This is a summary of episode 4, where we discuss ways to save on hotels and home-rental expenses. All relevant links from our discussion are posted!

Table of Contents

1. Saving on Direct Hotel Bookings
2. Expedia/Third-Party Sites
3. Google Hotels
4. Last-Minute Hotel Deals
5. Price-Matching
6. Saving on AIRBNB/Home Rentals
7. Saving on Food at Hotel
8. Helpful Links

Saving on Direct Hotel Bookings

Sign up for Hotel Programs! There are a few reasons to do this. First, when you go to book your hotel, all of your information (including discount programs you’ve added to your account like AAA) will auto-populate, eliminating errors and showing what deals you’re eligible for in real time. Each hotel you book will also begin to accrue points within the hotel’s loyalty program, one of the best ways to get free stays in the future. By signing up, you also will be alerted to hotel sales and award discounts via email. Store all your hotel loyalty numbers in a note on your phone for quick reference should you need them later.

Perhaps the most important reason to create an account ahead of time is if you have credit card points you want to transfer to these hotels. Sometimes signing up for a program right when you want to transfer credit card points can delay the transfer, and then your great deal disappears before you can book and all your previously flexible points are stuck in the hotel program.

Loyalty vs. Flexibility! As we said in the last episode on flights, there are major benefits to using one hotel chain for all of your travel. You will earn points much faster than if you spread your loyalty between different chains, therefore you’ll earn free nights much faster. With some programs, you can earn a free night just by staying a few nights at a time! You will also reach hotel status tiers faster. Hotel chains have different levels of status that come with better perks the more you spend with them. Usually the first tier comes with better room selection, earning points faster, enhanced customer service, and more, so it definitely can pay off to put all your spend into the hotel chain you can tolerate the most, lol.

Flexibility on the other hand allows you to see which hotel is offering the best deal, potentially saving you a lot of money. This may come in handy if you are flying to an audition in a dense tourist area and your dollar can go to the lowest bidder. This can also come in handy if you’re at an audition in Bum-**** Iowa and there are only a few options to choose from. The best approach can sometimes be having a preference for where your loyalty dollars are going, but being willing to switch hotels if the price differs more than a few dollars between programs.

Look for Program Sales! You can save a lot of money by paying attention to marketing emails! They usually alert their customers to both cash and points discounts. A lot of hotel chains have quarterly promotions where you HAVE to sign up specifically for the promotion (like 2500 bonus points each booking). You can see how this would add up if you have 3 auditions in the winter and you are able to amass 7500 points BEFORE the points you’re getting from the program AND your credit card! Dassalottapointz. ALSO, if your credit card is having a transfer bonus on a certain hotel chain (like below), then you get even more for your points! We will be sending out a free weekly newsletter about current airfare and hotel sales that may benefit our patrons, so be sure to sign up above!

AGAIN, Credit Cards Are Not Inherently Evil! Look, we just have to say this: Credit cards are not going to bankrupt you if you are responsible with your finances. If you currently have credit card debt, do not get another credit card. The best advice I ever got was never spend more than what is currently in my checking account. This helps to curb the temptation to overspend on your cards. As long as you’re paying yourself first via savings accounts and/or a retirement account (yes, even you young people), your disposable income can become a powerful tool when leveraged with a strategic credit card. In this case, it might be wise to get a $95/yr Hotel credit card simply for the free night it gets you each year (also the MAJOR points-earning increase on all stays, the complimentary status, and credits towards status the next year). You can see how this would save you a lot over time. If you want some pressure-free advice on which cards might be best for you, consider scheduling a free consultation with us.

Point Sales are like “Credit Cards Lite”! If you are credit card averse or you have credit card debt currently, buying hotel points in small amounts can help you play the points & miles game without having to get a credit card. Let’s say you’re a little short on points for what would otherwise be a $500 cash stay. Buying a few hundred points for $200 cash is getting you a discount on that stay without having to transfer points from a credit card or open a new card for the sign-up bonus. Check back soon for a detailed “How-To” on miles redemptions and credit card point transfers.

Check Your Credit Cards for Rebates! A lot of credit cards offer limited-time deals you have to click to add to your card, like the one pictured below. You can even take this a step further and load up on hotel gift cards during your rebate period for future use! Of course, always check the T&C to see if gift cards qualify for the rebate.

Book hotels and check the price throughout the month! Like airlines, hotels also use dynamic pricing—meaning the cost can vary greatly from day to day. Be sure to check the price ESPECIALLY up to the 24-hour mark after booking, because oftentimes you can cancel and rebook without penalty (be sure to check the terms of your booking before trying this!) Other times, it may be possible to cancel without penalty up to a few days before the stay, etc., so be sure to see what’s possible.

