My SHINY Nickels

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Travel on the Cheap: FREE $25 Travel Credit on AirBnB.com!

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By now you know I’m all about being frugally cool, and living a rocking life on a budget.  But I’ve got to tell you, I’ve never really been the coupon-ing type.  It’s still kind of a mystery to me, and seeing a glimpse of Extreme Couponing on TLC a few months ago revealed what looked to be living rooms full of deodorant and dental floss.  (Maybe some of you expert coupon-ers can enlighten me otherwise.)

Or maybe I’m jaded from a lifetime of receiving coupons like this…

A precious gift from my daughter Faith a few years ago. And no, I have not redeemed it. Yet.

But when my friends over at AirBnB.com said I could offer my readers a FREE $25 Travel Credit, I was ecstatic.

What is AirBnB, you ask?

It’s a website that allows travelers to book accomodations online, with people just like you and me, in over 190 countries all over the world.  You can book just about anything…a shared room,  a small cabin, even an entire ski chalet.  Both private owners and property managers upload listings, and the rates are very competitive.

Back in May, my husband and I traveled up to the Seattle area to visit our daughter and her husband.  They lived in Issaquah, a suburb of Seattle, and the hotel options in that area were between $100 (barely decent) – $200 per night.  Plus taxes, and fees, blah blah blah.   I headed over to AirBnB.com, typed in Issaquah, and I found exactly what I was looking for.

A private cabin, that backed up to a lush green forest.  A creek that ran through the trees ended in a waterfall,  completing the postcard picture that was this cabin.  It was $80 per night.  We booked it for 3 nights.  Fast forward to the day of arrival.  The owner texted me with the location of the key, and when we pulled up, we discovered a charming cabin, with a kitchenette and a goodie basket overflowing with fruit and granola bars.   At night, we fell asleep to the sound of the waterfall outside.  It was idyllic.

Randy attempted a photo-bomb on the left. Sorry honey, better luck next time.

I feel peaceful just looking at this picture of the backside of the cabin. Ahhhhh….

 

We’ve been AirBnB folks for a while now,  (I already mentioned them in an earlier travel post), but if you weren’t convinced before, now it’s time! If you’ve never explored what AirBnB.com has to offer, check it out.  Want to book a cabin in the mountains for the weekend?  $25 off! Looking for a place to stay near the beach?  $25 off!  The wine country? I could go on and on and on.  But I won’t.

As for us, we just booked a romantic weekend getaway in Lake Tahoe at the end of the month. It’s a private home, 1/2 mile from the south shore with a hot tub on the back deck for $130 per night. Perfect, private and cheaper than most other options in that area!

Now you’re probably wondering how to redeem this $25 Travel Credit, huh?  Just use the special link below, and it will prompt you to create a new AirBnB profile.  The $25 credit will automatically appear during checkout when you book your first reservation.

www.airbnb.com/c/ldobbins1

So head over there, and take a look around.  Then book a cheap getaway.

You’re welcome.  😉

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER:  AirBnB.com has agreed to compensate this blog for distributing this offer.  But rest assured, I would never recommend something I’m not using (and loving) myself! 

The Top 10 Reasons Why I Pay Less to Travel Than You – Part TWO

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Welcome.  This is PART TWO in a 2-part series on “The Top 10 Reasons Why I Pay Less to Travel Than You”.

In PART ONE, we talked about flights.  We were introduced to the “Travel Fool”, who is planning a week-long vacation to Kauai for 2 people in mid-June. He put in his search parameters and booked the cheapest flight he saw…paying $2,256 for 2 round-trip flights.

Which is still WAY TOO MUCH stinkin’ money.  Then came the “Travel Savvy Cool Guy” who does a little tap-tap-tapping on the keyboard, and in 10 minutes, saves himself $1,270, a savings of 56%.

