17 Essential Travel Hacking Tips For Your Next Trip
With many countries having returned to normalcy in the current post-COVID travel season, “revenge travel” has been going strong and it does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. According to a 2023 survey by Skyscanner, 77% intend to spend the same or more on trips abroad than they did in 2022, with 41% planning to spend more.
The surge in travel demand has also brought the prices of air tickets to an all-time high and the costs of travel have increased ever since the COVID period. So before booking your flights in a haste, you’ve got to make sure that you don’t burst your budget while getting everything you need for your vacation or business trip. Here are some quick money-saving hacks that may come in handy.
Money-Saving Travel Hacks: Get The Cheapest Flights
Pick certain days and months to book your flight
Save on booking fees
Redeem air miles for free flights
Using your accumulated air miles earned from your credit card usage can help you to shave off some air travel expenses with free flights. You can find our round-up of the best air miles credit cards here. Check it out!
Follow Telegram groups
Telegram groups like those by Trip.com SG will keep you updated with some of the latest deals for low-cost flights and even travel accommodation promotions. This will save you some research time.
Go for trips on off-peak seasons
Book Accommodations At The Best Price
Use portals with no reservation and cancellation fees
Join WhatsApp groups
Redeem credit card reward points for free stays
Tap On Multi-Currency Accounts Or Digital Wallets
Save on conversion and overseas charges
Profit from small investments
Earn interest or cash back
Buy Travel Insurance
In this post-COVID situation now, travel insurance is mostly not required to travel to many countries, however it is still strongly recommended. Having a travel insurance plan with adequate coverage will allow you claim for medical expenses overseas, so it’ll definitely prepare you better for such unexpected situations.
Hack #1: Consider annual travel insurance
If you’re going to be travelling more than three times each year, it’ll make more economical sense to get an annual travel insurance plan instead of a single trip plan as single-trip insurance for 3 or 4 overseas trips in a year may probably cost the same as or more than an unlimited number of trips on an annual insurance plan.
Hack #2: Enjoy complimentary travel insurance with credit cards
Hack #3: Go for family or group travel insurance
Pick Suitable Car Rental Options
Hack #1: Get a travel insurance plan with car rental excess coverage
Hack #2: Rent without the add-ons
Hack #3: Save on car fuel with credit cards
Check the benefits that your credit cards provide, some of them do offer discounts on fuels at selected petrol stations or you can even receive cashback on overseas spending including those spent on fuel abroad.
Best Credit Cards For Travelling
The welcome bonus air miles of 45,000 miles is pretty irresistible when you sign up for this Standard Chartered Journey credit card. Moreover, you can earn 3 miles for every S$1 spend on various categories including transportation, food delivery and online grocery merchants.
As a traveller, you’ll appreciate the 2 complimentary visits to Priority Pass lounges around the world each year, complimentary travel insurance coverage of up to S$500,000, and the flexibility of choosing between air miles, cash rewards or shopping vouchers for your reward points redemption.
With no minimum spend and a miles earn rate of either 1.2 miles per $1 for local spending, up to 4 miles per $1 for overseas spending, or up to 10 miles per $1 for online hotel bookings, the Citibank PremierMiles Card is a frequent flyer’s card that comes with many benefits.
These benefits include 2 free visits to Priority Pass lounges at over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide per year, complimentary travel insurance, and miles with no expiry. If you’re looking to renew your existing Citibank PremierMiles Card, you’ll be rewarded with a renewal bonus of 10,000 Citi Miles on your Card anniversary.
Whether it’s an American Express Card or VISA Card that is under UOB PRVI, signing up for this card through MoneySmart will give you a chance to get up to 54,000 miles from UOB, and an additional 4,800 miles from UOB.
You’ll also be able to earn up to 6 miles for every $1 spent on selected online hotel and flight bookings, 2.4 miles for every $1 spent overseas and 1.4 miles for every $1 spent locally. Note that you’ll have to fulfil the minimum spend of S$1,000 for 2 consecutive months from your card approval date in order to enjoy the 54,000 miles giveaway.
This card is one of the few credit cards which entitles you to a generous welcome gift of 35,000 miles and unlimited access to over 1,100 airport lounges worldwide per year. You’ll also be able to share your free passes with your supplementary cardholders if you want – so you and your travel buddy can both use the lounge together.
The miles earn rate for this card is 2.25 miles for every $1 spent abroad and 1.25 miles for every $1 spent locally, plus you can enjoy complimentary travel insurance coverage of up to US$2,000,000 (annual value worth S$988).
With a pretty generous 20,000 air miles (equivalent to a round trip air ticket to Bali) giveaway, HSBC TravelOne Card offers you up to 2.4 miles (6X Reward points) for every $1 spent overseas, upon payment of an annual fee of S$194.40 and a minimum spend of S$800.
However, annual fee waiver benefits are available if you spend more than S$25,000 per year. There is no conversion fee when you redeem for air miles or hotel points for a wide range of airline and hotel bookings including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Marriott Bonvoy and more.
With a pretty generous 20,000 air miles (equivalent to a round trip air ticket to Bali) giveaway, HSBC TravelOne Card offers you up to 2.4 miles (6X Reward points) for every $1 spent overseas, upon payment of an annual fee of S$194.40 and a minimum spend of S$800.
However, annual fee waiver benefits are available if you spend more than S$25,000 per year. There is no conversion fee when you redeem for air miles or hotel points for a wide range of airline and hotel bookings including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Marriott Bonvoy and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I avoid booking fees when buying air tickets?
- Buying tickets in person is one way to save on online booking fees, although it may be a hassle to drive to the airport, head down to your preferred airline's ticket counter to purchase your tickets from the representative.
Is there a way to receive instant notifications of flight and hotel booking deals?
- Joining certain Telegram groups and WhatsApp groups by established and renowned travel portals and hotel brands can keep you updated with some of the latest deals for low-cost flights and even travel accommodation promotions.
Should I pick a single trip or annual travel insurance?
- If you’re a frequent traveller or planning to go overseas more than three times each year, it’ll make more economical sense to get an annual travel insurance plan instead of a single trip plan as single-trip insurance for 3 or 4 overseas trips per year may cost the same as or more than an unlimited number of trips on an annual insurance plan.
How to avoid foreign currency exchange fees when travelling?
- Getting a Multi-currency account or MCA helps you avoid any foreign exchange conversion fees when you withdraw, remit or receive foreign currency funds directly from another account.
Can I get waivers for credit card foreign transaction fees?
- Yes, there are many credit cards that offer discounts or waivers of foreign transaction fees, but you’ll have to call in or email or log into your account with your credit card issuing bank to request for it.