With summer just around the corner, many Canadians are eagerly planning their next vacations. In fact, a recent Expedia survey found that one-in-five Canadians “have already booked a trip to look forward to.”

But before you rush out to book your flights and accommodations, it pays to look at ways you can make your vacation less hectic and more rewarding.

With this in mind, we outline some tips that you can use when planning your next trip.

1. Sign up for airline newsletters to get alerts on flight sales.

Many airline carriers have email newsletters that can alert you about some great deals on flights. By subscribing to these services, you can beat the rush and potentially score a great flight deal as soon as it comes out.

2. Consider open-jaw flights to broaden your travel options.

An open-jaw flight is an itinerary that sees you arrive at one destination but return home from another. Open-jaw flights have the potential to widen your travel possibilities because they can save you time to explore more places.

For instance, flying into Rome and out of Florence allows you to experience the charming towns of Italy’s Tuscany region by rental car or train.

3. Book your accommodations outside of downtown to save money.

While hotels in city centres might be near top attractions, you will likely pay a premium for that convenience. An affordable alternative would be to stay near transit stops just outside the city centre.

4. Download maps of your destination to use offline.

Many popular map apps, including Google Maps™[1], will allow you to download maps of your destination to use offline. This useful feature will allow you to navigate around even when you don’t have access to the internet.

5. Keep scans of your travel documents in your email inbox.

Having scans of your travel documents such as airline tickets and booking confirmations in your inbox will give you easy access to important information on your phone without the risk of losing the originals in a rush.

6. Mark your luggage so it’s easy to identify.

Marking your luggage with a label or a sticker will allow you to quickly identify it as yours in a baggage carousel at an airport or train station.

7. Apply for a credit card that offers great travel benefits.

A good travel credit card will offer great benefits when you travel. One such credit card is the Home Trust Preferred Visa, which offers useful travel benefits like no exchange fees on foreign transactions.

With Home Trust’s Preferred Visa, you will have a flexible financial tool to make your next vacation a more enjoyable experience. Learn more by visiting hometrust.ca/credit-cards/preferred-visa-card.

The information, materials and opinions contained in this Blog are provided for our information only. This Blog does not constitute legal, financial or other professional advice and you should not rely on it as an alternative to specific advice based on your particular circumstance. This Blog contains links to third party websites. These links are provided for information and convenience; Home Trust does not endorse the content of any third party website, and it makes no representation or warranty as to the information on such third party sites. By clicking on any link to a third party site, you leave Home Trust’s website and do so at your own risk. Home Trust disclaims all liability for any damage or loss that results from your access to or reliance on information contained in this Blog or any third party site.

[1] Google Maps is a trademark of Google LLC and this blog is not endorsed by or affiliated with Google in any way.