The online travel space is quite noisy with so many promises of “the best deal.” So far we’ve compared Expedia to Travelocity, as well as Airbnb to VRBO. So what’s the difference between two of the big players in the industry? Between Hotels.com reviews and Booking.com reviews, who is better?
We are all traveling more for both work and play, so how do you choose the best travel booking provider? The argument to book directly with the hotel will be ever-present. Although, some providers are now finding ways to provide the direct booking option to travelers to make them more attractive.
Aside from the savings that you can grab by booking online, are there any other benefits to using them? We’re going to show you what Hotels.com and Booking.com have to offer as we compare them head to head. Ultimately, we’ll give you the gist of what both have to offer so you can decide which one is the best choice for you.
Our Hotels.com Review
This history of Hotels.com began more than twenty years ago in Dallas, Texas. Over the last two decades, the company has grown leaps and bounds, and more recently, acquired by Expedia Group. With perks like earning free nights and an award-winning app, it’s rather tempting to choose them to book your accommodation.
Hotels.com Is Listening To What Travelers Want
Hotels.com has also taken some time to do some research on what their millennial travelers deem important. Their recent study conducted by their Tasty Travels team found that 76% of millennials rate foodie experiences as an integral part of their travel ‘must-have’ list. In response to this, they teamed up with food artist Carl Warner to create a new listing of the ultimate ‘foodie’ destinations.
The Hotels.com Award-Winning App
The main benefits of using Hotels.com include their new app. Their new app was the winner of the 2018 MediaPost Appy Award for creativity and excellence in the design of their app. The app allows travelers to do the following:
Compare and book hotel deals for all listed locations that are available for that day up until 5 am.
Book ground transportation via Uber
Get deals on things to do via Groupon
Order take-out through Delivery.com in the U.S
They’ve gone to the next level regarding their app capability that includes stellar post-booking service. Travelers that use the Hotels.com app can check-in/out of their room and even use the app’s mobile keyless entry ability to gain access to their room.
The Reviews On Booking.com
Booking.com is most arguably the largest booking meta-search engine in the online hotel booking space, for the moment anyway. Booking.com get their inventory directly from their relationships with hotels, unlike Hotels.com. Since Booking.com have relationships directly with hotels, it is almost as reliable as booking directly with the hotel. That seems to be one of the main differences that set Booking.com apart from Hotels.com.
Although, the inventory that Booking.com gets from the hotel, may not suit every traveler. We checked a review on one of the hotels listed on Booking.com and found that Booking.com only had the hotel’s smoking rooms. This information came from a reviewer who inquired about why they were given a smoking room when they wanted a non-smoking room.
The Similarities Between Hotels.com And Booking.com
Both of these online booking tools have access to excellent deals due in part to their size. While Hotels.com is smaller than Booking.com, since Expedia Group owns it, they have similar access to these great deals.
Both of these companies offer rewards in the way of discounts to travelers who sign up as a member, and both have an extensive offering of properties globally. Specifically, Hotels.com has 90 websites in 41 languages, and Booking.com operates in 229 countries and territories across the globe.
Their apps allow travelers to seamless book a room and manage their reservation. However, some reviewers are skeptical of Booking.com’s price confirmations. When sifting through reviews of the Booking.com app, we found that even after confirming a reservation, some travelers had their room rates increased. Booking.com’s response to this stated that according to their policies, they could change the price at any time.
Booking.com Price Match Guarantee
With any promise of a price match, there will always be a few hoops you’ve got to leap through. It’s no different with Booking.com. It’s crucial that you know the terms and conditions attached to your booking. If you do find a lower price, you can verify if it meets the price match eligibility criteria. Overall, if you do your research and have your ear to the ground, you can take advantage of the benefit of price matching.
In some cases, having this little perk built into your reservation is great. Hotels.com doesn’t offer a price match guarantee. Hence, you’ll have to take your chances and hope you’ve got the best deal with them.
Where Hotels.com And Booking.com Differ
Hotels.com and Booking.com both offer hotel and transportation bookings. Transportation bookings with Hotels.com are only available on the app with Uber, but it’s there. Booking.com offers more to travelers with the ability to book flights, accommodation, airport taxis, and rental cars. However, the new app from Hotels.com gives users more, as noted above, they’re more about the hotel bookings.
