Attending a wedding (or three) out of town this year? Then you might be working on booking all your trips. Destination weddings are a blast and offer a fun opportunity to explore new places, but they also require considerable budget and logistics management. , accommodation, transportation between events, and possibly meals and activities between events should also be taken into consideration. I tend to make some mistakes.
“Weddings are always costly in some way, and inflation seems to only exacerbate those costs, especially when it comes to travel and accommodation,” says Courtney Alev, consumer finance advocate at Credit Karma. “If you feel like money is tight, you can’t book a wedding trip without understanding how much you can reasonably spend,” he said.
meet the experts
Courtney Alev is a consumer finance advocate for Credit Karma.
Before that, Alev shares tips on how to book your trip wisely, plan and save money when attending an on-the-go wedding.
don’t budget
If you are planning a destination wedding in the future, it can be very helpful to understand your budget and the expected costs of your event. Now that wedding season is basically year-round, it’s about heading into wedding season without a budget.
“If you’re adamant about attending someone’s wedding, but you’re afraid you’re going to put yourself at a financial disadvantage, set up a savings account specifically for that wedding and give it a name. “Instead of putting money into one big ‘savings’ account, you’ll be contributing to a specific event.” Giving your account a purpose makes it easier to see how it’s growing over time and helps you avoid accidentally spending that money on something else. . ”
forgetting to take into account all traveled distances
Think your travel expenses only include plane tickets? Don’t forget your transportation when you get to the wedding venue. “Most people only think about air travel when booking a wedding, but don’t forget to factor in car rental and rideshare costs,” he said. increase. “Taking a few trips to and from the airport and then driving home at the end of the night can end up in the hundreds of dollars. Be sure to factor this cost into your total travel costs. Compare costs.” You can also use our rideshare fare estimator to compare car rentals and rideshares ahead of time. This may help you make the most cost-effective decision. ”
Do not use travel credits and points
You may have money in a physical savings account, but remember that you can book a trip without cash. With a lot of planning ahead, you can use your points to get free flights and hotel nights,” says Alev. “And when you travel, you can take advantage of the card’s travel benefits, such as travel insurance, lounge access and free checked baggage.”
Not sure how to build those points? “When you start receiving invitations to suburban weddings this year, look at the cards you use most often for everyday shopping to earn points and miles. If you get a new credit card after a while and are confident that you can use your credit responsibly, a new travel credit card will Earn more points towards travel and potentially free flights and hotel stays with sign-up bonuses.”
Don’t choose the most affordable option
When researching flights and hotels, you may not realize that by expanding on what you’re looking for, you may be missing out on even more deals. “For example, you may be able to save on flights by researching different airports and allowing extra time for layovers,” he said. “Or check if the hotel offers a refundable rate so you can cancel later if a cheaper alternative is found.”
Nor can the host be aware that they are trying to help you save. Even if the couple is staying at a more expensive hotel, they can arrange a block of rooms and offer the best possible price. We often book blocks of rooms, but more importantly, guarantee potentially low room rates for our guests,” explains Alev. “However, hotels can only book a certain number of rooms at discounted rates, so room blocks often fill up quickly. Book as soon as you commit to attending. If you don’t have a hotel block, find another place to stay on a discount hotel site, or consider renting a house with other guests that can accommodate more people and lower the total cost. Please give me. ”
