The typical family plans their vacation by…
1. Deciding where they want to go.
2. Searching for the best deals.
Maybe it’s time to reverse that thinking, maybe it’s time to find a deal first and a destination second.
When it comes to searching for deals, the traditional travel sites are a good starting point, but try a few of these unconventional ways to save money on travel like Groupon Getaways, discounted gift cards, cash back for travel or be spontaneous with last minute travel deals!
Groupon’s Travel Deals – The destinations are always changing, but the deals are always amazing…just remember to read the fine print! You can always find the latest deals on the right side of this page, and here are a few of this week’s best!
Groupon: The Congress Plaza Hotel – Chicago Loop, from $97
Groupon: 3-Night All Inclusive Stay for Two at Club Ambiance – Runaway Bay, Jamaica, save 53%!
Groupon: From $107 a Night at Colony Palms Hotel- Palm Springs, CA
Groupon: Ramada Plaza Marco Polo Beach Resort – Sunny Isles Beach, FL, $79 a night!
Groupon: Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa – San Francisco Bay Area, $139 a night!
Save 50% on the Hotel Deal of the Day!
Hotel Rebate – Save between $20 and $100 on all Hotel Bookings Now with Hotels.com!
Last-minute travel deals. Here today, gone tomorrow at Expedia! – Expires 7/27/13.
Save $25 on a B&B Getaway Gift Card
Earn Cash Back - Have you ever thought about earning Cash Back for your travel? Through Ebates.com, you can earn cash back on your travel through sites like Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity as well as cash back from popular hotels and airlines. Example: Orbitz up to 5.25% cash back, Expedia 5% cash back, Travelocity 5%, Holiday Inn 4.5% cash back, Comfort Inn 3.5% cash back, Dollar Rent-a-Car 3.5% cash back, Sea World 2.5% cash back, Southwest Airlines Vacations 2% cash back! How does it work? Let’s use Holiday Inn as an example. The first step is to go to Ebates.com. Next, in the search box on the top, right side enter Holiday Inn. A page will come up that shows you how much cash back you’ll earn as well as any special promotions or coupon codes that are currently available. Finally, click the “shop now” button, and you’ll be taken directly to the Holiday Inn site. Whatever you end up spending with Holiday Inn, you’ll earn 4.5% of that back from Ebates. Quarterly, Ebates mails you a BIG FAT CHECK for all your cash back! If you’d like to learn more about earning cash back for travel, I recently wrote an in-depth article for Family Travels on a Budget .
Remember, deal first…destination second!
Stop dreaming, start traveling!
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In full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links to help support The Budget Diet girl! My advice will always be unbiased and free, but free won’t pay the bills! Thanks!
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Some great finds here! Thanks so much. It’s nice to have a bunch to choose from together in one place.
One of our best trips was found through deal first, travel second. We’d planned a trip to Rome, the boys were 21 and 16, two special years, so we were going to take them as a gift. The oldest was/is in the military and just couldn’t get the time (he was in the states and had vacation time) because of training. Hubby and I had been, and loved it, but wanted to try something new and save a second trip to Rome for when the boys could join us. We looked around and found a GREAT deal (1/4 of the price of our Rome vacation) to Prague in the Czech Republic. What a great vacation it turned out to be!!!
Sooo…long story short, lol (too late for that, I know), I totally agree that keeping an open mind can lead to a really great vacation. Great advice!
Love your story & the happy ending! Deal first, destination second is a huge money savings, but you have to have an open mind!
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Checkout livingsocial.com (it’s just like groupon) for more great deals!
I’m hooked on these deal sites, and I’m thrilled they’re getting into the travel business! As I always say…”deal first, destination second.” Don’t get your heart set on a certain destination, instead get excited about a great travel deal.
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Always loved deals on traveling! Thanks for sharing!
Simply wanna admit that this is handy , Thanks for taking your time to write this. “Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for stars.” by Fred Allen.
Definitely love booking through eBates! So much money can be saved and earned there! Haven’t tried Groupon or Living Social for travel deals far away but the ones we’ve done within driving distance have been great!
So glad to hear that you use Ebates to save on travel! The Groupon travel deals are great, but you have to be open minded about your travel destination…as I say, “deal first, destination second!”