The Gryphon Gazette

By Arden X. ‘27

As a competitive junior golfer in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), I have had to domestically travel quite a lot to attend high-level junior golf competitions; I have left California 10 times in the past 16 months. And while some trips have been cheaper than others, I have observed and learned several lessons when it comes to saving money. By using these tips, I have saved a lot of money on my golf trips, even saving my parents thousands of dollars. So if you want to learn how to save money during travel, fasten your seatbelts because this flight is headed to the land of savings!

Booking Flights and Hotels

The most crucial pieces to saving money in planning the trip are the hotels and flights. The most straightforward and guaranteed way to save is to book your hotels and flights 2+ months in advance or on low-demand nights/hours. Even still, the airfare can be very volatile, so it’s still important to take the ticket price on a case-by-case basis. Luckily, Google Flights has a nifty feature where it gives you the days of the week and the hours of the day in which a flight is lower in demand. 

Furthermore, booking through the airline’s official website can give you bundles on flights where the departing and returning flights are bought together. Using this format can save as much as $300 per person. Not only are airline websites useful for discounted prices, but travel websites such as expedia.com and kayak.com can offer phenomenally good deals and sometimes hotel-flight bundles. For example, the average cost for a round-trip to Edinburgh, Scotland from San Francisco ranges from $750 to $1500 per person. Expedia offered me a special deal of $250 per person for the round-trip because I booked it during a low-demand time frame, which was in the middle of the week in April. The average cost would’ve been around $750-1500 per person. 

Passive Ways to Save

There are also methods to save money indirectly. It’s important to note that these methods heavily favor those who travel often. One great way to save is to sign up for credit card cash-back rewards on airlines. Credit card companies such as Visa and American Express generally give 2% cashback on purchases. These cashback amounts can be used to buy a hotel or airline ticket. However, credit card companies give 25% cash back on purchases for hotel or airline tickets, heavily favoring those who often travel. 

But maybe you’re the type of guy who doesn’t travel very frequently. In that case, signing up for a frequent flyer number at an early age can give huge benefits later as an adult. Due to new FAA regulations, frequent flyer miles last for a lifetime, so the earlier you collect the frequent flyer miles, the more you will have as an adult, which can save a lot long-term. 

Food

The largest variable cost after planning the trip is the money spent on food. Obviously, it’s important to enjoy the local cuisine, even if the price is high, but spending $50 per night on a filet mignon is also financially unsustainable. If you’re on a very tight budget, a good rule of thumb is that if the restaurant offers hamburgers that cost more than $20, it’s an expensive restaurant. 

Additionally, do not eat at places that are the main restaurant at a big museum, national parks, or other big attractions. They usually jack up the prices of food in return for the convenience of the location — even if there’s a cheap ramen place 5 blocks away. Please, be the person to make the logical choice and walk 10 minutes for a meal that’s $20 cheaper. 

However, while it is important to save money, it is more important to enjoy the trip. Saving money should be on the mind, but don’t let it be the most influential factor when planning a trip. Sure, buying a $60 steak frites is expensive, but there is nothing wrong with treating yourself during a trip. Plus, it’s worse to worry about spending too much money than not to worry about it at all. So go out there, ponder about the money for 5 seconds, then enjoy your deserved vacation.