Saving Money on Travel Beyond Flights and Hotels

Many people get into points and miles because they want to save money on travel.

Points and miles are amazing for that! We’ve been able to take so many trips that wouldn’t have been possible without points and miles. It is truly one of the best ways to stretch your travel budget and see more places for less money.

If you like saving money on flights and hotels, you probably like saving money on other trip expenses too!

Beyond using points for the main travel expenses of transportation and lodging, this post is full of tips and tricks to save money on other aspects of a trip, like food and activities. Some of these tips involve credit card perks, but many of them are available to anyone, regardless of what credit cards you hold.

Save Money on Food

Food costs can add up quickly on a vacation, especially for a family. Here are some ideas to help you save money while feeding your family either on a trip or at home!

Instacart

Several Chase cards come with either $10 or $20 Instacart credits each month. You can use these credits to order groceries and have them delivered to your hotel or vacation rental.

We like to use our credits on trips for easy (and cheap!) breakfasts and lunches. We get things like muffins, yogurt, cheese and crackers, fruit, pre-cut veggies, hummus, sandwich stuff, and more.

Many hotels include a mini fridge, which makes it easy to store refrigerated items.  

Sometimes stores will offer coupons through Instacart (like $15 off a $50 purchase) that stretch our budget even further. These aren’t always available, but when I can, I like to choose a store offering a coupon or discount. 

We have a post all about maximizing the Chase Instacart benefit to help you make the most of these credits.

DoorDash Credits

Several Chase cards also come with free DoorDash credits. Most cards offer $10 off a non-restaurant order each month. 

You can use these coupons to pick up discounted snacks or have low-cost meal options delivered from a grocery store. This is especially helpful if you’re not renting a car and there aren’t many options within walking distance.

We have a post all about how to use the Chase DoorDash benefits that shows you exactly how to do this.

inKind

inKind is an app you use to check out at participating restaurants. There are over 8,000 participating restaurants nationwide. Choosing a restaurant where you can use inKind is an easy way to save some money when you’re eating out.

There are a few ways to save money with inKind:

1. Purchase a discounted gift card (Costco sells $100 gift cards for $74.99)
2. Use an inKind offer
3. Earn inKind cash back

When you buy a discounted gift card, you’re automatically saving a good chunk of money on your meal. InKind regularly has special offers in the app (like $25 off $75, $15 off $30, etc.) that can also save you money. You get $25 off your first $50 meal just for signing up.

Even without a gift card or special offer, you earn up to 25% cashback through inKind that can be used on a future purchase. 

We have a post all about inKind that shows you exactly how it works.

Too Good to Go

Too Good To Go is an app that helps cut down on food waste. 

When restaurants have unsold food, they list items as a surprise bag on Too Good to Go. Customers can then buy the bags at a discount.

You don’t get to choose exactly what you’ll get, but the restaurant usually includes a description of what types of items are included.

Surprise bags from donut places or cafes can be a great way to get an easy breakfast at a discount. Pizza places, delis, or other restaurants are great for lunch, dinner, and snacks.

We’ve used Too Good to Go to buy discounted bagels, donuts, cupcakes, sandwiches, chocolates, pizza, and much more.  On our last visit to New York, we bought a surprise bag from a bagel shop that included over a dozen bagels for around $5. 

Grocery stores and convenience stores are often included as well. Items may be near their expiration date, but are still perfectly safe to eat.

Dining Credits

If you have a card that offers dining credits, using them on a trip is a good way to cut down on your food budget. Several American Express cards offer monthly or bi-annual dining credits at select restaurants. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® also does. 

Many people don’t have restaurants near them to use these credits, so using them on a trip is the perfect way to get value out of a credit you might not otherwise have been able to use.

Discounted Gift Cards

You can buy discounted gift cards from many places, especially large chain restaurants. Warehouse clubs like BJ’s or Sam’s are a good way to find these.

DoorDash regularly offers 10% off select gift cards to DashPass members. Again, you can get a free DashPass membership with several different credit cards from Chase.

Buying a discounted gift card can save a small amount on purchases you were planning to make anyway.

Choose a Hotel where You can Get Some Meals for Free

Hotels with free breakfast or club lounges can end up saving you quite a bit of money. Club lounges often include breakfast in the morning plus snacks in the afternoon/evenings, which can be made into a full meal.

We have a map of all the Hyatt hotels with Club lounges.

Even if you pay slightly more to get club access, it can be worth it if you’re able to get free breakfast every day plus a few dinners out of it.

Save Money on Experiences

Shopping Portals

Before you book a tour, check shopping portals to see if you can earn extra points or cash back. Shopping portals like Rakuten and TopCashback often have tour companies like Viator and Get Your Guide included. You can get cash back (or points) just by going through the shopping portal first before you book your tour.

Viator is often elevated to 10-15% back on Rakuten. That’s a nice savings. 

If you want to wait to buy until there are elevated offers, use SaveWise to set an alert for specific sites like Viator! 