And it’s time to confess…for me, it’s not just about the discount, it’s the thrill of the chase…now that we’ve saved a ton of money on our flights, let’s tackle lodging, food and activities, shall we?

 

Let’s jump right into where you’re going to stay.  If I was the “Travel Fool”, I would book a hotel stay in Kauai, paying the average nightly rate for a 3-star property…$220.  Which for a week-long stay would put us at $1,320.  But we’re not the “Travel Fool”, we’re the “Travel Savvy Cool Guy”, remember?   So we keep looking.

 

5)  Where You Stay Is None of My Bid-Ness

If you’re absolutely set on staying at a more traditional hotel/resort/condo, your best bet is likely going to be on sites such as Hotwire.com or Priceline.com.   Both of these travel sites contain a function where you can either bid on travel or purchase travel without knowing the hotel name in advance.

But this shouldn’t deter you.  This is where significant savings can be had.  The reason I mention those websites specifically is because of a place called BetterBidding.com.  Never heard of it?  It’s a forum where Hotwire and Priceline bidders post their successful wins so you can see what others paid for a given hotel. The site also contains a “Hotel List”, which shows the participating hotels in any given city/neighborhood and star category.  That way you can get an idea of what hotel you’ll receive in advance, taking most of the mystery out of the decision.  I’ve used both Hotwire and Priceline numerous times, and received stays in high-end hotels (Hyatt, Hilton, etc) for as low as $50 per night in some cases.

 

6)  There’s No Place Like HomeAway

If you’re open to staying somewhere besides a hotel/resort, which I personally prefer, try sites like HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and AirBnB.com.  On these sites you can find thousands of people renting out their vacation homes/cottages/condos, usually for much less than you’d pay at a hotel or resort…and it’s much more private.

I found an ocean-view guest house in desirable East Kauai just a short walk from the beach on VRBO.com for $80 / night.  A bonus with vacation homes is that they usually have at least a kitchenette, which allows you to cook some meals on your own…but I’ll get more into that later.

We’ve now dropped our lodging from $1,320 to $480…that is $840 in savings to stay in a private vacation home instead of a hotel/resort.

A difference of $840…that’s a 64% savings!

 (Last-Minute Update:  Just as I was about to publish this post, I scored a great deal on lodging for our Seattle trip next month.  For 3 nights, the cheapest ‘decent’ hotel I could find in the area we wanted to stay was $99/night plus taxes/fees, for a total of $359.  I went to AirBnB.com, and found a private cabin with a backyard waterfall for $80/night, total $259.  That’s nearly a $100 difference, for a weekend trip.  It pays to look around!)

7)  Get a Deal on Wheels

Some destinations require a set of 4 wheels to get around.  If that’s the case, try Orbitz.com and use their car rental comparison tool.  It gives you a handy-dandy comparison grid of all vehicle types across nearly all rental agencies.  It even highlights the cheapest option in each category. At the minimum, this grid will give you a ballpark figure to work from.

The other place I always check is Budget.com.  Promo codes for their website are easy to find and just as easy to use.  Just google “Budget coupon code” and hundreds of them will pop up.   I’ve received up to 40% off at times using various coupon codes.  I also recommend waiting until a few days before travel (unless you’re traveling during a busy holiday), as the rental rates are usually much lower.

So…let’s get into how this works…I found a few coupon codes for Budget, ran the numbers for a weekly rental, and pulled together the total “out-the-door” price quotes for 3 different scenarios.  The first price quote is the standard rate someone like the “Travel Fool” would pay without any discounts ($225.55).  The second price quote is after I applied the coupon code W852873 that I found from a google search ($199.96).  The last price quote is after applying the coupon code W852873 and changing my rental period to next week ($158.14).

The difference between the first and last scenarios is a savings of $67.41.  That’s a 30% savings!

