Summer Road Trip Savings Tips

Planning on taking the family on a memorable road trip this summer? Below are a few tips on how to save money & time while enjoying the best North America has to offer on your road trip adventures:

• Explore the Great Outdoors – Whether you’re heading to Yellowstone National Park or something a bit closer like the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, be sure to pickup an America the Beautiful Pass. It gets your vehicle into National Park Service sites throughout the year and is good at over 2,000 locations nationwide. The annual cost is $80 and discounts are available for members of the Military, seniors and 4th graders.
• Day at the Museum – Belong to a museum, zoo or aquarium? You’re in luck, many have reciprocal agreements with each other through organizations like the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC). So you can use your membership at the Field Museum to get into over 600 venues worldwide like the Ontario Science Center in Toronto and Lowell Observatory in Arizona.
• Compare and Save – Save money and time when booking your accommodations through an online service like Trip Advisor. On these sites you can compare price, location and amenities all from one screen. Plus the reviews from other travelers can offer useful information before making your reservation.
• Tank Tips – Find the best prices for gasoline, sometimes just a block or two off the interstate, with the Gas Buddy app. You’ll be able to view the current price, location, have access to a Trip Cost Calculator and more!
• Road Tripping Outside the U.S. – If you’re heading across the border, make sure to use a DuPage Credit Union Visa® Credit Card. Unlike other financial institutions, as of 10/27/16, we do not charge an International Transaction Fee on purchases made outside the U.S., compared to the 3 or 4% other institutions may charge.

Before loading up the car, take a minute to read our Tips for Traveling Out of State for other useful information and be sure to fill out a Traveling Out-of-State Form – which alerts our fraud monitoring service that you’re away – so they don’t put a block on purchases made outside your norm.

Have other tips or suggestions on how to save money on your summer road trip? Share them below.

Safe travels!