5 of My Favorite Travel Hacks to Help You Save Without Sacrificing on the Quality of Your Travel Plans

Over the years, I have had many people approach me to help them save on their travel plans. They know that my family and I have often gotten great deals to beautiful destinations, and they think that if they just tell me when and where they want to go, I can help them save on their travel plans. Unfortunately, that is not the way that travel savings usually work. To save them the most, there usually has to be some flexibility and lots of pre-planning in the process. We have done lots of both of these things over the years, and in the process have learned some ways to save on travel, while still taking amazing vacations, and that is the information we share here.

With the cost of traveling going up, using some of these strategies can really help you stretch those travel dollars. These are not the kind of travel tips that will tell you how to book the lowest cost travel (we share plenty of those too) but these are the kinds of tips that are going to help you enjoy a really nice vacation, at a much lower cost.

For the most part, these are all hacks that I have used to personally save on my family trips (a couple I have looked into, and plan to use – but have not had a chance to yet, like the standby cruise opportunities). They are ways you can save on travel, while still booking amazing getaways for your family.

Here are 10 travel hacks that will help you save on your travel plans, while still enjoying great travel opportunities:

1 – Use Credit Cards to get access to Airport Lounges, Save on Airfare & Get Rooms Deals + More!

You may have already heard lots of tips on this strategy all over the internet, but both Jen and I have used some of these tips personally, and they have helped save us big. My personal favorite is the airport lounge access (can save you big on the cost of airport food and drink), but depending on the card, there can be other big travel perks too. The reason why I love the airport lounge one is that when I travel with my kids, we like to get there early so we are not stressed, and food (meals, snacks, and drinks) at the airport can easily cost us $100 to $200 for a family, before we have even really started our vacation. By having access to the lounges, we can all get what we want and not spend any extra time before we take off. If you have layovers, and so will be spending time at multiple airports – this savings can really add up (not to mention the convenience). Plus, some airports even have a place to sleep called “Minute Suites” that are included with the lounge access for a place to sleep for an hour.

Some of these cards will have a hefty annual fee, and so they are best used by frequent travelers, who will make those fees back easily in their savings. It is not for everyone, though, but thankfully,y there are other cards that will offer great travel benefits without the hefty fees, that will work well for more moderate travelers..

A couple of the Main Credit Cards with Travel Benefits:

Note – it does seem like the fees are going up on these cards, and the benefits are getting tighter, so these are going to work best for those who travel more frequently.

Chase Sapphire Reserve –
We usually travel with my mom, and she has this card. I have loved the perks it has offered us, although the card does have an annual fee. Here are some of the highlights of travel perks for this card. This card has a pricey annual fee, but it does also have some great perks. This one is definitely only worth it for frequent travelers, but it can definitely help you save if you travel a lot!

There is also a Chase Sapphire Preferred, with a much lower annual fee and still provides some perks, like –

Capital One Venture Cards – Offer Nice Flexibility

These cards have lower entry fees than the Chase Sapphire so can be a better option for those that do not travel as much.

$0 to $95 Annual Fee options
Ones with annual fees but more travel perks

The way we’ve gotten these perks is with the Capital One Venture X Credit Card! I’ve had this card for at least 3 years & I keep it every year for these perks!

Here’s some of the other benefits right now::

*Priority Pass Membership for you & 2 guests (You can also add an authorized user to your card for free & they can get in 2 guests too). This will get you into Priority Pass lounges & Minute suites

Access to Capital One Airport Lounges

Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck

Yearly $300 travel credit when you book your travel thru Capital One Travel Portal (you won’t have to pay – the credit shows up as you are booking as I just used this)

And many more benefits….

Find out more here.

(This is a picture of our beach front area, from the Marriott KoOlina we rented from someone’s time share points one year)

2 – Tips on How To Use Timeshares for Great Travel Hack Savings!

We are not timeshare owners, but we have enjoyed timeshare travel for years now. Traveling in other people’s timeshares has become one of my favorite travel hacks. Unless you know someone who will gift you their timeshare, it may not be the cheapest way to travel, but it can let you get into some gorgeous properties at the same rates you are likely to pay at other hotels.

Here are some of the ways we love to travel via timeshare deals:

Rent someone’s Timeshare Points

Many timeshare programs have a specific date by which points have to be used. For this reason, some owners will try to offload points before that expiration date, and we have gotten some great deals as a result.

For example, one year we rented a timeshare unit at the Marriott Ko’Olinas for a fraction of what it would have cost us to reserve it on a traditional website as a hotel unit. Generally, when we have rented timeshare units, we will get a one or two-bedroom unit, and that is part of the perk. In this case, there was an owner who had a three-bedroom unit, and he and his family only needed two bedrooms. Beyond one or two bedrooms, many of these units have a lock-off unit (which is essentially like a nicer version of a hotel with a small kitchenette). This is what the situation was in this case, so by being willing to travel the same week he was, we were able to get the lock-off unit at about 1/3 of the rate a hotel room would cost us, and we lost no space at all (actually had a few additional perks). In this case, we went through Sell My Timeshare to rent the unit, and we share how that process works here.

