It’s really expensive to travel, and even when you travel domestically, you’re going to drop a huge wad of cash on flights, hotels, and rental cars. That doesn’t include the fact that every meal you eat is going to come from a restaurant, and anything you need while you’re there is going to cost a pretty penny too. So why not take advantage of all those points and rewards programs out there? Here’s how:
Take a Look At Your Credit Cards
Call up your credit card companies or visit their websites, and find out what kind of travel perks and rewards they offer. You’ll be amazed how many things you can get for free or at a discount, and how you can have service with various venues and companies upgraded on a whim. Mastercard offers up nice discounts on flights, and specialized cards will give you complimentary upgrades to better hotel rooms, line-cutting privileges for rooms, and priority check-in. American Express has cards that grant you access to sky lounges at airports, free flights for your +1, and access to exclusive first class seating on flights you could never take advantage of through other rewards programs. As for Visa, you can enjoy premium exchange rates on currency when you travel, better rates on rent-a-cars, and automatic hotel reservations. All of these cards also offer discounted or complimentary travel insurance, so you can have fun doing things like scuba diving or hiking, and a snapped ankle won’t put you into the poor house. -and let’s not forget about cash back.
Rewards From Cards, Clubs, and Points
We’ve all heard of Air miles and Aeroplan Miles, which are really helpful when saving money on flights, and you can still get points while staying at hotels and even buying groceries, so you’re constantly racking up more rewards. If you always stay in the same hotels wherever you go, you can usually join a club for that in addition to a frequent fliers type program you can get for using the same airline all the time. Aeroplan (separate from your credit cards) is a good program of this nature that allows its users to upgrade their seats on certain flights, pay for your rental car with points, and book hotel rooms at world-class hotels. You can even use the points to purchase concert tickets. If you’re planning on a furnished apartment with CorporateStays.com, we offer CLUB members upgrades, extensions, and merchandise after their very first stay.
Coupons and Promo Codes
It may sound a little pathetic to suggest clipping coupons and paying attention to promo codes, but the local papers, couponing sites, and even airline website promo codes can help you save a lot, get a better vehicle from your rental company, or bump you up to a better hotel room. Coupons are free money, and you would be foolish to turn down free money, right? Even if they don’t automatically give you perks outright, the money you save using them can be used to get into first class seats or into a luxury sedan. Try out sites like HotelCoupons.com and watch Expedia or Travelocity for promo codes. You can also look through those neat little coupon books – EntertainmentBooks have tons, and we mean TONS of coupons and promo codes in them, and $40 a year for a book and hundreds of dollars in savings later, you’ll be glad to have purchased one because of all of the great deals for different cities. The front of the book always has rent-a-car deals and hotel discounts, and they even give you an opportunity to get a special discount card that gives you even more deals, which is convenient when you’re out of town and don’t want to carry a million coupons in your tote.