Tips & tricks to make this your best year of travel
When it comes to travel, it's never too early to start planning. Whether you want to take a trip in the next couple of months or need to save up that PTO and wait until the end of the year, start looking, start planning, and start getting excited for all your travel desires for 2024. Read on for the top travel planning tips for 2024.
Bonus: Check out some great ways to save money on travel at the end of this post!
Apply for a Passport ASAP
If traveling internationally is even slightly on your mind for this year, don't forget to apply for or renew that passport, and keep an eye on the timing. Per the Department of State, the current processing times to apply for a U.S. passport have gone back down to those prior to the pandemic. It will still take 6-8 weeks for the routine processing though, and 2-3 weeks for expedited (keep in mind, expedited does cost more, currently $60 more). While the wait times have decreased from last year's, you still don't want to leave that application until the last minute and risk not getting your required document in time for your international trip. Check your dates and get that passport sooner rather than later.
***For the most updated processing times and costs for passports, and to find all the application requirements, visit the Department of State website at U.S. Passports (state.gov)***
Watch those Layover Times
One of the more annoying lessons my husband and I learned over the last couple years has been the importance of layover times. While having too short of a layover has been a struggle for a long time, the increase in flight delays has made that struggle even tougher. I've had several travel plans interrupted and changed because flight delays have caused me to miss my connecting flights, especially when I'm dealing with evening flights. Now when I book flights, I look at the layover times and make sure I have enough time to compensate for those delays. It doesn't mean that long 4-hours layovers are the solution, but typically I look for around an hour and a half to two-hour layovers to feel more comfortable. Of course, those longer layovers don't guarantee we won't still miss our flights depending on the airlines, weather, etc. but it does give me some peace of mind for the more common minor flight delays I've been experiencing lately,
Trip Protection is Crucial
In the world of unpredictable travel changes, trip protection has become increasingly important when booking hotels, flights, rentals cars, etc. Even when circumstances are out of the customer's control and changes/cancellations are made due to weather, airline issues, or other unforeseen issues, refunds are not guaranteed unless trip protection or refundable options are chosen when booking. If you are trying to decide between choosing refundable/free change options or just purchasing travel insurance, I have found the latter to not be as flexible and useful.
On booking sites, or even when booking directly with companies, the trip rates often have a non-refundable cheaper option, and a refundable option (or free changes/trip modifications) at a higher cost. If you prefer the peace of mind of coverage for unforeseen changes or travel interruptions, budget for those refundable/no-change fee fares as these often have less restrictions that travel insurance. Travel insurance is not guaranteed to cover all situations and if you need to cash in on it, those insurance companies typically have claim processes that you have to go through to try and get approved for reimbursement. On the other hand, booking refundable options or no-change fee options usually covers more reasons for cancellations/changes and the process to get those refunds/credits is not typically as complicated.
Regardless of which option you prefer, trip protection can be pivotal with all these travel interruptions and it's a great idea to take those protection fees/costs into consideration when planning the budget for your trips.
Be Flexible with your Dates
We are working on planning a family vacation this year, and we quickly realized the best way to find the best price was to be flexible with our dates. Several booking sites have ways to compare prices in a way to see which dates are cheaper for your destination. If you have the ability to keep your dates flexible across a couple of different month options, take a look at when is the most budget-friendly time to travel to your desired location. Even flying on different days of the week can alter the overall flight costs, so even if you only have a little flexibility, compare the costs of traveling on different days of the week to find the best price.
Money-Saving Tips
One of the biggest concerns when it comes to traveling is the cost. Smart budgeting and saving up for trips go a long way, but to help make that process less stressful, it's always great to find money-saving tricks so that your money can go even further. Even if it's small savings, here are some money-saving tips to consider for your next trip.
Sign up for Reward Programs: Travel sites like Expedia and Priceline offer free reward programs that once signed up can give you certain discounts on your travel options like flights, hotels and rental cars just for being a rewards member. It also allows you to earn reward points that can be used to book for future travel plans. You can also gain access to other free perks like room upgrades. Airlines and hotel chains also have their own loyalty programs that you should take advantage of. It's usually free to sign up, and each airline/hotel often has an app that makes the program easier to access.
Price Watch Alerts: Regardless of where you wish to book your flights through, use sites/apps like Capital One Travel (if you're a Capital One card holder), Hopper, and Expedia to take advantage of their price watch alerts. When you put in your desired travel dates, they will notify you if price predictions show possible future decrease in price if you wait to book, or if it's the perfect time to book as prices will only rise if you wait. You can turn on the alerts and be notified of the best time to book your flights to get the best predicted deal. It's free to turn on the alerts, and they can bring easy and great savings on flights.
Book Direct: Not always, but sometimes booking directly with hotels can prove to be cheaper than using third-party booking sites like Expedia and Priceline. For a few of our past bookings, we found that calling the hotel directly to book gave us the best pricing on some of the rooms we wanted. This wasn't the case for every booking as we found Priceline or Expedia offered a cheaper price, but it never hurts to compare. Call the hotel/resort directly and if they don't give as good of a price as what you found through another site, see if they offer any price matching options. If not, just go with your third- party booking site.
Reward Credit Cards: Credit cards are not everyone's cup of tea, but if you regularly use a credit card, consider adding a credit card to your wallet that gives you rewards. Cash back rewards or travel rewards, either one can be a great way to earn money back on your everyday purchases that you can then apply towards your travel costs. There are many options out there. I personally recommend using a no annual fee option as I don't like the idea of having to spend money every year when I could just as easily use another card and still get great rewards. Compare your options and decide what rewards you prefer. Some airlines offer cards that will give you benefits and rewards when flying with them. Other cards are more general and just give cash back on your purchases that can be used however and wherever you wish. Either way, reward cards can be a great way to save up extra cash or other rewards by just spending on your everyday purchases. Keep an eye out for restrictions on how your rewards can be used and take advantage of intro offers that cards often give when you first sign up.
If you want to make 2024 your best year of traveling, do so using these tips and tricks to optimize your cost savings and reduce your travel stress. Plan ahead and get prepared to have amazing adventures. Travel changes constantly and it's important to stay ahead of the game with amazing travel hacks like these!
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