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As writers, we travel. We travel for research, we travel for conferences, we travel for retreats and speaking engagements. If you are as famous and popular as Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, then you don’t need to read this post about reward programs and saving money when you travel for your career. If you're like the rest of us poor Janes, then you can use some help whenever possible—especially in this economy. So, here are some tips and tricks for traveling.
 

Here is my new mantra:

If the rewards program for a hotel, airline, restaurant, or credit card is free, sign me up!
 
Please adopt this mantra, too. 

I am not encouraging you to recklessly sign up for every program out in this reward-program world, but I am telling you to read over the information, look for any hidden fees or conditions, and then sign thyself up.



Rewards Programs

Here’s an example of how a one-time user can benefit from a rewards program. On my first stay as a Priority Club Rewards member at a Holiday Inn in Cincinnati, I received points for my stay, a check-out time of 2:00 p.m. instead of noon, free breakfast, and free drinks at happy hour. I think those are some great benefits, especially for writers—free food, free liquor, and a chance to sleep in late. WOW!

Another example is Ruby Tuesday, the chain restaurant. I signed up one day because my nice waitress asked me if I would like to become part of their rewards program. Sure, why not? I thought. So far, I’ve received two coupons for buy one dinner, get one free through e-mail. Their entrees can run anywhere from $10 to $20. Use one of these coupons with a fellow writer when you are at a conference, split the bill, and you just ate a great meal for under ten bucks a piece!

It’s worth it even if you start to lose the points that you earned. With Hilton Honors, I don’t stay in enough Hilton hotels in a year to keep my point total growing. However, last time I stayed at a Hilton in downtown Chicago, I received free parking for my entire stay because I signed up to be a Hilton Honors member. That saved me over $20 a day!

Have I convinced you yet?

TRICK: Even if you have already made reservations for an upcoming conference or book signing, look online to see if your hotel or airline has a rewards program. If it does, sign up. Then call customer service, and ask them to add your new rewards number to the reservation, so you can get credit for your stay when you go.

Credit Card Programs
 
A friend of mine has a Disney Rewards Visa card. She uses it for everything, and then she pays off the whole balance at the end of each billing cycle. Why? So, she can earn the points for a Disney vacation. You guessed it—her example made me think of how writers c

2 Comments on Get the Most Bang For Your Buck When You Travel, last added: 7/29/2011

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Sioux said, on 7/28/2011 4:34:00 AM

Margo--You are on the mark. Free food and free liquor AND an extra hour or two of sleeping for a writer?

Heaven!

Margo Dill said, on 7/29/2011 8:02:00 PM

Sioux,
Writers are high-maintenance, aren't we? :)

Margo

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I know Halloween is over, but I received these stats from Coupons Code and thought it was interesting.

New research from one of America’s leading coupon code and voucher sites has revealed that a quarter of American children under the age 12 are on a diet. Furthermore, a fifth of parents admitted that they wouldn’t allow their kid to go Trick-or-Treating for fear of them eating ‘too much candy’.

New research has shown that a quarter of American parents have put their kids aged 12 or under on a diet. A further 19% of parents polled said that they did not allow their children to go ‘Trick-or-Treating’ this Halloween for fear of them eating too much candy.

The poll was conducted by one of America’s leading coupon code sites, http://www.couponcodes4u.com/, which wanted to investigate the attitudes of parents towards the food that their kids eat. As result the site polled 6,523 American parents with kids aged 12 or under to find out their thoughts on the subject.

*  When the site asked the question “what food do your kids generally eat the most?” only 24% stated ‘healthy food’, while a further 58% said ‘junk food’.

*  A quarter of parents, 26%, admitted that their child is on a diet, while a further 11% said that that they were currently ‘watching what their child ate’. When CouponCodes4U.com asked them to stipulate their reason for their child being on a diet, 6% said their child’s pediatrician had recommended it.

*  A fifth of the parents asked said they wouldn’t allow their child to go Trick-or-Treating for fear of them ‘eating too much candy’, while 41% insisted on giving their child a packed lunch for school instead of letting them eat in the cafeteria. When asked ‘why?’ 62% of these parents said it was to ‘keep track’ of what their child was eating.

*  Despite the fact that 26% of the respondents said their child was on a diet, only 11% said they made sure their child was exercising regularly. On a similar note, 19% admitted to having previously given their child a note to allow them to skip gym class.

Mark Pearson, Chairman of CouponCodes4U.com, had the following to say about the study;

“With Halloween very close now, we wanted to find out if parents would prevent their kids from going Trick-or-Treating, for whatever reason. The study actually found that more parents were concerned about their child eating too much candy on the night than them being safe, which is quite surprising."


About Coupon Codes:

Coupon Codes are great way to save money when you shop online. Also known as promotional codes, e-coupons or discount codes, they are simply special codes which will get you a discount from the listed retail price of many goods, at a variety of different online USA stores.

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