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22 Ways to Travel More—Even On a Small Budget

Jessica Spiegel

September 19, 2023

There are plenty of people who wish they could travel more, and dozens of reasons why those same people may think that’s an unachievable goal. The phrase, “I’d like to travel more” is very often followed by, “but…”

Sure, some trips may be on the once-in-a-lifetime end of the scale, and if you’re struggling to pay bills, travel may not be in your immediate future. But if you’re looking to maximize the amount of travel you can do with limited vacation time, a busy schedule, or a tight budget , you’re in luck. We’re living in the golden age of travel, and exploring the world has never been easier, more accessible, or cheaper.

Here are 22 ways to get more travel in your life.

1. Take shorter trips more often.

When you have a limited number of vacation days from your job, using them all at once means you’ll spend the rest of the year waiting for new vacation days to kick in. Using a few here and there means you’re traveling more often throughout the year. And when international flights often cost less than traveling across the US (like NYC nonstop to Madrid for $275 roundtrip, or Los Angeles to Shanghai for $313 roundtrip), it’s easier to justify a week-long trip to Asia or a weekend jaunt to Europe.

2. Take advantage of long weekends and holidays...

This tactic has drawn criticism—and for good reason. In order to maximize your PTO using this specific plan, you need at least 40 days of PTO and the company you work for must observe federal holidays. So maybe you can’t do this exact plan, but by scheduling even one or two of your trips around holidays, you can get some bonus days to extend what you already have. And if you’re not big on a major holiday that gives you extra time off at work (such as Christmas or New Year’s), use that opportunity to take a trip. You can also maximize your time in the destination by departing for your trip after work and returning late in the evening the day before you’re due back in the office.

For example, by taking off May 28–31, four days of vacation becomes nine days off work, given the weekends and Memorial Day. Rather than a long weekend, you’d then have plenty of time to head for, say, Europe.

Speaking of weekends, don’t underestimate the power of a good weekend trip! Often, it requires little to no PTO, and as our research has shown us , having further-out trips planned produces the most joy. More, shorter trips planned throughout the year = more happiness.

Note that flight and accommodation costs are known to spike around the holidays, so unfortunately this is not going to be the best way to help you travel more on a budget .

3. ...And shoulder seasons...

Shoulder season —the period between peak season and off season—is the perfect storm of good prices, decent weather, and slightly smaller crowds. Every part of the world has its own shoulder seasons, generally based on weather. In many regions, though, spring (roughly March–April) and autumn (roughly September–October) are considered shoulder seasons. Cut down on airfare, accommodations, and activities during these times, and you could put the savings toward another shoulder-season (or even peak-season) trip.

4. ...And 2-for-1 tickets and long layovers.

Our job isn’t to make you love layovers , but as they are sometimes inevitable, we’re here to show you how to use them to your advantage. Picture it like a whole other city that you get to explore on the way to your final destination. Nowadays, airlines have built itineraries for the sole purpose of enabling travelers to see a new city on the way, with 2-in-1 tickets and stopovers . We send quite a few of these deals to our members; two of the most recent include LAX to Rio de Janeiro with a stop in Lima, and Detroit, NYC, or Baltimore to tons of European cities with a stop in Iceland.

Once you see that layovers don’t have to be a burden, you open up a whole new world of possibilities. And who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love with that layover destination, and it will become your next final destination.

5. Go where—and when—the deals dictate.

Most people decide where they want to go, pick their dates, and then look for flights. We recommend flipping that script. If you’re open to a range of destinations, keep an eye out for deals and book when you see something you like. Having some wiggle room around dates can also help; sometimes the price can be significantly lower if you change your dates even by a single day. By being flexible, you can save big.

>> Read our guide to using the Google Flights Explore map to find the cheapest place to go.

6. Prioritize inexpensive destinations.

We’ve all got those lists of places we’ve dreamed of going for ages, but those aren’t necessarily budget-friendly destinations. If money is what’s holding you back from more trips, help each dollar go farther by heading to places that are cheaper to travel in. Places in South America, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe, for example, tend to be on the less expensive end of the spectrum.

>> Check out our list of the world’s cheapest destinations

7. Work remotely when possible.

You don’t have to turn into a digital nomad in order to work remotely. Find out whether your company would be amenable to the idea and, if they’re open to it, give it a test run or two to prove your efficiency. The ability to work remotely, even occasionally or for part of your trip, can help you stretch out limited vacation days. Yes, you’d be working part of the day, but when you turn off your computer you’re still on vacation.

Companies like Remote Year offer programs, spanning from one month to a year, that fix you up with accommodations, professional coworking spaces, and support to make your remote work experience a little easier.

>> Read our guide to combining work and travel .

8. Examine your prioritizes and eliminate expenses.

This takes a little soul-searching and a lot of honesty, but it can be worth it. Consider the things you spend your disposable income on, and then examine whether those expenses reflect how important each thing is to you. Maybe you can swap your daily coffee shop run for coffee you make at home. You might be able to do more second-hand shopping, stretch out the time between salon visits, or cut down on ordering takeout. And perhaps you don’t really need Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and HBO. Cutting out even $80-$100 per month could quickly add up to an extra trip.

9. Stay focused on goals.

Once you’ve decided you’re going to travel more, it’s important to reinforce your commitment to that goal—especially if it requires changes to your routine. Think of any potential expenses in travel terms (this season’s must-have boots might be another night in a budget hotel, for instance). It may even help to put out visual reminders, like a guidebook or photo of the place you’re planning to visit, so you don’t lose sight of how sacrifices you’re making now will pay off later.

10. Try house sitting or home exchanges.

While house sitting (or pet sitting) means someone else’s travel schedule is dictating when and where you go, it also means you’re not paying for accommodation when you get there. And, if you own your home, doing a home exchange can be a fun way to explore another place on a budget and get someone to take care of your house while you’re gone. Sites like Trusted Housesitters connect homeowners and house and pet sitters. (Going members save on a Trusted Housesitters membership; log into Going and head to our Membership Perks page to redeem.)

11. List your own place when you’re away.

Anytime you’re out of town, listing your home on a home sharing site like Airbnb means you could make money while you’re traveling. While it can be a big undertaking to make sure you and your home are equipped for guests, it could pay off. More money in your account means more trips in the future, and more opportunity to earn while you’re away, so it’s a self-perpetuating cycle.

12. Get a side gig.

If you’ve got talents beyond what you do from 9-to-5—or if the skills you use in your day job are in demand on the freelance market—consider taking on some extra work to fill your travel fund. The ever expanding gig economy means there are dozens of options, such as selling handicrafts (like woodworking or sewing), driving for a ride-sharing company, walking dogs, tutoring, or even running errands or being a virtual assistant.

13. Use a budgeting app to save.

Financial apps can help you with just about any budgeting challenge. You Need a Budget helps you figure out how much you can spend on travel, while Acorns rounds up your purchases so you can save with minimal effort. If setting aside money for a trip feels like too much of an abstract concept, there’s an app for that, too. Albert lets you move money into a specific budget when you’re saving so you can see your money grow in a more tangible fashion.

14. Find a travel buddy or group...

group of travelers taking selfie on the beach.

When you’re not comfortable traveling alone, you’ve got options. Maybe your book group wants to plan a trip to the setting of a favorite novel, or your best friend is interested in the same trip you’ve been planning. There are lots of group tours that offer built in companionship as well. Companies like Intrepid, Contiki, and Globus offer tours based on age group, travel, style, or whatever you’re into, from river cruises to long-distance biking.

>> Get tips for traveling with friends

15. ...Or go solo.

If your friends and family aren’t into traveling and you don’t want to do a group tour, you still don’t have to turn into a homebody. There are lots of resources to make solo travel easier, from the above-mentioned tours and cruise lines (many of which don’t charge an extra fee for a single room) to virtual communities of other solo travelers sharing tips.

>> Check out some tips for solo travel from our Travel Community.

16. Negotiate for more vacation days.

Just because your company offers a certain number of vacation days doesn’t mean that’s set in stone. You may be able to get a few extra days, or work out a flex-time arrangement so that when you work overtime you can “bank” some of those hours to take additional days off. The best times to ask: when negotiating a new job, receiving a promotion, or during your annual review.

>> Get tips for negotiating more vacation time here.

17. Extend work trips.

If you’re fortunate enough to travel for work even occasionally, turn your business obligation into a fun experience by adding a day or two to your trip after you’re done with work. Even if it’s not a place you’ve always wanted to visit, part of the fun is discovering what to do there—or figuring out what side trips you can take. Depending on where you’re going, you may be able to easily and cheaply hop from your business trip destination to another spot with more personal appeal.

