How to Save on Vacations and Travel! (Part 1)

Apr 25

The Gold in Travel Rewards Programs – Waiting for You!

First things first:

Join the travel rewards programs, vacation loyalty programs and frequent flyer programs for every airline, hotel, rental car company, train line (Amtrak), etc. that:

You use frequently – the loyalty programs and rewards programs for the airlines, hotels and rental cars
Loyalty programs and rewards programs that you might use over time, and
Loyalty programs that you’re going to book for your next trip.

You’ll find the links to frequent flyer programs, hotel rewards loyalty programs and rental car loyalty programs below.

Join All the programs – it takes only a minute or two each – even if you’re not sure whether you’ll use them.

Or, you can join the relevant programs when you are about to take a trip – make sure you become a member Before you travel.

My hotel chain of choice is Hilton®.

Of course I am a member of the Hilton Honors™ Rewards Program which is my favorite and many other loyalty rewards programs too.

But I’m also a member of:

Hotel Loyalty Rewards Programs:

Hilton Honors Rewards – Hilton Hotels, Double Tree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn™, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Home 2 Suites and more.
Marriott Bonvoy™ – Marriott Hotels®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Renaissance® Hotels, Courtyard by Marriott®, Four Points by Sheraton, Residence Inn by Marriott® and more.
Choice Privileges® – Choice Hotels, Quality Inn, Comfort Inn®, Radisson®, EconoLodge®, Rodeway Inn® and more; and,
IHG® One Rewards – Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Candlewood Suites and many more brands.

Airline Frequent Flyer Programs:

Rental Cars:

Railroads:

Amtrak® Guest Rewards.

For example, every so often for business I take the Amtrak® train to Boston and Washington D.C. Since I don’t ride Amtrak® that often, I don’t accumulate a lot of Amtrak® Guest Rewards points. So I didn’t expect to receive any free train tickets.

That was until I was on vacation in Southern California. Turned out I had enough points to get a free short-hop ticket.

I saved $23.95. Free money!

My friend Ron on the other hand loves train travel and somehow has accumulated enough Amtrak® Guest Rewards points to get a free cross country USA Amtrak® pass. Now that’s a lot!

Over time, I have concentrated my hotel stays at Hilton and air travel on JetBlue. Concentrating my hotel stays at Hilton and air travel at JetBlue. Which has helped me grab $1,000s of free hotel nights and frequent flyer tickets.

Handy Travel Rewards Program Tracker – FREE! ➡

We’ve created a handy Travel Rewards Program Tracker that lists many rewards programs and their toll-free telephone numbers.

The travel rewards program tracker is in Excel so you can add your rewards program membership numbers. Grab it for FREE here.

Next week in Budget and Grow Rich® blog post How to Save Money on Vacations and Travel! (Part 2), we’ll show you how to lock in even more ways to save money on your vacations and travel with travel rewards credit cards.

Get in the game! Rack up the points!

And enjoy discounts on travel, free hotel nights, free rental cars and free airline tickets. And often upgrades too. Nice!

See you next week.

Arthur V.

P.S. To Free Up Cash for Your Vacation, click here.

P.S. To Save More Money Every Day – click here.

Disclaimer: OH and Please Remember, we are Not financial advisors, financial planners, attorneys or accountants and are Not providing any specific financial, tax or legal advice here. Be sure to conduct your own due diligence and consult your own professional advisors to get sound professional advice that’s specific to your financial and personal circumstances, risk tolerance, time horizon and investment goals and objectives among other key factors!