At least, consistency is good when we are talking about airlines, rental cars, and hotels. I’ll go through each of these one at a time, but let’s go over some of the general benefits of staying consistent. I travel a lot, and when I’m not traveling I’m incredibly busy (work, family, friends, etc.). Over the years I’ve tried out just about every travel option and I hope my experiences can help you.
First off, if you have either unlimited time or unlimited money, this blog post is not for you. If your time or money is limited, though, read on.
I need to save time just as much as I need to save money; I can’t afford to waste either. When I do travel, it’s often for workshops or solo photography trips and my mind is going a million miles a minute and I need to keep things as simple as possible.
I used to spend hours searching for the best possible price for my flights, hotels, and rental cars, and I would use whomever was the cheapest. Over time this became an issue; it was getting hard to find the time to search out the best deals, and worse, I had piles of login information to dozens of websites, piles of membership cards, and a list of support phone numbers.
Worse, I wasn’t gaining anything because I kept jumping around between different vendors and none of my frequent miles/hotel/rental car memberships had grown. I was paying full price for all of my travel and not earning any benefits.
I knew in the long run it was best to at least try to stick with the same companies; over time I would gain status and that would give me discounts, upgrades, and so on.
This is maybe the easiest of all of them; there are a handful of airlines to pick from that will get you (with their partners) just about anywhere in the world. They all have frequent flyer programs that over time will give you upgrades, discounts, and free tickets.
It’s important to choose an airline that fits your needs. Since not all airlines fly to all the places you commonly go, or may not fly many flights from your city’s airport, some research is required. If you live in a very small town or city, sometimes the best option is to find an airline that flies a number of small hops each day from your local airport to one of their hubs.
Once I had settled on an airline it made searching for the best price much easier, since I could skip looking at everyone else. Over time I’ve found that booking direct with the airline is close to the same price as everywhere else online and it gives me the added benefit of being able to call them up if I have any problems. This may not be the case for all airlines, just what I have found so far. As a frequent flyer I have an unpublished 800 number to call if I have problems or questions.
This to me is a huge advantage, since now I don’t have to worry about keeping track of numbers for different airlines and travel websites. I know how to get ahold of them if needed, and since they have my contact info I also get status calls and text messages with information about my flights.
If you become a member of a hotel chain then you can earn rewards, typically either free nights or upgrades. If you stay in a lot of hotels this can add up to a lot of savings, though it’s a bit harder to pick a chain that will be everywhere you need to go.
I take two kinds of trips, either out in the National Parks or in a city (either in the U.S. or overseas). Because it’s hard to find some of the top-tier hotels in the small towns around our National Parks, I have settled on two hotel chains to use. So far with all my travels I’ve always been able to find one or the other everywhere I needed to go.
In terms of pricing, hotels are even worse than airlines. Prices can often be 20-60% less on some of the travel sites and sometimes just showing up late in the evening can get you the same discounts if they still have unsold rooms. Because of this I’m forced to check many sites before I book a hotel. I have a list of five travel sites to check and I’m confident that within those I can find a deal that is at least close to the best.
When I book the hotel on a third party site I make sure that I put in my membership information. As soon as the third party site has confirmed my booking, I log into the hotel’s website and make sure it’s made its way over there. So long as the hotel has received my booking information then from then on out I can deal with the hotel directly. Again, this means its a single point of contact, my business with the third party site ends there.
After a few years and dozens upon dozens of car rentals I’ve come to learn a few things. The first is that almost all the major rental car agencies have the same cars. If not the same exact models, then ones so similar it’s not worth talking about. And second, they all give you just about the same level of service. So for me it comes down to price alone.
I went back though my rental car history (with a variety of rental car companies) and found that all the prices were fairly close, with a few outliers. I’ve settled on one company and book the same way I do the hotels: check the rental car website first, then the five or so travel sites. If I do book with a third party site, then I make sure I enter my membership info and once book I make sure the agency has the booking info.
Again, if the prices with different rental car companies are close then it’s worth sticking with one brand. Over time you’ll earn free upgrades, discounts, and best of all (for meat at least) faster check-in lines.
I hope this helps you in your travels.
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