>> Read our tips for getting around cheaply in Europe .

18. Be sure your credit card earns rewards.

Credit card rewards can go a long way toward enriching your travel budget, so long as you don’t carry a balance. If you pay off your credit card bill each month, look into a card that offers frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or the ability to “erase” travel expenses. Then, everything from groceries to gas to a doctor’s visit can help offset the cost of your next trip; once you’ve racked up enough points, you can use those to pay for part or all of your next flight, so it’s basically nothing out of your pocket.

>> Here’s how to get started with points and miles if you’re new to the game.

19. Explore close to home.

No matter where you live, there are trips you could take from home, whether it’s for a weekend or just an afternoon. Pack a picnic and go for a scenic hike with your family. Go to a museum or gallery. Check out tours on Viator or Airbnb to find new things to do in your city. If you approach your own backyard with the same curiosity as a foreign place, you don’t even have to get on a plane to have an adventure.

20. Lose the “once-in-a-lifetime” mindset.

It’s worth repeating. We’re in the golden age of travel, and international flights can often be had for just a few hundred dollars. Yet, people still often put off their dream trips because they want to wait until they can “do it right”—whether than means splashing out on a lavish hotel or going for more than two weeks. But since they can’t “do it right” at the moment, they don’t end up doing it at all. Forget about doing it right and focus on doing it now ; it may not be the exact dream trip you envisioned, but it may turn out to be exactly what you wanted.

21. Change how you define “travel.”

Using every second of your allotted two-week vacation from work in one fell swoop to take an epic overseas adventure is fantastic, but if that’s the only thing you consider “traveling” then you’re only going to get one of those per year. When the word “travel” encompasses being anywhere that’s not home for any length of time, suddenly a world of possibilities opens up.

22. Join Going.

We search dozens of websites, airlines, and OTAs to find the best deals and and when we find a cheap flight departing from you home airport, we send an email with everything you need to know to book the deal. Our members save an average of $550 per ticket with deals like $98 roundtrip to Hawaii, $486 roundtrip to Tahiti, and $270 roundtrip to Barcelona.

We search dozens of flight booking sites every day, so you don't have to. Our members save an average of $550 per ticket off average prices.

Freelance Writer

Published September 19, 2023

Last updated March 26, 2024

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How to Travel More: 21 Useful Tips, Even with a Full-Time Job or Tight Budget

Post author: Rachel Means
Post last modified: 2024-03-11

Are you tired of scrolling through social media, wondering how to travel more, wishing you were in a dreamy destination that instead just seems out of reach? Don’t worry. You’re not alone in feeling that way. It’s the dark side of social media.

Between demanding work schedules, financial constraints, and other responsibilities, it’s hard to find the time to travel as much as you’d like. We’ve been there; we get it.

But we’re also here to tell you that it’s possible to travel more, even when you have a full-time job or significant debt.

Because we had both and we made it out to the other side, all while taking our first trips around the world.

We’re sharing all our hard-earned tips and strategies to help you prioritize travel, save money , and maximize your time off so you can travel more, too.

Let’s make your travel dreams a reality!

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and associate of other programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Table of Contents

How to Travel More: 7 Useful Tips for Everyone

1. make travel a priority.

There are those that say they want to travel more, but when confronted with ways to actually do just that, they’re unwilling to take action.

Taking action can be scary and uncomfortable, but it’s always worth it.

If you really want to know how to travel more, the number one thing you have to do, before anything else, is make travel a priority.

We’re not talking about manifesting your dreams , like it’s going to appear out of nowhere.

No, this is something you have to consciously choose to pursue.

It has to be one of those things that you want badly enough that you’re willing to make some sacrifices to get it.

When push comes to shove, will you choose saving for trip accommodations or buying expensive tech, like air pods or the latest cell phone?

Saving for a month in Australia, or buying a new car you don’t need?

You will always find something else to spend your money on.

Big and small splurges here and there add up though, and they’re often why people struggle to find money for travel.

You have to really want it, to get you through the not-so-fun saving period before you get to the fun traveling part.

Everyone has different priorities, so we’re not going to judge you for your coffee habit if you don’t judge us for our eating dinner out habit.

But something else in your budget will have to shift to accommodate your new travel priority.

View trimmed by palm fronds of Maho Bay's aqua water and white sand beach with the green hills and islets in the distance

2. Work Hard but Play Hard

You’re more likely to get your vacation request approved if you’re a good worker and a positive team member.

Don’t spend all day at work reading Reddit, skating by doing only the bare minimum to not get fired.

No boss will fight to get that worker’s vacation approved with the higher-ups.

Be a good worker and you’re more likely to get that two-week vacation request approved.

Any good company ( that’s an important qualifier ) knows you’ll pick back up doing a good job when you get back.

If you’re stuck in a crappy job for a crappy company, this tip won’t save you. Don’t waste your time giving your best to a company/boss that doesn’t care. Instead, go find a new job right now.

You don’t have to give up a settled life to travel more.

Keep your career, your suburban home, and your kids’ soccer schedule. Life is about balance.

Remember, you’re working hard so that you can play hard later. It’s a balance.

3. Use Those Loyalty Points

Save some serious moolah and go on more trips by using loyalty points to pay for travel expenses.

We’ve added weekends away for free by using loyalty points to pay for a hotel, exchanging reward points for gift cards for dining, and finding free things to do for the weekend.

Loyalty points could pay for hotels, flights, and rental cars outright.

Take advantage of bonus offers to accrue points faster, and wait to use your points during low or shoulder season when rates are lower.

4. Get a Good Travel Credit Card

Another way to travel for free or with perks is to get a good travel rewards credit card.

Done right, this can be the key to how to travel more.

You should always treat these like a debit card. Don’t buy things you can’t afford, and pay it off every month.

But, if you can be responsible, you can make free money by just paying your bills with a credit card and then paying off the card each month.

Travel cards often have perks, too, like paying for your TSA Precheck application or providing airport lounge access so you can eat and drink for free.

5. Use Your Time Off Wisely

Make your Paid Time Off (PTO) go further by using it strategically throughout the year.

Take it with a holiday and use only 4 days instead of 5 for a week off.

Even better: combine a 3 day holiday weekend with a week off and you’ve got a 10 day trip for only 5 PTO days.

(Sat + 7 day week + Sun + holiday Mon = 10 days)

6. Enjoy Weekend Getaways

Use your weekends to explore your hometown or destinations close by.

The beauty of this is you’re so close to these destinations that you can lose the once-in-a-lifetime mindset we often have with travel.

Can’t do everything you want to do in one weekend? No problem. Go back next month or even next weekend.

Choose a destination that’s within a 2-hour drive of your home, so you don’t lose too much time in the car.

Really dive into a new destination without worrying about doing it all.

7. Choose Cheaper Destinations

One of the biggest hurdles to traveling more is money. Your budget can only stretch so far.

If money is the limiting factor, then choose cheaper destinations to visit.

Go on twice as many trips for the same amount of money.

Central and South America are considerably cheaper than Europe.
The Caribbean is more affordable than the Mediterranean or the South Pacific.
The US has a wide variety of landscapes to discover, with a variety of budgets to match.

If you had your heart set on say, Iceland, but your budget just can’t do it this year, find a cheaper alternative.

The Oregon coast, for example, has similar lush green landscapes, rocky beaches, and waterfalls everywhere, and is quite a bit cheaper to visit for US residents.

Use the savings and go on another trip!

How to Travel More with a Full-Time Job

You don’t have to quit your job to travel more, unless you want to. Most people that travel have a regular, 9-to-5 job.

Teachers, plumbers, and bus drivers all take vacations.

If you don’t want to quit your job but you want to travel more, these helpful tips are for you.

8. Let Go of Work Guilt

Your company and coworkers will continue to function without you.

Taking two weeks off to go to Hawaii shouldn’t fill you with guilt and stop you from going. It should fill you with joy!

Everyone deserves time off, regardless of what position you hold in your company. There’s a different problem if you really are indispensable.

Let’s use the “hit by a bus” scenario to explain our point.

If you were hit by a bus and laid up in the hospital for two weeks, your company would have to function without you.

You shouldn’t feel guilty about taking two weeks off to recover from getting hit by a bus.

A vacation is the same thing, except you get to recharge in Hawaii instead of the hospital because you deserve a vacation without having to get hit by a bus first!

Now, we understand 100% about deadlines and managing a team and all that.

Schedule your vacation as far ahead as you can to accommodate your work schedule as best you can, but don’t let work rule your life.

Some work schedules will never have a convenient time to be gone, but you should still take your trip.

Read that “hit by a bus” scenario again.