 

8)  Find Deals on Meals

We’ve had some mighty fine grub on our travels.  Even in notoriously expensive places like Hawaii, we’ve been able to eat on less than $50 a day for both of us, and that INCLUDED splurging on shave ice.  We’ve packed picnic lunches from a local deli or ordered a pizza and had dinner on the beach.   If the place you’re staying has at least a kitchenette, get a few groceries and make some meals right in your room. You can always dine al fresco on your patio or pack it up and have a picnic in a local park/beach.   It’s awesome!  Whether you eat in or eat out, just get out of the tourist areas (aka “traps”) and you’ll find a world of delicious, cheap food.

Case in point…have you dined at a shrimp truck in Hawaii?  It’s fast, it’s cheap and it’s slap-yo-momma good.

 

9)  Exchange Rates Matter

If your destination is international, and you’re deciding between a few different areas, consider the exchange rate and cost of living.  That is, determine where you can get more for your dollar, and you’ll squeeze in more travel fun for less moolah.  An example would be Thailand and Argentina.  Your dollar will stretch MUCH farther in Thailand than Argentina.  For the same price as an average vacation in Buenos Aires, you could enjoy a rather luxurious vacation in Thailand.

 

10)  Get Your Groove On with Groupon

Once you know where you’re headed, check out the local Groupon or LivingSocial offers for restaurants and activities.  There’s plenty of discounts, and you may even discover places you’d never have found otherwise.  I would advise going on Yelp.com to check them out first though.  Getting 50% off of something that sucks, well, still sucks.

 

 

Now let’s recap, shall we?

The “Travel Fool” would have paid $2,268 for flights, $1,320 for an average 3-star hotel and $225 for a weekly car rental for a TOTAL of……..$3,813

The “Travel Savvy Cool Guy” would have paid $1,008 for flights, $480 for a private beach house and $158 for a weekly car rental, for a TOTAL of……..$1,646

 

I’ll do the math for you.

That’s a difference of $2,167.   A 57% savings.

In fact, you could extend your vacation in Kauai to almost AN ENTIRE MONTH and STILL PAY LESS than the “Travel Fool” paid for ONE WEEK! It’s madness.  Complete madness, I tell you!

 

So if you love to travel like we do…quit throwing your money away on things that don’t bring you joy, and instead let that cash take you somewhere cool.  Once you stop being the “Travel Fool” and start becoming the “Travel Savvy Cool Guy”, you’ll be traveling more often, for much longer, for less cash than you ever thought possible.

The Top 10 Reasons Why I Pay Less to Travel Than You – Part ONE

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You know my obsessions by now.  Personal finance.  Food.  Travel.

That last one?  Yeah, it can really wreak havoc on a budget.  We enjoy our share of cheap little weekend getaways, but sometimes you really want to get away.  You know?  Over the years I’ve found some tricks that allow us to travel for less without becoming flight attendants or drug mules.  Both would really cramp our style.  These are strategies that can be used time and time again, with very little effort, by the average traveler.  No mileage hacking or travel reward credit cards involved.

And because this topic is so broad and enormous, I’ve divided it into multiple posts; today’s post is PART ONE, and we’re talking about one of the most expensive factors of your trip…FLIGHTS.

 

Let’s get started.

I’m going to plan a virtual vacation right now, as I type this, so you can see that the discounts I’m talking about are not just random numbers I’m pulling out of the air.  These are real trips I could book today for the prices I show you.   I’m going to use my favorite destination, the island of Kauai, staying for 7 days, 6 nights in mid-June for 2 people.  A fairly standard summer vacation plan.

Let’s pretend I’m a typical traveler living in my hometown of Sacramento, California.  Many people tend to head over to Expedia.com, so I’ll start there and put in my search parameters…

Sacramento (SMF) to Lihue, Kauai (LIH), from Sunday, June 15th through Saturday, June 21st.

 

I get the following results…

CHEAPEST FLIGHT = $1,134 Roundtrip per person on United Airlines (x 2 = $2,268)

 

At this point, if you’re a “Travel Fool”, you go ahead and book it…deciding that must be the going rate for Kauai these days.  