The Overall Reviews of Hotels.com
The reviews on hotels.com are mixed at best. In researching and reading Hotels.com reviews on multiple sites, some said they’re a 9/10 other said they’re a 2/10. For example, toptenreviews.com seemed to review Hotels.com quite highly for their rewards. By comparison, sitejabber.com’s Hotels.com reviews were pretty poor for customer service contact.
Although a lot of the negative reviews came from travelers who didn’t understand the terms of their booking. In order to fully understand the terms and conditions with any booking, you’ve got to read them. While this may seem like an arduous task, it’s essential. The reviews on Booking.com are also mixed. Both players have their fans and foes. Ultimately, you’ve got to take the good Hotels.com reviews, with as much as the bad.
For the chance to snap up a great deal, you’ve got to be paying attention to more than just one provider. This is especially true if you’re trying to price match or get a higher discount. Both Hotels.com and Booking.com offer greater discounts to their members. So if it’s a deal you want, why not sign up to both to get alerted about both providers deals.
If you would like to know more about Hotels.com or Booking.com then click the link to our articles regarding those two companies.
If you are working on doing any online design, it is important to find a website that suits your needs and is easy to work with regardless of skill level. There are so many sites that can be used to create designs for all purposes; however, among the most popular and user friendly are Canva and Placeit which allow creators to make unlimited downloadable designs and mockups.
Placeit vs. Canva. One of the most notable differences between these two sites is that Placeit is mostly known as a mockup site where you can design not only logos and online materials but also apparel and more; whereas Canva is more geared towards users who are creating online posters, social media posts, e-books, and more.
Finding the right medium to design your content and mockups can be challenging when there are so many great options. In this article, we will compare the similarities and differences between Placeit and Canva, how to use each, how user-friendly each one is, the pricing, and the downfalls to each of these websites.
Differences in Pricing
Since this is often a determining factor for many who are looking for a free service, we will first cover the cost differences between using these two sites. One of the huge upsides of using Canva is that there is a free version, whereas Placeit does not have free access. This is often critical for users who prefer to test a platform out for a while before investing in the paid version.
PlaceIt.net
For those who use Placeit, if you do not pay the membership fee, you will have a watermark on all of your mockups. To use Placeit and have access to unlimited mockups, designs, videos, and logos, you will be charged a fee of $14.95 a month or $99.95 a year. However, All Free Mockups users now get 15% off any plan!
Keep in mind that all pricing is subject to change and is the most recent reported pricing based on when the article was written. The site has only one pricing option, so there are no pricing tiers to consider, which is often beneficial as you have access to every feature with just one set price point.
Canva.com
Canva offers a free account to users; however, you will not have access to everything you would have access to as a premium user. With a free account, there are certain photos, icons, and template add-ins that are not available.
Some of these elements have pricing on them; for example, as a free user if you wanted to add a photo to your poster that was not included in the free account it may have a $1 on it, and before you download your final document you would pay for the items you used with your credit card. Whereas, other elements are simply unavailable unless you have a Canva Pro account.
Therefore, you can get more done for free on Canva if you are looking for a site for which you do not have to pay anything. The Canva Pro fee is $9.95 a month if billed annually at $119.40, or $12.95 a month when billed monthly (pricing subject to change and is reported as when this article was written). Canva also offers a one-month free trial of Canva Pro before you are billed.
Comparisons Between Sites
Both Placeit and Canva offer users the ability to create designs for whatever you may need, including things like social media posts and stories. While the sites do have differences, they have a similar basic structure. There are thousands of templates for users to try for their creating designs for their brands on both sites.
If your primary need for one of these sites is for social media or website content, it is likely that both websites will work well for your design needs. Both sites offer templates that are sized out for Instagram stories, posts, Facebook and LinkedIn header photos, and more. These are ideal, as you will not need to further adjust the image once it is brought into your social networking site.
Both sites are extremely user friendly, highlighting tutorial videos and information to help users get ahead in their design journey. These step by step guides and simple tools make it easy for designers of all levels to still create beautiful and effective designs. Since both sites are so user friendly, you will find everything you need all in one place and be able to troubleshoot with ease.
Unlike certain sites that require users to be experienced in something like photoshop or advanced design skills, these two sites will walk all users through their designs and offer a number of helpful tools so that you can learn as you go and can feel like you are getting better at template design over the time you are using the site.
However, keep in mind that there are a few differences between the sites, namely differences in the kinds of content you can create on each site. Both sites have their own niche and audience they appeal to based on the templates they offer. The pros and cons of each site will be covered in-depth to help you make an informed decision about which site is right for you.