Your brain and body need a break, and you’ll be far more effective at your job when you come back refreshed and relaxed.

9. Several Short Trips Instead of One Long Trip

Often the biggest hurdle when you have a job is limited paid time off (PTO).

Well, in the US it is.

If you’re stuck with only 10 vacation days per year but you want to travel more, then your best bet is to take several shorter trips rather than one long trip.

Take two vacation days, add that to a three-day holiday weekend, and you’ve got a 5 day long trip.

Even if you’re flying somewhere new, that’s a good amount of time.

Following that pattern, that’s 5 trips per year instead of just one or two.

Now, that’s how to travel more!

Another plus: it’s scientifically proven that your happiness level peaks before you leave for a trip.

Plan more trips, and you’ll get that endorphin hit more often!

A single picnic table sits in the shade on the bank of the Catawba River

10. Be Flexible for Deals

Let the travel deals dictate when and where you go, and you can save a lot on airfare and lodging.

Flights are the most expensive part of traveling, for those that don’t know how to travel hack or how to find cheap flights .

That’s because most people choose a destination, then a month to travel, and then the exact days they want to travel, before even looking at the price of flights or hotels.

If you have your heart set on visiting Rome, Italy, then wait for the flight deal to come to you.

The cost savings could be enough to fund another trip!

Good to Know : International flight deals are typically 3-10 months ahead of travel dates, which gives you ample time to inform your boss.

11. Work Remotely (Temporarily)

The only good thing that came out of 2020 is companies being forced into making remote work possible.

This doesn’t apply to all professions, obviously, but remote work is considerably easier and more mainstream now than it was pre-2020.

There’s a good chance you’ll be allowed to work remotely for a week or even as much as a month at a time, if you just ask.

Some companies are more flexible than others, of course, but it can’t hurt to ask.

Start with a small request. You’d like to work remotely for a week.

Make sure you’re productive for that week. Your boss will be more likely to agree the next time you ask to work remotely again.

Meanwhile, go stay somewhere for a week that makes you happy.

Maybe you need to escape the winter blues and go be somewhere warm.

Work day by the pool or the ocean? Yes, please!

12. House Swap to Work Remotely Somewhere New

If you’re a full-time remote worker, you can work from anywhere with a reliable internet connection.

That doesn’t have to be your home office.

It could be a home office in someone else’s house on the other side of the country.

House swapping and house sitting are fantastic ways to slow travel.

You’re still working like everyone else, but you can explore a new destination slowly, living like a local.

Hit the touristy sights on the weekends, and all the good restaurants during the week.

House swapping gives you more control of dates, whereas house sitting is usually dictated by the homeowner’s dates.

Something to look into if you’ve already got a flexible remote job!

A mix of white and tan water cascades over a 50ft cliff at Upper Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan

13. Find a Travel Job

If you crave a stable and reliable paycheck from a regular job, but you want to travel more and can’t seem to do that at your current job, look for another job that involves travel.

Recruiters are always looking for people that are willing to travel for work.

Many people don’t want them because they don’t like travel, or traveling for work, or being away from their families too often.

But perhaps that doesn’t apply to you.

Sometimes you can find these types of jobs yourself on job boards, but working with a recruiter is often faster, in this case.

14. Extend Work Trips

Maybe you already travel periodically for work. Piggyback a personal vacation off of a work trip.

Some companies will let you fly in a few days before or fly home a few days after your work trip and still cover the cost of the flight, assuming it’s about the same price.

You’ll be responsible for your own rental car, food, and lodging for your extra days, but it’s a great way to explore the tourist sights in a new city.

We’ve done this quite successfully many times in the past.

I’ve had a week’s worth of training in Pasadena and got permission to adjust my flights so I could take the weekend after for personal sightseeing.

We saw Channel Islands National Park , Joshua Tree National Park , and the San Diego Zoo all in a long weekend.

And my other half worked remote for the week so he could come, too.

Same thing in reverse: he had a work trip to Seattle and I tagged along and worked from the hotel during the day.

We explored downtown Seattle and took a day trip to Whidbey Island on that trip.

Tall cliffs of Santa Cruz Island surround Potato Harbor where the blue waters of the Santa Barbara Channel gradually turn aqua and then green as a small white sand beach appears against the bottom of the cliffs. Two small white boats float at anchor in the harbor.

How to Travel More When You’re Broke

Travel isn’t a perk exclusively for rich people. Average people in average jobs with average income can travel, too.

Even those living paycheck to paycheck, which is more people than you realize , can find free things to do or inexpensive ways to travel.

We’ve done it as new college grads with six-figure student loan debt.

Responsibly, I might add, by saving for trips ahead of time and not creating credit card debt to go on vacation.

Anyone can learn how to travel more with these tips and tricks to make it easier and cheaper to travel.

15. Re-evaluate Your Expenses

Take a good, hard look at your expenses and ask yourself if they are all really necessary.

They might be, but there’s also a good chance some of them can be reduced by shopping around for a better deal.

If you want to travel more, you have to prioritize it, and if your budget is tight, you have to prioritize saving to allow for travel.

No, we don’t mean live a monk-like lifestyle in extreme deprivation. That’s not going to work.

Take out some little everyday extras to make room for bigger, once-in-a-while extras.

Put another way, as an example, eat out fewer times a week so you can spend that money on a weekend away instead.

16. Have a Savings Plan

A goal is no good without a plan of action to achieve it. If you want to travel more, you have to have a plan to do it.

When finances are tight, you’re often saving little amounts here and there. That’s ok; it all adds up!

But it can be super easy to lose those savings if you don’t keep track of them.

So, have a savings plan and stick to it. Make it automatic if you can.

Schedule an automatic transfer for the day after your paycheck hits the bank.

If you need the visual reminder, a transparent piggy bank at home can be just the right motivation.

Make it difficult to get money out of it, though, so you don’t cheat.

Several saguaro cacti are growing skyward among several other cacti, with one large saguaro towering over them all

17. Travel Hack EVERYTHING

Travel hacking is your best friend when you want to travel more but you’re low on funds.

First, we want to clarify: travel hacking isn’t bad. It’s not illegal or unethical or some shady business scheme.

It’s the travel world’s equivalent to hard-core couponing , and the people that know how to do it right can save BIG money on travel costs .

An example travel hack for finding accommodations could be to use the Hotwire.com Hot Rate and book a 5 star hotel for a 2 star price.

It could also mean finding a coast-to-coast flight for $98 from a free cheap flights-finding subscription service .

Or, booking a first class flight and paying only the taxes and fees.

Yes, travel hacking makes that possible!

When you know how to stretch your dollar further, you can travel more even when you’re low on funds.

18. Find a Travel Buddy

Splitting costs among a group of friends or with another couple is a great way to make travel cheaper and more affordable.

This could mean sharing a hotel room or splitting the cost of an Airbnb, or it could be one person paying for gas on a road trip and the other paying for food.

Always make it clear before you go anywhere or book anything how you plan to split up costs.

19. Start a Side Gig

Whether you call it a side gig, side hustle, or part time job, it’s never a bad idea to have some extra income.

A word of caution though: don’t let your side hustle become a stressful endeavor. It shouldn’t make your life worse.

It’s just something extra, maybe even temporary, to help you earn more to travel more.

This could be a part time job, like delivering pizzas on the weekends or driving for Uber.

It could also be a side hustle, like flipping furniture for a profit.

Important Distinction : Side gigs don’t pay your bills; they’re extra money. If you have three part time jobs to pay your bills, none of those are side hustles because they’re covering your main expenses, not your secondary (fun) expenses.

Golden sunset with large fluffy clouds and a fading blue sky over a peaceful ocean and darkened Rainbow Beach St Croix

20. Ask for a Raise or More PTO

This tactic for how to travel more has a couple of requirements:

You can’t be a terrible employee, and
Your boss has to be able to grant these things.

Stay positive and respectful and put together a case for why you deserve a raise.

Sometimes a boss just needs a justification that they can copy/paste into a form to send up the line to get approved.

Make it easy for them.

Most companies know that it’s cheaper to give an employee a raise than it is to train a new one.

I’ve found in the US that they’re much more willing to give you a raise than they are to give you more PTO, which makes no financial sense at all, but here we are.

21. Find a Better Job

We know that finding another job isn’t always as easy as it seems, but in most cases it’s just a matter of taking action.

If your 9-to-5 is draining you of all energy and barely covering your bills, you need a new job.

Start simple and look local. There’s always something.

Pizza delivery drivers, school bus drivers, and childcare workers are always in demand, whether the economy is hot or not.

These might not be glamorous jobs, but they’ll allow you to quit your soul-sucking job right away and make some money while you find a better replacement.

