5 Best Ways to Get From Budget Travel to 5-Star Hotels

• You’ll earn points in the hotel’s loyalty program every time you pay with its credit card.
• Hotel credit cards usually have sign-up bonuses for new cardholders. Depending on the card, you could earn over 100,000 bonus points.
• Several hotel cards offer annual free night certificates. There may be restrictions on where you can use them, but some cards have free night certificates that can be used at five-star hotels.

Hotel credit cards are my favorite way to save when staying at high-end properties. Last month, I saved over $2,500 at a five-star hotel on the beach thanks to a free night certificate and my hotel points. If you want to book hotel stays for less, and even for free, I’d highly recommend getting a hotel card.

2. Visit during the offseason or shoulder season

Just about every destination has a peak season, which is its most busy period, and an offseason. In between those, there’s the shoulder season.

You might be surprised just how much of a price difference this makes. For example, some five-star hotels in the south of France cost $500 to $600 per night during the peak season (July and August). By the shoulder season in September, many of those same hotels are charging about $400. And in the winter offseason, rates are under $300.

I realize most people don’t want to visit the beach in winter. But when possible, try to schedule your trips for the offseason or shoulder season. It can make your hotel stay much more affordable.

3. Try a flexible date search

Hotel websites and online travel agencies normally have a flexible date search option. Instead of looking for exact travel dates, you provide a month and how many days you want to stay. For example, you could search for four nights in October.

You can then select a hotel and see its nightly rates that entire month. If you’re open about when you visit, this is a good way to check when prices are high and when you can snag a deal.

4. Set up a travel savings fund

People who love traveling, and who want to do it without going into debt, are proactive about it. They save money for travel, whether they have a trip planned or not. When they need to book airfare or an expensive hotel, they already know how much they can spend and where the money’s coming from.

If you want to stay at nicer hotels, make that one of your money goals. Start a travel fund in your savings account. Many savings accounts let you create sub-accounts or savings buckets for specific goals. Once you’ve made your travel fund, send money to it every month. If you put in $250 per month, that’s $3,000 each year you can use for travel.

5. Pick an affordable destination

Being flexible about where you travel is another way to save on the five-star experience. Luxury hotels in expensive destinations may be out of your budget, but there are plenty of more affordable places to go.

For example, Latin America has become a popular budget travel destination for travelers from the United States. In Europe, travelers have raved that Poland and Portugal offer excellent value. You could also consider cheaper alternatives to the big tourist destinations, such as Bordeaux instead of Paris, or Valencia instead of Barcelona.

A room at a five-star hotel isn’t exactly a must-have when you travel, but it’s nice if you can make it work financially. And as you’ve seen, it’s possible to stay at a fancy hotel without stretching your travel budget.