Best Travel Apps to Save Money on Flights & Hotels

Ready to see new places and try new things… but worried the high cost of flights and hotels will limit your travel dreams?

Well, with the right apps, you can reduce how much you spend on getting to your destination and save money on where you stay. 

Plus, you can use apps to track your budget and avoid overspending — leaving you with more cash to put towards future adventures! 

Best Travel Apps for Finding Cheap Flights

Just getting to your destination is often the most expensive part of any trip. These apps, however, can help you find the best deals on airfare. 

Hopper: Predicts the best time to book flights

Hopper uses trillions of data points to forecast price drops and fare increases. 

Just search for your travel dates, and Hopper’s price prediction feature will give you an idea of the best days to book. If it looks like you’re getting the best price, Hopper tells you to book now. 

If it’s not a good time to book, Hopper will tell you when you should book and how much you’re likely to save, based on its price prediction algorithm. 

You can also choose to watch the trip and set alerts if prices start to rise. 

Hopper has another feature called “Price Freeze” that can guarantee your trip cost for a set period (for a fee). 

When you use this feature, you can complete your booking later without worrying that the cost has increased.

Skyscanner: Compares fares across airlines and dates

Skyscanner aggregates fares across airlines and dates to find the cheapest times to fly and the best prices from airlines. 

And if you’re flexible on your travel dates, Skyscanner can help you pinpoint a cheap trip. 

For example, you can use the “Everywhere” feature to identify the cheapest flights to anywhere, on any day. You can also use filters like “cheapest month” when searching for a specific location. 

Skyscanner also allows you to set alerts for trips.

Once you find the best deal, you go directly to the provider to make arrangements — Skyscanner doesn’t book on your behalf. However, Skyscanner shows ratings from other users who have booked, so you can see which airlines are “trusted.” 

Google Flights: Finds alternative routes for cheaper fares

Google Flights can help you find the cheapest flights on specific days with its helpful grid tool. 

After you’ve picked your destination and dates, under the top results, you’ll see a “date grid” button. This opens a pop-up that shows the lowest prices for alternate days close to your selected dates.

You can also track prices and receive notifications when the cost falls. 

Or, if you don’t have a specific destination in mind, you can use Google’s “Explore” tool. 

Set the airport you want to fly out of and use “Explore” to find the cheapest airfares to any destination. 

Look for alternative routes as well. You might be able to map out multiple layovers to save money if you don’t mind a longer travel day.

Apps for Saving on Accommodations

Once you arrive, you need a place to stay, of course 

These apps can help ensure you have money to spend on adventures and local flavor without depleting your budget on where you sleep.

Booking.com: Promos and deals for hotels around the world

Booking.com has a mix of everything, from budget-friendly stays to luxury getaways — with price ranges to match.

If you don’t mind getting your lodging at the last minute, you can often find great deals through the app. As well, if you’re a frequent traveler, you can quickly earn “Genius” loyalty status, which scores you discounts on every hotel you book. 

You can use filters to specify exactly what you want in your accommodations and use the map feature to view prices in a specific area.

Booking.com also offers an AI trip planner that can provide ideas for hotels with specific characteristics, such as being on the beach, where to stay if you only have a few days in a major city, or a romantic getaway. 

If you aren’t sure exactly where to go, but you have an idea of what you want to experience, Booking.com can help you plan a budget-friendly trip, whether you leave next week or next month.

Airbnb: Great for home-like accommodations and longer stays

When staying longer than a few days, Airbnb can be a money-saver. 

You can book an entire place, making it ideal for larger groups and home-like comfort. Splitting the cost of a multi-day Airbnb stay can be far more budget-friendly than multiple hotel rooms when you’re traveling with a group.

And with an Airbnb, you also often have access to a kitchen, which can help you reduce food costs.

Solo travelers can save money by booking a room instead of a whole apartment or home. And extended-stay travelers like digital nomads can usually find monthly rates that fit almost any budget.

RELATED: 13 Tips and Tricks for Saving Money on Travel

HotelTonight: Finds last-minute hotel discounts

HotelTonight is for spontaneous travelers who want last-minute hotel discounts.

While you can get hotel rates for nights in the future, your best deals will likely come from cities near you with savings on the same night.

The app also offers exclusive deals that aren’t available on the web. 

If you don’t mind spontaneous travel, taking advantage of the last-second discounts can be a budget-saver.

Cashback and Rewards Apps for Travel

Another way to save is to use cashback and rewards apps to reduce your overall cost.

Rakuten: Earns cashback on flights, hotels, and rental cars

Rakuten is compatible with major travel brands like Expedia and Booking.com. So, you can find cheap flights and hotels and get cashback when you book, deposited directly into your PayPal account. 

If you belong to loyalty programs, like Bonvoy by Marriott, you can also double up by earning loyalty points with Marriott and getting cashback. 

READ MORE: Rakuten Review: Earn Cashback When You Shop

Honey: Automatically applies travel discounts at checkout

With the Honey extension in your browser, you can access promo codes for flights, hotels, and car rentals.

Once you’re ready to book, you can see whether there are codes and coupons to apply. This saves you money on top of searching for the best prices with other apps and websites.

Credit card travel portals: Use points and miles to save

Don’t forget about travel points and miles for travel! 

If you have a credit card that earns points or miles, you can redeem those for flights and hotels. Some credit card issuers offer travel portals where you get a premium for redeeming your rewards. 

For example, Chase offers a bonus of 25% or 50% on your points’ redemption value, depending on whether you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, respectively, when you book through Chase Travel^SM. 

Capital One also offers a travel portal for cardholders. If you have a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you can earn extra rewards when you book through the Capital One travel booking portal and get access to perks like price protection on flights.

. . .

. . .

Apps for Budgeting While Traveling

If you want to stay on budget while traveling, budgeting apps can help you keep track of what you’ve spent.

You can also use apps to break down your travel costs between your companions. Never try to split a bill or try to remember who owes what money again!

TravelSpend: Helps travelers track daily spending

TravelSpend breaks down expenses by category and lets you see how much is left in your trip budget. 

Link your data to a map to remember where the money was spent — and compare which locations are more expensive. 

You can also sync with companions and quickly convert to your home currency.

Splitwise: Makes splitting travel costs easy

Splitwise is perfect for group trips. It’s easy to look at total balances and split the checks according to shares or percentages. 

You can then settle your expenses later or make other arrangements, such as keeping track of whose turn it is to buy the next round. 

You can also sync across multiple devices and currencies.

XE Currency: Converts currencies in real time

XE Currency provides real-time exchange rates so you know what to expect when you exchange your dollars for the local currency. 

You can also use the app to determine how much you should pay in your currency if they accept it. For example, if you’re traveling in Mexico and a vendor accepts U.S. dollars, you can use the app to avoid paying too much when converting pesos to dollars.

XE Currency also works for sending international money transfers. 

RELATED: Foreign Transaction Fees: How They Work and How To Avoid Them

FAQs About Travel Apps That Save You Money

TL;DR: Saving Money With Travel Apps

Travel apps make budget travel easier by finding deals, earning cashback, and tracking expenses. 

Hopper, Skyscanner, and Google Flights are all great for hunting down cheap airfare. For accommodations, Booking.com and HotelTonight are handy for last-minute deals, while Airbnb can often be cheaper or more convenient than hotels.

For better savings, use budgeting apps like TravelSpend and Splitwise, and score discounts through Rakuten and Honey. And don’t forget about credit card rewards!

To get the best value, use multiple apps so you can compare prices and maximize your rewards.

. . .

---

Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.