Pros of Using Canva
One of the nicest things about Canva is that users can create an entire e-book or magazine on the site, without even having to upgrade to Canva Pro. Whether you are creating an entire e-book or a simple logo, you will be able to create a design you are happy with without having to pay for anything.
This is majorly helpful as users can trial the site for as long as they want to before buying Canva Pro or can use the free account without ever upgrading. Even if you are never to upgrade your account, you can still access some of the Pro content by paying for them individually as you use them on your designs.
Canva’s Template Library
Canva has over 10,000 templates that you can use to design your media. Among these templates includes:
Books
Posters
Social media posts (including story templates, and post templates)
Resumes
Infographics
Ads
Presentations
Videos
Cards or Invitations
With Canva, nearly any template you could need is available. This site is especially helpful for those who are creating designs to be used on their internet platforms or for print outs. Many users use Canva to create their social media headers and posts because Canva has sized out all their templates to be ideal for different platforms.
Canva is also often used by entrepreneurs or influencers who design and release e-books or guides. There is no page limit to the designs you create, and therefore a template can be used for lengthier book type content. In addition, Canva is a very intuitive site to use and does not take much practice to become well-versed in using.
Cool Bonuses on Canva
Through Canva, there is a “Design School” link that guides users to joining different courses or accessing tutorials to better their design skills. This can allow users who want a more in-depth command of the tools to learn how to create seamless designs and discover more of the tips and tricks that other users may be unaware of.
If you do not want to engage with the design school, it is unlikely you will have problems navigating the site. Once you choose a design, the controls up at the top of the screen are very self-explanatory and easy to use. Since the site is extremely user friendly for all levels, you will likely have success creating designs even if you are a beginner.
Additionally, through Canva, you can curate your “Brand Kit” to make creating your designs even easier. You can paste your brand logo in there, choose your brand colors, and the fonts/styles you like using on your designs. This ensures that all of your designs are uniform, and you are not creating designs that do not look attractive to each other.
You can also link your Canva account with a number of other apps to gain access to even more tools. Luckily, these are linked directly through the Canva website under “Apps” to make it as easy for users as possible to access other helpful tools for their designs. Not only that, but you can upload your own photos to add to your designs for free.
There are endless possibilities on Canva, even if you are a user that is taking advantage of the free offerings on the site. You will be able to create beautiful and successful designs that automatically save as you work if you begin using the site. You can create folders and keep track of all of your designs for free.
Cons of Using Canva
While Canva is an extremely user-friendly site, if you do not have Canva Pro, you may begin to get frustrated while you are making designs. If you are choosing to create designs where you want to use a lot of Canva’s photos or elements, you may not be able to find exactly what you want for free.
This may cause you to spend small amounts of money buying access to individual elements or investing in a Pro membership. This also causes you to use more of your own content or that of the internet to fill the space on your designs. This problem, however, is avoided by those who use Canva Pro.
Another con to the site is that it is geared solely for internet creations, more so than mockups of all variations. If you are hoping to do a mockup of a design, whether it be for a technological device or apparel, this will be challenging on Canva as these designs are not pre-set templates. Instead, you would need to create this from scratch on a blank template.
Therefore, before choosing if Canva is right for you, it is important to think about what kinds of work you need to get done through the application you choose. If you are primarily creating the items that are listed above in the pros section, then Canva will suit your needs very well. If these are not the kinds of designs you will need to make, this may not be the right site for your designs.
An additional con to Canva is that you must be connected to the internet to access it. This is in part because of its auto-save function that requires a connection. However, this is unfortunate as you will not be able to use Canva at all while you are out of reach of service or Wi-Fi. This makes the website impractical for on-the-go designs, especially while traveling.
Pros of Using Placeit
Placeit gives designers access to over 9,500 logo designs, along with tons of social media tools to create posts and ads. In addition, you are able to access:
Video slideshow templates
Keyframe previews
Apparel designs
And the largest library of mockups of all design sites
On top of having access to thousands of social media designs, Placeit gives you the ability to create a mockup with any image you have. You can paste images on top of apparel, technological devices, book covers, and so much more. This gives you the ability to visualize your designs before they are fully created.
