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c/budget-travel-hacks

28

grant569•7h ago

That "Budget" flight to Chicago cost me double after one tiny mistake

Booked a basic economy ticket on Frontier to visit my sister in Chicago last month, $49 one way which felt like a steal. Got to the gate and they told me my carry-on was 2 inches too wide for their sizer box, so I had to pay $65 at the gate to check it. Has anyone else gotten burned by those strict size limits on budget airlines, or do I just need to buy a smaller bag?

4

willow_anderson85•23h ago

Hotel loyalty points are a scam in most countries now

I used to think hotel loyalty programs were a no brainer for saving money on trips. Then I read a breakdown on the Points Guy last month that showed most mid tier chains in Europe and Asia have cut redemption values by 30% since 2019. In Bangkok alone, I checked three chains where a free night now costs 50,000 points instead of 35,000. That means you'd need to spend $5,000 at the hotel just to get one night free. I'd rather just use a travel credit card with a good sign up bonus and book direct through Hostelworld or Agoda. Has anyone else noticed their points are worth way less than they used to be?

14

river183•1d ago

Picked a hostel over a hotel in Barcelona and saved 200 euros

Was deciding between a $50/night hostel in Gracia or a $150 hotel near Las Ramblas for my 5 day trip last spring. Ended up at the hostel and met a local who told me about a free walking tour that showed me all the hidden tapas spots. Has anyone else found that cheaper digs led to better local tips?

18

jade618•2d ago

Switched from hostels to guesthouses in Southeast Asia and finally got sleep

I used to think hostels were the only way to go in places like Bangkok. Cheap, social, easy. But after 3 nights in a row of people coming in at 2am slamming lockers, I tried a small guesthouse in Chiang Mai for $12 a night. Private room, actual quiet, and I woke up rested instead of grumpy. The savings felt fake when I was exhausted all day. Anyone else ditch hostels for a similar priced alternative?

27

nathanking•3d ago

Found a trick for getting cheap flights by booking one-way tickets instead of round trip

I was planning a trip to Austin last spring and noticed round trip flights were running around $350. Out of curiosity I priced out two one-way tickets from different airlines and got there for $120 and back for $90. Total was $210. The trick is you have to check multiple airlines and different nearby airports. Like flying into Austin is expensive but San Antonio is a 90 minute drive and the flight was $60 cheaper. Has anyone else mixed airlines like this and saved money?

13

fiona_lewis37•5d ago

Finally figured out why my hostel bookings kept falling through

I used to book through those third party sites because they looked cheaper. But then I got stuck twice last summer in Barcelona and once in Prague where the hostel said they never got my reservation. After the third time I called the hostel directly and they said the booking site had been marking rooms as available that were already sold. Now I just use those sites to find places then book direct on the hostel's own website. Saved me 15 bucks on booking fees too. Anyone else had this happen with a specific site?

8

pipergonzalez•5d ago

My cousin swore that sleeping in the airport is a great way to save money...

I was flying out of Atlanta at 6am and she said just crash at the gate overnight. She said it would be fine. Well... I picked a spot near a pillar at gate B12. Security came by at 2am and woke me up, then a cleaning crew with a loud vacuum showed up at 3am. Then the first flight announcements at 4:30am. I got maybe an hour of bad sleep total. Has anyone actually pulled this off without some special setup?

3

nathang67•6d ago

Did a 3-country train pass for $150 in Europe and it actually worked

I was super skeptical about those Eurail passes cause everyone online says they're a rip off. But I had a specific route through Germany, Czechia, and Austria that I wanted to do in 10 days. Did the math and a 4-day flexi pass came out to $37.50 per travel day versus buying individual tickets which would've been like $60-$80 each for the longer legs. The catch is you gotta book your seat reservations early or you'll pay extra on the fast trains. I missed that on my Berlin to Prague leg and it cost me an extra 9 euro. Anyone else find these passes worth it for shorter flexible trips?

11

nathang67•6d ago

Rant: Everyone swears by hostel dorms but they nearly ruined my Europe trip

I was in Barcelona last June and booked a 10-bed dorm to save cash like everyone says. Third night, some dude came in at 3am drunk and threw up right next to my bunk. I spent the next two days couch surfing with a friend of a friend and actually saved more money than the hostel cost. Has anyone else had a bad experience with the "dorm is always cheaper" advice?

36

ivancoleman•24d ago

Overheard a dude at a hostel say he saved $600 by booking flights at 3am

I was eating a sad instant noodle dinner in Bangkok last month and this guy next to me claimed airlines bump cheap seats at weird hours. He showed me his booking history on his phone, and sure enough, his 3am tickets were like half the price of my afternoon ones. Has anyone else tried this or is it just a myth from that one over-caffeinated traveler?

9

charles_henderson•24d ago

The $30 hostel mistake in Barcelona that burned me

Booked a place for $30 a night without reading recent reviews. Showed up and the AC was broken in 95 degree heat, plus the lockers didn't work. Anyone else get burned by a too-good-to-be-true deal on Booking.com?