If you have the Capital One Shopping browser extension, it’s also common to get an offer emailed to you 1-2 days after visiting a site like Viator, Get Your Guide, or Undercover Tourist. 

Card Linked Offers

You can find card-linked offers on most credit cards, including those from Chase, Citi, Capital One, and American Express.

For most of these offers, you’ll need to add them to your card first. Then, when you make a purchase, the offer will be credited to your account.

To find them, log into your account and look for “offers”.

Card linked offers can be for anything, but it’s common to see them for travel related things like hotels, activities, car rental companies, and restaurants. 

If a card-linked offer aligns with your plans, this can be a good way to save a little more on a trip! 

Pro tip: Card Pointers can sync and activate all your card-linked offers for you from their app! Then you’re able to search them all at once to find them. 

Bank of America “Museums on Us”

With this program, you get free entry into specific museums, zoos, gardens, and more on the first full weekend of the month. 

Each person with a Bank of America card gets one entry so each person in your household will need a Bank of America card. But! Bank of America lets you add a user of any age to a credit card. We’ve added our kids on our cards as authorized users so we can all get in free. 

Browse all the included locations here. 

Reciprocal Memberships

Zoos and Aquariums

If you have a membership to your local zoo or aquarium, you can often get discounted admission to zoos and aquariums in other cities.

To see what options are available, head to the membership page of your local zoo or aquarium. They will usually have a list of other zoos and aquariums where you can get reciprocal benefits.

If the zoo/aquarium is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) you may see “AZA” on your membership card. The list of participating locations where you can get reciprocal benefits through AZA can be found on the AZA website.

25% or 50% off admission is typical. The benefit usually covers everyone listed on the membership, though some places will limit the number of tickets that are included.

ASTC Passport program

Similar to AZA, the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) is an organization of science museums, technology centers, and children’s museums. If you have a membership with your local science or children’s museum and they participate in ASTC, you can get free or discounted admission to hundreds of other museums worldwide.

Admission is typically free for anyone named on the membership. That includes up to two adults and 4 children. 

To take advantage of this benefit, you’ll need to present a valid membership card and a photo ID. Free/discounted admission is only available at locations that are at least 90 miles from your home address. 

Check the ASTC website to see a list of participating museums.

I’ve personally used this all over the country to visit many museums completely free! It’s one of my favorite travel tips, especially with kids.

Buy Tickets through Undercover Tourist, Get Away Today, or Tickets at Work

My family enjoys theme parks, but we hate paying full price.

Undercover Tourist often offers the same tickets for a lower price than buying direct. You can get tickets to places like Disney, Universal Studios, Sea World, and many more. You’ll pay less than the gate price for the exact same tickets.

Once you have your tickets, you can still link them to your Disney or Universal account for easy admission and reservations. 

Other sites like Get Away Today and Tickets at Work offer discounted tickets as well.

Discounted Gift Cards

If you do want to book direct, you can save some money by purchasing discounted gift cards and using those to pay. You can buy discounted Disney gift cards at warehouse clubs like Sam’s and Costco, then use those to pay directly with Disney.

Use Points for Tickets

Through programs like Hyatt FIND and Capital One Entertainment, you can use points to cover event tickets, tours, and other experiences. Events change regularly but can include things like sports tickets, theater shows, food tours, and more.

Save Money on Anything

Bank Bonuses

Banks regularly offer a cash bonus when you open a new bank account. You can earn the bonus by meeting a list of requirements like depositing a certain amount of money, receiving a minimum number of direct deposits, and/or maintaining a minimum account balance for a set period of time (like 6 months). 

Bank bonuses can be an easy way to earn some extra money for a trip (or anything really). Just be sure to read the fine print to make sure you don’t miss any requirements to get the bonus.

Doctor of Credit maintains a list of current bank bonuses.

Cash back Credit Cards

Cards that earn cash back can be used to pay for virtually any expense. Just redeem the points as a statement credit and use those funds however you wish.

We often focus on opening cards that earn points, but cards that earn cash back can be an important part of your overall travel strategy.

A Note on Travel Agents

I see people recommend travel agents all the time as a way to save money. It’s true that travel agents can often offer you extra benefits and deals when you book with them, but these are no different than what you can find and book yourself if you know where to look.

I’ve never had a travel agent offer me something better than what I could find and piece together myself.

Now, that’s not to say you shouldn’t use a travel agent! I personally take 1-2 cruises every year, and I almost always use a travel agent to book those. They can be invaluable if any issues come up.

In general, travel agents are great for saving you time, but not so much for saving money. If you don’t want to figure out how to book everything directly or how to piece a whole trip together, travel agents can be a big help. But if you want the lowest price, you’ll usually be better off booking things on your own!

Ready to Save Some Money?

Points are an amazing way to stretch your travel budget. We have a ton of resources teaching you how to do just that. Beyond booking flights and hotels with points, it’s always nice to find ways to save on other trip expenses. This list was created to help you do just that.

When we keep the actual money spent low, that means we can take even more trips!