How We Actually Save Money When Booking Holidays (So We Can Spend It on Margaritas)

We like to think we’re savvy travellers.

And by savvy, we mean we’ll jump through just about any hoop to save money on travel…even if we spend those savings five minutes later on a spicy margarita at a rooftop bar.

Look, the girl math, maths. Let us live.

But jokes aside, over the years we’ve figured out how to save a surprising amount of money when booking holidays. Without sacrificing the fun parts.

So whether you’re travelling on a budget or just want more spending money when you get there, here are the exact ways we save money on hotels, bookings, and travel. And how you can do the same.

Nashville, TN. (We paid for our flights with points)

1. We Always Use Hotel Booking Rewards (This is our biggest hack)

Hotels.com (our go-to every time)

If you take one tip from this entire post, let it be this.

We use Hotels.com for most of our stays because of their rewards system. This varies depending on which country your account is, but it's generally either book 10 nights = get 1 free or earning cash on each booking to spend on another hotel.

And it actually works.

At one point, we managed to stay in a 5-star hotel in Melbourne for £5 using reward nights. No exaggeration. That was a very good weekend. And the hotel even had a happy hour every night with free drinks. Soooo much money saved!

(For anyone wondering, it was The Lancemore Crossley Street, Melbourne. Would recommend).

Why we love it:

• rewards build up quickly if you travel even a little

• easy to use (no complicated points system)

• you can use your free night almost anywhere

This is usually our starting point when booking accommodation.

2. But We NEVER Book Without Comparing First

Booking.com, Expedia & direct websites

As much as we love Hotels.com…we still check everything else. Just incase.

Because prices can vary wildly between:

• Booking.com

• Hotels.com

• Expedia

• the hotel’s direct website

  
  

And sometimes the difference isn’t small.

Rottnest Island, WA. (We paid for our hotel in Perth with a free night from Hotels.com)

Our rule:

• If the price is similar → we go with Hotels.com (for rewards)

• If another site is significantly cheaper → we book there

Extra tip:

If you’re a Booking.com Genius member, you can get:

• free breakfast

• discounts

• room upgrades

Which can actually end up being better than rewards.

👉 Always compare. Always log in. Always check direct.(Yes, it’s slightly annoying. Yes, it saves money every time.)

3. We Use Cashback Sites (aka free money for doing nothing)

TopCashback

This one still feels fake…but it’s not.

Before booking anything - hotels, flights, car hire - we check TopCashback.

Here’s how it works:

1. Search for the website you’re booking on

2. Click through their link

3. Book as normal

…and then you get money back afterwards.

That’s it.

We use it all the time, and it adds up way more than you’d expect over multiple trips.

If you’re not using cashback sites yet, this is probably the easiest win on this list

New Orleans, LA. (Margaritas paid for with the money we got back from using TopCashback to book our hotel)

4. We (Carefully) Use Credit Card Points

Quick disclaimer:🚨 This is NOT financial advice. Please be sensible.

But…

If you already use a credit card, it’s worth checking if it offers:

• travel points

• airline miles

• cashback

Because these can build up fast.

We’ve used points to:

• upgrade flights

• reduce travel costs

• feel significantly more glamorous than we actually are

Important:

Only do this if you:

• pay it off in full

• don’t spend more just to earn points

Otherwise…it defeats the entire point. Getting into dent for a holiday is not cool guys.

Would we actually recommend all of this?

Yes - but with one key thing:

You don’t need to do everything.

If you just:

• compare booking sites

• use one rewards platform

• and add cashback on top

…you’re already doing better than most people.

Devon, UK. Cheers to saving money on holidays. And then spending it on Whispering Angel x

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to be rich to travel well.

You just need to be slightly strategic.

And if being strategic means:

• signing up for a few accounts

• clicking a different link before booking

• and spending an extra five minutes comparing prices

…we think it’s worth it.

Because every pound you save on booking?

is a pound you can spend on the fun stuff.

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