapphire
Annual Fee $95
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Travel & Purchase Coverage
Earn 2X Points on travel and dining
Redeem points on anything travel (i.e. flights, hotels, etc.)
Many More Benefits...Read about them and sign up here (I may get bonus points but you will too)!
Airfordable
Another great way to save now and pay later is through Airfordable. I was actually planning to use Airfordable for my trip to Australia but I lucked up and found a flight deal (saved me 50%).
So have you ever heard of layaway in retail stores? Well this is the exact same thing! Send over the flight details, you pay a service fee and the flight is booked! You then pay off the flight in monthly installments. How great is that! You can pay it off like your credit card but it isn't hitting that credit report (unless you don't pay this off). Check out more details about Airfordable here: https://www.airfordable.com/. (Note: I'm not sponsored by Airfordable for this post, I just believe this is a great service!)
Travel Deals
Usually the bulk of your cost for travel is due to high cost of airfare and accommodations. Here are four sites that focuses specifically on finding flight and hotel discounts and glitches.
Secret Flying has a team of people who are passionate about traveling and locating the best flight deals. It is a FREE service in which they post the deals on their website as soon as it is located. They also have a hotel section on their site. As I'm typing this, they are currently advertising a non-stop flight from Singapore to London for $147 USD one-way (please keep in mind this flight deal may have expired by the time you read this post...click on Secret Flying above to see what else they have found)!
The Flight Deal is another FREE site that has a similar function as Secret Flying with the same goals. Its great to have another set of eyes on deals and glitches out there! They are in every nook and cranny of the Internet. As I'm typing this section, they are currently advertising a round trip flight deal with Copa Airlines from Washington, DC to San Jose, Costa Rica for $251 USD (please keep in mind this flight deal may have expired by the time you read this post...click on The Flight Deal above to see what else they have found)!
Scott's Cheap Flights is the third site I follow in which they alert me about flight deals from my region of the world for cheap international flights. They have Premium program you can pay for but I stick with the FREE version which is more than enough. Click on their name at the beginning of this paragraph to check them out!
Skiplagged is a site I haven't used yet but I have been researching. I'm extremely interested in trying this out! When I do, I will write a blog about it! But Skiplagged "makes it easy for you to find the best rates on airfare and hotels". They have an algorithm setup for you to book a flight that is cheaper because you get off at a layover. When you do this, it is recommended to NOT book a round trip flight, as the airline is subject to cancelling the remaining portions of the flights. It is also recommended to carry on your luggage as normally your luggage will be checked to your final destination. Here is an example from them on how the site works:
You are trying to book a flight from Atlanta to Orlando
Normally, you book your flight with your destination being Orlando which will cost you $250
When using Skiplagged, it looks for Orlando as a layover with your actual destination being somewhere else
It finds a flight from Atlanta to Orlando to Dallas
You get off in Orlando instead of continuing to Dallas
The flight only costs you $130
If you have tried Skiplagged, please comment below on how it worked for you as I'm intrigued!
To keep on top of these flight deals, follow them on Twitter and Facebook and also sign up for their newsletters. (Note: I'm not affiliated by Secret Flying, The Flight Deal, Skiplagged, nor Scott's Cheap Flights for this post, I just believe they provide great services!)
If you want to learn about additional travel sites and budget travel tips, check out the article 19 money-saving travel hacks for solo travelers.
Airline Trackers
I highly suggest getting the following airline tracking apps on your phone and sign up for their email alerts. You can input what flight path you are interested in taking and they will notify you when the price changes. Here are my favorite trackers (again is great to have more than one).
Hopper (also does predictions but doesn't track all airlines)
Kiwi (Please Note: I will receive commission for any flight booked through this link. Check out my disclosure policy for more information.)
Points
I discussed different travel credit card perks earlier in this post. But the best they both provide is their points system! Every time you purchase something with your travel card, those dollars goes towards a point within their system. And depending on their program, some purchases may give you more than one point per dollar. Even better! You can use one of these cards to purchase groceries. Those $100 for groceries then turns into 100 points. You accumulate your points and end up booking your complete travel for free...well you usually still have to pay the tax. But this is great! I use my card for everything, pay it back, and use the points. It has saved me so much when it comes to travel.
Savings
Start budgeting and saving more! I know this doesn't come easy for some...or a lot of people. But if you start stashing away about 5% of each paycheck, $10 per pay, or whatever you find suitable you will notice you will start to accumulate some additional funds to help you with travel. (Please don't reduce your current saving contributions.) You can set this up to be a recurring contribution to yourself. I myself, currently stash away $10 per pay which helps either reduce a future travel payment or for food while on the road.
If you aren't at that level or don't want to be at that level, start stashing away your change...that is if you use actual money. Say something you purchased was $17.50 USD and you used $20.00 USD to pay for it. Put that additional $2.50 away to save up for travel (or anything for that matter).
I also have a second job in which I work remotely as a tutor. All of the money I earn from tutoring goes towards travel! Try finding a virtual part-time job to give you an extra cash boost.
At the end of the day, putting away a little extra doesn't hurt!
Have someone else do it for you
Now some of you may not want to spend time to research good rates but you definitely want them! Well, there are people who can help you find them for a small fee!
Farefetch is a fairly new service which does the searching for you (and if you love doing this stuff, you can sign up to get paid to be a searcher)! You provide them the details like where you going, for how many, and the maximum amount your want to spend and in 24 hours you will get back details on your request. Please check out Farefetch.com to get more details on how it works and the cost.
P.S. I am signed up as a "Farefetcher" but I am not being paid for this advertisement. I have also not used this site personally. I just wanted to share a resource with you. If you have tried this, please comment below.
Lastly, me, Kita the Explorer can help you plan your travel from flights (if requested), to hotels and activities. Obviously, I will be biased on my review but I do cater to your needs and will have itineraries completed within a week depending on what requirements are given. I plan to setup purchasing these services through my site but for now you can purchase via Fiverr or by contacting me at wanderlust@kitatheexplorer.com to get more information and get started! Services start at $10 USD.
Thank you for reading through these tips! These tips will allow to still obtain good quality but for a cheaper rate!
Bonus: Find Your Wanderlust: Cheap Places to Travel to in 2018!
What resources do you use? Comment below!
Did you use any of these resources based on this post? Comment below and tell me what you thought of them!
If you have any questions, comment below!
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Thank you for reading!
~ Kita the Explorer