I was recently helping a friend plan a few days extra to a trip we took together and they said “when does your travel guide book come out”. I paused because I thought I had written a blog post about this, but after some digging I realized I hadn’t. Over the years, I’ve shared some tips on Instagram stories but I’ve never put together one travel guide. So, here it is! A few tried-and-true tips and tricks to help you travel more and strategize smartly.
Quick Facts
- Google Flights/Explore: My tried and true way to get a good deal on flights.
- American Express Travel Points: Sign up for a credit card that gives the maximum benefit for YOU. My preference might not be the same as yours, but I love the AMEX Gold card.
- Research budgets per city: Cheap flight? Check. But if it’s to one of the most expensive cities, you might not be saving as much as you think.
Read more: Ultimate Travel Packing List to be Prepared
Step 1: Start With Flexible Inspiration (Not a Destination)
Google Travel Explore: I love this tool. You input where you want to fly from, for how long, and specific or flexible dates, and then explore the world map! You can change currency, filter by number of stops (like non-stop or 1 or fewer stops), airlines, you name it! It’s such a great tool if you know you want to travel but don’t have something specific to travel for.
Pro Tip: the cheapest flights may have a few layovers. You can filter results by non-stop, 1 or fewer stops, or more, and this is saved for “Flight Alerts” as well!
Specific Destination: If you’ve chosen a destination (sometimes you don’t have a choice for specific events), you can then look at the “date graph”. This shows you a chart with the departure date in the columns and return date in the rows. It’s a great overall visual of different combinations of dates to get the cheapest flights.
If you don’t have a set destination in mind, but have specific or flexible for dates, use explore. If you have a set destination in mind, but not specific dates, use the date graph.
Other options I’ve heard of for flights, but haven’t specifically used, include:
- Skyscanner “Everywhere” search
- Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights)
- Hopper price predictions
I haven’t talked about this one specific trick, so subscribe to find out in my next post!
Step 2: Set Flight Alerts to Track Prices
The next step is to sign up for flight alerts. This allows Google to send you an alert directly to your inbox when flights increase or decrease in price, based on your search requirements. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars on a flight by tracking it this way! You can sign up for alerts up to a year in advance, and for multiple date ranges, and I’ve found the following to generally be true:
- International flights are cheapest about 6-8 months before travel
- Interprovincial/North American flights are cheapest up to a month or two before travel
- Last minute flights are either the most expensive, or you can get a good deal for flexible dates and destinations. I don’t make the rules!
Tips:
- Clear browser cache or use incognito. Personally I’ve found this has a minor impact and used to be more effective but it doesn’t hurt to try it.
- Consider nearby airports. Ottawa has one of the highest landing fees and is typically more expensive than Montreal or Toronto! It’s worth it to check nearby airports if the price difference is more than the travel cost to that airport.
- Consider using a VPN. Yes, flight prices change based on where you’re booking from!
Step 3: Estimate the True Cost of the Destination
This is one of my favourite finds: BudgetYourTrip.com and I’ve been using it for years. The site provides the average cost of travel by city (or country) as well as travel budgeting tips. I’ve found it to be fairly accurate! Use the “Budget” option when you’re trying to travel as cheap as possible (like staying in hostels and buying groceries more than eating out). Mid-Range is if you’re open to hotels or spending some money on transit, and I’ve never even looked at the Luxury style.
It’s a great tool to understand average daily spend in a location you’re planning on travelling! You’ll get a good snapshot over overall budget and then can plan accordingly.
Step 4: Leverage Credit Card Points Strategically
I am not an expert at credit card points hacking, but there are a few key things to think about when choosing a credit card for points for travel:
- Pay off the card every month. In full.
- Choose a credit card that maximizes points for YOU. I’ve heard amazing things about the AMEX Platinum, but I don’t care about luxury stays and luxury add-ons, so the yearly fee doesn’t make sense for me. But travel insurance, free hotel stays, and easy accumulation of points? Sign me up (for AMEX Gold lol)
- Travel credit cards also include various insurances, which is another great way to save. Things to consider include: interruption (if you’re on a trip and need to fly home immediately), cancellation (for very specific reasons), and travel medial (a MUST when travelling). There are other bonuses, like lost baggage claims, or credits to consider as well.
