How to Save Money When Traveling Home For The Holidays

The holiday travel season is upon us. Whether you’re heading home for Thanksgiving or planning a family trip in December, vacation travel can be particularly expensive. According to data from travel booking app Hopper, travelers can expect round-trip airfare around Christmas to be up to 39% more expensive than last year.

Luckily, there are still ways to keep a ton of hard-earned cash on your hands. Select has tips and tricks on how to save money on your next trip, as well as some tips on how to make your trip a little smoother.

TSA PreCheck and Global Entry are options in the Trusted Traveler Program offered by the US Department of Homeland Security. This saves travelers a lot of time waiting in airport security lines. This is very useful if you are worried about missing your flight. TSA PreCheck costs $78 and Global Entry costs $100, but both must be renewed every five years (note that Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck membership). However, some people don’t know that these fees are actually reimbursed if they have the right credit card.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card allows you to earn up to $100 in credit over four years with Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. This makes signing up for either service virtually free. And with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, you can get up to $100 in statement credit every four years to help cover your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees.

Some hotel credit cards with an annual fee of less than $100 come with a free night voucher that gives you one free night. This can help cut costs on family vacations or cover stops on the way home. Credit cards such as the World of Hyatt Credit Card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card come with a complimentary anniversary night. To qualify, you must become a cardholder and pay an annual fee.

Your hotel room bill is probably higher than your credit card annual fee, so it makes sense to apply for one of these cards to save money on your stay. Plus, you can earn tons of rewards from the card’s welcome bonus.

To avoid depleting your savings and building up credit card debt when purchasing flights, book using credit card points, airline miles, or hotel points earned over the course of the year. If you have enough points, you can use your rewards to book a return flight or hotel room and pay for it almost for free.

If you don’t yet have enough credit card points to cover your trip, our generous Welcome Bonus will give you a huge boost right away. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you’ll earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 within the first three months of account opening. This bonus is worth up to $750 for travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, and potentially more when transferred to one of Chase’s partners such as United Airlines and World of Hyatt. there is.

The American Express® Gold Card offers similar bonuses. New cardholder will earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $4,000 on eligible purchases within his first six months of account opening. Terms of use apply.

Travel newsletters are a great way to find deals if you want to be flexible about when you plan to return. Scott’s Cheap Flights and Travel A Bunch are popular options to help you save on airfare. We also recommend signing up for airline sales alerts. The Hopper app is another great option that shows you which dates have higher or lower flight prices.

Whether it’s a booking site, a flight comparison algorithm, or a low-cost airline, it’s always important to check out ways to save on flights. Regardless of which newsletter or app you use, one of the best ways to score low-cost flights is to book in advance, as tickets usually get more expensive the closer you get to your flight date.

It’s very simple. Anyone who has ever bought snacks at the airport knows they are more expensive than making them at home or buying them at a regular store. is often the case. Unfortunately, the TSA doesn’t allow liquids in your carry-on, so if you want to stay hydrated on board, you’ll need to buy a bottle of water. Alternatively, you can bring an empty water bottle and fill it up after going through security.

A foreign transaction fee is an amount charged by your bank or credit card issuer for transactions made outside the United States. These transaction fees can be very high if you are constantly paying with credit cards internationally. To avoid these costs, use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Cards such as the Discover it® Cash Back card and the Citi Premier® Card are great options for international travel.

Also, if the currency is different from your home currency, you will always pay in your local currency or you may incur a fee. Also, be careful when a retailer asks you to make a choice when withdrawing money from an ATM or swiping your card at a cash register.

Travel insurance can cover costs from canceled flights to lost luggage. The average cost of travel insurance is 5% to 6% of the travel cost. However, without travel insurance, refunds can be difficult. Luckily, you can choose from a variety of credit cards that have travel insurance built-in.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the better options. The travel protection it offers includes collision damage waivers for car rentals, baggage delay insurance, and travel delay reimbursement, but you must pay for your trip with your card to qualify for insurance protection. Please note that there is

When you go home or go on a trip, you may find yourself having to use Uber or Lyft to get to and from the airport. Some credit cards offer rewards, so it’s a good idea to use them when you’re out and about. , you may get a discounted or even free ride to your home. Additionally, Capital One recently launched Uber benefits on select credit cards. This includes 10% cash back on Uber rides and Uber Eats orders, and a free Uber One membership that offers discounts on rides and meal delivery, among other perks.

Vacation travel always causes a dent in your pocket, but getting home for Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be as expensive as you thought. Book strategically and use the right credit card Save money on hotel stays, flights and transportation.

American Express Gold Card Rates and Fees click Here.

Click for Discover it® cashback rates and fees Here.