How to Travel Hack WITHOUT Using Credit Card Points

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I love to travel cheap. More often than not, at least part of our trip is paid for with credit card points.  However, if using credit card points just isn’t in the cards for you, it’s ok!  There are still affordable ways to travel—you just have to be a little flexible in the process. 

One of the biggest ways you can find great travel deals is to let the destination choose you.  There are plenty of places that I want to visit, but sometimes I put my bucket list destinations on hold for a good deal. 

Travel Hacking Tip #1: Find Cheap Flights

We really weren’t planning to take a fall vacation, but when I found roundtrip, non-stop flights from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale for $181.50 for our entire family of 5, I couldn’t pass it up!  This flight, like many others, was on Frontier Airlines.  Frontier is a discount airline that many people steer clear of because of all their added fees.  However, we’ve flown Frontier several times, both domestically and internationally, and have had success—and cheap flights!

Skyscanner/Google Flights

One of the ways I find cheap flights is by using either Skyscanner or Google Flights.  We have three airports within an hour from our house, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Akron-Canton.  Columbus is only about a 2.5-hour drive so we’ve flown from there too.  When searching for flights, you can search from your home airports and leave your destination blank (Google) or set to “Everywhere” (Skyscanner) to find the cheapest flights. 

When I book my flights, I always book directly with the airline. Google Flights and Skyscanner can really help you narrow down some inexpensive destinations!  Most airlines will show up on these search engines, but Southwest flights will not—so keep that in mind when you’re doing your research.

Frontier Airlines Tips & Tricks

Yes, there are LOTS of added fees with Frontier; however, you can still travel with your family and save a ton of cash. 

Frontier Savings Tip#1: Get a Discount Den Membership

Because we fly Frontier often, we’ve purchased their Discount Den Membership a few times over the years.  The cost has increased from when we purchased it the first time, but it’s been worth it for us.

Since signing up last year, we’ve saved on trips to Orlando, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale.  

Frontier Savings Tip #2: Use the Kids Fly Free Option, When Applicable

In some cases (typically when flying on Tuesdays or Wednesdays), you’ll find “Kids Fly Free” rates.  For each adult, you can have one child under 13 fly for free (base fare).  For our trip to Fort Lauderdale, two of our kids flew free on the way to Florida saving us some cash. 

Frontier Savings Tip #3: Skip Paying for Seats

When our kids were younger, we always purchased our seats because sitting next to each other was a priority of ours.  We always chose seats in the back of the plane.  Typically, the seats are cheaper and they were close to the bathrooms, both of which are helpful when traveling with three young children. 

Now that our kids are older, we don’t waste money on purchasing seats.  Our kids are pretty well-traveled and are old enough to sit next to strangers and keep to themselves.  In all of our recent flights, our two kids under 13 have been seated next to either my husband or me.  Our oldest son is typically in some other section of the plane.  My husband and I are sometimes within a few rows of each other and sometimes nowhere near each other.

Purchase ONE seat

Although my kids have sat next to strangers, it’s still not something they enjoy. I’ve found a trick to purchasing just one seat, instead of all 5 of our seats.  Since we typically have two sets of two seats together and then one wild card, we wait until check in and see what seats are open.  If there are open seats next to one of us, we’ll purchase that one seat so there is no wild card. 

This trick doesn’t always work out so you can’t count on it.  When we’re unable to purchase that seat, then we have our two oldest kids sit together and my husband or I sit with our youngest and the other sits alone.  I won’t typically ask someone to switch seats with me (unless I know that it’s beneficial for both of us) because I would never expect someone to give up a seat that they potentially paid for when I chose to save the money.

If you want your entire party seated together, then you’re going to have to suck it up and buy the seats.  And at that point, it may be cheaper to use a different airline.

Frontier Savings Tip #4: Don’t Check Bags or Purchase Carry-on Luggage

Depending on our destination and the length of our trip, we may or may not check bags.  For this trip to Fort Lauderdale and several other short trips, we carried on bookbags.  Because these are considered “personal items,” there is no charge.  I use this bag, which fits a good amount of stuff and it fits in Frontier’s personal item bin. 