If this is something that is important to you, Placeit is likely going to be the more helpful website for you as it was started to simply be a mockup site. This is an ability that most other design websites do not offer and can be very helpful for visualizing a launch before you release it or for those who are designing apparel and need to see the finalized product before buying.
Placeit also has specialized gaming templates on the site to create logos for games. This is unique to the site and is a major portion of the designs you are able to make with Placeit. Much like Canva, Placeit is a very easy site to use and is very beginner-friendly. When making mockups, it is as simple as uploading your photo to see it in the template you chose.
When you upload your image for the mockup, Placeit will automatically resize it and paste it into the template of your choosing so that you simply upload, then are able to download your mockup right away. This is a simple and quick process, and there is no limit on the number of mockups you create.
The same goes for video mockups, which can be made in seconds. The process is the same, just simply upload your photos or videos, and Placeit will do the rest of the work for you! With thousands of mockup options and such ease in creating each mockup, Placeit is a simple and easy site for users of all levels to use for their design needs.
The site does offer tutorials and marketing information for their customers, which is helpful to take your skills from basic designing to the next level of being able to produce really quality outputs through the website. These are all found on the Placeit blog, where you can interact with those who are posting tips and tricks for how to better use the site for your needs.
Cons of Using Placeit
Arguably the biggest con to using Placeit is that there is no free membership. If you use the site without paying, the mockups and designs will have a watermark on them so that you are unable to download a finished version that could be used elsewhere.
For those who want to use the site and download designs and mockups that can be used in their business or for their websites, buying the membership is absolutely necessary. However, this may not be a con for those who are willing and able to pay the membership fee to access all the great material on the website. Plus, the 15% off discount makes it hard to beat.
Placeit is also very specialized to specific media types. There is a focus on gaming logos, video creation, logo creation, and apparel. There are unlimited mockup templates; however, if you are not creating a mockup or any of the items listed above, you may not find your ideal template on the site.
PlaceIt Isn’t the Best for Some Things
If you are hoping to create a longer document such as an e-book or magazine, this site may not be the most ideal for your needs. Although it would be extremely helpful to create a mockup of a book cover to see how it would print, it may be more challenging to create the book contents itself on Placeit.
If you are using this platform to create ads or content for social media, you will find that the offerings are very similar between Canva and Placeit. Both websites have social media-specific templates; however, this is not the main focus of Placeit, and therefore if that is your primary goal, you may find that Placeit does not have as many options for design as it does for mockups.
In addition, when you are using Placeit for design, while there is a huge variety of templates, you are unable to customize the template as much as you can on Canva. This is not a bad thing if you are happy with the template and simply want to paste in a photo and replace the text that is a placeholder.
However, if you are unhappy with the elements on the design or the template basics, you will not be able to change some things. You may find that this is a con to the site if you are used to being able to customize your templates to your liking and replace the stickers that are on the template when you download it.
The interface simply has fewer features when it comes to editing and customizing templates when compared to that of Canva, which is 100% customizable on all of the templates offered to customers. However, again this comes back to your personal needs when it comes to using these online interfaces.
Other Design Sites
Keep in mind that there are hundreds of sites out there where you can create online designs and utilize set templates for your own use, whether it be for work, school, or social networking sites. Often these are free sites that attempt to stand up to the quality and content that can be produced on Canva or Placeit.
While many of the alternative sites offer free services and allow similar content creation capacities to users, Canva and Placeit are known to have more templates and more variety than most other sites. They are also known to have higher quality templates, images, and final products than many other knockoff sites that offer similar services.
However, take a look at all of your options, especially if you are looking to buy a membership with one of these sites. Keep in mind that the majority of web designers and content creators utilize Canva and Placeit due to their high-quality content and reliable service. By using these sites, you have access to unlimited tools and tips for all your design needs.
How to Choose Your Design Site
If you primarily need a platform for your mockups, you will find that the ease of creating mockups on Placeit is worth the cost to make it. Whereas the extra work and time you must put in on Canva to create a mockup is counterintuitive to your goal. Once you have created an account on Placeit, you can make unlimited mockups in the matter of seconds.
However, if you need a platform where you are able to make adjustments to every element on your page and have full control over each template, you will likely prefer the freedom you get from Canva. Simply by knowing what is important for your creative process, you will be able to weigh out the pros and cons of each of these sites to then decide what is best for you.
If, after this article, you are still unsure about which site will better suit your needs right now, give both a try! You can create mockups on Placeit for free; you will just have to deal with the watermark until you upgrade to a premium account. You can also use Canva extensively without ever having to upgrade to Canva Pro.
