Americans love traveling. We can safely assume that since Americans logged more than 2 billion person trips back in 2016, more than any other country. A person trip is one person on a trip away from home, overnight, in paid accommodations, at least 50 miles away from home. This means that a single US American went on at least 5 trips back in 2016.
Traveling is fun, to say the least, but to make the most out of it, you need to travel smart. You can travel smart by utilizing travel discounts, and we’re going to tell you the best ways to get them.
1. Be Flexible When Choosing Dates
Summer and winter traveling brings forth expensive flights and accommodations. While everyone loves to enjoy the beach on a nice summer day, or ski in the Alps in the winter, it’s safe to assume that you’ll pay more when traveling these times of the year. Even if you end up staying within the United States, you should expect to pay accordingly.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, early December and the last three weeks of January & early February are the times when Americas travel the most, flights are in high demand, and accommodations charge the most.
While each country has its own busy and slow period, researching and being flexible when choosing the date is the best way to travel smart.
2. Sign Up For Emails
The best way to get travel discounts is to become an email subscriber to websites that frequently give out travel deals. These websites offer deals on flights, accommodations, rental cars, and more.
You can click here to understand more about these services and how to utilize them.
3. Social Media
Following your favorite airlines, hotels, and travel companies are the best way to utilize social media. By following them, you can get notified on flash deals, last minutes, news, sales, and even exclusive promotions that can make your next travel much cheaper.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even some traveling apps are the best social media platforms that will allow you to directly gain access to these discounts.
4. Sign Up to Fare Alerts
The best way to get the hottest deals and discounts is to constantly monitor flight prices and accommodations. But as you all know, no one has time or the patience to go deal-hunting every single day, so you can have someone else do it for you. There is a type of subscription called fare alerts, which essentially notifies you via email and provides you the cheapest selections of flights and accommodations over the next few months. While most of these focus on flights, some focus on accommodations as well.
5. Loyalty Programs
People that travel frequently are familiar with loyalty programs that essentially reward them for traveling. These, of course, come in the form of points, miles, and. They are gained by flying with a specific airline, renting a car with a specific rental company, and staying with a specific hotel chain. Loyalty programs can require long-term commitment and relationship with the specific airline, hotel chain, or car rental, or they can be short-term.
Nina Smith