Learning How to Travel More is Easy!

Deciding to travel more is an important first step into a bigger, brighter world. With the helpful tips above and a little time and patience, you’ll figure out how to travel more on your budget.

Now that you know how to travel more, get out there and take action! Then tag us on Instagram and share where you went!

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About the Author : Rachel Means

With six-figure student loan debt and only 10 PTO days per year, Rachel started traveling the world. A decade later, she’s paid off her loans, changed careers, and been to 36 US states and 14 countries. She’s an expert at planning and budgeting for travel and loves to help others do it, too! Read her full story here.

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Plan, Ready, Go

How to Travel More: Practical Tips to Afford More Travel

Travel writer Eugene Fodor said that you don’t have to be rich to travel well, and he was right. My husband and I are far from wealthy, but I believe we travel well. Here are my best tips outlining how to travel more .

Key takeaways

Decide whether frequent travel or luxury travel is more important to you and find your sweet spot within your budget.
You can trim discretionary spending, like eating out less or buying secondhand clothing, to make more room for travel in your budget.
Intentionally set aside money each month for travel by cutting costs in other areas and transferring the savings to a separate account.
Use rewards credit cards wisely for regular expenses to earn points for travel without going into debt.
Keep an eye out for airfare deals, consider driving to your destination, and look for free activities at your destination to save money.

woman planning trip with a map and notebook

For us, travel is a priority. After giving to our church, saving for retirement, and paying for necessities and our regular bills, travel is where our disposable income goes first. That is our choice.

Unfortunately, I have found that a lot of people make a lot of assumptions about the finances of others…even if they have no first-hand knowledge of the other person’s finances.

Just because a person travels a lot doesn’t mean that they are neglecting other financial responsibilities or making poor financial choices.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of comments or questions like ”Maybe if you didn’t travel so much you could do X, Y, or Z?” Yup. Me too.

Oh well. That’s just the way life is sometimes. People butt into other people’s business. I can either let it bother me or shake it off. I choose to shake it off.

If you want to travel more you can make it happen. You may not be able to travel as much as we do, or you may be able to travel more.

This post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See disclaimer.

Evaluate your travel priorities

Think about how you want to travel.

Is it more important for you to travel more frequently or experience more comfort/luxury on the trips you take, staying in only the best places?
For example, do you want to get to and explore your destination as cheaply as possible?
Or is it more important for you to be comfortable (think long-haul flights in economy class rather than in lie-flat business class or hostel versus a five-star hotel)?

Find your sweet spot. If for you that’s traveling as cheaply as humanly possible, finding the best deal every time, go for it. Or if you can do luxury travel all the time, great! You do you.

Read More → Planning a Trip Budget That Works for You

We fall somewhere in the middle of the road…many of you likely will also. We want to travel as much as our paid time off from work will allow, but I’m not into bare-bones-shoestring-budget travel.

I’m a grown woman…a bunk in a hostel room that sleeps eight other people is not for me. But I am perfectly happy staying at an affordable major chain hotel with a free breakfast.

Rocks and sand on a beach with clear turquoise water on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

Reduce unnecessary personal spending

If more travel is a priority for you, I think the easiest way to make more room in your budget is by cutting down on your discretionary spending. Here are some of the ways we’ve made more room for travel in our budget:

We use a budget cell phone carrier.
We eat out only once or twice a month.
We go to the movies only a few times a year.
I buy secondhand clothing as much as possible and also buy off clearance racks. Hubby loves to buy clothes at Costco.
We own used cars and drive them until we almost literally can’t drive them anymore.
Anything that can be re-used or repaired is, rather than buying new things.

Prioritize saving for travel

This goes hand-in-hand with the point above. Once you’ve found some areas in your budget to cut, move that money out of your checking account (where it’s easy to spend) and into a separate savings account at the end of each month.

You’ll be surprised at how quickly it starts to accumulate…and that works as added motivation to continue saving until you have enough money for your trip!

And just to clarify, when I say prioritize saving for travel, I don’t mean over saving for retirement, giving to charity or your church, or paying your bills. It makes no sense to mortgage your future for pleasure today.

I do not subscribe to the philosophy I see from some travel influencers or the occasional travel blogger that goes something like this: “Don’t think about it, just book that trip! You won’t regret it.”

If you truly can’t afford it, it doesn’t matter if you will regret it or not; it’s irresponsible to go into debt to travel.

What I’m talking about here is making a concerted effort to intentionally set aside money each month for travel. With a budget plan in place to save for travel, you’re less likely to find yourself spending money without thinking about it.

TIP: Keep track of all of your trip budget details with a travel budget spreadsheet like this . Prefer pencil and paper? Grab the printable trip budget tracker sheets here .

Piazza San Pietro with chairs set up for the pope's general audience.

Take advantage of travel hacking

By travel hacking, I mean using rewards credit cards that earn points that can be used for travel. They might be flexible points (like Chase Ultimate Rewards points) or you might earn miles/points with a specific airline or hotel chain (such as United Mileage Plus or Marriott Bonvoy).

Again, let me clarify that I do not advocate going into debt for travel. We use travel credit cards for all the regular spending we used to put on our debit card: groceries, gas, utilities, etc.

If you carry a balance on one of these credit cards, you’ve effectively eliminated any cost savings from earning the points and redeeming them for free flights or hotel rooms.

We started using travel rewards credit cards only seven years ago and have already booked nearly free airfare for several trips (saving us literally thousands of dollars) in addition to earning a fairly large supply of points we can use for several free nights in hotels.

If you’re at all interested in getting into the points and miles game, I highly recommend this beginner’s guide from The Points Guy.

Watch out for great deals on airfare

I understand that not everyone wants to get into travel hacking. It does require some work and advanced planning plus a lot of organization to keep track of all your cards and points.

Keep an eye out for great deals on airfare is something anyone can easily do. We found a good deal on round-trip airfare for a week in Paris just by stalking Skyscanner and Google Flights . I don’t usually have time for that though so I rely on a couple of other services to help me find deals.

Read More → How to Use Google Flights to Save Money

PRO TIP: If you have flexible travel dates you need to check out Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights). You get amazing flight deals sent straight to your inbox with instructions on how to book directly with the airlines. Check out Going here. Going is my favorite way to find great travel deals.

Another good free option for airfare deals is Secret Flying. I get more frequent alerts from Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights), but Secret Flying is free so what have you got to lose?

For a full discussion on this topic, see my article on how to fly for less.

Drive to your destination rather than fly

One of my favorite ways to travel more is to drive to my destination rather than fly if possible. I think the old-fashioned road trip is a great way to see the United States.

If you live very near a major hub airport with frequent non-stop flights to top destinations, it may make more sense to fly for the time savings even if it’s more expensive. We have to drive 2 ½ hours to get to a major hub airport, so for us, driving is a great option for any destination we can get to in 8–9 hours or less.

There are additional benefits to driving:

You don’t have to find a ride to the airport, pay for Uber/Lyft, or pay to park your car.
You don’t have to worry about packing light . If I can fit it in the car, it goes.
You can pack and take food with you to cut down further on your travel expenses.
No dealing with airport security.
No dealing with flight delays or cancellations.
You can bring back more souvenirs! (Well, there go the savings from packing food instead of eating out.)

Man with grey hair eating a salad on a small balcony with the Florence Duomo dome in the background.

Cook your own meals while you travel

My husband has celiac disease, which means he has to eat gluten-free. It can make eating out a challenge, particularly in an unfamiliar city.

When traveling for more than a few days we prefer to find accommodations with a full kitchen and eat most of our meals in. We’ll usually do one restaurant meal a day (occasionally two) when we travel and buy the rest of our food at a local grocery store. It’s safer for hubby and it saves us quite a bit of money.

Split the cost of accommodations with your travel companions

For our family Christmas trips to Disney World, we like to rent a vacation home through Vrbo and split the cost three ways. For our last big, family trip, I was able to book us a six-bedroom, four-bathroom home for 10 nights…each family paid only $79 per night…over Christmas.

A standard room at a Disney Value Resort would have cost us easily more than double that (not including taxes and the nightly parking fee), and we would be eating all of our meals out. By sharing a vacation rental home, we were able to extend our stay and spend more of our travel budget on the things we were there to experience: the theme parks.

Read More → Is it Worth it to Use Booking.com?

section of boardwalk in a forest in Congaree National Park

Take advantage of “off-season” travel

As much as we love traveling over Christmas (it’s the one time of year my entire family can reliably get time off from work), travel over major holidays can be quite a bit more expensive.

Hubby and I love traveling in May as much as possible. The weather is usually agreeable, but the crowds of tourists haven’t yet reached unmanageable levels.

