I love to travel, but it’s expensive. For relatively cheap, I’ve been lucky enough to spend significant time in some of the best cities in the world: Madrid, Barcelona, New York, and San Francisco. I’ve also visited the mountains of Switzerland, lakes in Nothern Italy, canals of Amsterdam, and fields in Ireland. Here are some of my tips for getting the best value from your trips.

First tip: stay for as long as you can in each city. Firstly, you’ll just be able to get a better sense of the place, learn your way around, and figure out your favorite spots. But you’ll also find little hacks and the best value places. Plus, if it’s over a month, you can get cheaper student housing.

Housing

Use Airbnb and Booking.com for travel in the US, but find the sites that most locals use in other countries, for example Badi or Idealista in Spain. Also, there are often many temporary/student housing options that are definitely worth it but need a little investigation to find. Try craigslist in the US. Look for housing that language programs abroad have access to, sometimes it will be cheaper to join a program and get a discount on housing.

Flights

I use Google Flights to search for flights, and often will check if it cheaper to book two one-way tickets or try to create my own multi-city trip through hub cities. Also consider taking a bus in the US or train in Europe to your final destination. Make sure whenever you book a flight, you sign up for a frequent flier/rewards program account to earn miles, and that you pay with a card that earns more points on travel purchases.

Consider memorizing some hubs so you can quickly check your own multi-stop itinerary through them:

• United: EWR, IAD, ORD, DEN, IAH, LAX, SFO
• American: DFW, CLT, ORD, PHL, PHX, MIA, LAX, JFK, DCA
• Delta: ATL, SEA, LAX, JFK, LGA, SLC, BOS, DTW (Detroit), MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
• Frontier: MCO, DEN, LAS, PHL, ORD, CLE, RDU
• Tap: LIS, OPO
• Iberia: MAD, BCN
• Most European airlines have flights through LHR, CDG, FRA, AMS. Some United partners will fly you through a multitude of hubs, like Madrid to Geneva to Milan to Newark.

I have not in recent memory bought individual multi-city tickets for US travel but I have found it useful for travel to Europe.

Rewards Programs

Many credit cards have rewards programs specifically for travel, and will earn 2x-5x points on every dollar you spend on various travel categories including flights, hotels, or transit, and which can be redeemed via their own portal or by transferring to airline or hotel rewards programs. If you spend in those categories, and are smart about redeeming your awards, this can deliver more value than simple cashback or other credit-card rewards programs.

When earning points/purchasing flights, use wheretocredit.com to figure out which airline rewards program to credit your miles to. For example, if you fly on a United flight, you can credit your miles to United’s MileagePlus program, or you can credit them to Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program, which might be a better deal.

When redeeming points, use pointsyeah.com to find the cheapest (points-wise) flights on all airlines. This will include transfer bonuses from a credit card rewards program to an airline rewards program.

Work space

If your hotel or apartment doesn’t have (good enough) wifi, there are always Starbucks (though they can be loud) or in Spain a local coffee shop on every corner. Also in major US cities Capital One Cafes are free to all and have reduced-price drinks if you have one of their cards. In San Francisco Expensify Lounge has a great view and nice free snacks. You have to show a lounge pass at the door, so you need to add a payment card and choose a plan (there is a $5/month option). Finally, friend can bring you into coworking spaces, or in some cities there are coworking events where builders who register get free access for a day.

Food

If staying for a while, consider leasing a place with a kitchen so you can buy food at a grocery store and cook to save money. Depending on your industry and the city you are in, there may be networking events (or hackathons) with free food. Different grocery chains are cheaper in different cities, so do a quick google, a local journalist has most likely compared them, but don’t discount the convenience of walking to pick up groceries.

Conclusion

There are many great experiences you can enjoy with just a little money — exploring parks and waterfronts, walking through a new neighborhood, or eating in a fancy part of town. Keep the above tips in mind, but don’t be afraid to spend some extra money here and there. You are traveling after all, so have fun!