{"id":2329,"date":"2012-08-21T08:01:39","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T14:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/?p=2329"},"modified":"2012-08-21T08:01:39","modified_gmt":"2012-08-21T14:01:39","slug":"getting-the-most-out-of-your-travel-dollars-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/travel-tips\/getting-the-most-out-of-your-travel-dollars-general\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting the Most Out of your Travel Dollars: General"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>1) For extra cash back, go through a deal site like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebates.com\/rf.do?referrerid=64lN900jM96uSczxiHvjCQ%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\">Ebates<\/a>. Every time I\u2019m going to buy a ticket, book a hotel, or rent a car, I go through that site. Each Delta booking pays $1.50. Hotels and car rentals usually pay around 4%. It may not sound like much, but I\u2019ve gotten $170 from Ebates just for clicking through to things I was purchasing anyway.<\/p>\n<p>(And, yes, if you sign up via that link we each get $5. Win.)<\/p>\n<p>2) Sign up for loyalty programs whenever you can. Airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and car rental companies all offer them. Who cares if they start sending you email? Unsubscribe. This is another case where I\u2019ve found I\u2019m accidentally collecting points or miles just by using those services. Many hotel programs let you convert your points to frequent flier miles, too.<\/p>\n<p>3) Use <a href=\"http:\/\/foursquare.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Foursquare<\/a>. Tourist destinations are really getting in on this, and many venues offer benefits. If you don\u2019t want to check in all the time, just look up the place you\u2019re going to and see if their special is worth it. In Vegas, we got 2-for-1 drinks more than once just for checking in at casinos. Foursquare can also be great for tips and recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>4) READ REVIEWS. I can\u2019t say this enough. That hotel\u2019s website will make it look like the greatest paradise to ever exist, but reviews might tell you otherwise. And two reviews aren\u2019t enough: find a volume of them, because one person\u2019s crappy experience doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you should write it off. I prefer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\" target=\"_blank\">TripAdvisor<\/a> for this, because you can research any aspect of travel, including tours and activities.<\/p>\n<p>Things to look for in particular: bedbugs (this is getting to be a big issue everywhere you go), cleanliness, customer service, and location. Those are all make-or-break items for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1) For extra cash back, go through a deal site like Ebates. Every time I\u2019m going to buy a ticket, book a hotel, or rent a car, I go through that site. Each Delta booking pays $1.50. Hotels and car rentals usually pay around 4%. It may not sound like much, but I\u2019ve gotten $170 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[302],"tags":[305,307],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"geo":null,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Z5R-Bz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2327,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/travel-tips\/getting-the-most-out-of-your-travel-dollars-hotels\/","url_meta":{"origin":2329,"position":0},"title":"Getting the Most Out of your Travel Dollars: Hotels","author":"Jenni","date":"08.21.2012","format":false,"excerpt":"1) Book your hotels through Hotels.com. For every 10 nights you stay, you get a free night (valued at the average of the rates you paid over those 10 nights). I just got $154 off a booking in Key West. If you use the site regularly, they\u2019ll upgrade you to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel Tips&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel Tips","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/travel-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/hawaii\/friday-07012005-day-two-the-big-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":2329,"position":1},"title":"Oahu -> Big Island","author":"Jenni","date":"07.25.2005","format":false,"excerpt":"I woke at 4:30am, and we were up and wandering around by 6:30. We got coffee across the street at our hotel's other complex, and cut through the building to the ocean. We took off our shoes and started walking up the beach. There were a bunch of old folks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hawaii&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hawaii","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/hawaii\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/storage\/2005\/07\/316905616_d19ee3bfea_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C895&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/west-coast-roadtrip\/fri-7112003-san-franciscoyosemite\/","url_meta":{"origin":2329,"position":2},"title":"Yosemite National Park","author":"Jenni","date":"07.30.2003","format":false,"excerpt":"I got up and logged to Priceline to book my room for Los Angeles. $35 at the Hilton, which meant that I was spending more for crappy hotels in the middle of nowhere than I was for nice hotels in big cities. Jay came home with my car, and told\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;West Coast Roadtrip&quot;","block_context":{"text":"West Coast Roadtrip","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/west-coast-roadtrip\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3326,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/travel-tips\/a-travelers-review-of-the-capital-one-venture-rewards-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":2329,"position":3},"title":"A Traveler&#8217;s Review of the Capital One Venture Rewards Card","author":"Jenni","date":"07.11.2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been a longtime Delta Skymiles American Express cardholder, since we live in a Delta hub and fly them 95% of the time. The basic card offers free checked bags and an annual $100 companion voucher. You earn miles for purchases, and double miles for purchases from Delta.com. And if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel Tips&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel Tips","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/travel-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/storage\/2013\/07\/3127676791_72e263b01d_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/deep-south-roadtrip\/wed-422003-memphis-tunica\/","url_meta":{"origin":2329,"position":4},"title":"Golf With a Gun (Skeet Shooting in Tunica)","author":"Jenni","date":"04.15.2003","format":false,"excerpt":"I woke up feeling the pain of too much time spent in the car, and way too much of Elvis' home-cooked goodness. I wanted to get out and stretch, so I decided to go for a walk down Elvis Presley Boulevard. It was a beautiful day outside, and I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Deep South Roadtrip&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Deep South Roadtrip","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/deep-south-roadtrip\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19,"url":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/west-coast-roadtrip\/tue-712003-glasgow-mt-kalispell-mt\/","url_meta":{"origin":2329,"position":5},"title":"Driving Across the Nothingness That is Montana","author":"Jenni","date":"07.30.2003","format":false,"excerpt":"On day two of my trip, I began what would be an ongoing contest with myself: to see how quickly I could get out of bed and on the road in the morning. The night before leaving a town, I would pack everything up (the little I had allowed myself\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;West Coast Roadtrip&quot;","block_context":{"text":"West Coast Roadtrip","link":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/category\/west-coast-roadtrip\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/queenofsubtle.com\/rt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}