If you’re able to travel during your destination’s low season or even shoulder season, you’ll likely be able to find better deals on airfare, accommodations, and even possibly event or attraction tickets.

Take short trips or weekend breaks close to home

One of the things hubby and I want to do more of is weekend or long weekend trips within a few hours’ drive of our home. You can see and do a lot in one weekend, especially if you don’t have to spend a lot of time getting there. Learn more about maximizing your weekend getaways .

Or try planning a fun staycation at home .

If we watch our spending (and compare hotel prices), we can do three to five weekend getaways for what we’d normally spend for a one-week trip to Europe…with the added bonus of not having to worry about rationing our vacation time.

Explore your destination for free

One of the best ways to save money on travel is to look for free things to do at your destination. Free museum days, free national parks, free walking tours, etc. are all great ways to see more of the world and save money.

Most major cities (and small towns for that matter) have many things that are available for travelers to do for free. I love scoping out a new place through the free activities and attractions.

Final thoughts on traveling more often

By putting just a few money-saving practices in place you can travel more starting now. Watching for deals on airfare or even driving to your destination, making some cuts to your personal budget, and traveling during low or shoulder season are all great ways that you can afford more travel.

Do you have any great tips for affording more travel?

14 Comments

These tips are all great advice to travel more. I think the best tip is to change your priorities! If you want to travel more, you change your priorities to make it happen.

Thanks so much for reading!

I love all your tips, especially the ones about travel hacking that tend to be overlooked by people. I am flying to Asia in Dec on points and it’s saves me so much! It’s easy too!

Thanks, Ann. It really has allowed us to do more than we’d be able to just with cash.

This resonates so much with me! I so agree with being prudent with your finances and having a financial plan to travel rather than just doing it since it’s the ‘in’ thing.

Yes! Have fun and travel, but also be a responsible adult. Agreed!

I love these tips! I don’t eat out very often and don’t have things like cable so I can spend more on traveling because I value traveling more than TV!

Thank you! Yes, we love having the freedom to go almost anywhere that our paid time off will allow, and it’s so much more achievable than some people think.

Great tips! I couldn’t agree more. I’ve started staying at Airbnbs instead of hostels or hotels just so I can more comfortably cook my own meals while on vacation. It saves TONS of money but it’s also a way to experience a more local side of your destination (I always try to find the nearest market!)

Thanks so much! Yes, we really like doing apartment rentals when we can. And I do try to also be aware of where we’re traveling so that using Vrbo/Airbnb doesn’t hurt the local economy or residents, so for example we’re planning to stay in a hotel when we go to Venice in a few years.

Great advice! While travel is amazing, I definitely agree with your point not to go into debt or neglect other important things like saving for retirement to travel. Great points on how to make easy everyday changes to save money towards travel. It seems like there are lots of great travel credit cards, that’s something I need to look into!

Thank you! Yes, definitely look into the cards. We wouldn’t be able to afford our upcoming trip to New Zealand without our Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Very sensible advice! Thanks for writing this. I have reduced unnecessary spending already and it works because I managed to book an extra trip this year. I’m sharing this article 🙂

That’s wonderful! Thanks so much for reading and enjoy your trip!

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25 Great Ways to Save on Travel

Your guide to saving on epic getaways — without skimping on fun.

Stephanie Vermillion,

illustration of an airplane in the sky sounded by clouds in the shape of dollar signs

Your travel bucket list doesn’t have to break the bank. To help you fulfill your globe-trotting goals — sans the high spending — we talked with travel industry professionals and writers about their favorite cost-saving tips. Here are 25 of the best ways to save on travel, and don’t forget to share your own budget-travel tips in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

1. Try a price prediction tool

Some budget travelers swear by only booking their flights on Tuesdays. Others suggest booking on Saturdays. But according to Nick Ewen, senior editorial director for The Points Guy, “that ‘day to book’ thing is largely a myth.” What could matter? The day of the week, or the time of day, you actually fly. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are often cheaper days to fly than Fridays or Sundays. Because prices fluctuate, Ewen recommends using tools such as Hopper , Google Flights or Kayak to track and monitor when a flight is a good deal and when it’s not. “Price prediction tools will essentially say, ‘Right now, prices on this route are high, but we expect them to drop within the next 30 to 45 days,’” he says, noting it’s not always a guarantee — but “these tools can help you make a more informed decision.”

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2. Cash in those airline miles

If you’ve built up miles with a specific airline, use them, says Ewen. “Any opportunity to use your miles to keep cash in your pocket is a good redemption,” he says. “I often see people who are new to the world of loyalty programs, points and miles, and they’re afflicted with analysis paralysis.” Instead of using their perks, they sit on them — but doing so could be costing you. “Points and miles are terrible long-term investments; they only lose value over time,” Ewen says. If you want to double-check the miles-to-money conversion before booking, try online calculators that tabulate this equation, including NerdWallet , Omni Calculator and The Point Calculator .

3. Track and modify your trip

Here’s even more incentive to book: In recent years, a growing number of U.S. airlines, including United, Delta, American and Alaska, have removed change fees. That means if you book a ticket, then see a better flight deal, you can modify your reservation and pocket the difference. This goes for not only flights booked with dollars, but also miles. “Since the pandemic, just about every airline, aside from basic economy status, has made award tickets, generally speaking ... are now fully refundable,” Ewen says.

4. Keep tabs on your credit card discounts

If your credit card comes with a steep annual price, know that “oftentimes there are many ways to offset that fee,” Ewen says. Many cards offer travel credits, complimentary companion passes and other lifestyle perks. But to benefit, you need to actually use them. “Credit card issuers rely on people to not be informed; that way they can offer a perk that [would] cost them money, but they’re not actually going to have to fork that money over,” he says. To keep tabs on your card’s perks, which include everything from rideshare and TV subscription credits to grocery discounts, Ewen suggests checking your account every month and creating a spreadsheet of all available offers.

illustration of a person relaxing with a drink in an airport lounge, with his tablet plugged into his lounge chair and an airplane visible out the window

5. Look into living the lounge life

Airport lounges can help you save on overpriced terminal fare, and typically offer complimentary food and drink (in many cases alcoholic beverages), showers, less-crowded bathrooms, numerous charging ports and comfortable seating. Lounge life can improve the air transit experience, but there is a cost. Many airline lounges require a paid membership or can be accessed by paying annual fees on travel credit cards. These several-hundred-dollar annual fees come with a variety of perks, such as the opportunity to bring one or several guests free of charge. To determine if lounge membership fees are worth it, Ewen suggests crunching the numbers to see how often you plan to travel and how much you and your potential airport lounge guests could save on amenities. Additionally, if you do decide to obtain lounge membership, make sure your home or go-to airport has that specific airline lounge, he says.

6. Don’t shrug off shoulder season

Want to cut spending and dodge congestion? Travel journalist, photographer and founder of the blog Camels & Chocolate Kristin Luna has some advice: “Traveling in [the] off-season, or shoulder season, is my favorite way to travel — not only do you save money, but you avoid the crowds,” she says, noting that, on a November trip to Iceland — well outside the summer high season — she and her family saved big: “We paid roughly half of what we would have had we decided to travel in summer months.” They also saw a fraction of the crowds. Of course, traveling in the shoulder season can come with a downside, like seasonal closures or bad weather. Before booking a shoulder-season adventure, make sure the restaurants, attractions and experiences you hope to enjoy are still available.

7. Skip the gas pump

Another way to save on rental cars: Go electric. “It may wind up being cheaper than filling up with gas, especially if you’re outside the U.S.,” says Ewen, noting gas in many destinations across Europe can be “incredibly expensive.” That said, an EV isn’t always the best option. “The big thing is going into it knowing exactly how you’re going to charge the car,” Ewen says. If you’re largely in the countryside, where there are minimal EV charging stations, you could end up in trouble. But if you’re mostly traveling between cities or large urban areas, you should be in the clear — although it’s smart to research EV guidelines for specific countries and regions before you book. For that, EV-focused websites like Chargemap , Electromaps and PlugShare can help.

8. Use credit card rental car insurance

If you have a travel credit card, odds are it includes rental car insurance — but you have to follow a few important steps to use it. First, decline all of the rental car company’s protection offerings, Ewen says. This includes roadside assistance, collision damage waiver — any and all protections. If you do have an issue during your trip — say, a cracked windshield — you can submit the claim by contacting your credit card company. Before you rely on this method, it’s important to know what’s included with your card’s insurance. “Coverage on car rentals through credit cards is limited to damage and theft,” Ewen says. If you have questions, call your credit card company (via the phone number on the back of your card) to confirm. When you prefer more coverage than what’s offered through your credit card — or you’d rather avoid dealing with the potential claims process — consider the rental car company’s options, but do your research ahead of time to avoid being pressured into any decisions.

