Money Saving Tips I Learned As a Frequent Traveler

August 12, 2015

As a senior resident financial planner for Financial Finesse, my job requires me to travel from time to time. As you can imagine, there are several perks to business travel. For starters, you sometimes get to go to exotic places like Parker Dam, CA, Newcastle, WY, or Elko, NV and then there are the luxurious accommodations like the Budget Host Inn & Suites in Memphis, TN or the Rime Garden Inn & Suites in Birmingham, AL or a personal favorite of our planner team, the Hacienda Hotel in our very own El Segundo, CA. All kidding aside, it is fun to travel every once in a while, and you do pick up a travel tip or two along the way. Here are a few of my favorite tips to help the less-than-frequent travelers among you:

Tips on Flying

Travel midweek

Mondays and Fridays are very popular for business travel, and weekends are popular for casual travel, so if your travel plans require getting on an airplane, consider flying midweek.

Compare airlines and airports

I prefer Expedia.com when checking for flights because it allows me to view multiple airlines at one time. Not all airlines are listed, so check your local airport as well as the airport of your destination to see if there are lesser known airlines available. Also, look for nearby airports. Flying from Charlotte to Philadelphia is a lot more expensive than flying from Charlotte to Trenton.

Pack a snack at home

The last place you want to buy snacks is at the airport. Take five minutes before you leave home to pack some snacks for the trip. It will save you money and the hassle of having to carry your bags through the gift shop.

Tips on Rental Cars

Discounts versus rewards

If you rent cars frequently and someone else is paying the bill, then join an awards program and take advantage of expedited check-in through most major carriers. But if you rent cars on your own dollar, check out the deals you can get through websites like Hotwire and Priceline. You may not be earning rewards or know the company you are renting from until after the purchase, but the discounts can more than make up for these lost perks.

Reconsider upgrade offers

Rental car agencies don’t have as much control over their inventory as you might think so when the agent offers an “upgrade” for a few dollars a day more, it could be because the next higher class vehicle is all they have on the lot. It’s not always the case, but you can upgrade AFTER you find out what kind of car they’re giving you.

Tips at the Hotel

Shop hotels by location and type, not name

My colleagues tease me because I like to play a little game they call “hotel roulette.” That’s because I often book my hotels using the same websites I use for rental cars (i.e., Hotwire and Priceline). With these sites, I can choose a general area and a star rating, but I won’t know exactly which hotel I am in until after I book. This makes some people nervous, and it doesn’t earn me any rewards with the hotel chain, but I figure I can go ahead and stay in a nice hotel whenever I want with all the money I save (even though it is technically the company’s money, but you get the point).

Use shampoo as laundry soap

Okay, this is where frugal Greg emerges. I actually learned this trick from my colleague Linda when I spotted her in the laundry room two weeks ago.  We were both staying in an extended stay hotel and each needed to do a load of wash. I paid the $1.25 for a box of laundry soap, but Linda used the extra bottle of hotel shampoo for her load. According to my wife, there’s no difference, so guess who’ll start smelling like Paul Mitchell next?

Use the water from the workout room

Most places have a water cooler in the workout room, so rather than pay $2.50 or more for bottled water, I bring an empty water bottle and fill it up when I arrive. It’s better than tap water and works great for the in-room coffee machine.

Make lunch at breakfast

If the place where you stay offers breakfast, they probably put out bread for your toast along with peanut butter and jelly as spreads. These also happen to be the main ingredients of one of my favorite childhood sandwiches. You can grab a banana, a muffin, and maybe even a breakfast bar for the road.

Only use what you need

Most places where I stay have one bar of soap for the sink and another for the shower. I find that a facial bar works just as well on every other part of the body, so keep the bath soap for the ride home. You’d be surprised at how nice a soap and shampoo collection you can build up when you only use what you need.

I realize that some of these tips are very frugal, and some will save you a few dollars while others may save you a few hundred. Either way, it’s your money. Keep it!