30

ivancoleman•26d ago

That $10 hostel in Chiang Mai had bed bugs but the owner's tip saved my trip

My buddy swears by booking the absolute cheapest bunk on Hostelworld, but after getting eaten alive for two nights in Chiang Mai, the owner told me to just throw my bag in a hot shower for 20 minutes and wash everything with dish soap, which actually killed the bugs and I saved $40 on laundry - has anyone else had a random local save them from a bad hostel pick?

16

felix478•28d ago

My old hostel booking trick backfired hard in Barcelona last week

I used to always book the cheapest dorm bed on Hostelworld without reading any reviews. Figured it was all the same anyway, a bed is a bed. Got to this place in Barcelona last Tuesday and there was mold in the shower, no lockers that worked, and the guy at the front desk tried to charge me extra for a towel. Now I always sort reviews by 'recent' and filter for lockers and 24hr reception before I click book. Anyone else get burned by a bad hostel that looked fine online?

27

vera_roberts•28d ago

Serious question, that 'hostel hack' from the guy in Bangkok

This guy at the hostel in Bangkok told me to always book hostels with a 24 hour reception so you can check in at 3am and skip paying for the first night. I tried it in Berlin and got turned away because they said my booking started the day before. He was wrong and I paid 35 euros extra for a last minute hotel. Has anyone else gotten bad advice from travelers on the road?

10

wadepalmer•29d ago

Just caught a hostel charging $15 a night for a 'security deposit' in Barcelona

Checked my receipt after checkout and realized it wasn't a deposit at all, they just added a fake fee. Has anyone else seen this scam with hostels in Spain?

19

stellag21•1mo ago

Found a $2 trick to keep my hostel locker from jamming in Barcelona

At a hostel in Barcelona last week, my locker kept sticking every time I tried to spin the dial. Tried rubbing a pencil tip over the inside of the lock mechanism, the graphite worked like a charm after about 20 seconds. No more fighting with the thing at 6 AM before my flight. Anyone else got a weird hostel hack that saved them?

25

theabennett•1mo ago

My cousin swore by booking flights 6 months in advance so I tried it for a Europe trip

Honestly, I always booked last minute because I thought it was cheaper. But my cousin told me to book exactly 179 days out for a flight to Barcelona last year. I did it and saved $280 compared to the prices 2 months later. Has anyone else tested that exact timing rule or was this just luck?

10

willow_anderson85•1mo ago

Heads up about hostel lockers in Budapest - mine got cleaned out

I stayed at a popular hostel near the ruin bars last month and one of the dorm lockers had a cheap padlock that got snipped while I was out. The front desk said it happens a few times a week but they don't advertise it. Has anyone else had luck with bringing their own combination lock instead of relying on the ones they sell there?

21

holly_flores79•1mo ago

My backpack buckle broke on day 2 of a 10-day trip in Thailand

I was in Chiang Mai and the chest strap buckle on my Osprey snapped clean off while I was walking to the bus station. I had to use a zip tie from a street vendor to hold it together for the rest of the trip. Has anyone else had a piece of gear fail in the middle of nowhere and had to MacGyver a fix?

18

betty_ward•1mo ago

I spent $300 on a prepaid eSIM and it barely worked in Morocco

Ngl I bought a 30 day global eSIM from a big name brand and ended up with no signal in Marrakech for 3 days straight until I caved and bought a local SIM for $10 at a corner shop, has anyone else had these eSIMs flop on them abroad?

9

dixon.nathan•1mo ago

Rant: That trick about booking flights on Tuesday is a lie, here's what actually works

I wasted like 6 months checking flights every Tuesday at midnight for a trip to Barcelona and never saw any savings. Then I read a post from a former airline pricing guy who said the real hack is to clear your cookies and search in incognito mode on a Wednesday afternoon. I tried it and my ticket to Barcelona went from $680 to $520 in about 10 minutes. Has anyone else had luck with specific days or times that aren't the usual nonsense?

26

coleman.derek•1mo ago

That hostel booking app with no service fees saved me $45 in Prague

I was about to book a 4-bed dorm on Hostelworld for 3 nights and the fees were like $15 extra. Out of curiosity I tried a newer app called Hostelz that just lists direct booking links. Ended up paying $60 total instead of $105 and the place even let me check in at 6 AM. Has anyone else found a site that cuts out the middleman fees?

9

the_aaron•1mo ago

That moment when hostels started providing free breakfast... and it actually got good

I've been hostel hopping for about 7 years now. Used to be that free breakfast meant a sad banana and some stale bread. But in the last 2 years I've noticed a real shift. Places in Portugal and Spain started offering full spreads with eggs, fresh fruit, and even local pastries. I think the rise of remote workers pushed hostels to compete harder for longer stays. Has anyone else seen this upgrade at hostels in their area?

29

fiona_lewis37•1mo ago

Found cheap flights by booking two one-way tickets on different airlines instead of a round trip - saved $140 but had a 4-hour layover in Chicago

Is saving money worth the hassle of piecing together your own itinerary, or do you guys think the risk of missing a connection (and losing that savings) makes it a bad idea?

-1

the_sage•1mo ago

Just realized I hit 50,000 frequent flyer miles without ever buying a plane ticket

Turns out signing up for a credit card with a bonus offer then using it to pay my rent via a fee-free portal got me there in 8 months, anyone else found a weird loophole that worked?