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9. Take advantage of public transit

In many cities, using public transportation instead of a rental car or rideshare service can keep money in your pocketbook. Katie Holden of the blog Katie’s Travel Tricks suggests using an app, such as Google Maps , to navigate safely. “Just toggle over to the public transportation icon after you enter in your destination,” Holden says. “In some countries it even includes detailed instructions on which [station] exit to use.” To help with comparison, Google Maps will often provide an estimate of what a rideshare price would be for the same trip. Other public transit map options to consider include Moovit and Transit . Additionally, in places with robust train infrastructure, like Europe, you can save (and reduce your carbon emissions) by opting to train between destinations instead of flying.

illustration of a foot kicking a car tire that looks like a gold coin with a dollar sign on it

10. Check out deals for your wheels

Before you book a rental car, Ewen recommends checking a website like AutoSlash (alternatives include Expedia or Momondo ) to look for deals. These kinds of services incorporate your memberships, such as a Sam’s Club, AAA or AARP, then make recommendations on the best rental-car deals and saving options. Additionally, if you’re booking a rental car, always join the company’s loyalty program, Ewen says. These memberships, which are typically free, can help you skip the line and expedite the check-in process. Another way to save: Try an alternative transit mode. If you’re visiting only one city, consider renting a bike; many bicycle shops offer e-bike and regular bike rentals for either a few hours or several days — helping you save on not only rental cars and parking, but also gas.

11. Buy one, get one free with a stopover

Several airlines offer stopover programs that let you experience a city for a few days while en route to your final destination. This is a great way to get more bang for your travel buck, says Luna, who has used stopover offerings for a stint in Doha en route to Bangkok, a stop in Iceland while traveling to Germany, and a visit to New Zealand on the way to the Cook Islands. Since you don’t have to purchase additional flights in a stopover program, “it doesn’t cost more money, so it’s basically buy-one-get-one-free flights to see two places instead of one,” she says.

12. Search for a seasonal deal

End-of-year savings aren’t just for holiday gifts. Many companies in the travel industry offer major discounts timed to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The cruise industry also extends this savings potential with “wave season” (typically January through March), which is “when cruise lines do big pushes to get sales up,” says writer Mikkel Woodruff of the cruise website Sometimes Sailing. In addition to saving on your cruise booking itself, you may also snag goodies like free internet or discounted airfare. Additionally, during the spring, many car rental services need to move their vehicles in the south back north, which means it’s a great time to grab a deal on a one-way rental car if you’re looking for a spring road trip from, say, Florida to New England.

13. Stay ahead of cell-service charges

International data charges can add up quickly. That’s why Holden recommends going into your trip armed with connectivity options. For example, apps like WhatsApp , Viber and Signal will help you text or call via Wi-Fi. It’s also helpful for booking dining or inquiring about tours. “Internationally, many businesses will have an option to contact them via WhatsApp,” says Holden. She also uses a cell plan that comes with international data and texting, which you can inquire about with your carrier pre-trip. And, if you know you’ll need faster data service, Holden recommends buying a local eSIM card.

14. Save big with senior passes

Memberships and passes can help you save big on your adventures, whether it’s using your AARP membership to get deals on car rentals, cruises or train travel, or taking advantage of senior discounts for museums. Additionally, if you’re planning a national parks trip, travel writer Emily Pennington shares some advice: “The number one thing to do is get the America the Beautiful Pass ,” she says. America the Beautiful covers the entrance fee for any National Park Service park, as well as lands managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and several other federal organizations. Travelers age 62 and older can buy an annual pass for $20, or a lifetime pass for $80 (the price for a standard annual pass alone is $80). For another cost-saving trick, Pennington suggests volunteering with the park service for free park admission. “If people want to spend no money on the park pass, they can do a certain amount of volunteer hours and earn a free park pass that way.”

illustration of a person carrying a bag of groceries while pulling a roll-aboard suitcase behind him

15. Stock up at a grocery store

Dining out can take a major bite out of your travel budget. To avoid this — without skimping on the joy of travel cuisine — Luna suggests hitting the grocery for small meals and snacks. “If we’re staying somewhere multiple days in a row, the grocery store will be our first stop. We stock up on yogurt, fruit, other breakfast items, coffee and beverages,” Luna says. This way, you can save by having lunches at home, then splurge on restaurants for dinner. And, to ensure you’re not missing the cultural side of cuisine, skip the big-box grocery stores. “Street food or bodegas can be a great way to try the local flavors while not splurging on expensive meals,” Luna says.

16. Look for budget-friendly tours

If you want to see a new destination but can’t splurge on a private guide, consider joining a “free” guided walking tour, offered through numerous services, such as Free Tour , Free Tours by Foot and GuruWalk . (Note that while there’s not a set fee for this tour, you should pay or tip what you think is appropriate.) Additionally, consider alternative tours that won’t break the bank but will help you authentically experience the culture. For that, Holden recommends options like Airbnb experiences. “These are experiences run by locals who are an expert in one area,” she says. “We learned to play Japanese card games in Nara, Japan, and dyed silk scarves in a marbled pattern in Florence, Italy.” Other locally led options include Tours by Locals and With Locals .

17. Download a free audio tour

For a more DIY budget-friendly sightseeing option, look to podcasts or audio tours. Well-known travel gurus like Rick Steves offer self-guided walking tours that use narration to immerse you in a new destination, while the app SmartGuide runs digital tours with audio guides, city maps and insider tips. The website VoiceMap also features hundreds of on-your-own audio walks, bike rides and drives, helping you see the highlights without needing to join a group or in-person guided tour.

18. Save on souvenirs

To save on souvenirs, skip the resort or airport gift shop where prices are typically inflated and consider craft markets or even grocery stores instead. According to Holden, it’s wise to go in knowing exactly what you want so you don’t overspend. “Everyone in our family has a certain small item they collect and we buy that — a statue for my daughter, a magnet for my son,” she says. “We also visit thrift stores and the local equivalent of a dollar store.”

19. Consider alternative accommodations

Options abound when it comes to booking overnights. Sure, hotels are great — and can come with great deals if booked using credit card points, says Holden — but alternative options like rental homes, hostels (many offer private rooms) and even couch surfing can help you save. Some may even help you make local connections. “We’ve used the website Couch Surfing to stay with strangers for free,” Holden says. Tripping.com also features couch-surfing rentals. For any sites, especially couch-surfing ones, be sure to read plenty of reviews. “Another budget option would be to watch someone’s pets in exchange for a free stay at their home,” Holden says. Numerous house-sitting options exist around the globe; to try it, join services like Trusted Housesitters , Nomador and Mind My House .

illustration of a person with a backpack in an airport walking past a window with a plane outside

20. Go carry-on only

Some travel credit cards offer one or two free checked bags. If you have this perk, take advantage of it. If not — or if you want to avoid the hassle of lugging heavy bags — Luna suggests opting for carry-on only. “Nearly every [U.S.] airline charges for checked bags,” she says. “I haven’t checked a bag in more than seven years, mostly because I don’t trust the airline not to lose [it].” Luna also says the carry-on lifestyle is easier than you might think: “Ditch all the unnecessary items like multiple pairs of shoes, purses, accessories, and stick to basics in neutral tones that you can layer.” But, before you pack, make sure to check your airline’s carry-on restrictions. Many airlines — particularly those outside the U.S. — have strict guidelines and will charge you a fee if your bag is overweight or larger than the allowed dimensions.

21. Expand your outbound airport options

Many Americans live within driving distance of not just one but several airports. If you’re unable to find a budget-friendly flight from your nearest airport, consider looking within a driving radius of a few hours. Even with a drive, this could cut your total transit time — especially if you can nab a direct flight instead of multiple connections — and also save you money. Of course, to ensure you don’t overspend on pricey garage parking, build in plenty of travel time and park away from the main airport lot. Another option is to park nearby and take a shuttle or city transit to the airport. Wally Park has 10 locations in eight cities and allows people to park and shuttle to their airport. Boston’s Park Shuttle & Fly and The Parking Spot have similar options. Some will even offer a free car wash before you exit. Additionally, you may be able to park a few transit stops away from the airport and save money on parking, too. Always look for coupons on airport parking before you reserve.

22. Invest in travel insurance

Don’t lose your money if you need to cancel a trip; instead, invest in travel insurance. “Travel insurance is important for any kind of travel where you have nonrefundable trip costs at stake that would be subject to you forfeiting money if something disrupted the trip or you had to cancel,” says Stan Sandberg, cofounder of insurance comparison site Travelinsurance.com. “When you’re traveling internationally, it becomes even more important for the traveler because with international travel, you’re going to have a more expensive trip.”

