9 Summer Travel Tips 2023

With the Covid-19 public health emergency officially over, this summer travel season is going to be busier and more expensive than ever. Everyone from families to solo travelers and anyone in between is looking for an escape, which is bound to create a few bottlenecks.

Luckily, you don’t have to stay home this summer and miss out on a great vacation to avoid the chaos. Below, CNBC Select shares eight tips for a smooth, and hopefully, more economical, summer travel experience.

Top summer travel tips

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Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Information about the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

  • Rewards

    5 Miles per dollar on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 2X miles per dollar on every other purchase

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

    N/A for purchases and balance transfers

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

    0% at the regular transfer APR

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

The Platinum Card® from American Express

On the American Express secure site

  • Rewards

    Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, 1X points on all other eligible purchases

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit Needed

American Express® Green Card

On American Express’s secure site

  • Rewards

    3X Membership Rewards® points on travel, transit purchases, and on eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.) and 1X Membership Rewards® points on all other eligible purchases

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit.

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

Know your rights as a passenger

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Pack the right credit card

Knowing your rights is important, but sometimes you don’t want to line up with hundreds of other passengers to claim a hotel voucher when your flight is canceled. Or perhaps the airline lost your luggage and you need essentials fast. With the right credit card, you can get reimbursed for things like hotels, meals and essential purchases when things go wrong without needing to purchase a separate policy. Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay coverage, auto collision damage waiver and luggage insurance are all included when you charge your travel to a credit card with these benefits.

Be sure to read our guide to credit card travel insurance for our top picks, which include the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express. Many of the best travel cards also come with other valuable perks like no foreign transaction fees.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

  • Rewards

    Earn 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3X points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases plus, 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

  • Rewards

    $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3X points on dining, 3X points on select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs), 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

    21.24% – 28.24% variable on purchases and balance transfers

  • Balance transfer fee

    Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

Use Autoslash to save on rental cars

For many, summer means road trip season, which often sends rental car prices soaring. If you’re looking to hit the road, be sure to start your search through AutoSlash. The free site specializes in tracking and rebooking rental cars to secure lower rates. By constantly monitoring prices, Autoslash helps users find the lowest prices across major rental car companies. Autoslash will even search for discounted rates based on the types of credit cards you carry and any memberships that would qualify you for savings (i.e., AAA, AARP,  Costco, etc.).

If you already have a reservation, you can set an alert with Autoslash to notify you in case of price drops. Setting up only takes a few minutes and can save you hundreds of dollars on your rental car. Overall, Autoslash is a valuable tool for travelers looking to save money on rental cars by finding the best rates and tracking reservations for price drops.

Remember to pay with a credit card that comes with *primary car rental insurance, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. This way, you won’t need to go through your own auto insurance provider in the event of an accident or theft and can simply submit a claim through your card issuer.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Information about the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

  • Rewards

    10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars, 5 Miles per dollar on flights when booked via Capital One Travel; unlimited 2X miles on all other eligible purchases

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

    21.74% – 28.74% variable APR

  • Balance transfer fee

    0% at the regular transfer APR

  • Foreign transaction fees

  • Credit needed

Use HotelsSlash to save on hotels

With hotel prices predicted to skyrocket this summer, HotelSlash could be a great way to save money. HotelSlash is the sister site to Autoslash and charges a $29.95 annual membership fee, though you can easily recoup that cost if you frequently stay at hotels and find a good deal.

The site scours the web for the best possible deals on hotel bookings. Not only can you conduct a general search for hotels by city, but you can set up alerts for individual hotels. The rate monitoring service applies to hotels booked directly through HotelSlash and third-party bookings. Setting up alerts is easy, requiring you to specify the hotel, travel dates, number of guests, and room preferences. 

You’ll get an email alert when the search is complete and you can review the available rates. HotelSlash will notify you if rates drop further. The nice thing about the site is that the checkout page will display the total price, including resort fees (which some hotels leave out until it’s time to check out).

Don’t miss: Get free breakfast, room upgrades and more with the best hotel credit cards

Best rate guarantee claims

Every major hotel chain has a best-rate guarantee policy to encourage guests to book directly. If you find a lower rate on another public site, most hotel chains will match that rate, and some will even give you additional 20% to 25% discounts or bonus points. If you have upcoming hotel stays, it’s absolutely worth familiarizing yourself with your hotel chain’s best rate guarantee policy and monitoring the site for lower rates. Hotels often run sales or discount last-minute stays. By staying on top of these deals, you can secure a substantial discount.

HotelSlash can also come in handy here, allowing you to put the monitoring process on autopilot. Once you find a lower rate, simply submit proof and wait for the claim to be processed. This simple step alone can save you hundreds of dollars on your hotel stay this summer. Just remember that the lower rate must be publicly available, be for the same room type and have the same exact cancellation policy.

While airlines generally don’t offer any guarantees of this sort, if your ticket allows for free changes, you may be able to rebook it and get the fare difference back as a travel credit. Alternatively, if you’re a Capital One cardholder, you can book through the Capital One Travel portal, which automatically gives you credit back if the flight cost drops after you book it. 

Use points when booking flights last minute

Take advantage of Lyft’s airport pick-up feature

Have flexibility and be patient

Bottom line

Summer can be a stressful time to travel, but it doesn’t have to be unpleasant. With a bit of planning and forethought, you can prepare yourself for possible hiccups and make sure you’re not overpaying. More importantly, being aware of your rights as a passenger ensures that you won’t be left stranded in case of flight delays and luggage issues. With the right travel credit card, you can earn heaps of rewards that can help offset the cost of your vacation and unlock valuable perks like airport lounge access and travel protections.

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*For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

For rates and fees of the Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Green Card, click here.

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.