Staycation Tips With Stephanie Oswald

Travel expert and magazine editor Stephanie Oswald is one of the world’s foremost experts on helping people–especially for women–get the most from their travel experience. Whether they’re just loading up the car to visit grandma or taking an exotic trip to a sexy location, Oswald and the TravelGirl magazine she co-founded is helping people make their trips both fun and interesting.

TIPS FOR COMING UP WITH AN AFFORDABLE VACATION

Travel hacks can save money — one recent survey found that 73% of millennials consider themselves to be savvy travelers, and of those, almost 60% use travel hacks to get the best value, such as using the right credit card to get rewards. One that I really like is the Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card, because it has so many perks. You get 10 points for every dollar spent at IHG hotels such as InterContinental, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, and you get 2 points for every dollar spent on groceries, gas or restaurant meals. And when you redeem points for a stay that’s 4 nights or more, you get a free night… every year that you own the card you get a free night on your anniversary. And staying at a hotel in your home town is one way to have an affordable staycation. For more information, visit Chase.com

TIPS FOR KEEPING THE KIDS BUSY DURING THE DRIVE

So many of today’s kids are obsessed with their electronics, so it’s important to know what games they are playing — there’s one that’s launching this week / that just launched for the Nintendo Switch system called “Go Vacation” and it will put your whole family in the summertime mood. Players create their own Go Vacation character who can skateboard, sky dive, play tennis — there are more than 50 activities, so the kids can get excited about going on vacation during a road trip — whether they’re going across country or just across town. For more information, visit Nintendo.com

Something else that’s fun for the car, the hotel room or the beach — is to let your kids create music play lists that are specifically for your vacation and take turns being the family DJ.