But I know better.

 

1)  Be Like a Gymnast…and Get Flexible

First things first…flexibility is one of your biggest allies.  This is how you’ll be able to find the deepest discounts.  So do some mental stretches and get comfortable with the idea that you may not end up traveling on the day you want or the time of year you prefer.  Or maybe you envisioned staying at a resort, but you’re okay staying at an alternative property.

In fact, you may find that thinking outside the box is not only cheaper but gives you an experience that typical vacations will never provide.

 

2)  Get To Know Your Neighbors

Check neighboring cities when searching for airfare.  Often you’ll find that if you drive just an hour or two, you can reach a hub airport where fares are cheaper.  So let’s go back to our Kauai example.

If I change my departure airport to QSF (this is the code for “All San Francisco Bay Area” airports, see “Hint” below), and press “Search”…I get a new cheaper flight for the exact same dates…

San Jose, CA (SJC) to Lihue, Kauai (LIH)  $970 Roundtrip per person on American Airlines

We’ve now dropped our flights from $1,139 to $970 per person…that is $338 in total savings to leave out of San Jose instead of Sacramento (less than a 2 hour drive away).

 

Hint:  Did you know that you can often search and compare all regional airports at one time, by using what is called a “Metropolitan Airport Code”? For example, the New York City area (JFK / Newark / LaGuardia) is “NYC”.  The Los Angeles area (LAX, Ontario, Orange County, Burbank) is “QLA”.  The San Francisco Bay Area (San Francisco Intl / Oakland / San Jose) is “QSF”.  Go here for a complete list.  These codes are super convenient; when I entered “QSF”, the search engine looked for the cheapest fare out of ALL regional airports, and not just one.  

 

3)  Don’t Travel With the Pack

Travel on low-demand days of the week.  I have the best luck with Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  So let me do a little tap-tap-tap on my keyboard and change my dates.  I’m going to shift my trip by just two days.   I plug in a departure of Tuesday, June 17th through Monday, June 23rd and sure enough…I get an even cheaper fare!

San Jose, CA (SJC) to Lihue, Kauai (LIH)  $693 Roundtrip per person on Delta Airlines

We’ve now dropped our flights from $1,139 to $693 per person…that is $892 in total savings to leave out of San Jose instead of Sacramento and by shifting our trip to Tuesday through Monday.

 

4)  It’s Time to Get Off the Peak

If you’re not set on traveling a particular time of the year, find out the off-peak season for your destination and travel then.  Once again, we’ll go back to our Kauai example.   Instead of traveling in June, which is during a peak season in Hawaii, we’ll go in November.  I plug in a new departure of Tuesday, November 4th through Monday, November 10th.  And…you guessed it…the price dropped…AGAIN!

San Jose, CA (SJC) to Lihue, Kauai (LIH)  $504 Roundtrip per person on Delta Airlines

We’ve now dropped our flights from $1,139 to $504 per person…that is $1,270 in total savings to leave out of San Jose instead of Sacramento, shifting our trip to Tuesday through Monday and going in November instead of June.

 

Did you catch that? Just from applying a handful of strategies, that took me 10 minutes…that’s a difference of…

$1,270…a 56% savings!

The “Travel Fool” would have paid $2,268 for 2 round-trip tickets, but since you’re the “Travel Savvy Cool Guy” you knew better and found them for $1,008!

 

You’re already on your way to vacationing at half-price…stay tuned for PART TWO…I can hardly wait…we’re just getting started!

 

UPDATE:  I’ve been using a site called SkyScanner.com recently and I love it.  It essentially does all of the steps above for you.  You can even enter parameters that will search for the cheapest place to fly in the world anytime in the next year!  So if you know you have $200  bucks to spend, just enter your departure airport, and it will tell you where you can fly and when in ascending order by price.  Any destination under your max budget is a possible vacation spot!