November and December include the biggest travel days of the entire year.
Nearly half of Americans plan to travel over the fall and winter holidays this year, according to an annual survey by Deloitte, as concerns about COVID-19 wane. Saving money on travel will free up a little more cash to bring nice holiday gifts with you as you visit friends and family this holiday season! Here are a few tips on how to save, no matter how you’re reaching your final destination.
Save on gas.
Go ahead and get that tune-up, including inflating your tires. (Under-inflated tires can lower your gas mileage and wear out faster.) In addition, it’s worthwhile to download a mobile app like Upside, which gives you cash back on fill-ups, and Gas Buddy to keep track of prices.
A few more tips:
- If your car doesn’t require premium gas, fill it with regular.
- Carpool if you can! In some areas of Virginia, you can avoid Express Lane tolls by having at least 3 people in your car.
- Travel during off-hours, like early in the morning. The less time you spend sitting in traffic, the less gas you’ll burn sitting at a dead stop on the highway.
- Pack snacks. You can avoid expensive and crowded convenience stores — and impulse buys — along the way if you bring food and drinks from home for long trips.
Save on airfare.
Getting on a plane is one of the most expensive ways to travel. If you can spare the time, consider getting on a train instead. Here’s an example: Taking a train from the Washington, DC area to New York City can be about 3 hours. If you flew from DC to NYC, the plane ride would be shorter but the extra time in airport security, baggage check and other lines makes it about the same as the train.
Here are a few more ideas for saving on airfare if you do have to fly:
- Pack snacks. (Yes, it applies to planes, too!) Airport food is notoriously expensive, and while you can’t bring liquids on the plane, you can bring a sandwich or non-liquid, pre-packaged snacks from home.
- Search for the lowest possible fare. If you can be a little bit flexible on your dates, you can save a lot of money by avoiding peak-travel dates. Use multiple air-fare searching tools to find the best fare possible, and set up alerts through those services for sales to and from your city of interest.
- Look at your credit card rewards. A lot of credit cards, including your CommonWealth One Visa, gives you reward points that you can use for travel. Some also offer travel insurance if you use that card to book your trip, which can save you money on separate travel insurance.
Save on hotels.
If your relatives or friends don’t have an extra bed for you, there are ways to save money on your hotel stay. Many of the same tricks for airfare work for hotels — looking at your credit card rewards program and using travel search tools. Sometimes you can also save money by booking your airfare and hotel at the same time. You’ll also want to consider booking a hotel in the suburbs instead of downtown in your city of choice. Sometimes accepting a 20-minute drive to your relative’s house instead of going to the hotel closest to them can result in big savings.
We hope you have a happy, healthy holiday season and safe travels!
