After spending too much time at home, you probably are feeling like you need to travel! If you are worried you may have to scale back your travel plans, it just means its time to travel smarter to get more value from your travel budget.
Here are seven smart travel planning tips to make the most of your precious dollars. And the one most important tip of all: get multi-trip travel insurance coverage.
Seven ways to stretch your travel dollars
Life is precious and the freedom of traveling is valuable. Use these seven tips so you can appreciate the best of holidays and vacations and stay on budget this year.
- Be flexible with your destination
Do you always plan your destination and then your trip? Flip your planning strategy! Its easier to work backwards from your budget amount and build your itinerary to fit within what you can afford. The advantage? You can enjoy exciting experiences you might have never considered!
- Stay flexible with your timing
Consider ‘last minute’ travel planning to make the most of travel deals. Don’t forget to sign up for travel newsletters and alerts – and be ready when something exciting pops up that you can book for the best savings.
- Use your points!
The simplest way to travel ‘cheaply’ is to use up your travel reward points to keep your costs down (remember, there are often surcharges and taxes, plus annual card fees you will have to pay). Want to make the most of your reward travel? Why not get creative and plan a family trip using only points and miles? Challenge yourself to earning the points you need to get away from it all.
- Live a little less luxuriously
Its glorious to enjoy premium cabin airfare and luxurious hotels but consider more affordable accommodation or fare options and you may be able to extend your stay, or even plan more than one trip! You may be surprised how far you can go and still enjoy comfort and relaxation.
- Keep it short
Instead of opting to stay home, plan for a shorter vacation (or two!). Your mini getaway doesn’t need to feel like a compromise. Just make sure it includes your favorite way to enjoy downtime—whether that is discovering an iconic city, lounging at the ocean or visiting family that live far away.
- Go off-season
Why not head to the Caribbean in June instead of January? Tuscany in November? Fiji in February? Travelling outside of ‘peak-season’ to destinations can mean significant savings on accommodation and airfare – sometimes up to 50 per cent off.
- Choose a value destination
Maybe the best adjustment to make with you travel plans is to go to a destination where you can stay with family and friends – it may have been a long time since you’ve seen them. Or consider Portugal or Puerto Rico, or maybe Bolivia. Take a cruise from your nearest port to save on airfare – go to New York City from Halifax, to the Panama Canal from Vancouver or a Great Lakes adventure from Toronto. There is a whole world of options awaiting you.
No matter what you travel plans are, make sure you have Multi-Trip Insurance
Now that you’ve planned to save money on your trips, wouldn’t it be great to save money and have the emergency travel medical coverage you need for any trips you take in the next 12 months? Purchase an annual multi-trip travel insurance policy to cover any trip you take so it is in place whenever you need it. The good news is that multi-trip policies are generally less expensive than buying travel insurance for each trip you take, especially if you are travelling out of province or out of the country more than twice in a year.
A multi-trip plan can provide coverage durations of 4, 10, 18, 30, 35 or 60 days per trip outside of your province and throughout Canada, or outside of Canada wherever you go — as many times as you want throughout the year. It’s the easiest and most cost-effective option for you and your family.
For maximum coverage, you can have multi-trip travel insurance for medical emergencies as well as for Trip Cancellation & Interruption or lost baggage, including
- Emergency Medical benefits for up to $10 million to cover expenses for
- Emergency treatment, including ambulance transportation
- Paramedical services and emergency dental treatment
- Emergency medical evacuation home
- Repatriation of bodily remains
- Bringing someone to your beside or return home children in the care of the insured or return your travel companion
- Additional expenses for meals and hotel
- Return of vehicle or pet
- Hospital allowance
- Childcare
- Return of excess baggage
- Trip Cancellation & Interruption Benefits
Reimburses you for the prepaid portion of the trip that is non-refundable and non-transferable to another travel date for a covered event
- Baggage Loss, Delay and Damage Coverage
Provides funds for replacement of a lost or stolen passport, driver’s license, birth certificate or travel visa Costs for necessary toiletries and clothing when luggage is delayed by the carrier for at least 10 hours while the insured is on route.
- Flight & Travel Accident Protection
If an accidental bodily injury causes the insured to die or be severely injured, you may qualify for a lump sum benefit of up to $100,000.
Best of all, you will have worldwide access to a toll-free help line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Put Multi-trip Travel Insurance Protection today and start your travel plans
Don’t put off your travel plans, just get started in making the best plans for your travel budget. When it comes to planning ahead a multi-trip emergency medical or all-inclusive insurance plan is the smart (and affordable) choice for all your protection needs, so you can enjoy any travel opportunity that comes your way. Visit SBIS online to buy yours today or give us a call.
