How to stay in really nice hotels for free

Now that Airbnb is in nearly 200 countries around the world, many people don’t even consider staying at hotels anymore.

Though you can usually get lodging for much cheaper with Airbnb than hotels, it’s not just for budget travelers. Luxury travelers stay in luxury Airbnb houses and apartments. Whatever your budget, Airbnb allows you to live as a local.

A sort of free version of Airbnb is Couchsurfing.com, where you can request to stay with locals who share their couch, air mattress or spare room for free. This really works best if you are willing/able to share your couch as well when visitors come to your town.

If you prefer hotels, here are some things you can do to get extremely high-quality lodging for free on your next trip:

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Why you shouldn’t jump at Gold Delta’s increased sign-up bonus

American Express boosted its public offer on their Gold Delta SkyMiles card from 30K to 50K miles today, but it’s still not the best offer ever on this card. Importantly, they also boosted the referral bonus on the card from 5K to 10K miles, so beware of bloggers like me trying to sell you on signing up for it. Continue reading