Free is always a
great price, but if you don’t know how to get it, then it’s not really all that
helpful. I love travel freebies and try to maximize them on every trip I take,
because that’s less money I have to pay out of my own pocket. The more money I
save, the better trip I can take or the more I can put towards a future
vacation. There’s also the fact that if you save more, you spend less and
suddenly a trip that was a little out of your reach is now within your budget!
You know that old saying “You get what you pay for”? Well, I know for a fact
that discounted travel does not necessarily fit into that category. I like
getting MORE than I pay for and feeling like I’ve rewarded myself for all my
hard planning work.
So, what kinds
of freebies can you get that help you save? I am basing the total savings over
a 7-day vacation
Free
breakfast – Free
continental or buffet breakfast is a fantastic saver! On the low end, say you
usually only have coffee and a bagel in the morning, you can save $5 per
person, but on the higher end, if you like to eat out and have someone wait on
you in the morning, you could be looking at $12+ per person. (Total savings:
$35-84 per traveler)
Kids Eat Free – If your hotel has a restaurant and they
offer free dining for kids, this is another big savings. Usually, you can get
free meals for up to 2 kids this way if you purchase an adult entrée. Assuming
a kid’s meal is the average of $6, that’s up to $18 per day per child. (Total
savings: $42-$126 per child – depending on how often you eat in our hotel’s
restaurant.)
Free WiFi – I always like to stay in touch, blog,
check email and Facebook while I’m on vacation, so I tend to bring my iPad and
netbook everywhere I travel. This way Eric and I can both check up on what’s
been happening while we’ve been gone and also communicate with friends and
family. Hotels and resorts sometimes charge for internet service, or you can
wait in the lobby and use one of their computers free of charge for a few minutes.
Your best bet on this is to find one of the many places that give you free WiFi,
because it can save you weekly or daily rates, or those minute rates charged by
Internet cafés. These fees can range anywhere from $4.95 per night to $29.95
for a week block. Internet cafés can be considerably cheaper, but it depends on
where you go. I’ve spent $5 for 10 minutes of time and then $4 for half an
hour. (Total savings: $30-35)
Laundry
on-site – While usually
not free, it’s still a minimal charge to use the machines there compared to the
local Laundromat or worse, the laundry services they offer where you leave your
bag of clothing and then come back to fresh clothes and a bill. Generally, the
machines off-site can range anywhere from $1.75 - $3.00 per load for both the
washer and the dryer. If you do laundry out of the country, it can cost almost
$8 just to wash your clothes. Anytime I’ve used the on-site facilities, they
range from $.50-1.00 for each machine and most times they were free. A big
price tag comes with having your clothing laundered while you’re out and about.
A shirt of any kind will cost you about $5 and pants $8. That’s $13 for ONE
outfit. If you bring 3-4 outfits with you and have to wash 3 while you wear the
4th, that can REALLY add up. (Total savings: $3.50-16 for laundry, $39 x
traveler for laundry services)
Free Coffee
and Snacks – Many hotels
offer free coffee/tea and snacks (like fruit and/or cookies) in the lobby.
There’s no reason to not take advantage of such things that are included in your
room rate. Think about all the times you want to snack during the day while
you’re sightseeing. If you had a banana or some other snacky thing that you
snagged on your way out, you wouldn’t have to shell out any money again until
lunch or dinner. The free coffee and/or tea provided, while not fancy, can save
you a trip to Starbucks in the morning. (Total savings: $35-56 per traveler)
Free dessert
or appetizer – Like most
hotels and resorts, yours is bound to have the rack of brochures and dining
card ads. You can totally score big on these, because usually there is a deal
on the back for dining venues that give you something for free, like a dessert
or appetizer. If you’re lucky, a 2-for-1 is offered. With a free appetizer you
can order less or split an entrée with another companion. (Total savings: $7-15
per dining experience)
Free
Activities – I love to
be busy most of the time I’m on a trip, because I like to experience as much as
possible. Getting to do some stuff for free is awesome and saves a lot. Here
are three of the best ways to do things for free.
- CityPASS – This is a great way to
get free activities, because each pass includes many popular tourist
attractions and activities for a discounted price. We always try to buy
one if it’s offered and we plan to do much of what’s on the list. You can
save 40-60% off the price of paying for everything separately. Use my
handy-dandy list on the right to find links to CityPASS, GoCards and
London and Paris Pass. We were able to pack a lot into our London trip
when we got the London Pass and did much more than we expected for the
money we paid. Some cards even include public transportation. Besides
money, they also save you time, because you can skip the ticket queues and
go straight to the door with your card. You can even get them for Disney. (Total
savings: $50-hundreds considering location and how many things you tick
off the list)
- Groupon (and other daily deal sites)
– Daily deal sites can save you a bundle on 2-for-1 and discounted
activities and attractions. Sign up for the ones that offer things in your
chosen destination and wait for things you know sound like fun and you
want to do. This is also the way to get free dining. You can find links to
Groupon and other daily deals on the right and also learn more about
aggregates HERE.
(Total savings: $20+, depending on what you do and how many you can use.)
