Do These 5 Things Before You Book Your Next Trip

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Spring and summer are rolling in, bringing those warmer, longer days. As you come out of your winter hibernation, you want to stretch your legs and see the world. Or the other side of the country. Or maybe even two states over. Regardless of where you want to go, you want to be smart about booking your trip — and that means saving money. 

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can rest assured knowing that your wanderlust doesn’t have to come with a heavy price tag. Making a few key moves when you’re planning your trip means you could have more cash in your wallet when you’re walking on the beach, lounging by the pool, going on a hike or strolling through a museum.

Do these five things before you book your next trip.

1. Start Planning Early to Budget Effectively  

While your excitement to hit the road is palpable, you’d still do better to plan your trip several months in advance. Even if you want to create some room for flexibility, having a set itinerary can help you create a budget that allows you to prioritize certain experiences over others. 

For instance, if you’re a theater fan eager to cram a show a day into your week-long trip to New York City, you’ll need to budget accordingly. Perhaps that means spending a little more money on a hotel near the theater district to save on cab fares, while forgoing meals out. Or if you’re a hardcore foodie making your first trip to Italy, you might go for a cheaper hotel so you have extra dough left over to get that pizza you’ve been dreaming of. 

Planning months in advance also gives you the freedom to search for more cost-effective options, such as group tour packages that include travel costs, meals and lodging in their total price. 

2. Don’t Be Afraid to Drive 

You don’t need to go globe trotting to have a great time. Road trips are a classic American pleasure — and when you compare the expense of flying with the costs associated with driving, you might just find that putting pedal to the metal will accelerate your savings. 

Before you go and book those flight tickets, use an online trip calculator like Travelmath^® to determine whether you’ll actually save more money by driving. Many common driving apps like Google Maps and Waze^® will help you navigate to gas stations while you’re on the road, or you could download an app like GasBuddy^®, which finds the cheapest gas stations on your route. 

A road trip also allows you to add extra adventures to your trip, like stopping by key landmarks or treasures you can only find off the beaten path — almost like two vacations in one. 

3. Use Your NFCU More Rewards Card to Save Big 

When you consider hotel expenses, gas prices and food costs, traveling is often pricier than you’d like it to be. Fortunately, if you use the Navy Federal Credit Union More Rewards American Express® card, having a good time can come with some great deals. 

When you use the card, you could earn points that make traveling far less expensive. You could get up to three points for every $1 of eligible purchases at restaurants and food delivery, plus three times the points on supermarkets and three times the points for gas and transit as well¹.

The card can also get you up to 25% off with major car rental companies, as well as coverage if a car rented in the U.S. or Canada should be damaged or lost². 

Best of all, you can continue to accrue points for as long as you want to — as long as your account is open, your rewards won’t expire. You can keep saving your points until you’ve planned your dream vacation, and redeem them when you’re ready. 

Plus, the card has no annual fees, balance transfer fees, foreign transaction fees or cash advance fees³.

4. Book Your Hotel Strategically 

Finding the right hotel can make or break the quality of your trip. Whether you’re the kind of person who prefers a rustic cabin resort or wants to enjoy more luxurious accommodations, you definitely want to keep your bill as low as it can go. 

According to Kayak^®, that could mean booking your domestic hotel stay on a Sunday. It makes sense: Weekend vacationers have already checked out, and the business travelers aren’t likely on the road during weekends, meaning you’re likely to get a cheaper rate if you book on Sunday. Kayak also advises you to avoid Friday check-ins, since they’re generally the most expensive days. 

5. Plan Out Your Meals 

Traveling can give you the chance to sink your teeth into experiences you’d never have at home, including select culinary delights. It’s all too tempting to spend big on a meal out every night, but if you don’t want to get indigestion from your credit card statement, you’d be wise to figure out your meals in advance. 

No matter where you go (unless you travel to the tip of Antarctica, probably), there’s likely a grocery store nearby where you can stock up on snacks and other treats to keep you full throughout the day. This isn’t to say that you can’t splurge on local fine dining — you should just plan around it. If you anticipate having one pricier meal a day, then you should minimize your food costs until then. 

Bottom Line

You don’t have to break the bank to have a memorable vacation if you plan your trip wisely, down to your daily meals. And your greatest asset for cutting costs is literally in your pocket – with the Navy Federal Credit Union More Rewardscard, you can earn points to seriously reduce the costs associated with food, lodging and gas.  

*The Navy Federal More Rewards American Express® Card is issued and administered by Navy Federal Credit Union. American Express® is a federally registered service mark of American Express and is used by the issuer pursuant to a license.

All product and company names and logos are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

¹ Navy Federal More Rewards American Express® Cards earn 3 points for every $1 of eligible purchases made for gas, transit, restaurants, food delivery, and supermarkets, and 1 point for every $1 of other eligible purchases. Eligible purchases are purchases for goods and services, minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do not include fees, interest charges, balance transfers, gambling, convenience checks, cash advances, or other cash-equivalents (e.g., money orders, gift cards, prepaid cards). Merchants are assigned codes by payment networks based on what they primarily sell. We rely on this information to identify gas, transit, restaurants, food delivery, and supermarket purchases. If the purchase is not identified as a gas, transit, restaurant, food delivery, or supermarket purchase, it will not receive additional points. For example, purchases for transit that are identified as railway, ferries/water trip, taxi, limousines, bus lines, charters, tour buses, tolls, road/bridge fees, and parking/lots will receive 3 points for every $1 spent. However, purchases at restaurants located within another establishment (e.g., hotel, casino, commissary, grocery store, event venue), and purchases for gas at superstores, supermarkets, and warehouse clubs, may earn 1 point per $1 spent because they typically are not assigned codes identifying them as restaurant or gas purchases (for existing accounts, these transactions may receive additional points from a different promotion if one applies to your account.) For more information, view the More Rewards American Express® Card Program Description at navyfederal.org.

² Certain terms, restrictions, and exclusions apply. For more information, please refer to the More Rewards American Express® Card Guide to Benefits.³ As of 02/03/2025, rates range from 14.90% APR to 18.00% APR, are based on creditworthiness, and will vary with the market based on the U.S. Prime Rate. ATM cash advance fees: None, if performed at a Navy Federal branch or ATM. Otherwise, $0.50 per domestic transaction or $1.00 per foreign transaction.

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