In other situations, we have been fortunate to have a family member who was an owner and would share points that they were not going to use with us. There are always fees involved (like taxes and resort fees), but this still usually saves hundreds, or even thousands, by doing this (and usually for a much larger and more comfortable unit. For example, we have done Las Vegas trips for just the cost of taxes of a hotel, to staying at one of our favorite resorts (the Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta), for under 2k, versus the 4 to 5k it would have cost to book it directly.

Also, there are some super local opportunities; generally, with these kinds of travel, you do not always have to think of major vacation spots. For example, we have done Sunriver, which my family loves, and many other places we can drive to, using timeshare points and not having to pay for airfare!

Participate in a Timeshare presentation for Super Deals!

Here is another opportunity that will get you super rates, but you will have to give up some of your vacation time to participate in a timeshare presentation. They usually advertise these as just a couple of hours, but in my experience, they can be half a day, and you have to be comfortable with saying no in high-sales environments. If you are ok with both those things, then this can be a way to get super deals.

We have done these kinds of deals, everywhere from Disneyland trips to Mexico and Las Vegas. One place that I have friends who recently visited is the Tahiti Village in Las Vegas, and I often see them offering this to me (I plan to go one day). This one could be fun for families (as we share lots of things to do in Las Vegas for families here), and it is off the strip, with more of a resort vibe, but a shuttle that will take you to the strip.

You can Google these opportunities, or also join the rewards program for hotels you love, and you may get offers emailed to you. For example, I am a Marriott rewards member, and I regularly get these kinds of offers sent to me, from Marriott hotels (which I find make beautiful stays!). These offers usually cost something, but it is a huge savings. For example, it might be $250 for a week, plus a timeshare presentation, versus $2500 if you booked it straight out. These offers usually have some stipulations (like you need to make a certain salary and travel with a significant other), but they will vary based on the company. In my younger years, I did lots of these to save on travel, but as I have gotten older, I would prefer to enjoy my full vacation, so this can offer huge savings, but it is really going to depend on your tolerance for attending the often high-pressure sales presentations.

Here is a screenshot from an actual post in a group I am part of!

They posted when they were leaving and the room number where this stuff was sitting outside in case someone wanted to come grab it for their getaway.

Another Bonus Tip here is to Sign Up for Facebook Groups for the resort you want to travel to (usually this works best for timeshare locations). People give away free things, and offer discount rates for the rooms sometimes. It is a way you can get a deal on some of these wonderful resorts, or maybe just save by grabbing some items that other people are leaving behind from their vacation, which you would have to buy otherwise. You can usually find these groups by searching for the name of the resort you will be staying at in the Facebook search bar (or whatever social media you use).

3) Rent a Room at a Resort that Provides Access to a much Pricier Resort!

Try this Travel Hack to Get Access to Gorgeous Resorts at Much Lower Rates.

It is similar to the tip mentioned above, as many of these spots are timeshares (but not all of them). The idea is that you book the room at a connected, but lower cost resort, but ALSO get access to all of the amenities of the higher priced resort (so just like you were staying at the really expensive resort, but in a tower a little further away). You can get access to Beautiful Resorts to enjoy high-end amenities, but at much more affordable rates. And honestly, I like the extra room and quieter atmosphere you often get when using this hack. Traveling with teens and my mother in your 70’s, this has really offered the best of all worlds. We get to enjoy the fun and more vibrant atmosphere of high-end hotels, while coming back to enjoy our quieter pool and more roomy room at the end of the day!

We have used this tip to travel to many spots, and I just love it. For example, we did a spring break in Palm Springs, and the JW Marriott in the area we wanted to stay was more than twice what we wanted to spend. We stayed next door in the Marriott Villas, which provided us access to all of the JW Marriott amenities, and paid less than half the cost of the rooms at the JW Marriott, had a bigger room, as well as access to the amenities of two extra resorts. It was a dream stay, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking in that area!

This is a tactic I have used over the years to not only help us save on room costs, but it also helps us save big on activities for our stay – as it provides access to more to do that we do not have to pay for. For example, I once booked us a room in a Cabo, at the beautiful Pueblo Bonito Sunset Resort. I did this because we could walk right next door to Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos Beach Resort to enjoy their pool area, as well as a few others in the area.. For example, they had a shuttle that would take us to a Los Cabos resort, too, that was packed with pools, restaurants, and kids’ game areas. We spent one day at the resort via the shuttle to enjoy those amenities, and having the one available next door to us made our access to resort amenities twice what it would be otherwise. There is a beachfront restaurant at the hotel next door that we could eat at, use both pools or beach chairs, access their shops (like the ice cream shop), and more. It just provides more ideas for things to do each day, that won’t cost you extra money!

Another way I have loved to use this trick is by staying at RV parks (often in a yurt or cabin) and then they offer shuttles into the main resortt areas, and their amenities. This works particularly well with casino resorts like The Seven Feathers RV Resort in Medford Oregon area, The Northern Quest Casino Resort in Spokane WA. and the Angel of the Winds in Arlington WA.

4 – Book Cruises as a Standby Passenger to get big discounts!