Pack a FREE Personal Item

Sometimes Frontier will check your personal item during boarding and sometimes they don’t so I make sure our bags are the right size.  My bag fit four days of clothes for my three kids and I, plus my laptop, some of my toiletries and a pair of sandals.  My husband’s bag fit his clothes, sandals and the rest of the toiletries.  And the kids each carried on a bookbag with other random items like snacks, pj’s, and bathing suits.  We all wore a hoodie/jacket and jeans on the plane so we had our heaviest clothing on instead of packed. 

Packing only a personal item has additional benefits besides just being free.  Since you’re carrying on your own luggage, there is no need to wait for it when you get to your destination.  Plus, no need to worry that it’ll get lost! 

Get Through Security Quicker

Since you’re not checking your bag, you can actually go through security right when you get to the airport.  If you’re flying Frontier, they won’t let you check your bag until 2 hours prior to departure.  We learned about this on our summer vacation to California. 

We got to the airport about 2.5 hours early, but we couldn’t check our bags until we were inside a two-hour window of your departure.  This mean there are lines to check-in at the kiosks, then lines to actually check your bags, then potentially longer lines to get through security. 

I will never fly Frontier again when I have to check a bag because of that rule.  Most airlines allow you to get your bags checked in at least 3 hours before your flight so I’ll pay the extra to have that perk when we check bags. I like to get to the airport and not feel rushed.  Plus, we have access to Priority lounges so I like to be able to go eat, drink and relax prior to our flight!

Frontier Airlines: Bottom Line

Finding flights as cheap as we did, makes a quick family trip totally do-able!  Don’t be afraid to fly those cheaper airlines.  Yes, there are cancellation fees, but we gamble on the cheap flight and hope that we don’t have to cancel, but if we do, we’re not out that much.

Travel Hacking Tip #2: Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates & Destination

Part of the reason we were able to get the flights that we did was because we were flexible in our dates (to a certain extent) and in our destination.

There are lots of places to visit on our bucket list and although Fort Lauderdale wasn’t one of them, it ended up being a great option for a quick getaway! 

I was using Skyscanner (as I do often) and just checking flights from Cleveland or Pittsburgh and came across this amazing deal.  When I looked at it originally, it was $250 for the 5 of us and even that was a pretty good deal. 

For our family, fall is typically jam-packed between soccer games and marching band.  Because our football team had a bye week, this cheap flight + the opening in our schedule made it a no brainer!

Travel Hacking Tip #3: Sign Up for Hotel Loyalty Programs

Two of the most expensive parts of any trip will be flights and accommodations However, hotel loyalty programs offer some added benefits (like onsite credit, upgrades, late check out, etc.) that can really save you money!  Loyalty programs are free to join and the more you stay with the brand, the more points you earn.  Plus, you usually save at least $10/night when you are member.  And since it’s free to join, why not save that money?!

Optional: Elevate Status with Credit Card

If you want to elevate your status quickly, sign up for one of their credit cards and you’ll gain a higher status, just for holding the card.  My husband and I both have the American Express Surpass card, which gives us gold status, regardless of how many stays we complete.  But don’t worry, a credit card is not required to earn rewards, participate in offers and save money just with the free loyalty programs!

One thing I say over and over is that your best hotel deals typically come the farther in advance that you book them.  In our case, we booked our flight about 2 months in advance so our rates probably weren’t as good as they could be.

Rack up Points!

And although I had several thousand points to use through Hilton, I was saving those to book a trip to Hawaii!  I ended up researching tons of hotels and had it narrowed down to a few—all Hilton brand.  I looked at other brands, but our status with Hilton gave us a $30 Food and Beverage credit each day.

Most of the time, we try to book hotels that offer complimentary breakfast, like a Hampton Inn or Embassy Suites. However, one of the goals with this trip was to be on the beach and within walking distance to restaurants.  Although those brands were nearby, they weren’t on the beach.

