You’ve come to the #1 source for all of the top travel websites being used to book cheap flights tickets, rental cars, hotels, last minute flights, all inclusive vacations and more.
There are so many travel website companies out there it’s hard to figure out which one to use. Some do everything pretty good, while others do one or two things amazingly well.
After more than a decade of booking travel online, I’d like to share all of the best ways on saving money.
Best Tips On Saving Money Using Travel Websites
You can jump straight to the list of the best travel websites below if you’d like, but I’ll going to share a few tidbits that may help you save a little extra money.
**Use A Shopping Portal!**
This is a must do!
What’s a shopping portal? Well, basically you sign into a particular cash back shopping portal site (which is free to use by the way), search for your travel website or service, and then get forwarded to that webpage. By using the shopping portal, you’ll earn cash back into your account.
These shopping portals get incentives for referring you to travel companies, so in turn you get a cut of those incentives! A win-win for everyone! Did I mention it costs you NOTHING to use?
I’ve always used Rakuten (sign-up bonus here) for all of my travel and general online shopping needs to earn cash back, but find all the top options here.
I typically earn 1-3% cash back or more when I book through Priceline.com using Rakuten, and almost all of the other popular travel sites and companies are listed there also.
Become an online travel booking pro by combining cash back from a shopping portal and discounted rates from travel websites!
14 Top Discount Travel Websites
Below you’ll find the top travel websites for booking cheap travel.
Booking.com Within the past few years, I’ve been using Airbnb more often for booking individually hosted homestays, guesthouses, and serviced apartments when traveling abroad. Definitely check both sites when you’re looking to book non-hotel chain lodging. See the Booking.com Deals Page |
Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia, Hotwire & OrbitzI am listing all of these travel sites together because they all serve the same purpose. They all provide your general booking options and do them all decently well. The difference between all of these sites are going to be navigation layout and ease of use to your particular tastes. In terms of price, you’re going to find them all very similar from one another.You’ll only find the commonly known hotel chains in terms of lodging with these sites, but they making booking the entire vacation package very easy. Nothing against the other sites, but I’ve stuck to Priceline.com because I’m familiar with them and I like the Express Deals(lowered pricing without the bidding process) option they provide. It lets me easily save money on hotels compared with the default listed prices. Plus, I happen to carry the Priceline credit card for extra savings, but all of these other sites also have their own branded credit card. |
*Tip #2: Using a travel website to book your entire vacation(car, hotel, airfare) is very convenient and saves a lot of headache. However, there may be times where you only need to book a single aspect of your trip (i.e. just a car, just a hotel, just the airfare). When this is the case, you’ll always want to check directly with the specific hotel, car rental company, or airline because many times the pricing will be different, and sometimes better. This is especially important because there are usually coupon codes and promotions that can only be had directly through the companies’ websites.
- Airlines: I’ve found booking through the airlines’ websites will sometimes be exactly the same price as a travel website, and sometimes there’s a $1 difference. After you’ve narrowed down an exact flight on a travel website, look at the pricing directly through that airline’s webpage for a comparison. Booking through the airline’s website will make it more streamlined when choosing your seats, and sometimes the refund/change policy is voided/restricted when using a travel website. If you actually have an airline branded credit card, you’ll usually have to book directly through the airline to accrue points/miles as well.
- Hotels: Just like for airlines, compare pricing directly through the hotel’s website once you’ve narrowed it down on the travel website. Hotels many times will offer promotions available only through their own website. If there are no promotions going on, I almost always find the price on the travel website to be a better deal, especially when you use features such as Priceline’s Name Your Own Price or Express Deals. You’ll typically have to book directly through the hotel’s website to get points with your hotel branded credit card here also.
- Car rentals: This works very similarly to hotel rentals. The price is usually better through a travel website, unless you’re applying a promotion/coupon code directly through the car rental’s website. Many big companies partner with specific car rental companies for discount codes, so check with your Human Resources department just in case.
Top Offers/Features:
- Travelocity Hotels – Low Rates GUARANTEED
- Travelocity SAVES You 20% or MORE on Air Fares
- Featured Hotels up to 40% Off with Travelocity.