Did you know that you can get big discounts on things like Alaska cruises by booking a standby trip Standby. One liner we know that sails to Alaska out of Seattle (as well as other locations throughout the country) and offers standby trips is Holland America.

Here is how this might work:

You find cruises that are eligible for Standby fares here.
You book at the standby rates. For this liner, those rates are $99/day for inside or ocean view staterooms; $129/day for verandah. Pricing is per person and includes all taxes and fees.
You book the cruise and pay for it, but you will wait until to know if you can go on the trip.
Guests are notified 2–7 days before sailing if cleared from the standby list.
Guests sailing on the standby program can still add popular packages—like Holland America Line’s ‘Have It All’ package for WiFi, a beverage package and shore excursion and dining credits—adding to the value of their vacation.

Dozens of round-trip Alaska cruises from Seattle, plus one-way options between Vancouver and Whittier. There are also several short getaways and a 28-day Alaska + Hawaii voyage available.

Find all the details on these cruise opportunities here.

More Tips on How to Save on Cruise Travel:

Kids Sail Free is a great promotion for family travel!
Consider your port. For us, Airfare and extra hotel nights were more than the cost of the cruise when we chose one of our Miami ports. Although Alaska cruises might be more for the cruise, if you can go out of a Seattle port and thus save on airfare, it will probably save you quite a bit if traveling from the NW.
On our cruise vacation, the cruise could have easily been the smallest cost in terms of the vacation overall if we had not planned carefully. For example, after you pay for the cruise, there are tons of add-on costs that could easily double the cost of your vacation (before even considering airfare and extra hotel nights). We did lots of research, and chose one of the new Carnival mega ships, based on the fact that we were traveling with teens and since they were new ships they offered lots of free restaurants and activities.
Chooseing the cruise line, that caters to your style of travel. For example, some cater more to families, like Disney, Carnival or Royal Carribean and some are adult only or draw an older crowd, like Virgin Voyages or Celebrity Cruises.
You can also put your cruise on a no extra fee layaway program if you want to take advantage of a current deal, but want more time to pay it off without penalties.

5 – Use Discount Sites like Groupon or Travelzoo –

I know that there are a ton of sites out there that call themselves discount sites, but here are some discount travel sites we have actually booked through and really enjoyed our stays.

Travelzoo – This is a premium Travel Membership sites, and one of my favorites! It offers higher-end accommodations or getaways at great prices. They do charge a $50 fee per year to be a member (I have been a member for years now, so I was grandfathered into the program), but if you book just one vacation or hotel stay through them per year, chances are you will cover that cost and save some. I particularly love their Top 20 Deals list that they put out regularly. I have stayed at a few hotels through them, incuding the Hyatt Regency in Monterey one summer. It was not that this was the cheapest booking, but that we were able to stay at a high end hotel for the same price it would have cost us to book other hotels in the area.

I also often see deals on their for some of my favorite hotels like the Hacienda Del Mar in Cabo, and the Hilton Village in Oahu, Hawaii – both of which we have stayed at, and both of which we have loved!

All of the deals I have found on Travelzoo so far have been best in class (meaning I was not able to find a better price on them elsewhere).

Groupon is another spot that I find offers regular options at many fun spots. They have their special promotion travel deals here, but they also are a regular travel offer aggregator (like an Expedia, for example), so you will want to make sure you are checking out the travel deals. We have purchased a number of travel deals off of Groupon over the years, using the travel deals offers, and got some pretty good deals so they are always worth checking out.

Bonus Tips –

Sign up for rewards programs. I am a Marriott rewards member and have enough points there for a free room now, simply from our Spring Break getaways over the past few years. All I had to do was give them my rewards number when checking in to earn this room. This was based on travel we were already doing, so it cost me nothing extra, and I would have just given up the free stay if I had not signed up! If you’re not a frequent traveler, it might take you longer to earn the perks, but still worth it!

Do the math on booking a concierge-level room. Sometimes the snacks and drinks on these levels are as good as any meal we would get out, so it can save you quite a bit on dining if this is the case (and you are traveling as a family). If the math adds up, it can sometimes save you overall to book this level, and it is a fun way to stay! For example, sometimes the concierge level is great and covers the cost of what we would pay for breakfast, snacks and drinks, and makes it more than worth it (sometimes they offer fewer options, and are not as great of a deal. Also consider places like Embassy Suites (which offer super breakfast options and a happy hour, with drinks and snacks that have worked as a light dinner for us in the past). Another one we love near the SeaTac Airport is the Cedarbrook with great snack rooms (Häagen-Daz ice cream, homemade milk duds, and so much more). If you are traveling with a family, these extra perks can definitely make it make sense to book a nicer spot due to the savings overall.

Choose locations that do not require airfare! This is going to save you a ton if you are traveling as a family. There have been trips where airfare was half the cost of the full vacation for us, so cutting this cost out can save you big. The trick here is to look for resorts that are in a reasonable driving distance, so you feel like you got away to someplace special. We have a list of some ideas in the Northwest here (or check out the McMenamins in Washington here), Some more ideas might include:

5 of My Favorite Travel Hacks to Help You Save Without Sacrificing on the Quality of Your Travel Plans