People love free stuff, and I'm no exception. When I found out I had friends traveling nearly free on family trips? Well, I had to get the scoop.
According to a 2017 study by LearnVest the average American spends 10 percent of their annual income on vacations, while a quarter of those surveyed said they planned to spend 15 percent or more. You know what else, we rarely budget for this extra expense. So it’s no surprise that when I asked around, the cost is often what kept people from venturing to their dream destinations.
But it doesn't have to!
Before we had families, my best friend and I traveled all over -- we went to the Caribbean, New York, Hawaii, and Mexico!
Now that we have to factor in kids and husbands, we've found it's much more difficult to cover the expenses that come with traveling. So I was thrilled one day when I was scrolling through Instagram and came across her beautiful family in Oahu. Hawaii is her “happy place” and she’d been wanting to take her two girls there for some time. Turns out their flights were practically free, all with the help of credit card points! I was so excited -- if she could do it, I could too.
So I set out to find tried-and-true “travel hacks" that would work for my family. Here are six painless ways I found to save money for family travel:
1. Practice brand loyalty
Most hotel chains, airlines, and even some restaurants have loyalty rewards programs. Most are free to join, so sign up everywhere you visit. Pick your favorite - if you show brand loyalty and choose a chain or airline you like and use it every chance you get, your travel points can add up quickly! Kristin Ford of Monrovia, Calif., has earned free nights by always staying at Hyatt hotels with her family of five. Mark O’Keefe uses Southwest for business trips, with 100 one-way trips in a year, he qualified for a companion pass, and now his wife flies free whenever she’s with him.
2. Earn travel money with everyday purchases
Glendale, Calif., teacher Heather Vales charges her everyday purchases -- groceries, gas, phone, etc. to her United Visa and pays it off each month before the interest accrues. Those reward miles have added up: her family has flown to Maui, Kauai, the East Coast, London, and Vienna all on points. She says her family of four is able to earn the cost of tickets just about every other year or so doing this. Look into big expenses that you already pay that you can charge each month instead -- can you charge your mortgage? Your college tuition bill?
One note: Definitely don’t charge more than you can pay off -- the point is to earn free travel! Expensive credit card interest can kill any bonus you're getting.
3. Use business expenses to your advantage
If you or your spouse travel for work, you can rack up reward points quickly. Every business expense you can pay for on your own card -- and get reimbursed, of course -- is earning you points towards a personal vacation.
My friend Jamie Covey's inlaws flew her entire extended family -- 14 people -- to Kauai for a holiday vacation by charging purchases to their family-owned business credit card.
4. Find an app that saves money for you
Kara Murphy, a Macaroni Kid publisher in Erie, Pa., uses an app called Acorns to save money for travel for her family. The concept is simple: For every purchase made with a credit card or debit card, Acorns automatically "rounds up" to the next dollar and invests that money. Some people use the app for long-term savings, but it also works great for short-term goals -- like family travel. Kara says her family "mindlessly" saved more than $1,000 using Acorns in 2018 -- money they'll use on their next trip.
NerdWallet offers other great app options to help you save money including Qapital, Simplicity, and Chime. Research which one works best for your family!
5. Utilize sign up bonuses and rewards
Take the new year as an opportunity to evaluate your credit and maybe even open a new rewards card with a great sign-up bonus to rack up points fast. If you really want to dive deep, there are several resources on the Internet to learn the tricks of travel hacking (where you open up, and close, credit to earn the most rewards and bonus points).
Financial experts caution that this method is not for everyone, but if managed properly, it can open up an amazing world of travel possibilities. I found a roundup of 2019 travel rewards cards on Creditdonkey.com for some ideas on what might be the best card for your goals.
6. Get creative
Brainstorm ideas as a family on ways to make money to save for travel. Find things around the house you no longer use and can sell. Stop buying lunch and pack it instead. Decide as a family what monthly expenses you can cut back on -- or go without -- daily coffee trips, gym memberships, and streaming subscriptions are just a start! Then put aside the money you earned or normally would have spent. Most banks will allow you to set up automated transfers for free each month. That way the money goes into a second account without you ever noticing it's gone.
Is travel part of your 2019 resolutions? Finding your way to free travel works best when you have a goal. Write down where you want to go and what it will cost to get you there -- or make your own family vision board for inspiration! The next family vacation awaits -- and this time, with a few tools and tricks, it won't break the bank!