- All-inclusive resorts – I know
you’re paying to stay at these places and be entertained and well-fed;
most of them also offer free activities in the form of non-motorized
watersports and even have nightly entertainment. That’s a freebie in my
opinion, though you may feel differently. I suggest pricing out what you
would expect to spend on your trip if you didn’t go all-inclusive and see
if the savings are significant enough to go one way or the other. (Total
savings: unlimited, since you can do a variety of things provided
throughout your stay)
Hotel nights – There are so many rewards programs out
there, I can’t even tell you. If you tend to stay at the same hotel or chain
when you travel, get on their rewards program. It’s free and with each stay you
earn points that can get you free nights, upgrades, freebies and other useful
things. A few others that I love are:
- Hotels.com’s Welcome Rewards. You
stay 10 nights at participating hotels (they don’t have to be in the same
trip either) and you get a free night worth the equivalent of the average
cost of the 10 nights combined (if your trips averaged $65, then you would
get a $65 credit towards a room of your choice).
- MyPoints is another program to get
in on. You take surveys, click through links on emails and make purchases
through their site (click-through to merchant site) and accrue points.
Those points can then be traded in for hotel gift cards, dining rewards
and much more.
- HotelClub is yet another site that
gives good rewards. The basis of their program is that you get “cash back”
with each reservation you complete (the more you book, the more you can
earn) and then that amount is added to your account to be used on your
next booking.
(Total savings:
$15-150, more if you stay at swankier hotels than I do)
Free airfare – Who doesn’t want to fly for free? It’s
one of the biggest parts of your travel expenses. You can do this several
different ways:
- Get bumped from your flight and
obtain vouchers or credit towards a future flight. You can read more about
how to do that HERE.
- Be loyal to one or two airlines and
accumulate air miles to trade in for free flights. This will take longer,
but you can also sign up for programs within the program to get miles for
some purchase and even for booking hotels, cruises and car rentals through
their website. You can learn a bit more about how to use your mileage
programs to your advantage HERE.
- Get a credit card with frequent
flyer benefits. Just for signing up and spending a certain amount you can
gain 15,000-25,000 on most cards. Other cards have a higher benefit, but
you will have to determine if the fees and rates are worth getting the
airfare or if the cons outweigh the pros in that case. British Airways
teamed up with Chase a few months ago to give new cardholders up to 100K
points, which is the equivalent of 2 roundtrip coach tickets to Europe.
The fine print was that you had to spend $2,500 on your card in the first
3 months, but if you use that card for everything you planned to use your
checking account for and paid it off at the end of each month, you could
easily do it without disrupting your normal buying routine.(Total savings:
$500-1300 per passenger)
(Total savings: $500-1300 per passenger)
Onboard/Resort
Credits – There’s really
no one way to get these, but some of the best ways is to subscribe to
different deal emails where you can get in on last-minute travel itineraries
for cruises and all-inclusive resorts and also to book far in advance – 6
months or more. Resorts and cruises often like to reward those that plan in
advance with freebies like room/cabin upgrades and spa credits. They offer such deals again when they have
open rooms a month or so before sailing or when they are trying to get more
passengers on the “off” season. Sign up with Travelocity, Expedia, Hotwire and
more to get weekly emails with current deals. (Total savings: $100-2,000)
Free
alcoholic beverages – If
drinking is one of your favorite vacation pastimes, there are a few ways to get
free drinks on your travels. The most obvious way is to stay at an
all-inclusive resort where this is included. I consider it free, because you’re
paying for your accommodations, entertainment and food all in one lump sum.
Anything beyond that is a plus in my book. Another thing you can do is find a
hotel that offers a free cocktail hour. They are kinda few and far between, but
if you’re lucky you can find them. I see most of them listed on deal sites like
Vacationist, SniqueAway, VoyagePrive (which you can link to on the right for an
invite) and also on many beach destinations on BookIt (also linked on the
right). I hear guests rave over the cocktail hours they experienced at
different hotels. Most also offer appetizers and cheese at this time. (Total
Savings: unlimited)
100 for 100! I would love to run another giveaway here on the blog, but in order to do that, I would like to get to 100 subscribers via Google Friend Connect and Networked Blogs. If you are a regular reader and not already subscribed, please consider doing so. Once we reach 100 readers, I'll be giving away $100 in Dining Dough to be used at Restaurant.com for dining certificates. Save $100 on your vacation dining! That's a nice savings!
If you plan on shopping over the Memorial Weekend, make sure you get your cash back by shopping through Ebates. Right now there are a dozen stores that are offering double cash back through May 31. Some of these are great for your travel, like Groupon, Entertainment.com and Eddie Bauer. And don't forget, if you aren't a member yet, you get $5 just for signing up and then $5 for every friend you invite that also joins and makes a purchase! The more friends that join, the bigger rewards you can earn, like gift cards and an iPod!
Don't forget to join me on the awesome new Savvy Living Community sponsored by Ebates. Not only will you learn how to save money by better utilizing Ebates, but you will also be able to read Savvy blog posts and join in discussions and live chats with Savvy Leaders (like me!) to learn how to save money on all aspects of your life. With 21 bloggers who are experts on everything from travel to family life, you're sure to learn a lot of new information, find some great new blogs and even make some friends along the way. Join Ebates.