Travel Hacking Tip #4: Choose a Location Close to the Action

Anytime you’re selecting a hotel, you also need to decide how you’ll get around while you’re there.  When we booked this trip, we decided that it was truly going to be a beach vacation and a cheap one at that!  We decided to uber or use the water taxi to get around rather than paying a car rental fee + a hefty parking rate at the hotel.

Bahia Mar – a Double Tree by Hilton Hotel

We ended up settling on the Bahia Mar Double Tree hotel and Resort.  There were a few things that really stood out about this hotel, all relating to the location.  First of all, it was practically on the beach.  It was technically across the street; however, they had a bridge/walkway to the beach making it a perfect location for our beach vacation.  In addition, the hotel was within walking distance to several restaurants and shops.  Plus, there was a water taxi pickup, right in the marina next door!

The hotel also had a rooftop pool and bar, a pool house with a ping pong table, pool table and cornhole.  Plus, since it’s a Double Tree, they’ll give you as many cookies as your belly can handle (they even have allergy friendly options)!

Resort Fee

Because this is a “resort” there is an additional daily resort fee of $37; however, the added expense was worth the extra fee.  Our total bill with the resort fee was $800 for 4 nights.

The resort fee included 2 beach chairs daily, 1 hour bicycle rental for 2 (daily), 2 free (adult) drinks of the day, free breakfast for kids 12 and under (daily and no purchase necessary), beach/pool towel service and upgraded wi-fi.

Hilton Honors Perks

And because we are Hilton Diamond members, we had a few added benefits to sweeten the deal.  We received a $30 food and beverage credit each day and our room was upgraded, automatically, to an Ocean View room with a balcony!  Upgrades aren’t guaranteed, but are a nice perk when they are available.  I booked the cheapest room, but got a room that would have cost about $120 more than we paid—all because I am a Hilton Honors loyalty member!

Food & Beverage Credit

The food and beverage credit covered a good portion of our lunch most days.  The hotel had a market that had really good, fresh-made sandwiches (as well as grab and go options), beers, drinks, snacks, pizza, etc.  They also had a sit-down restaurant, rooftop bar and a coffee shop, all of which accepted our credit.

We spent most of our credits at the market and in the coffee shop.  The specialty coffee was really good—they had some fall flavors that were pretty amazing!  We didn’t eat at the rooftop bar, but we did get our free cocktails there each day.  And we didn’t eat dinner in the sit down, but the kids got their breakfast there each morning.

The hotel isn’t the newest on the block, but it was clean and the staff was incredibly friendly and attentive—and that’s really all I am looking for in a hotel.  Sure, it’s certainly a treat to stay in a luxury hotel, but I am fine with a hotel as long as it’s clean and has what we need.

Ways we Saved

Our total trip cost was around $1200 + food for our family of five.  This included our flights, accommodations, Water Taxi day pass and Lyft to and from the hotel to the airport.  We didn’t end up spending any money on breakfast and used our hotel credits for lunch every day, except one.

Free Breakfast

One of the biggest perks of this hotel is that our kids (12 and under) were able to go to the buffet each day for free.  They put their food in to-go boxes and brought it to the room.  My husband and I had coffee while our oldest grabbed a pastry from the coffee shop or ate what we brought from home (Pop Tart, Granola Bar, Nature Valley Baked Muffins, etc.) or nibbled on whatever the kids didn’t eat, saving us on meal costs.

Coupon Booklets

We paid for four dinners and a lunch—and that’s truly a variable cost.  Our meals were anywhere from $80 to $300+, depending where we ate and what was ordered.  Those Alaskan King Crab Legs are not cheap, but if you’re not into seafood or choose a different option, you can easily spend significantly less on food!

In most tourist places, there are coupon booklets with discounts on food or activities.  Usually, these are available in the hotel lobby or at other restaurants/shops around town.  We had BOGO free cocktails at one of our dinners, 10% off our bill at another.  Plus, when we rode the water taxi, both restaurants we ate at (Shooters and 15^th Street Fisheries), offered discounts or extras. 