Once you have used each one of these sites for a little while and have gotten a feel for the offerings and capabilities of each site, you will be able to better make a decision about which site is best for your needs. This also gives you a chance to explore all of the templates each site has and the ways in which you can manipulate them to best fit your vision.
Both sites offer different specialties that can help you, whether you are launching a brand, shaping your business, or simply creating eye-catching graphics for your social media profiles. These are highly intuitive sites that you will be able to easily navigate as you begin making your own designs and creations.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking to create designs or mockups for any of the content you are looking to create, using Canva or Placeit will be hugely helpful in making your content look more professional and eye-catching. By using these professional templates, you will be able to introduce more color and content into your designs while maintaining a sleek and attractive look!
This can not only be beneficial for the marketing and traffic of your business or whatever you are creating, but it also gives you a starting point rather than forcing you to start from scratch on all of your designs. However, for those who are more advanced in their design skills, each of these sites does give you the ability to create from a blank canvas.
Both of these sites give you the ability to create no matter your level or skill and no matter your purpose for the design. However, for those who do not use either site consistently or simply do not want to invest in one of the sites, using Canva free may be the better option.
Remember, the most important thing to consider when deciding which site will be better for you is thinking first about the primary reason you need to site. What you are trying to create can often narrow down sites that will be helpful in reaching your goals. Once you have identified your purpose, you may be able to choose which site is better simply based on that.
Remember that once you have created your designs, it is important that you are paying attention to the ways in which you are distributing them. For example, on Canva, when you download your creation, there are a number of ways in which you can publish. Be sure you are maintaining good image quality with each one of your downloads.
Additionally, be sure you are not downloading a document that will be too large to send or upload, and that if you are using it for printing that you are downloading the creation at its highest quality. Regardless of the site you use, being familiar with how you download and distribute your creations can increase the professionalism and clarity of your design.
Americanas.com is owned by the popular retail chain Lojas Americanas. You have almost certainly been to one of the company’s stores before. As far as I can tell, there is one in just about every city in Brazil. I guess that isn’t surprising since the retail chain has been around since the 1920s.
Lojas Americanas started selling its products online in 1999. At the time, it was one of the few Brazilian companies (at least major companies) that had its entire catalog online. This made it extremely easy for people to shop for the items they wanted. Even if you couldn’t find the product that you want at your local store, you could purchase it online to take advantage of the same low prices and excellent customer services that you would get from the retail store.
I started shopping online before most of the people I know. I work in the tech industry, so I’m often the first person in my social circle to adopt new concepts. For me, it was a revelation. The Internet had been going through so many changes over the last decade. Suddenly, it had reached a point where I could buy just about anything I wanted online and the retailer would ship it directly to my house. I didn’t even have to print out a catalog. (That may sound silly to younger shoppers, but there really was a time when you had to print catalogs and send your orders through the mail. We didn’t have the level of security and payment flexibility that’s available now.)
If you haven’t bought anything from Americanas.com, then I hope this review will help you decide whether it is a good company for your needs. In my experience, it has exceeded my expectations.
Top Features of Americanas.com
There are a lot of features that make Americanas.com a useful e-commerce site for me. I’m going to break my experiences into several sections. I think this will make it easier for me to explain exactly what I like about the company. I think it will also make it easier for you to learn more about the features that interest you most.
It has a diverse catalog
Americanas.com is one of those websites that seems to have just about everything that you could want to buy. While a lot of companies try to focus on narrow genres, Americanas.com takes the opposite approach. I find this helpful in for many reasons.
First off, I think it’s just convenient. I would rather shop at one store than several. That’s true online as well as in real life.
Secondly, I think it’s more secure. With all the horror stories about hackers stealing information online, I would like to keep my online footprint as small as possible. By shopping at one website, I decrease the possibility that a criminal will steal my information. If you’re worried about protecting yourself from identity theft, then this is something that you should think about before you buy things from multiple websites.
Lastly, buying a lot of different things from one website means that I can take advantage of more savings opportunities. I have, for instance, never paid for shipping with Americanas.com. That’s because I always spend enough money that I can avoid shipping costs. That wouldn’t be true if it didn’t have such a large catalog. Luckily, I can always find enough things that I need to exceed the minimum amount for free shipping. Why would I pay for shipping when I can just add another item. It’s a win-win for me.
