Saving Money

Here are some practical tips we’ve found useful for saving money while traveling without sacrificing experiences:

• Travel rewards credit card – Over the years, we’ve saved significantly on flights, hotels, and activities by using a travel rewards credit card. We use the Chase Sapphire Rewards card for all our purchases, which offers bonus points in categories like dining and travel. When you redeem your points for travel on their website, you get an additional 25% off compared to booking without points. While there’s an annual fee, we more than make up for it in savings, and the card’s flexibility lets us book most of the hotels, rental cars, and day tours for our trips.
• Monitor flights and stay flexible – After picking a destination and rough travel dates, we use tools like Google Flights, and Hopper to find the best airfare deals. If you’re planning far in advance, setting up price alerts on these sites can help you snag deals when prices drop. Flexibility also plays a big role in savings. Flying on less popular travel days, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a Monday after a busy weekend, often leads to greater discounts.
• Travel as gifts – Instead of exchanging material gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays, we gift each other travel experiences. For example, after getting engaged on the Tower of Terror ride at Disney World, we started a tradition of visiting a different amusement park every year for our anniversary. For our wedding, we created a registry filled with experiences we wanted to have on our honeymoon, which allowed our family and friends to contribute to our adventures. This way, we only had to cover flights and accommodations for our 10-day trip to Ireland, England, and Scotland, and we could share our journey with everyone who made it special by posting photos and tagging the gift-givers.

General Tips

• Flight Bookings – While third-party websites may sometimes offer slightly lower fares, I recommend booking your flights directly with the airline. This ensures more transparency, easier changes or cancellations, and access to loyalty rewards. Plus, you can avoid potential hidden fees.
• Travel Insurance – I highly suggest using a credit card that offers travel insurance (e.g., Chase Sapphire) or purchasing insurance that covers trip cancellations, medical emergencies, and lost luggage.
• Passport & Visas – Always double-check that everyone’s passport is valid for at least 6 months beyond your planned return date, and apply for any required visas well in advance.
• Currency – Ordering foreign currency from a national bank (like Wells Fargo) before your trip usually offers better exchange rates and can help you avoid high ATM withdrawal fees abroad.