Staying for Free in Ecuador
Update-below you will read how I stayed in Ecuador for free last year but I just did it again this year and wanted to up date you on how we are staying in hotels for FREE!
Using the methods mentioned below I used gift cards I earned using Fetch and booked 3 free nights in Quito before and after our Galápagos trip on Hotels.com. I also used my $300 credit from my Capital One credit card to stay 3 additional nights in the historical area of Quito when we first arrive. That's 6 nights FREE in hotels!
Read below to find out how you can to and see how we stayed for cheap last year as well!
I just scored three hotel nights for our upcoming Ecuador trip for just $54! Two of them were for FREE and one was half off!
In March we will be traveling with 27 of you on two different trips to Galápagos, a two day Quito adventure (my first time planning and leading a group trip so please cross your fingers for me) and a 5 day Amazon rainforest trip. In between the trips and for a couple of days before and after we need some hotel nights.
Want to travel with us? Here is info on our upcoming trips
Since we will not be doing a national park job this year I knew I had to do everything I could to save us money. So that’s just what I did! Learn how to get a job in a national park here
One of the nights was even listed at $119.42 but I paid less than half that for 3 nights. So I know you are saying how? Or thinking to yourself you don’t believe it. So read on and I will explain and show proof!!!
My half off hotel thanks to gift cards!
I used two apps to make this possible. Fetch and Shopkick helped me to earn gift cards for hotels.com. I then used the gift cards to book 3 nights in Ecuador and paid the balance on my point earning credit card.
Let’s talk about Fetch first. This app gives you for shopping and scanning your receipts. you can earn points for scanning any receipt from most anywhere in any amount. You can earn more points if you buy certain things. They often have free grocery items, meaning if you buy it they give you points back that equal the amount of the purchase. It’s easy to earn points with this app by simply checking it before you go grocery shopping for deals and scanning all your receipts. Right now they will give you $2 in points for trying it out and simply shopping and scanning your receipts.
This is the room we booked for half off!
The second app I used to earn gift cards for this hotel deal was Shopkicks. This one is similar to Fetch in that you can earn points back for shopping and scanning your receipts. But it also gives you points for simply scanning barcodes of products in store. PLUS it gives you points just for walking into certain stores. I really like this app as it’s possible to earn without buying anything!!!! Want a free gift card? Sign up here.
Proof of one of the gift cards I earned
With my gift cards in hand I found a budget room for two nights. Because I had the gift cards I was able to splurge and get a night at the hotel we are staying at as part of our group trip. Otherwise $120 would have been outside my penny pinching budget.
To recap-I was able to get 3 hotel nights for $54!!! You can too by signing up for and using the apps mentioned above.
Free hotel thanks to gift cards I earned.
All of this was made possible by simply shopping and scanning my receipts! For more information on how we will be traveling cheap this year go here.
Got questions? Just ask. I am always happy to help!
Happy Trails,
Melissa