23. Know when to be loyal

When traveling, it can pay to be loyal, whether you get free upgrades on an airline or complimentary internet access with your hotel stay. For airlines, Ewen says determining which brand you’re loyal to should stem from where you live. If your hometown airport is a hub for one specific airline, it’s wiser to prioritize that airline to reap the loyalty rewards — but know that what you’ll get back largely depends on how often you travel. Sometimes, especially for casual travelers, it’s better to keep your options open. “The valuable perks of earning elite status really come for those who travel a ton for work — like once every other week,” Ewen says. So when should you be loyal? “Ask yourself if you would be willing to pay more for a preferred airline flight, or taking a more inconvenient route to be on your preferred airline. If the answer to one or both of those is no, don’t go crazy trying to be loyal.” Additionally, always look for hotel loyalty programs, because even free memberships can come with perks like early check-in, late check-out and the chance to earn rewards for discounted future stays.

24. Rack up points and miles on everyday purchases

You can build your credit card points and miles base not only by flying, but also by strategically spending on everyday purchases, Luna says. Her first rule of thumb: Ditch debit cards. “Use credit cards for everything: home purchases, groceries, renovation and gas,” she says, noting that with many travel credits cards, such as American Express Business Gold, Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Ink Business Preferred Credit, “those small bills can add up to a lot of points.” With these cards, you earn points for your spends, so consider checking to see if you can put your property tax, home insurance, gym membership or phone bill on a card, Luna says.

25. Outsource your travel hacking

Travel hacking can open up a new world of low-cost or free jet-setting opportunities, but you have to know what you’re doing — and it can take a bit of training and time. To help, some travel experts have launched courses on the subject; others offer coaching in travel hacking. But, if you want the travel hacking perks without the time expenditure, Ewen recommends looking into outsourcing, available with companies like I Fly With Miles , Point.Me and Jet Better . “You can basically hire them and pay them a small fee to maximize your points.”

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What to know for booking summer travel: Expert tips on airfare, destinations and more

VIDEO: Where you can score summer travel bargains

As the surge of summer travel draws near, the race to book a great vacation is on.

"If you're looking to travel domestically within the U.S., I think you should be booking now for summer travel," Clint Henderson, travel expert and managing editor of The Points Guy, told "GMA."

Earlier this month while reporting quarterly earnings, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian projected "record advance bookings for the summer," telling CNBC that the carrier's credit card data and bookings show customers are highly interested in air travel.

An increase in budget airline routes that has created more competition, paired with an easing of the post-pandemic revenge travel surge, means travelers could see more deals.

"Overall prices are down from where they were when we just had that boom out of the pandemic," Henderson said. "So things are more reasonable."

Hopper, the flight booking app, has shown predicted fares for flights to Europe will be down 10% in price from the same time last year.

Google recently announced its top 20 trending summer destinations , which saw a few newcomers on the list and Paris rose to the No. 2 spot.

With the Olympics taking place there from July 26 through Aug. 11, an uptick in airfare and hotel pricing is expected during the Games.

But those willing to wait out the Olympics could find big savings for flights to the host nation.

The Points Guy has featured deals from Atlanta, Dallas and Charlotte to Paris for as low as $515 from August through the fall.

Amsterdam, Prague, Spain and Iceland are among the most reasonably priced European destinations, as seen on Hopper.

Tips for booking summer travel

Don't forget to stay flexible with travel dates and keep midweek in mind for possibly lower fares.

There's also a time during the post-summer rush known as "shoulder season," between September and October, when fares could drop by as much as 30%.

When it comes to airfare purchase timing, the experts at The Points Guy have found prices dip eight to four weeks before the outbound flight, but after the one-month mark, prices will creep back up.

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Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

How I Earn 1 Million Frequent Flier Miles Each Year

Travel blogger Nomadic Matt holding a glass of wine while sitting on an airplane in first class

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. This page does not include all card companies or all available card offers.

The best way to travel when you don’t have any money is to take money out of the equation. OK, not completely. While you can travel really, really cheaply, some money is required (unless you want to go hobo-style like this guy , in which case, this article isn’t for you).

But, assuming you don’t want to do that, you are going to need some money for travel. But you don’t need as much as you think you do, especially if you work to make your two biggest expenses — accommodation and flights — virtually free.

By using points and miles .

I’ve written about it before, but I’ve never really broken down how I earn all those points and miles and redeem them for the business-class flights you always see me enjoying on Instagram . In this post, I’ll go into detail and provide the step-by-step breakdown of exactly what I do to earn around one million points a year — all without traveling! (And, when you add in the miles and points I get from traveling, it’s well over a million per year!)

This is going to be a long post, so get your coffee or tea ready.

First, a refresher: collecting airline miles along with hotel and credit card points to get free travel is not about spending lots of money. The idea is to “game the system” and use rewards programs against themselves to get lots of points and miles without spending a lot of money or traveling a lot. You leverage these systems to your benefit.

And it’s not just for Americans — Canadians, UK residents, Australians, Kiwis, and Spaniards can work these systems in their favor. (In reality, anyone can, but it’s just easier if you’re in these countries. So, while I will use the American market as an example, as that is the one I have access to, the principles and strategies I use can apply to you. Just substitute your local cards and programs for mine!)

One quick note before we begin: in the points and miles world, my mileage earning is pretty small. I know people who earn multiple millions of miles a year but I value my time so why spend time earning miles I don’t need? I don’t waste time getting miles I don’t need.

Miles also lose value over time as airlines change their earning and burning rules so I would rather not waste time getting something with a decreasing value. Miles aren’t money.

Some people do this for the love of the game; I do this because I’m cheap and want to pay for as few flights and hotels as possible.

Table of Contents

Step 1 – Get a Travel Credit Card

Step 1a – earn points on rent, step 2 – meet the minimum spending requirements, step 3 – be smart with spending, step 4 – sign up for every contest, survey, and deal in the world, step 5 – buy points/miles….sometimes, step 6 – cancel cards i don’t use, step 7 — get a second round of cards.

Credit cards are the tool through which you run your money in order to accumulate your points and miles. Think of them as the points-and-miles printing press. You can earn points and miles without them, but the process takes a lot longer and is a lot harder. To make this work, you will need a credit card.

When used properly, credit cards are smart financial instruments. You can earn hundreds of thousands of miles per year that enable you to travel for free (and they offer better purchasing protection than your debit card). Simply having them won’t send you into debt or cost you high interest rates. Just make sure not to spend more than you have and to pay off your bill each month.

So, the first thing I do is apply for a bunch of these credit cards.

But I don’t do it willy-nilly.

I have more cards than the average person needs, but I only apply for new cards to reach a specific goal. This is the important point to know before you begin: have a goal in mind. Think about the trip you want to take, where you want to stay, and how you want to get there, and then get the cards that help you get there.

What have I signed up for this year? In the last six months, I applied for the following cards ( note: these offers are all expired and not currently available ):

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – I re-applied for this card after a few years of not having it because the 80,000 point bonus it had at the time was hard to pass up.
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass(R) Card and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card – I’m trying to stay at more Hiltons so I picked up both these amazing cards for a total of 260,000 combined.
The United(SM) Explorer Card – 40,000 miles.

Total points earned: 380,000

One thing to note about credit cards is that you can’t just sign up, cancel, and sign up again. Many card companies make you wait 18–24 months before you become eligible for a sign-up bonus again. I cycle through cards on a multi-year basis.

Therefore, I try to space out my sign-ups. I do two or three big credit card sign-up frenzies per year. This allows me to meet any minimum spending requirements (see below), allows the temporary dip the application causes in my credit score to go away, and gets me around any red flags the credit card companies have.

(Note: Chase has something called the 5/24 rule, which states people who’ve applied for more than five cards from any issuer within a 24-month period can’t get a new card from them so you want to get your Chase cards first. American Express also only lets you earn the bonus once per card per lifetime.)

Moreover, despite popular belief, having a lot of credit cards won’t hurt you. In fact, it can help you. Outside of your payment history, your utilization is the next most important factor in your credit score .

Don’t worry about anything else. If you have $100,000 in available credit but only are using $5,000, that’s better than only having $5,000 in credit and using it all every month. Having more cards can actually help your credit score because of the better utilization ratio they create.

If you want to know the current best deals, here’s a list of my favorite credit card offers that offer the biggest rewards.