I do love the AMEX card for travel, so I’ve included my link for a sign-up bonus if you want it. But, this is an honest opinion and I’ve been raving about it for years now.
The AMEX Gold also comes with a $100/year travel credit, four lounge passes through Priority Pass (you have to sign up for Priority Pass beforehand), and statement credits for things like supporting local restaurants, purchasing items at places like Lululemon, or signing up for subscription services! These statement credits rotate so it’s worth to check monthly on what new offers are available.
Useful tip: Sign up before a big purchase to get bonus points. If you spend a minimum dollar amount in a specific time frame (it changes, so see the referral link for details), you get extra bonus points! Have a big house reno, trip or purchase coming up? Time it with signing up for a new credit card for maximum points!
There are a few ways to spend points:
- Using points in the AMEX Travel portal allows you to use partial points if you don’t have enough to cover the entire cost AND the cost in the portal is the same as if you book directly with airlines/hotels etc.
- The best rate is to transfer to airline partners and there are a few times per year that you get a discount on transfers so you get even more bang for your buck.
- Use points for high-value redemptions (long-haul flights, luxury stays).
- Use points for hotels in the AMEX Travel
- Stack with promotions
Read more: Annecy Travel Guide: Best Things to Do Year-Round
But do places accept American Express? Way more than you think, but not all. Visa and MasterCard are more widely accepted, especially for smaller businesses or restaurants. You may want to consider a low/no fee credit card as a backup!Step 5: Choose Accommodation Strategically
This is one area that’s great to spend more time researching! I know people just show up in cities and find hostels or hotels for that night, but that has actually cost me hundreds of dollars! I seem to find myself in destinations where a race weekend is happening:
- I visited Vancouver for a weekend and didn’t book a hotel in advance and didn’t realize that it was the annual Vancouver Sun Run and the only hotel available was the Fairmont Vancouver Airport at $600/night.
- I was in Glasgow and the annual Johnny Miles Weekend was on and I didn’t realize when booking! Thankfully I had booked a cheap stay early, but the city was pretty booked up by the time I got there.
- When I was in Madeira, all the hostels were booked so I ended up with a fairly expensive Airbnb. Turns out, it was the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail where people run along the peaks which is just WILD to me because I was struggling to hike it.
Read more: What to Do in Funchal, Madeira | A Complete Guide
Try to learn from my mistakes and take a quick look online to see if there are any major festivals or races happening! If there are, it usually drives up the price and limits availability of accommodations/car rentals.
As a solo traveller, a hostel is a good idea because you pay for a bed and shared kitchen and bathroom amenities. If you don’t want to stay in a dorm, you can try looking for a private room. If you have a travel credit card, most have a “travel portal” where you can either book with points, or earn extra points by booking through the portal. I’ve saved thousands of dollars on accommodations by using points!
When looking for where to stay, typically staying outside the city centre is cheaper, but you might offset that with paying for metros/buses/taxi into the city centre. Always research the best and worst places to stay in a city – some places are less safe for specific demographics or solo travellers so it’s great peace of mind to check.
Step 6: Save Money While You’re There
A few more budget travel tips:
- Walk or use transit instead of taxis/ridesharing unless travelling in a group! With 3 or more people, it might be more economical to ride share (uber/lyft)
- Book key activities in advance
- Choose 1–2 “splurge” experiences, not 10
- Try eating out at a restaurant for lunch or happy hour, instead of at dinner, and either make dinner in your hostel/airbnb kitchen or Eat one meal “out” and one casual meal daily
- Use grocery stores for snacks. Bonus: you can to try things you can’t get in your home country.
- Use an eSIM instead of paying for a physical SIM card or roaming charged.
- The caveat to this is if you’re travelling for an extended period of time, some phone companies have a special deal you have to call about. A fellow traveller on the Tour du Mont Blanc paid $60 for unlimited roaming in Europe for a month. Yes, in Europe, so she didn’t have to pay for a new eSIM every few days. Just another thing to consider.