- Save More with Expedia Coupons & Offers
- Save up to 40% off last minute fares with low Hotwire Hot-Rates
TripAdvisor
While you can use TripAdvisor to book your flight and hotel travels, the most useful aspect of this awesome site is all of the personal traveler reviews. You won’t find any other site with a better layout for all of the insider scoop on specific hotels and destinations. This is a must-use resource and their mobile app is invaluable. It’s just like a Yelp for travel needs. Top Offers/Features:
- Check out the best vacation rental reviews and hotel deals at TripAdvisor
- Check out the best flight deals on TripAdvisor
- Check out the best hotel reviews and hotel deals at TripAdvisor
Kayak
Here’s a travel website that stands out a bit. Kayak became extremely popular for not only listing their partnered travel deals, but comparison deals among it’s travel website competitors. It’s very cool how it lets you choose which other travel websites to compare prices among. As you can probably imagine, this site is very popular for travelers looking to compare a lot of different options with more ease. You should be aware, they are part of The Priceline Group. Top Offers/Features:
- Their website for flights, hotels, cars and packages
Hotels.com
This is the most popular travel website for hotels as far as hotel chains are concerned, so you’re not going to find vacation rentals from individual owners or anything like that. Hotels.com is a must-see for hotel bookings because they’re always updating with Deal of the Days, Last Minute Deals and other constantly changing holiday sales and what not. You can also use it to book flights as well if that tickles your fancy. Top Offers/Features:
- Find the Best Deals at hotels.com
Agoda
While Agoda does let you book flights on their site, where they exceed is in the vacation rental/hotel booking department. Agoda was never on my radar until I started traveling overseas, and this is where no other option can compare. All of the hotel booking sites are going to be comparable or even better for domestic bookings, but Agoda is on top for international hotel bookings. You’ll come to discover there are a lot more users and user reviews for hotels abroad. Many times the other travel sites actually have to partner with Agoda because they don’t have direct relationships with many international hotels. Top Offers/Features:
- Sign up for a free account and get up to 30% off with Insider Deals.
TravelZoo
TrazelZoo is yet another vacation package travel website that lets you book everything in one place. However, this site is unique in that they have a great deal of writers who are constantly doing research for the best new vacation package deals. I like using TravelZoo when I don’t really have my next destination in mind and am looking for good, affordable ideas. Sign up for their email list and get new ideas sent to you periodically. Top Offers/Features:
- This Week’s Top 20 Travel & Entertainment Deals
LonelyPlanet
Here’s another travel site that has incorporated booking for flights, hotels, cars and tours. However, LonelyPlanet is most famous as being the largest travel guide book publisher in the world. While their best guides come in the form of books you’ll have to purchase from their website, there’s still plenty of great articles from professional writers you can peruse.
Top Offers/Features:
Viator
Viator is a TripAdvisor company, and the two go hand-in-hand with what it has to offer. This nifty travel website lets you book sightseeing tours and activities with tour companies and guides. After reading all of the personal traveler reviews from TripAdvisor you can book these same tours using Viator. Pretty cool. Top Offers/Features:
- Subscribe to the email newsletter for deals and discounts
Points.com
What is Points.com? Basically, it’s a free-to-join service that allows users to better manage their loyalty points/miles from all the different programs out there. If you fly on a variety of airlines and stay at different hotel chains, you’ve probably racked up points & miles from each of the respective loyalty programs. You’ve probably realized it’s going to take a long period of time before you earn enough of those rewards to redeem for freebies. This is where Points.com comes into play. Through the site, you’ll have the option of buying the few points/miles you need to reach your goals, or you can even sell and trade those rewards that you have no use for. They’re always updating with new bonus points promotions all the time.
There you have it, the above are the BEST AND MOST POPULAR TRAVEL WEBSITES being used on the web right now. Those are going to cover all your major vacation/travel needs.
READ MORE: SEE THE BEST BANK BONUSES HERE AND THE BEST INVESTING BONUSES HERE.
I cannot believe that you put Priceline on your recommended list. They have an impossible, in fact not reachable, customer service or any phone or online service, if you want to cancel. I have been trying for many days to understand their cancellation reference number and to reach anyone to make a cancellation. They make it impossible for you to cancel. I probably will get charged because they will delay me past my allowed cancellation date. They should be taken to trial. From now on, I will still with my usual companies, the top