Save money with casual travel planning...

Do you want to travel more and for less? If so, there are many secrets to share, however this is a huge shift in mentality for most consumers. This requires patience, strategy and a bit of luck. Didn't lose you yet did I? Ok good, why I say all of this is because when you want to travel more and for le$$, you have to be open to going somewhere you may not have thought of or been considering. You should always strive for somewhere new, or within the region or category you were seeking (i.e. beach destination, Europe, big city, anywhere other than home, etc).

How do you go about this? There are MANY ways to do this. You can try to do plans last minute or you can be on standby for follow some great travel blogs dedicated to finding you deals.

Part 1 - Research

1 - Head to google.com/flights and put in your home airport code and some dates. The map feature here will show you all sorts of cities and options around the globe. Typically highlighting the best fare. The other crazy fun site is Skiplagged. The airlines hates that site, which means if they hate it then you must be benefit big from it. Google Flights as of December 2016 lets you track the price of tickets and get updates when the price goes down.

2 - I faithfully follow Thrifty Traveler by email and Facebook. This site has an incredible ability to navigate the backwaters of travel deals. Often finding people 50% savings and up on flights to Europe. This tactic requires date flexibility, but it's worth it I promise. Even if you think you've got a pulse on travel deals, these folks will beat you to the bunch nearly every time. For example, I am a dedicated Delta Amex holder, they alerted me to Paris flights for 40k miles, a huge discounted amount compared to the 80k+ round trip fares usually require. So for 80k miles, we booked 2 round trip Paris flights.

3 - Use an app such as Hitlist, Skyscanner, Skiplagged & Fareness to track and evaluate cheap opportunities. Now that Google Flights has this feature, it will eliminate the need for some apps. These are all great apps that I use routinely anyway, and they're free.

Part 2 - Make the Buy

Waiting and looking for the best fare is part 1 and surely very important. However once you've identified the flight and airline you want to book there are a couple things you want to do before making that purchase. And remember, you have the legal right to cancel ANY flight you book within 24 hours of the purchase.

1 - Use Ebates to book with Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and more and you can earn upward of 10% cash back. That $750 trip just may give you $75 back, and if it's business travel, that's free money!!
You won't earn huge dollars on your plane ticket, however you vacation package (hotel plus flight), hotel stay, car rental or cruise booking could really yield some cash back.
 
2 - Get an Airlines credit card to earn miles and receive perks like free baggage and higher priority boarding. I have the Delta Airlines card (an Amex) and the American Airlines card (a Mastercard) and I love it. While they do have a $100 fee annually, I save that easily with baggage and earning miles. I earn not only through card spend, but also using rewards dining network.