Hotel Loyalty Credits & Perks

Although the hotel food prices are high and $30 doesn’t go as far as it would elsewhere, we were still able to make it work for us.  The Market at the hotel had a good variety making it a great place to use our credits. 

The hotel was also very generous with giving bottles of water—in many cases, we didn’t even have to ask.  They just asked how many we needed and replenished our stock!  In addition, there were endless chocolate chip cookies so when my kids wanted something sweet, they just walked down to the front desk and asked for a cookie!  This saved on us needed to go out for a sweet treat after dinner!

Priority Lounge

On our way to Fort Lauderdale, we had dinner in the Cleveland Airport in the Priority Lounge.  If you’ve never experienced a lounge, it’s definitely worth checking out.  Several credit cards offer access to lounges.  For us, the Hilton Honors Surpass card lets us go into the lounge 10 times/year.  Since we each have the card, we get 20 visits. 

The Priority Lounge in Cleveland is on the smaller side so getting in really depends on if they have availability.  There have been times we’ve tried to get in, but they were at capacity.  However, when we can get in, we get free food, drinks and snacks.  My husband and I enjoy having a cocktail and grabbing dinner before a flight.  The kids enjoy the snacks and endless Shirley Temples!  Because this is included with our credit card, we don’t have to worry about purchasing expensive airport food.

Day Pass

If you don’t have a credit card with lounge access, you can purchase a day pass.  You can get into the lounge three hours before your flight and enjoy unlimited food and drinks for $35.  If it’s something you plan to pay for ala cart, I’d highly suggest checking out some of the credit cards that offer that perk for free!

Unfortunately, these lounges aren’t at all airports.  Fort Lauderdale doesn’t have a lounge so we opted to eat at Air Margaritaville.  Here’s a tip though—if you’re paying with their app, they automatically add gratuity to your bill.  I didn’t realize that until after we left.  We always leave good tips, but that one was double so just be sure to read the fine print!

Avoid Car Rentals, when possible

On most of our trips, we rent a car because it’s just easier (and cheaper) for our family of five to get around.  However, we decided to forego the car rental on this trip and use ride share services or walk.  The main attraction for us was the beach and the pool.  We just wanted a relaxing getaway so we didn’t plan many activities.

Because we didn’t rent a car, we saved on both the cost of a rental and parking.  A rental from Wednesday evening to Sunday evening was about $209 + $45/night parking, saving us about $389 overall. 

Lyft & Water Taxi

We opted to use a Lyft to and from the airport ($50 RT) and paid for an All-Day Water Taxi Pass ($139).  I highly recommend the Water Taxi.  It operates from 10am-10pm and takes you all around Fort Lauderdale and even into Hollywood Beach.  We hopped on early in the day and took a stroll down Las Olas Blvd, checking out some of the shops.

We also used it to get to Shooters, which is where we at lunch.  Then, we hopped back on and headed to Galleria One Shopping Mall and back to the Bahia Mar harbor (which was about a 5-minute walk from our hotel).  In the evening, we took the taxi to 15^th St. Fisheries for dinner. 

The captains narrate as you coast along the waterways showing you houses of the rich and famous.  Some of the taxis offer a full bar, while others have a cooler of drinks available for purchase.  It was a nice way to get around and see some of the beautiful homes and yachts in the area. 

Where to eat in Fort Lauderdale

My husband loves beach vacations because he gets to eat fresh seafood!  I will never order seafood and my kids only like certain types so it’s not always easy finding good restaurants with offerings other than seafood in coastal towns. 

We did, however, find restaurants that offered both seafood and non-seafood options.  We ate at Coconuts, Shooter’s, 15^th St. Fisheries, Bo’s Beach and The Drunken Taco, which were all really good options!

What would you do for a weekend in Fort Lauderdale?

Our trip was just what we needed!  We got away from the normal hustle and bustle and got to relax, and enjoy the sun and sand, all while spending time as a family!  The kids enjoyed their time at the pool and playing all the games in the pool house.  We enjoyed beach time and my youngest had a blast searching for crabs after the sun went down.

What fun things do you recommend for a weekend in Fort Lauderdale?