It has stores you can visit in the real world
I like shopping online, but some times you want to see a product in person before you decide whether you want to pay for it. Americanas.com has a huge advantage over its competitors because it operates kiosks throughout Brazil. If you want to see a product first, then just go to the store.
The option to visit a physical store also improves the customer service experience. In most cases, I think that phone and email based customer services work pretty well. There are times, though, when I want to speak to someone face to face. That makes Americanas.com an obvious choice for me.
It has a strong loyalty programs
Whether you’re buying one thing for yourself or a large order for your business, you should join the Americanas.com loyalty program to make sure you take advantage of every available discount. This is one of the reasons that I appreciate Americanas.com’s large catalog. The more you buy, the more money you save.
Even if you don’t shop online much, it still makes sense to join the loyalty program. It might take you a little longer to accumulate rewards, but they will eventually help you save money. The more you participate, of course, the more opportunities you have to save money on future purchases.
Americanas.com Prices
Let’s be honest. It’s the low prices that will attract you to Americanas.com. That’s why I started shopping through the site. It offers tons of discounts that will help you save money on practically everything in stock. AT times you can even find sales that will knock 80 percent off of an item’s retail price. That’s an incredible amount of savings that I haven’t been able to find at any other website.
The prices and discounts do vary depending on what you want to buy. In my experience, you can get the biggest savings on consumer electronics. Then again, that’s what I’m primarily interested in buying, so I might just be focused on that area more than others.
When you shop at Americanas.com, don’t forget to take advantage of extra discounts. You can earn coupons in several ways, such as signing up for the Americanas.com newsletter and taking advantage of daily offers. Always search for discount codes before you finish placing your order. If you don’t, then you could end up spending more money than necessary.
Criticism of Americanas.com
I can’t really think of anything negative to say about Americanas.com. I suppose it might not have the items you want if you are looking for extremely niche products. Americanas.com tends to focus more on the types of things that average consumers want to buy. If you need a specialty item, then you will probably need to go to a specialty website. That doesn’t seem like a huge concern, though. That’s just the way business works. Personally, I’m happy that Americanas.com has such a wide range of items that I want to buy. If it carried a lot of niche items, then it probably wouldn’t be able to offer such steep discounts.
Americanas.com Customer Support
I can only think of one time in my life that Lojas Americanas made a mistake with my online order. I had ordered a new smartphone and somehow the warehouse made a mistake and sent me the previous model.
I tried to talk to customer service on the phone, but I don’t think they really understood what I was saying. As far as most people could tell, I had the right phone. I knew, however, that it was a slightly earlier version that lacked some of the features I wanted. If you didn’t work in the industry, it’s quite possible that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between these two phones since they look practically identical.
This is one of the reasons that I appreciate being able to visit a physical location. I took my phone to Lojas Americanas with a copy of my order form and receipt. I think that my concerns made a lot more sense when I could talk to someone in person. At one point, we actually pulled out phone’s latest version and compared it to the one I had received. This made it obvious to the customer service rep that a mistake had been made. He apologized and immediately gave me the right phone. It was such a strange situation that he even had a manager come over to give me a free gift card.
I would have preferred that the mistake not happen. Getting a gift card, however, ensured that I would remain a loyal customer. It was a smart move on his part. He showed me that the employees at Americanas.com really appreciate their customers.
Conclusion
Everyone has their own priorities when shopping online. For me, I’m mostly concerned about price and convenience. Americanas.com stands out in both of those ways.
In my experience, Americanas.com is a reliable e-commerce site that has several advantages over its competitors. If you want a smooth experience, low prices, and the option to talk to customer service representatives in person, then I think Americanas.com will work well for you. It has been my go-to site for years.
Have you heard of Submarino Prime, Americanas Prime or Shoptime Prime?
Get to know the Prime subscription, which gives you free shipping with no purchase limit on more than 800 thousand products from the sites mentioned above.
Prime is only valid for the South and Southeast.
You pay R $ 79.90 only once and have free shipping for 1 year on the website where your subscription was made.
Remembering that to have Free Shipping on Submarino the subscription must be made on Submarino, to have Free Shipping on Americanas the subscription must be made on Americanas and so on.
Travel has become really expensive. Post-COVID, the entire world seems to be traveling again and prices just keep rising. I am astonished at how high they have gotten. But it’s a product of rising costs and out of control demand. Everyone just wants to travel. We’re all looking for an escape.
