How To Save Money On Hotels With Expedia Add-On Advantage

You might know what I’m talking about. Too many darn delicious Instagram-friendly destinations to choose from. And even if you nail one down, there’s potentially hundreds of hotels to choose from. 

Ugh! Too hard! 

Just close that browser window and get back to vegging out with Netflix. 

We’ve all been there. 

Travel seems luxurious and glamorous, but actually pulling the trigger can be jolly hard work. Not to mention, it costs a pretty penny. 

So when I stumbled across Expedia’s new Add-on Advantage program – a way to procrastinate AND save money – I thought all my Christmases had come at once. 

More relaxing in the infinity pool... and more rainbow unicorns.

What Is Expedia’s Add-On Advantage?

It’s simple. Almost too simple. 

So I’ll say it slowly just to make sure you get it. 

Book a flight today and DON’T book a hotel, and you’ll save money.

Genius! Why didn’t I think of that before? 

Yep, it means getting back to House of Cards or your drug of choice on Netflix, and putting off that decision about a hotel for as long as you want. Well, almost. The only catch is you have to book the hotel BEFORE your flight actually leaves. That’s pretty sensible anyway, so I wouldn’t really call it a “gotcha”. 

And the savings are very generous – up to 51%. Nothing to sneeze at. If you’re staying a fancy pancy hotel, that could mean hundreds of dollars back in your pocket. 

That’s a whole lotta margaritas. 

The best part? It’s so easy even my grandmother could do it. And she’s dead. So you’ve got no excuse. 

There’s no complex forms to fill in, no coupons to copy and paste, no specials links to click… you literally do NOTHING and the discount is automagically applied to your Expedia account. Just look for this icon next to select hotels on Expedia: 

5 Reasons Why Vacations Are More Affordable Now

Expedia is a well-respected leader in the online travel agency industry, and already offers very competitive prices every day of the year. 

But with the new Add-on Advantage, here’s a few ways you’ll be jetting off to your next exotic destination sooner.

1) Spread it

There’s no need to save up all your money now. Simply pay for flight now and hotel later. Spreading out the cost makes a much-needed getaway easier to fit into your monthly budget. And if you’re paying with your credit card, there’s less chance of being slugged with interest or late fees if cashflow is tight.

2) Cheap cheap!

Hotels are instantly cheaper… by up to 51%. Cheaper equals more affordable. Pretty straightforward. Save the money or perhaps use the saving towards splashing out on a more luxurious hotel that you might not have been able to afford otherwise.

3) Early bird

Booking fights earlier is often cheaper. If you’ve read up on popular travel hacks, one of the easiest way to save on flights is being flexible (which not all of us can do, due to work schedules and family), and the other is booking in advance. 54 days in advance tends to be the sweet spot even though it can vary between airlines, routes and seasons. Generally speaking, the fewer seats available, the higher the prices. Anything less than 30 days in advance and you’ll be raked over the coals. 

4) Last minute

Booking hotels later is often cheaper. Yep, this is the inverse of the previous point, which makes the Add-on Advantage so cool. The sweet spot for hotels is 14 to 30 days in advance, however sometimes it’s possible to score last-minute bargains less than 1 week in advance. 

Find a bargain like this villa resort in Bali.

5) More than flights

The discount also extends to car rentals, not just flights. That means if you book a car for a road trip, and then the hotels later, you'll save! And the best part?... Expedia always shows you their rate with the discount included. I can hear the cheers from math-impaired travellers.

More fire eaters and less time-wasting.

Watch Me Use Add-On Advantage

Expedia’s Add-On Advantage is something that has to be seen to be believed. There’s no sleight-of-hand in this video.

Take that David Copperfield!

But What If…

If you book the hotel at the same time as the flight, you still get a very competitive bundled rate on Expedia. So there’s certainly no problem being organised and having your savings kitty at hand. Just keep in mind the Add-on Advantage applies to select hotels – not every single one. At the moment, there’s no easy way to tell which hotels are included until after the discount is activated. 

The Bottom Line

Add-on Advantage is now a permanent fixture on the Expedia platform so you don’t have to worry about it being here today and gone tomorrow. They really are quite clever in making the all-important vacation more accessible for the average traveller, while reducing the stress from “option overload” that can be associated with travel planning. 

Thanks Expedia! My life got a little bit easier with this new feature. But now I have to decide what I’m going to do with all the money I’m saving?... a fancier hotel or more cocktails. 

What would you choose?