Here there my lovelies! Hope you are doing well. I know vacation is the last thing in our mind during pandemics, but is it? I for sure, can’t wait to things go back to a new normal, and travel is one such way to feel normal. Additionally, budget constraints may be put holiday thoughts in the back burner for you. However, it does not have to be the case. If you plan early you have a wonderful vacation without breaking the bank. I will share my own five tips to have a wonderful vacation without breaking the buck. Following these tips has allowed me to go on more vacations then the entire childhood.
1. Air fare and hotels rentals to your favorite vacation spot: This may sound like a far-fetched idea, but it can within your reach. I had same thought process for years until I learned about this rewards point tip for a friend. My friends, there are various credit card companies that will give you hefty rewards for using their cards. Many cards have this introductory bonus available if you spend certain amount during the first three month. This might seem unattainable but if you think about it, it’s very much within reach. Check out the following rewards program:
a. Hilton Honors American Express Card: Here, not only there is no annual membership but you can 75,000 bonus points if you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of the card membership. Additionally, there are no foreign transaction fees. Furthermore, for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations, you get 5x Hilton honors points, 3x points for other eligible purchase.
b. United Explorer Card: Through this card you get 40,000 bonus miles if you spend $2,000 within the first 3 months of the card membership. Additionally, there is no annual fee for the first year, but you have to pay $95 annual membership fee after the first year. One perks that I really like about this card is that I get two check-in luggage free. Knowing how much the airlines charge for check-in bags, it’s a good perks to have.
c. Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card: Through the Bonvoy Bold Card you earn 50,000 bonus points if you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of the card membership. Additionally, there is not annual fee involve. You can choose to apply for the Bonvoy Boundless Card for a $95 annual fee, and you earn 100,000 bonus points if you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of the card membership. 100,000 points will give you 15 days free stay at the vast list of Marriott hotels.
d. Capital One Venture Card: With this card you are eligible for 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of activating the card, and you receive unlimited 2x miles for every $1 spent. If the spending requirement sounds intimidating just remember one thing. I was in the same boat but I have decided to pay my phone, utility, cable, car insurance bills, groceries through the reward cards and pay it right away as I would do through my bank. Before I knew, I have enough points to have a free vacation to Hawaii with my family, which was in my bucket list for a very long time.
2. Plan ahead: Planning ahead is a great way to make your amazing vacation dream come true without breaking the bank. I have planned each of the vacation that I have taken a year ahead. This allows you to have time to shop around for the best deals and save up for the vacation.
3. Take Advantage of the Various Travel Booking Sites: There are various sites available for great travel deals. Site such as Kayak, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Priceline, Orbits, CheapOAir, Google Travel, Trivago, Hotels.com (for hotels), and app such as hopper to find the best flight and hotel deals for your travel destination. Often when you shop around early you can often get the best deal available.
4. Sign Up for the Free Loyalty Programs: Hotels such as Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and airlines such as Jetblue, Southwest, American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines all have free rewards program so that you can earn mileage and rewards points for every time you book through them. If you need to travel for business, signing up for the loyalty programs will really come to your advantage. For example, my cousin who constantly travels for work has accumulated a lot of mileage and hotel points to use for dream vacations. If you have to travel for work, use that to your advantage. Additionally, being part of the travel reward programs allowed me to receive emails about various deals, such as Southwest and Jetblue’s one-day deals starting at $49.
5. Save your changes: Every day we spend money to pay for bills, groceries, and other miscellaneous expenses. If you set up to automatics changes for each of your expenses, before you know you will have enough money for your vacation. The money that you would not have paid attention to anyway will help to have your dream vacation. I have also saved for my vacations for setting aside the changes from the cash I spent and before I knew it, I had few hundred dollars to use during my vacation.
My dear lovelies! I am not trying to promote one site over another, but merely sharing from my own experience so that you can have your own vacation without breaking the bank. I grew up seeing vacation as a privilege. However, with cheaper flights and hotel deals along with the above tips have put vacation within my reach. They have allowed me to travel to places like Canada, Bahamas, Orlando, Chicago, Atlanta, Minnesota, and my favorite Hawaii.
Hope these tips help to prepare for your dream vacation without breaking the bank. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would love to hear about the tactics you use to prepare for your dream vacation frugally. I would love to hear about your ideas.
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