Fortunately, it’s not all bad. Airfare has started to go down again, there are more deal-finding websites online, free walking tours in more cities, and more opportunities to bypass the traditional travel infrastructure and connect directly into the local way of life via the sharing economy.
As we navigate the post-COVID world of high prices, I want to share some tips and tricks on how to travel on a budget this year!
1. Change Your Mindset
Changing your mindset might not be a traditional budget tip, but it’s important nonetheless. Constantly remind yourself that travel is possible while taking concrete steps to make it a reality. Action begets action — even if it’s just baby steps.
Start with a “yes, I can” mindset. Don’t think “I can’t travel” — think “What’s one thing I can do today to make my trip closer to reality?”
Life is a mental game. Do one thing every day that gets you closer to your trip and you’ll find yourself building unstoppable momentum.
2. Come Up with a Savings Plans
Unless you’re Bill Gates, we all need to save more money. But how do you do that? While life is expensive, I do believe there are always ways to save a little more. There’s always something you can cut. A little bit of savings adds up a lot over time.
First, start by tracking your spending. Write down everything you spend money on for a month. Groceries, rent, eating out, Netflix — everything. You can’t figure out where to save if you don’t know where your money is going.
Next, start a savings account specifically for travel. That way, you’ll have a dedicated space for your travel fund and you can watch it grow. That progress will keep you motivated. Even if it’s just a few dollars a week, every penny counts. The more you save, the more you want to save.
Finally, start cutting. Maybe it’s going to Starbucks, maybe it’s saving on gas by carpooling to work or cutting back on eating out. We all have things we can cut. Find yours.
One of the things that people always tell me holds them back from traveling more is the cost of flights. But, let me tell you, there’s a lot of deals right now.
All the airlines are trying to fill planes and are offering a lot of deals for summer and fall travel right now. After all, they need to make up for a lost year and are desperate to get people on planes.
The key to finding a cheap flight is to be flexible with your dates and your destination. If you have your heart set on “Paris in June” you’ll be forced to pay whatever the flight costs. But, if you open that up to “France in the summer” — or even “Europe in the summer” you’ll be able to find much cheaper flights since you’ll have a lot more wiggle room to test dates and destinations.
I like to use Google Flights and Skyscanner to browse my options. I type in my home city and then pick “everywhere” as my destination. I then base my plans around where I can fly to for the least amount of money.
Both websites also let you sign up for price alerts so you’ll get an email if the price for your ideal trip happens to drop.
And if you really want to find amazing flight deals, consider joining a flight deal site like Going. It’s the best website for finding flight deals from the US and has saved me a fortune over the years. It’s not free, but new users can get 20% off a Premium membership with the code NOMADICMATT20.
Other helpful flight deal sites are:
The Flight Deal – Incredible deals for flights all around the world.
Secret Flying – Another site with amazing flight deals from around the globe (they find a lot of Asia/Africa/South America deals not found elsewhere).
4. Get Points!
Travel hacking, the art of collecting points and miles, is a great way to travel on a budget. By getting point-yielding credit cards and using a few simple techniques, you can get hundreds of thousands of miles — without any additional spending (you can even earn points just by paying your rent!). These points can then be cashed in for free flights, free hotel stays, and other travel rewards.
I’ve earned countless free flights, upgrades, and hotel stays from travel hacking. By optimizing my spending and paying attention to which cards earn the most points where, I’ve saved thousands of dollars — and you can too!
Once you have points, use platforms like point.me (for flights) and Awayz (for hotels) to manage them. These platforms help you maximize your points and miles so you earn more free flights and hotel stays.
5. Use the Sharing Economy
The sharing economy has led to a plethora of new money-saving and community-building platforms that have made travel even more affordable, personal, and accessible. It’s never been easier to get off the tourist trail, connect with locals, and experience their pace of life. I live by these websites when I travel! You should too.
Here are some of the best sharing economy sites to help you get started:
Trusted Housesitters – The most comprehensive website to find house-sitting gigs. You watch a place on vacation while the homeowner is on vacation.
EatWith – Allows you to eat home-cooked meals with locals (it’s the Airbnb of food). It always leads to interesting encounters, so it’s one of my favorite things to do.
BlaBlaCar – A ridesharing app that pairs riders with verified locals who have a spare seat in their car.
