Ah summer vacation – here at last. A chance to switch off our alarms, phones, and brains for a few days. But wait – if you’re planning to hit the road this summer, don’t switch that brain off completely. Keep these tips in mind before and while you travel, and save your family some money better spent on souvenirs or experiences.
Check your Membership Affiliations
Your memberships to hometown attractions can save you money while you’re away. Read up on affiliations and remember to bring your membership card with you. For example, your membership to the Okanagan Science Centre also gets you free admission to over 300 other science centres and museums around the world, including TELUS Science World in Vancouver (single adult admission price $26.75), and the San Diego Natural History Museum (single adult admission price $19.00 USD).
Possible savings by using your membership card: about $100/family of four per attraction.
Research City Travel Passes
Some big cities have bundled passes that include a tour and admission to the most popular attractions. Spend a little time before you travel to calculate what you might save by purchasing something like the New York City Pass, that combines admissions to the Empire State Building, Guggenheim Museum, Statue of Liberty and 9/11 Memorial, among others. Their package takes about 40% off the total combined admission prices. If those are sights you want to see then this package is a great bargain.
Take a look at hop-on-hop-off tour services. Toronto offers a few different services with stops around downtown. For about $100, a family of four can use the pass for 48 hours, save walking between attractions, and learn about the city while they ride. Or, if you’re just trying to get to the ballpark, dinner, and back, children under 12 ride Toronto Transit for free, and adult day passes are $12.50 for unlimited one-day travel.
At the very least you’ll avoid parking downtown and save: about $20 or more per day
Hop on a Bike
Another way to save and see more is on a bike! More and more cities are introducing bike sharing. In Vancouver, for example, you can buy a Mobi bike 24-hour pass for $9.75 which includes unlimited 30-minute rides. There’s also an app so you can find available bicycles and docking stations around town. Considering a taxi from Coal Harbour to Granville Island Market would cost over $20, touring by bike is a cheaper and much more scenic way to travel. And might mean you feel better about ordering dessert.
Possible savings by using a bike: $10 – $40
Put Your Cell Phone on ‘Airplane Mode’
Even when you’re not using your phone for calls or looking up info, many of its apps run in the background and chew through data by fetching information, locations, news and updates continuously. Your Canadian cell phone plan may be cost-effective, but as soon as you cross a border your cell service provider automatically switches you over to costly international roaming rates, and these are billed in addition to your monthly plan. This means while you wander around Seattle, your phone’s GPS app is monitoring your whereabouts and reloading location maps at $5 per MB, your photos may be uploading to the cloud without you knowing, and Facebook is continuously updating your news feed whether you check it or not.
If you do check your social media apps while on the go, you can expect to consume around 90 MB/hr. At the international roaming rate, that’s $7.50 per minute!
Buy a travel package before you go (easy enough to find on your cell service provider’s website), or simply switch your phone to airplane mode so you can’t inadvertently rack up data charges.
Possible savings by turning off roaming data: over $1500/week! (Half-hour/45 MBs per day at $5/MB!)
Hunt Down Free Wi-Fi
Now that your phone is off, how do you stay in touch? These days, there’s rarely a need to pay for Wi-Fi while wandering; most hotels and coffee shops offer it for free. Starbucks, McDonalds and Tim Hortons offer free Wi-Fi and can be found almost everywhere, so you can take photos, enjoy a coffee break, and upload a few to Facebook. Some cities have ‘wired’ downtowns, like San Francisco, New York City, Barcelona, and Perth, to name a few.
Take advantage of free Wi-Fi instead of buying US roaming packages and save: $25-$100
Choose Ding-Free ATMs
Credit union members have access to thousands of participating ATMs across Canada, without having to pay those infuriating surcharges. There’s even a free ATM locator app to download to your phone, so you can find a ‘ding-free’ ATM near you, wherever you are in Canada.
Possible savings by going ding-free across Canada: $1-$3 per ATM transaction
Don’t Buy Insurance Twice
Often when you book travel, you’re automatically prompted to buy cancellation insurance or insurance upgrades when you rent a car. Full coverage is a good thing, but check that you’re not needlessly doubling up. Many credit cards have added coverage as part of the service. For example, our members with a low fee Gold MasterCard with Choice Rewards get Trip Cancellation Insurance, Lost Document and Ticket Replacement, Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance, and Collision Damage Waiver Benefits. Review all the extras you get with your credit card before you book and travel.
Possible savings using your card: $50-200 for travel insurance within Canada; about $10/day for additional car insurance.
We know… booking a vacation is already a lot of work without all the little extras to research beforehand. But that little bit of extra research you do before you go could add up to savings you feel great about. With your ATM card, credit card, membership cards and phone (in airplane mode!) tucked safely in your travel bag, you really will be able to relax and enjoy your summer escape.
We’d love to answer any questions you may have about making the most of your vacation. From travel insurance to credit cards, we’ve got you covered. Get in touch or visit your nearest Interior Savings branch before you go. We’d be happy to help.