Travelling is one of life's greatest pleasures, but it can also be one of the most expensive. Flights, accommodation, food, activities, the costs can quickly add up.

From scoring cheap flights to getting free accommodation, in this article, I'll share travel hacks that you can implement in less than 60 seconds, to help you save more money, without compromising on that lux holiday!

How to get Cheap or Free Accommodation

Who likes to pay full price? Not me!

Before you book your next accommodation, try these tips to get your stay for cheap or better yet, free!

1. Book a hotel with Hotels.com

Hotels.com has a rewards program for every 10 nights you book, you get 1 free! I’ve redeemed over 20 nights over the years - saving over $4,500!

Not sure you’ll stay that many nights? No problems. Hotels.com regularly offer discount codes. Check out this article here for how to find them.

Bonus Tip: Before you book, sign up and access Hotels.com via a cashback website such as Cashrewards or ShopBack, and get another 3% cashback on your booking!

2. Buy an Airbnb Gift Card

Airbnb Gift Cards sometimes go on sale. I recently picked up an Airbnb gift card for 15% off! You can get notified of when Airbnb Gift cards go on sale by setting up a sales alert on OzBargain.

Can’t wait for a sale? You can get cashback rewards for gifts cards right now from Cashrewards or ShopBack.

Flights

1. Find the cheapest day to fly out

There's this idea that booking flights on a Tuesday is the way to go if you want to save some cash, but honestly, it's not always true. Instead, your best bet is to check out the prices for the entire month and see which days are the cheapest for your route.

Here's how you can do it:

Step 1. Go to the Skyscanner website.

Step 2. Under “From” and “To”, enter your departure and arrival cities.

Step 3. On a computer: under “Depart”, click the date, but instead of entering a date, select “Whole Month”. Hit the “Search flights” button. Now you can see all the dates, and which one is the cheapest!

In the mobile app: Under “Depart”, click the date, and you’ll be able to scroll through the prices for each month!

2. Check if your flight is cheaper in other currencies

Before booking that flight, check if it’ll be cheaper by paying in a different currency. Often airlines will charge you using your home currency or the currency of your departure country, which isn’t always the cheapest.

An important note here, if you are paying in a different currency to your local currency, make sure you use a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, like the 28 Degrees Mastercard.

3. Go one step further and use points!

Technically not a 60-second hack, as this hack takes a little longer. But it’s worth mentioning, as with a bit of patience and pre-planning, you could fly First Class for the price of economy! Check out my article on how to do that here.

Bonus Hack: Always search for flights in Incognito mode in your web browser. Companies use cookies to track your visit and can increase flight prices to scare you into booking a flight before prices get even higher. (Already searched for a flight? No worries. Clear your cookies, and go Incognito.)

Get Free Upgrades and Gifts

Celebrating a special occasion during your holiday?

When you book a hotel room, in your booking notes always let them know about it and request a higher floor. For e.g. you might say, “Can I please have a higher floor, this is for <insert special occasion>?”

90% of the time I’ve received a better room and/or a freebie. From either a bottle of wine, dessert or even amazing upgrades! The best one I’ve ever received so far was on my trip to Dubai, when my booking for a one bedroom apartment turned into a three bedroom sub-penthouse overlooking the ocean!

Conclusion

Travelling is an incredible experience, but it sucks when you have to pinch pennies or sacrifice on quality. By implementing these super quick hacks, you can make the most of your experience without breaking the bank!

Do you have any hacks to add to this list? Leave a comment below!