This summer I want to take my two older boys on a trip–possibly to Wisconsin, where the oldest has a jazz camp for a week.
We’ll be spending 12-14 days on the road, and I’m trying to figure out how to get by as inexpensively as possible, so I’m wondering about those travel clubs where you pay a yearly fee and then receive discounts on hotels, etc.
Does anyone have experience with specific organizations? I’m looking into a few tonight, trying to get some ideas, but I really don’t have any idea what features to be on the lookout for.
Basically, we will need nightly lodging…we may do meals on the cheap.
Any advice is much appreciated!
Best,
karol
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a travel club. I travel quite a bit, and have managed to keep the costs down. In my experience, I can save more money myself by doing a little research than the “discounts” offered by the travel clubs.
However, travel clubs are helpful when things go wrong. Some offer travel insurance, and often they can help if you need assistance. However, I’ve never had enough problems to make it worthwhile. AAA also offers “Trip-Tics” which are maps with your route marked out in a little bookelt, but you can get the same thing from Yahoo Maps for free. All in all, I don’t think travel clubs are worth it. Not with all of the free resources on the internet.
I suggest going it alone. Here’s a few tips which have really helped me out.
First of all, plan out your trip. Decide how many miles per day you wish to travel, giving plenty of time for rest stops, tourism, and food. Pick a town to stay in each night, and research on the internet what hotels are available in each town. I’ve found that extended-stay hotels tend to have very good rates, even if you’re just staying the night. (Homestead Suites have always been very clean, with nice rooms for less than $50 per night).
Once you’ve decided on a property, call and ask what kind of discounts they offer. Holiday Inns, for example, offer a “Great Rate” that you have to ask for by name. Generally, the first figure they will quote is the “Rack Rate.” Ask about any specials. If the rate seems high, call back the next day. Sometimes different clerks will be more willing to help out a guy who wants to save. Be extra polte. When I worked at a hotel, I was so irritated by the hostile treatment of a lot of guests that when someone was nice to me, I would discount the rate as much as I was allowed my the management . . . sometimes as much as fifty percent. Once you’ve got a good rate, make reservations, and record all of the confirmation numbers in a notebook, along with the hotel’s address and phone number (in case you need to cancel. Remeber, you can usually cancel a reservation by six PM without being charged, but get each hotel’s cancellation policy, and write down the cancel-by time). Note the name of the person who helped you, and the time/date you called. You never know when that might come in handy.
Secondly, pack a survival kit for your car. Non-perishable snacks, magazines, hand-held computer games, stomach medicines and plenty of drinks. It will cut down on expenses if someone has the munchies, or is thirsty. You won’t have to stop at a drive-thru. The medicines are important, because they really gouge you for them at gas stations and the like, and travelling tends to give people tummy aches or diarreah.
Third, make sure your car is well-maintained. Get an oil change before leaving, and check out your tires. You might even want to consider buying an extra tire, rather than relying on the “doughnut” in your trunk. If you have a flat tire, you can just change it, and not have to worry about driving god-knows-how-far on the “doughnut” to a service station to get your tire plugged. On a long car trip, I strongly suggest bringing a cell phone, so that you can call for help if needed. If your car is relatively new, you might have roadside assistance while it’s under warranty. Otherwise, find out the number to the highway patrol in each state you’ll be travelling through, in case you need to call for help.
Fourth: If you plan to stop at tourist attractions, research each one on the internet. Often, you can get discounted admission, or coupons. Also, you can find out updated infromation about when they’re open. There’s nothing worse than arriving to an attraction that you’ve been looking forward to, and finding out that they’re closed on Mondays. Rest stops sometimes have tourist information booths that offer discount booklets that can be helpful.
Fifth: Call your credit card company(s) and have them note on your account that you’re planning to travel across country. I once had a freeze put on my card because they thought that it must have been stolen. Nothing worse than being stuck without a credit card.
Sixth: Stash a credit card, and a little cash in your luggage, or in another safe place in case you lose your purse.
With a little bit of research and planning, you can save much more than you would with a travel club. It just takes a little work. The travel clubs make money off of people that just don’t want to deal with it.
Good luck, and have fun!