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How to save big on end-of-summer travel

Summer is almost over, which means you can save big on for that relaxing summer vacation you haven't taken yet. 

It鈥檚 hard to believe, but summer is already more than half over. August is approaching quickly, and it's聽a great month to plan an end-of-summer vacation. Since most people travel in聽early-to-mid-summer, you can save money by planning a trip later in the year, and by following some money-saving tips.聽

1. Utilize your credit cards and points to save聽on flights and hotel stays.

• 聽-- You can get聽80,000 Marriott Rewards points when you spend $3,000 in the first three months after signing up, which is enough to get you two free nights at a category 8 property of your choice.
• 聽--聽Sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and get 40,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. That's equivalent to $500 back in travel rewards for flights and more in the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Site!
• 聽-- When you sign up for this card and spend $3,500 in the first four months, you'll receive 20,000 Flex Points (good for a $400 credit on airfare), and you'll also聽earn two points per dollar on cell phone bills, restaurants, airlines, gas, and groceries.
• 聽-- When you sign up for this card and send $2,000 in the first three months of membership, you'll get聽50,000 British Airways Avios miles, and earn three Avios miles per dollar on British Airways purchases, plus one mile per dollar on everything else.聽For more information, check out our聽聽on how to get the most out of your British Airways Visa sign up bonus!
• 聽-- You'll earn 60,000 IHG Rewards points after you spend $1,000 within three months of becoming a cardholder, and you'll earn five points per dollar spent on IHG purchase, two points per dollar at gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores, and one point per dollar on everything else.

2. Use discounts (You knew that was coming!)

Airfare:

• 聽-- For a limited time, you can save up to 100 percent off your flights when you book a flight and a hotel together on Expedia.
• 聽-- Save up to $200 on a Disney Vacation when you book with Southwest before 8/3!
• 聽-- Emirates is currently running a major sale on flights around the world, with departure cities all over the U.S.

Hotels:

• 聽-- From now until 8/31, you can save up to 50 percent on hotels during Travelocity's summer sale!
• 聽-- Save up to 60 percent on hotels when you shop this end-of-summer sale from Hotwire!
• 聽-- Save up to 30 percent on IGH hotel rooms with this summer sale from IGH.

Packages:

• 聽-- Book by 7/31 to get an Ireland Vacation Package to聽Dublin, Kilkenny, and Limerick, including airfare, as low as $856. The package includes round-trip airfare from New York (JFK) to Dublin, car rental, and hotel stays for 6 nights in Dublin, Clare, Mayo, and Kilkenny. There are a variety of departure dates in October, November, and December, and the lowest prices are at the end of November.
• 聽-- Use code SUN60 to get an extra $60 off select vacation packages with OneTravel.
• 聽-- This sale ends today (7/30), but if you book by the end of today using code COAST1, you can save up to $200 on select vacation packages anywhere in the U.S. from United.

Car rental:

• 聽-- Book by tomorrow (7/31) to get聽15 percent off rental cars from聽.
• 聽-- This end-of-summer sale features rental cars for as low as $11.95/day!
• 聽--聽Save up to 35 percent on Budget Car Rentals when you book with Priceline using the coupon code聽D479001.

3. Look at off-season destinations and travel times.

You can find great deals on New Zealand vacations when you book now!

• Fort Lauderdale聽--聽Florida in general is a great end of summer travel destination. Since it is such a hot spot for Spring Break crowds, the summer months tend to be a little slow and therefore a little cheaper.
• Australia and New Zealand聽-- Because it's winter over there, their slow season lasts through the end of August.
• Costa Rica聽--聽The low time here lasts until November. Although temperatures are prettys steady, there is more precipitation during their low time.

If you plan on visiting a heavy business-traveler area, you may be able to get a better deal on weekend travel. Due to the current state of the economy, many businesses are cutting business travel and this means some hotels try to make up for that with weekend deals for families.

If you鈥檙e planning to send your kids to camp, consider just sending them for the month of August, many camps charge less because this month is less popular than June or July. Also note that you can also聽聽of up to $3,000/child for the cost of summer聽camps.

4. Bundle hotel and airfare to get the lowest total price.

Sites like聽聽allow you to buy your flight and hotel together, which can save you big time. Another huge perk of聽using Expedia is that they allow you to compare different airlines and prices to make sure you鈥檙e getting the absolute best current deal you can.

Be sure to also check baggage rates before committing to a package. Some airlines,聽like聽don鈥檛 charge baggage fees.聽Always take that into consideration when figuring your total cost.

The best advice we can give is to聽do you research before booking anything. See if bundling is best, try booking your flight as late as possible, plan your trip around local deals--do whatever it takes!聽Trust, me, the聽money you save will聽be worth the extra聽time spent reviewing your options.

This article first appeared on .