RVShare – Allows you to rent RVs and camper vans directly from locals.
6. Find the Free!
The world is awash with amazing free travel resources (like this website) that can help you travel on a budget. No matter where you are going, there’s probably a blog post on what to do and see there for free or cheaply. Someone has been there and they’ve written about it! Make the best use of all of them to help you plan your trip.
My favorite search term is “free things to do in X.” You’ll always get a result!
Additionally, don’t be afraid to walk into a hostel — even if you aren’t staying there — and ask them what to do for cheap. Their clientele is budget sensitive, so they always know what to do and where to go for little money.
Local tourism boards will also have tons of info on free things to do as well (more on that below).
7. Stick to Public Transportation
If you’re on a budget, skip the taxis and rideshares like Lyft or Uber. Unless you can lower your cost by sharing a ride with other passengers, public transportation is going to be the most cost-effective way to get around. Not only will it save you money but you’ll get to see how the locals travel too.
Google Maps usually can give you a basic overview of the public transportation options and prices available. You can find information about day passes and/or multi-day passes from your local hostel/hotel staff (as well as from local tourism offices). For cheap intercity travel information, check out Rome2Rio.
8. Use Local Tourism Offices
Local tourist offices are a wealth of knowledge. They exist solely to provide you with information on what to see and do. They often have tons of discounts not found anywhere else and can also keep you updated on local events, free tours, and the best spots to eat. They can help you find public transportation discounts and/or multiday passes too.
Don’t skip the local tourist office! They are a severely underutilized resource.
9. Get Cheap Accommodation
Accommodation is one of the biggest fixed costs travelers have, so reducing that cost can lead to big savings on the road. I’m sure many backpackers would sleep in a barn if it were the cheapest accommodation they could find! Heck, I’ve slept in hammocks in national parks to save a buck!
Since you have to stay somewhere every night, reducing this expense can save you a lot of money off the total cost of your trip. Stay in hostels, use Couchsurfing, stay in empty university dorms, camp, or try an Airbnb.
Since there’s a lot of ways to cut your accommodation costs, here are my posts on how to get accommodation deals:
Also, use the five-block rule. There seems to be this magical wall that surrounds tourist areas. Most people don’t go past it. It’s been my experience that if you walk five blocks in any direction from a major tourist area, you end up losing the crowds and finding the local restaurants.
In my experience, tourist restaurants don’t care about quality since those tourists aren’t coming back. Residents do care so places catering to them need to be better — and more affordable – or they go out of business. Those are the places you want to eat at. Use the above resources to find where the locals eat and avoid crappy food!
11. Travel Like You Live
The majority of people in your destinations don’t spend lots of money per day like tourists do. Neither do you in your day-to-day life. So take that mentality with you. Walk, take public transportation, grocery shop, spend a day in a park, and look for deals. Do the things you do at home every day to keep your costs down.
Too many people get into this mindset that when they go on the road, they just have to spend, spend, spend, spend. That’s not true at all. There’s no law that says you have to spend more. Be smart with your budget — just like you are at home. That will help you save money and prevent you from going home early (and broke).
12. Work & Volunteer to Lower Your Expenses
If you’re a long-term traveler, consider volunteering or doing a work exchange to lower your costs. There are tons of options out there such as farm stays, working in hostels, teaching in schools, and more.
You’ll usually need to commit for a week or more, however, these opportunities enable you to get a much deeper and more nuanced travel experience. Here are some websites to help you find suitable opportunities:
Worldpackers – Worldpackers offers travelers a chance to find volunteer experiences overseas. In addition to hostels, they can help you find experiences with NGOs, homestays, and eco-projects all over the world!
WWOOF – WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a program that connects you with farms all around the world where you can work in exchange for room and board.
Helpx – Like Worldpackers, Helpx offers exchanges such as farmstays, homestays, B&Bs, hostels, and sail boats.
Workaway – Workaway is a lot like HelpX except it has more paid job opportunities (though it has volunteer opportunities too).
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While prices may be higher than they were pre-pandemic, there are still plenty of ways to plan a budget trip without breaking the bank. By being flexible, getting creative, and embracing the right mindset, you’ll be able to get out the door in no time. And it won’t cost you a fortune either.
All you have to do is take that first step. Remember, action begets action. Once you start moving, everything else gets easier. So don’t wait!
Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
Want to Travel for Free?
Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.
Ready to Book Your Trip?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.
