If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me how I afford to travel so much, I would never have to pay for a flight again wink. I don’t blame y’all for wondering though – after all, I did travel to 19 different cities in a year… But lucky for all of you, I’m about to spill the tea on my tips to cheap travel. Because your money will always return, but your time will not! So book that flight!
Have friends in different cities
I literally have at least one friend in every major city – no cap! Shoutout to going to college at SDSU and working in nightlife for 4 years wink. But seriously, having friends in different cities is the way to go. That way you have someone to show you around and you have a free place to stay!
Join award travel on different airlines
Collect your miles on different airlines! I have mileage accounts for Southwest, United, Alaska, Delta, and American Airlines (although I fly Southwest and United the most). More miles = more free flights in the future. YAY! I also try to stick with the same two airlines (for the most part) to acquire more miles there faster.
Buy one-way tickets
I use Google Flights to search what days are the cheapest to travel on and which flights (on different airlines) are the cheapest. I have never spent more than $150 on a one-way flight.
Go to more than one city at a time
I am notorious for doing back-to-back trips. But hey: instant savings! Instead of buying 2 different sets of round trip tickets (4 flights), you only have to buy 3 flights! One to the first destination, one to the second destination, and one to come home.
Get a Chase United credit card
Not only do you earn miles with every purchase, but if you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months, you get 40,000 miles on United Airlines! Aka about 2-3 free one-way flights wink. You also get free checked bags on United flights – perfect if you’re a heavy packer – and priority boarding! You can apply for the Chase United credit card here.
Know promoters/VIP hosts
If you’re an attractive female, there are definitely perks. One of them being that different promoters/VIP hosts can comp you dinners, bottle service, and sometimes even hotels!
Travel with a friend/friends
One of the best things about traveling with friends is that you can split costs on everything. Hotels, dinners, Ubers, gas, etc, are instantly 50% cheaper (or more)!
Drive instead of fly
One of the things I love about living in San Diego is how easy it is to drive to different cities! LA and Palm Springs are only 2.5 hours away, OC and Temecula are only an hour away, and Vegas and Scottsdale are only 5 hours away! Gas is definitely cheaper than a plane ticket, especially if you’re driving and splitting gas with friends.
Get hotel deals online
I love using expedia.com and bookings.com to find deals on hotels! It makes staying at 4-star hotels affordable.
Take a short trip
Short trips are the way to go! My trips normally only range from 24-72 hours (1-3 nights) and it is PERFECT! You can pack everything you want to do/see in if you’re a good planner. Less time = less cost.
Date a guy in a different city
This is pretty self-explanatory. wink