Have you traveled lately? The fees that a consumer pays when
traveling can be avoided by simply paying attention.
There are many travel sites which can churn out discount air
fares for the most cost-savvy seeker. We can set up alerts on these sites to
find the lowest fares, best car rental rates, cheapest hotel room rates, and
read all the reviews we can take. But we can still do more to assure we have a
fun, safe and affordable vacation or holiday without breaking our budgets.
Airlines:
Don’t book too far ahead or too close to the date of travel.
The ideal time window to book airfare is roughly 55 days before the wanted
departure date. Airfares are published months before a flight and stay flat and
relatively high until about two months before the flight. At that time,
airlines readjust airfare based on supply and demand. Of course, it can be hard to determine when
to buy a ticket to Europe or Africa or any other faraway place. One more note: don’t
over pack and you won’t have to overpay for extra heavy luggage.
Cell Roaming Fees:
Avoid getting hit with these excessive fees in countries and
continents where cell coverage is not covered. Contact your cell provider about
short-term international travel plans to add on before leaving the US. These
are less expensive than the roaming fees and more convenient than having to
purchase an international SIM card to use in international destinations.
Foreign Transaction Fees:
There is no need to pay these fees on a credit or debit card
when most of the major credit cards have plans to not apply them. Take the time
to reach out to the card companies and find out what their policy is. Also, don’t exchange currency at the airport.
Do it at partner banks in country or at international ATMs. Another option is
to contact your bank and ask if you can get some of the local currency from
them before departure.
Travel insurance:
Long distance travel can be fraught with delays,
cancellations, and other unforeseen events. While there are many good travel
insurance companies, it pays to take time to research the best options. US Media Studios suggests reading the details
of the plans you are interested in. The longer and more expensive the trip, the
better it is to cover it.
Travel fees can add up before and after a long-planned
vacation or holiday. Please do as much research to avoid the extra, unnecessary
fees as possible.
