Always note how much you are spending on something when you book something. It is easy to forget that these things come out of your account in the future. Hotel room costs always surprise me. They used to have you pay in advance and now they are back to having you be charged at the start of your stay. Throws me off each time. It is also handy to always take a screen shot or save your email confirmation. I had a couple of hotels try to change the cost when I arrived even though I booked with a much smaller amount quoted. That has saved me a few hundred dollars in the long run. The staff are always apologetic but now I am all paranoid about it and constantly checking the final bills at the end of my stay. Booking through the hotel website is usually cheaper than most if not all prices I have seen on booking websites.
I heard the other day that someone was using AI for travel plans and booking and I nearly fell over. There is no way I would trust AI to do that. Look at how much Gemini screws up googling things. Google used to be able to Google things and now Gemini just repeats whatever random stuff it finds. It is not difficult to look up things and get real answers. If you are on a budget then do your own comparison shopping.
Do your research on where you are going. When we did Disneyland with the kids, I looked at a ton of frequent Disney hopper accounts that help first time park-goers figure everything out. It was so super helpful. I learned which things I needed to pay for and which ones I could decide later if I wanted. I saved a ton of money on their photo package by knowing to have only my pass scanned for photo opps by the park photographers. At the end I could download them all for $100 off the one account. And we had a ton! It was such a great way to make sure that not only I was saving money but actually in the family vacation photos. This was back in 2022? Things are always changing there, so checking updated blogs is important.
If you work for a big time company, chances are that the employees have perks and discount codes for other companies. My partner has a couple different car rental discounts and we use those while we are traveling. We have never had any problem getting the car we asked for or upgraded when they have run out. And have had absolutely no hassle with any other things.
Also, before you leave on your trip, make sure you have a list of what you have to do, want to do, and what would be nice if it works. Make the list with everyone traveling with you. It really helps to keep the vacation on track and to know about how much you will be spending before you go.
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