Additionally, I earn points on my rent. If you’re a renter in the United States, you have to get Bilt . Bilt is a no fee credit card that earns you points on paying rent. Even if your landlord doesn’t take credit cards, you can pay with Bilt. It acts like a virtual bank account. And they mail checks too. It’s a great card. In fact, the bonus points structure is so good, I use it for most of my everyday purchases too. Here’s a complete breakdown of how it works . If you pay rent and do not get this card, you’re being foolish! It’s a must!

Total points earned: 30,000

Each of these cards comes with a minimum spending requirement before you can earn that bonus. You just don’t get it for nothing.

Here’s how the cards broke down:

Chase: $4,000 minimum spend
Hilton business card: $3,000 minimum spend
Hilton personal card: $2,000 minimum spend
United: $2,000 minimum spend

That meant I had to spend over $11,000 in three months in order to meet the requirements and earn my bonuses!

But my everyday spending isn’t anywhere close to that.

Since the purpose is to not spend extra money (you should absolutely not go into debt for this), I had to figure out ways to meet those spending requirements without incurring extra debt. Here’s how I did it:

In the US, you can pay your federal tax bill on a credit card for a fee of 1.87%. I don’t pay all my taxes during the year so that at the end of the year, I have to pay them in one large chunk. I then time that tax payment with a credit card sign-up so I can get the bonus. Yes, there is a fee, but if you work out the math, it’s worth it. That took care of a big chunk of this.
I time my purchases and sign-ups. If I have to move, buy furniture, need a computer, or join a gym, I sign up for a card and then charge my big purchases to the card.
I go out to dinner with my friends, pay, and ask them to reimburse me. This is especially easy with apps like Venmo nowadays, where they can reimburse you easily at the exact moment of payment.
I ask friends and family if they have a big purchase they wouldn’t mind letting me put on my card. This doesn’t always work but often friends and family will let me put it on my card as a favor and then they’ll pay me instead of the store.

Note: As I incur a lot of business expenses, it’s easy for me to meet the minimum spending requirements for business cards. The steps outlined above were used for the personal cards.

Total spend points earned: 25,000 (21,000 in spending, plus category bonuses (see below on food and office supplies; my tax bill represented half my spending)

1. Use category bonuses In the movie Up in the Air , George Clooney’s character never wastes an opportunity to earn points. I’m the same way. I never, ever, ever just earn one point per dollar spent if I can get 2, 3, or 6 points per dollar spent.

Certain cards have what are known as category bonuses , where you receive 2–5 points per dollar spent. It varies by card, but generally, you get 2 points on restaurants, 2–3 on airfare, and 5 on office supplies.

For example, if I am buying an airline ticket, I’ll use my American Express Platinum and get 5 miles for every dollar I spend. When I’m eating out, I’ll use my Chase Sapphire Reserve® for 3 points on dining. If I’m booking a Delta flight, I’ll use that card for 5 points per dollar spent.

In short, I’m always trying to get more than one point for every dollar I spend.

2. Use airline shopping portals All airlines, hotels, and travel brands have preferred merchants. These companies — ranging from clothing retailers to sporting good stores to office supply businesses and everything in between — partner with airlines’ (hotels’, etc.) special shopping malls. By ordering online through these malls, you can earn additional points.

You can use Evreward or Cash Back Monitor to discover the current best deals across various programs. Simply type in the merchant or product you want, and it will compile a list of bonuses the various point programs are offering at that moment so can you maximize the programs to purchase from.

Say, for example, you want new clothes from the Gap. Going into the Gap store gets you one point per dollar spent. By using Evreward, you see that by going the United shopping portal, signing in, clicking the link to Gap, and purchasing online you can earn three points per dollar spent. Suddenly, you get 300 points instead of 100 for your $100 shopping spree!

That’s basically what you do for everything. Always look to see where you can get extra points.

3. Use Dining Rewards Programs Just like shopping portals, airlines also have dining rewards programs. You sign up with your frequent flier number, register your credit card, and get extra points when you dine at participating restaurants in the airline’s network (which rotate throughout the year). It’s important to note that while you can sign up for every program, you cannot register a credit card with more than one. That means that if your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is tied to your American Airlines account, you can’t earn miles on your United Airlines account with that same card.

Join one of the programs in the Rewards Network (they run all the dining programs) so you can get five miles per dollar spent once you became a “VIP member,” which happens after 12 dines. So if you get those 12 under your belt (so to speak) early in the year, for the rest of the year you’ll be racking up five points per dollar spent!

A note on keeping track of all this: As I was writing this post, I went to dinner with a few friends. My buddy Noah was like “This is too much to keep track of.” That’s a common feeling among people looking to get into points and miles. However, it appears more complicated than it really is. Once you know what cards give you what bonuses, the next step is to simply use the cards that get those bonuses and meet your goals.

You never want to spread yourself too thin though. having points all over the place will lead you to having low point balances in multiple accounts. I tend to stick to just a few accounts with my everyday spending on Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards since they are transferrable points. (Note: Since I solely fly Delta, I don’t worry about building miles in that account as I get plenty through flying and non-bonus business spending on the card.)

Total points earned per year: roughly 100,000-120,000 (spending and bonus category dependent)

Airlines and hotels often offer points and bonuses for signing up for a deal, taking a survey, filling out a form on Facebook, etc. The points here are small (100-1,000 at a time) but, over the course of a year, they can add up.

Moreover, the two companies below will give you cash for filling out consumer surveys:

Inbox Dollars

Total points earned per year: 10,000-20,000

Airlines and hotels sometimes offer really good deals for points/miles and, if I know I am going to use them soon, I’ll buy them at a discount. This basically lets you buy flights for cheaper than booking them.

For example, Lifemiles (Avianca’s membership program) often does a promotion where you can get a 135% bonus on bought miles. If you max the promotion out, you usually get 352,000 miles for around $4,900, but at that rate, you’re buying miles for 1.4 cents per mile, which is an amazing deal. (The closer you get to 1 cent per mile, the better the deal! Follow websites like View from the Wing or One Mile at a Time and they alert you to all these point offers, break it down, and basically tell you if this is a good deal or not.)

It may sound crazy to spend that much money on miles (and you certainly don’t need to do it at all), but let’s put it in perspective. For 90,000 miles, you can book a one-way first-class flight from the US to Asia. Since you spent 1.4 cents per mile, that ticket works out to be $1,260. Not too bad for a first-class ticket, huh?

Buying points and miles is a way to pad your balance and buy tickets at a steep discount. I do this sometimes if I’m traveling soon and know I’m going to paying for the ticket anyway (I don’t always use miles when I travel). It’s not free, but I would rather buy a first-class ticket for $1,260 than an economy ticket for the same price.

Sometimes it’s about finding value and doing a bit of arbitrage to get more for less!

Points earned: 100,000 points

Airline cards have fees so, when the yearly fee comes due, I’ll cancel the cards I don’t use or that don’t have a benefit to me. For example, the British Airways card: I used it for the sign-up miles and was done with it. It was canceled.

The Hyatt card? It has a $75 yearly fee but comes with two nights free each year. That’s two nights in a hotel for $75. I keep that one.

Canceling cards doesn’t hurt your credit score. Old credit lines help, which is why I keep my oldest cards around. They have no fees and high limits so they anchor my credit score.

As I said before, what is important is your overall debt-to-credit ratio. So canceling a few cards lowers that ratio, but if I have no debt it doesn’t matter.

Moreover, I also transfer the credit lines to other cards with that card company so that I don’t lose the credit so be sure to ask your credit card company if you can do the same.

As I said in the beginning, I get cards twice a year. So, when it is time to get cards again, I get a bunch of new cards then repeat step 2 to meet any minimum spending requirements.

Total points earned: 200,000-300,000

Total points earned: roughly 975,000-1,060,000 per year

(The above tricks don’t count all the miles I earn via business expenses, which add up to an additional couple hundred thousand miles a year, putting me well over one million miles earned.)

A lot of this game depends on how much time and effort you put in. If I got more credit cards, I could earn more points. If I devoted more time to this, I could work the system more and get even more miles. I just don’t care enough. I have more miles than I need.

By using the eight steps outlined in this article, the sky is the limit on how many miles you can earn. It just depends on how much you want to ramp up each step. As I said before, my million miles per year is a small number compared to some of the other points and miles pros out there.

However, no matter your effort level, you should do this. Even if you travel only once a year. Using points and miles isn’t complicated. It’s simple and accessible to everyone.

After all, free travel is the best travel.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner . It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld . If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

SafetyWing (best for everyone)
Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.

Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. Nomadic Matt has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Some or all of the card offers on this page are from advertisers and compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. Nomadic Matt and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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What to know for booking summer travel: Expert tips on airfare, destinations and more

Where to score flight deals during the prime summer travel season.