Link your hotel programs to other programs you use! Some hotels partner with other businesses to earn you double points on whatever you’re buying. For example, Hyatt and Avis have a partnership where you can earn 500 bonus points and 25% off rental rates when you book through your Hyatt account. Hilton partners with Lyft so you can earn 3 Hilton points per dollar spent on your rides. Starbucks partners with Marriott as well!

Lyft and Uber also have partnerships you can earn extra miles/points on. Lyft has the option to partner with Delta, Alaska, or Hilton, and Uber partners with Air Canada Aeroplan and Marriott.

The links to join your accounts are below!

Expedia/Third-Party Sites

Benefits of booking through a third-party: Increased discounts; earn with the third-party loyalty program for free nights.

Things to consider: Won’t be earning points with the hotel program in question, therefore missing out on status or free nights within the program; if something goes wrong, you have to deal with the third-party, not the hotel chain itself.

Google Hotels

Aggregator tools are great for initial searches! I often use them to see where the best deals are and then I go directly to the hotel chain website to book. Also, if I have a last-minute booking, I will see if this site shows steep discounts before looking at other sites.

Last-Minute Hotel Deals

Check sites like HotelTonight.com or Priceline’s Pricebreakers tool to see if you can score an even better deal! Hotels want to fill their rooms!

Price-Matching

Both hotel chains AND OTAs seem to have their own policies about price-matching. The important thing is to read the T/Cs on the booking you made before submitting your proof. At Hilton, if you find the exact same booking elsewhere, they’ll give you an additional 25% off BUT it has to be within 24 hours of booking!

Saving on AIRBNB/Home Rentals

Check if you can use a credit card you already have to buy an AIRBNB gift card. I recently had to do this when I was playing with a major orchestra but didn’t want to shell out a ton of money on a hotel for the week. I cut my costs in half by staying at an AIRBNB but also got 4X points on my Amex Gold card for the gift card purchase.

All this being said, it is pretty hard to get a discount on these home rentals, but it never hurts to check sites like Rakuten to see if there’s a discount by clicking through their portal.

Buy AIRBNB gift cards through airline shopping portals. If you care about your airline miles, consider buying a gift card through their portal to earn miles towards free future flights. Say that five times fast.

Saving on Food at Hotel

Hotel perks: Check whether your hotel offers you free breakfast or a daily food and beverage credit! I use these all the time as a Hilton Diamond member and I save A LOT because $15 of free food goes a long way. Once you’re at the breakfast bar, try to stock up on things you can eat throughout the day, like apples/bananas or a bagel. Definitely drink their coffee if you can stomach it, lol.

Bring a cooler! If you’re driving, consider trekking with a small cooler if you want to bring specific items or are worried the room won’t have a fridge.

Ideas for cheap, unrefrigerated meals: Oatmeal, peanut butter sandwiches, microwaved pastas/ramen, soups, rice, canned meat and fish, apples, oranges, bananas, and remember that refrigerating your fruits and vegetables is just a way to make them last longer, it’s not going to go bad sitting on your counter or in a container for a few days. 

Check grocery delivery options. If you’re staying outside of walking-distance of a grocery store, check if there are grocers that offer delivery nearby. Some commonly used delivery programs are Kroger, Amazon Whole Foods, Instacart, Aldi, and Walmart+. You can also use services like Uber Eats or GrubHub and check the nearby restaurant deals. Sometimes restaurants offer percentages off if you spend over a certain amount, free additional food, or BOGO deals just by ordering through those platforms. Check if any of your credit cards offer some of these specialty programs for free, like Walmart+ or Instacart+, as this can offer additional discounts and fee waiving. If you are close enough to pick up the food, then there’s no additional delivery fee but you still get the discounts from the app.  If you’re lucky enough to be staying near a dollar store, that can also cut down on your food costs.

If you’re going out and being social like we suggested in Episode 1: Remember, lunch is typically cheaper than dinner. Also, there are plenty of happy hours at restaurants so do some research ahead of time for local spots that may be offering it.

Helpful Links

Starbucks Partnerships: https://www.deltastarbucks.com/content/starbucks/en/overview.html

Lyft Partnerships:
https://help.lyft.com/hc/et/all/sections/0978008190-Rewards-and-partnerships

Uber Partnerships:
https://help.uber.com/en/riders/section/promos-and-partnerships?nodeId=c1c3ee20-dee2-46f9-8b94-81dc65ef2802

Hilton Price-Matching: https://www.hilton.com/en/p/price-match-guarantee/