dcarter Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 With things being the way they are I was wondering if anyone had any "tricks" or super secret coupons. Do you have a unique system or way to save on travel? Most of us have shared rides or hotel rooms in order to save money but I'm looking for ways to save that I haven't thought of or don't know about. Let's hear them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro-Pain Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I think you nailed the biggest ways to save money: car pool and sharing hotels between other shooters to limit costs. Also, try looking on the match announcements here, they have lists of local hotels that offer group discounts. If not listed, try to contact the local club and see if there is a local hotel blocked for shooters that offer discounts. If you attend a fair amount of matches, maybe look into like a rewards program, either with Hilton Honors, AAA, AmEx, etc. for discounts on multiple hotel stays, CC purchases, etc. If you have a significant other, roll a longer match into a few days, make a vacation out of it. Drive down and shoot the match, and see some local sights/ outlet malls/ amusement parks/ just get away for a few days so it will feel like a weekends or 3 day getaway rather than just going down to a match and back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 If you attend a fair amount of matches, maybe look into like a rewards program, either with Hilton Honors, AAA, AmEx, etc. for discounts on multiple hotel stays, CC purchases, etc. Back in 2003-6, when I was really traveling to at least one Nationals, one Area match, and one or two sectionals or other matches, I started staying at Holiday Inn exclusively, and racked up points on their reward program. That did a couple of nice things: A free night once in a while, and priority check-in -- where basically I just have to hand them a credit card and signature and my paperwork is done.... Most places rates would rise as we got closer to the match, so sometimes prebooking months in advance would help to lock in a lower rate.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Camping. With 4 of us traveling to a match, this makes the most economic sense (Provided you already have the camper, buying one just for matches probably isn't the smartest move, but there are some awesome deals out there) no hotel bills even on a 24 hour drive, either split the driving and keep going or stop for the night and go the next day, either way everyone gets some lie down sleepy time, no hotel bill at the match (In many cases) even if you need to utilize a CG, 4 sleep for less than the price of one room. Breakfast is no different to your costs than at home. Lunch can be the same and really so can dinner if it gets to that. Yes it costs more to drive the rig than the SUV, but factoring in all the rest, (Except the cost of the rig) it is the cheapest way to go to an away match that I have found. It also gives you a lot of flexibility. With the car, you look ahead for a place to stop, you either book in advance or hope luck holds when you are tired. With the Rig, you stop at the next truck stop or rest area, then get up and go the next morning. The added side bonus is that you now have a nice way to go on family vacations all covered by your shooting hobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Not really a savings for you but for others and can offset expenses, If you arnt into carpools or sharing rooms, you can take an extra day or two and drive to big out of town matches, Let all your fellow shooters in ur area know, the ones that are flying may throw $10 or so your way for driving there gun and or ammo down. Saves money and a tremendous hassle factor at the airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Vigilante Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I use Priceline and have had good results at getting nice rooms at a good price. YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcic Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 (edited) I do it by traveling so much for work I have 90 days of free hotels stay built up and enough miles to fly around the world a couple of time. Scheduling work trips to coincide with matches works too. If I would have bought a suit with me I would have had a free trip to the nationals because I could have worked a trade show in Vegas. If you are in driving distance, car pool. If you are flying try to book as early as possible. One trick for finding cheap flights is look at alternative airports that are in the town. Sometimes you can find cheap flight that are near enough to drive a little extra and save a ton of money. A great site to check pricing for flights is http://matrix.itasoftware.com/. You can't book anything there but it is the back end for several travel sites. It gives you great options with nearby airports. For hotels you can try sites like priceline. Most hotel prices are negotiable. Call around and you can get pretty good deals. Depending on timing of the match and travel you could get there just before the start and head out right afterwards to skip a day in a hotel. You coud always see if you could shoot through and shoot the match in one day. If it is something like the nationals and you are shooting both and plan to be there a week, check out a vacation rental house or condo. You might score a good deal and can split the cost with a couple of guys. Edited March 13, 2011 by markcic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro-Pain Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 If it is something like the nationals and you are shooting both and plan to be there a week, check out a vacation rental house or condo. You might score a good deal and can split the cost with a couple of guys. But if it's Nationals in Vegas, it's hard to beat the $12 hotel rooms they have on the strip. Just make sure you remember why you're there or you'll end up spending a lot more money than you would have liked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyroWebs Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Anytime I stay at a hotel I compare all the online rates between the major websites. When I find the best rate I'll search online for coupon codes to save a little more. I've actually used the AARP code more than once Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CZinSC Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Join AAA. Every hotel I've ever seen has a AAA rate. By the way, 99 times out of 100, they never ask for your card either. So you can always try booking without joining...but just remember what they say about Karma. Anyway, the nominal yearly fee more than pays for itself if you stay a few nights in a hotel. Just make sure you check both AAA AND Best Available rates at a particular hotel. I have personally seen the AAA rate be a few dollars higher than the Best Available, but that is rare. Just know that the AAA rate is not always the lowest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaffo Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 A lot of people don't like to share a room. One way to make this less painful is to stay at a suites hotel...Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Doubletree suites.....fairfield suites....etc.. Often it isn't any more expensive and you get a lttle privacy by way of a fold out couch and 2 separate rooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcarter Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 This was more along the lines of what I was asking for. Like membership discounts that I have never heard of. Some people who travel a lot have special deals on hotels and/or airlines travel. I was looking for things like that. I think you nailed the biggest ways to save money: car pool and sharing hotels between other shooters to limit costs. Also, try looking on the match announcements here, they have lists of local hotels that offer group discounts. If not listed, try to contact the local club and see if there is a local hotel blocked for shooters that offer discounts. If you attend a fair amount of matches, maybe look into like a rewards program, either with Hilton Honors, AAA, AmEx, etc. for discounts on multiple hotel stays, CC purchases, etc. If you have a significant other, roll a longer match into a few days, make a vacation out of it. Drive down and shoot the match, and see some local sights/ outlet malls/ amusement parks/ just get away for a few days so it will feel like a weekends or 3 day getaway rather than just going down to a match and back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik S. Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 +1 for the HIE Priority Club Rewards. I don't get them because my father in law owns a few Holiday Inn Expresses and a Marriott so I get the employee rate cards ($39/night), but I've seen how the Priority Club works and it's pretty good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankfan79 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Join AAA. Every hotel I've ever seen has a AAA rate. By the way, 99 times out of 100, they never ask for your card either. So you can always try booking without joining...but just remember what they say about Karma. Anyway, the nominal yearly fee more than pays for itself if you stay a few nights in a hotel. Just make sure you check both AAA AND Best Available rates at a particular hotel. I have personally seen the AAA rate be a few dollars higher than the Best Available, but that is rare. Just know that the AAA rate is not always the lowest. Same thing with CDL (Commercial Drivers License) rates. I haver never been asked for my license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Vigilante Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 While getting AAA discounts, etc will get you some $$$$ off the price, it won't get you what PriceLine can get you. Case in point: I am going to Phoexix at the end of April for the Arizone State IDPA Championship. Using PriceLine I was able to get a room at the Courtyard by Marriott for $50 per night. These rooms normally go for $120 per night. Using PriceLine you can get the area of town you need to be in and also control the quality of the lodgings by using the "star" ratings. It never has let me down. YMMV of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trini Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Work some area matches and all you need to worry about is gas and food money.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeMartens Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Uncles wife works for Comfort Inn, use that to get the Friends and Family discount, usually find rooms for $39 to $69, sometimes not as close to the ranges carpool to big matches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediTodd Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 +1 for Priority Club. Check the Priority Club website right before you travel, many times they have bonus points programs running that gives you an extra 500 points per night. On a business trip to England, I stayed at a Holiday Inn for 3 weeks. They had an online program with bonus points, so I earned about 70000K points extra that stay. Also, the higher level (gold, platinum) you earn, the more points you get per stay. Their redemption rates are pretty reasonable too. If at all possible, I stay at Holiday Inns when I travel for work or play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maineshootah Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Camping. (snip) It also gives you a lot of flexibility. With the car, you look ahead for a place to stop, you either book in advance or hope luck holds when you are tired. With the Rig, you stop at the next truck stop or rest area, then get up and go the next morning. by +1 Plus if you get there before the others do... you get the prime parking spot with electric! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I have a shooting buddy that, basically, if he won't go with me, I don't shoot that match at all (assuming it's a major match). We talked about buying a cheapish camper this year, because I have a big/HD pickup truck. That'd make future matches easy to hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyro Shooter Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Don't forget your NRA member discounts. I have subsudised my fuel costs for the last two years by hualing gear, ammo and firearms to matches.also I get gas money from the local 3 gun club hualing targets back every time i meet up with Mike & Travis. Every time i drive to an away match I haul the squad ice chest with everybodys dollar store Ice, water, breakfast & lunchs. the guys kick in for the food and water, usaly covers costs. in these times of outragious fuel costs . . .If you are going to drive . . .get you ride tuned up prior to the road trip. you will save a lot on gas. trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2race Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Driving the speed limit saves on gas money too. Camping cuts out the second largest expense. I have tent camped for years and given the right tent and campsite it is quite comfortable. KOA's are good for that. Don't want to risk tenting in the rain, KOA's have Kabins and bunk houses. I have a KOA discount card for the reduced rate. If applicable, Government hotel rates are usually cheaper than AAA. Check out Groupon too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Hefta Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Work the matches... A lot of big matches the RO's shoot for free and sometimes get meals and money for lodging... that and what everyone else has already posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik S. Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Switch rooms every night for a multiple night stay. It is a PAIN, but make sure you check out every day and check back in that afternoon. Yes, you will have to vacate your previous room. BUT, it counts as separate stays so you get all the "per stay" bonus points and promos associated with it. 4 nights in the same hotel = 4 "separate" stays and all the points that go along with it. Alot of times you can get free nights/discounts that way along with bookoos of points on any reward card you have with that hotel. HI Priority Club Rewards (as has been mentioned) is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.E.Anglin Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I always open my house up and let people stay at my place, if there is a big match in my area, would be nice if more shooters did that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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