How Much Extra These 3 Vacation Splurges Cost

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Direct Reservations vs. Redeeming Points First Class vs. Flying Coach Booking Private Tours vs. Offered Excursions

Book your tickets. Pack your bags. And, most importantly, double check how much you are spending on your upcoming vacation. If you are thinking about cancelling your reservation and dumping out your suitcase to save money, first ensure that you are not missing out on deals to have the same vacation that’s slightly less expensive than you might have anticipated.

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With travel, hotel, food, entertainment and other services, there are tons of additional fees, price hikes and extra add-ons to your bill that you can avoid by finding an alternative.

Here is how much extra these three vacation splurges cost, and ways to travel for fun and leisure without spending an arm and a leg.

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Direct Reservations vs. Redeeming Points

One of the most exorbitant costs you might encounter on vacations are the rates offered by hotels. There’s the room and the taxes, but you may also incur a resort fee, mandatory charges and other additional expenses you did not factor into your booking. These can push the price up by an average of 25%. A great way to offset that cost comes in the form of the right credit card.

“One of my favorite ways to splurge and elevate my vacation experience is by redeeming credit card points,” explained Melissa Cid, consumer savings expert for MySavings.com. “Some hotel credit cards have great sign up bonuses that give you elite status with hotel chains like Hilton, Marriott and IHG that will get your free suite upgrades and free breakfasts.”

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First Class vs. Flying Coach

Patrick Farrell, the general manager of Viceroy Bali, shared that when it comes to flying, first class is great — unless you want to save that money for when you actually land and your vacation starts.

“When traveling for work, I have been lucky enough to sit [in] first class, which both amazes and traumatizes me with the €3,000 (roughly $3,400 USD) price tag next to economy’s €600 (roughly $680.20 USD), but only on the same route,” recalled Farrell.

“While it is scented heaven, if I plan on taking short haul flights, then I would rather spend my funds on the destination itself,” Farrell added.

Booking Private Tours vs. Offered Excursions

Planning a cruise in the near future? Depending on what cruise line you end up booking, you will be offered a menu of excursions, tours and fun activities that are available off the boat, but still come with cruise line pricing that might be too expensive for your taste.

“Cruisers can save a ton of money by booking their own private tours instead of booking through the cruise line. I have saved thousands of dollars booking private tour guides…” explained Cid, who noted that while visiting Rome, she booked a private tour guide for eight hours for only $860 between four people — which also included a private tour of the Colosseum and roundtrip transportation from the cruise ship.

“The cruise line was charging around $400 per person for a similar large group tour. I saved $740 booking a tour guide on my own for just me and my family,” Cid added.

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