Travel Tips | Life Hacks for Earning Rewards and Getting Paid
People often ask us how we afford to attend as many festivals and concerts as we go to. We typically. Sure, festival tickets, airfare, and hotel rooms are not cheap, but we have found ways to stretch the dollar a little bit farther by maximizing cash back and travel reward opportunities. Taking the extra step by signing up for rewards programs can allow you attend more country music festivals. To help, we have compiled a list of the free apps and websites that we use, any time we book travel. These sites and apps can help you save money and can also make you money.
Note: this is not a paid ad. We use these apps regularly and wanted to share them with you.
Free Travel Rewards Programs and Apps
Service. We can all agree that flight delays and cancellations are extremely frustrating and inconvenient. There’s nothing worse than having to find ways to entertain yourself in an airport for hours on end. But, did you know you can get paid for flight delays? That’s right. The new app, Service, allows you to file claims to help you get paid. This is one of the easiest we have ever used. To file a claim, you simply follow a few steps, and then the real-time representative takes care of the rest. They essentially, go to bat for you, to help you get paid. What’s the catch? They take a percentage of what an airline pays you, but you’re still getting paid! Get Service Now
Ebates. Get paid to shop or book travel! Seriously. Ebates is truly a no-brainer. You can earn cash back whether your shopping via a desktop computer or from a mobile device. You can earn cash back from hundreds of stores including big name retailers and travel sites, like Orbitz and Hotels.com. Install the extension on your Chrome browser and you get notified whenever a site your on is offering cash back. After Ebates has been activated, you can shop online as normal. You will then receive a ‘Big Fat Check’ in the mail that can be deposited in your bank account. It’s really that easy. Start earning cash back now
Hotels.com. We only book hotels through hotels.com because every 11th stay is free. The average value of your previous stays is applied towards your 11th stay. This is a must-use app for regular travelers because you ‘unlock’ additional savings by moving up the rewards ladder. Note: book from your phone to save even more. We also love hotels.com because they are partnered with Ebates, which allows us to earn cash back when we book hotel stays.
Orbitz. We try to book airfare through Orbitz.com whenever possible (except when flying Southwest), because they offer great cash back on Ebates. Their overall flight fares are comparable to the other major online booking ages, but earning cash back keeps us coming back.
Splitwise. When you’re traveling with a group, keeping track of who pays for what can get confusing. Ditch the spreadsheets, receipts, and long lists of expenses. Splitwise makes it easy to share expenses with friends. The app also allows you to assign payments to individuals, then calculates how much each person owes. Download Splitwise now
Skiplagged. Get the best deals on flights, all the time. Skiplagged allows you to find the cheapest deals on travel, anywhere. According to their official site, Skiplagged claims to ‘find flights the airlines don’t want you to see, and they are exposing loopholes in airfare pricing. Some flights booked with Skiplagged can save you up to 50 percent.
Airfarewatchdog.com. The name says it all. Another great site to help you find the best deals on airlines. Unlike other online booking agents, Airfarewatchdog shows Southwest Airlines fares. Save time by setting airfare alerts to receive up-to-the-minute pricing in your inbox on previously specified destinations. This is an extremely helpful tool when booking festival travel, and you have time to monitor flight pricing.
Stay tuned for more of our favorite money-saving an reward-earning apps and websites, and start planning you upcoming country music festivals today! Check out our other festival must-haves and festival apps.