Thriftier Travel Through USAA's Explore Cruise and Travel Service

USAA (United States Automobile Association) is a company that is well known for providing insurance to U.S. military service-members and their families. Many people who do business with USAA have good things to say about the company, since it places an emphasis on providing good customer service along with excellent rates. Besides being an insurance company, USAA also offers banking and brokerage services. Moreover, while auto and property insurance services are still reserved just for retired and active duty service-members and their eligible family members, USAA has recently started allowing other individuals to access their life insurance, banking, and shopping services. One of USAA's shopping services is its travel agency, Explore Cruise and Travel.

Back in the fall of 2008, my husband and I decided to book our very first cruise through Explore Cruise and Travel. We shopped for cruises through USAA because we'd heard very good things about the experience from friends who are also USAA members. I soon found out that USAA offers many ways for members to save money on cruises, resorts, car rentals, hotels and guided tours. According to the Spring 2010 issue of USAA's travel magazine, Explore Cruise and Travel, USAA will also soon start allowing members to book airfare and houseboat vacations through its travel agency.

By collecting vacation points through shopping on USAA, members can save up points that can be redeemed for vacation savings. There are several ways to earn points and I'll explain them later. The first thing to do is access USAA's Explore Cruise and Travel Web site, which USAA members can find through www.usaa.com.

Accessing Explore Cruise and Travel

If you are a USAA member and have already set up an account on USAA's Web site, you can find Explore Cruise and Travel by logging onto the site and accessing your accounts. Look to the right side of the page for a drop down menu called "Find a Product". Click on the menu and look for the entry called "Shopping and discounts". Click on that tab and you will be directed to a new page. In the center of the new page, you should see a picture of a ship and the words "Travel Savings". Click on that link and you will be directed to a page that links to Explore Cruise and Travel's Web site. You should also see a link to Travel Insurance. That's also important, but for now, you should click on the link to Explore Cruise and Travel.

Vacation points

Explore Cruise and Travel is on a Web site than that can only be accessed through USAA.com. You will know you're in the right place if you see the words "Welcome USAA Member" at the top of the page. To the right of the greeting, you'll see a blue box that will show your total number of vacation points to date. All USAA members start with 5,000 vacation points. You can earn more with each trip you book through Explore Cruise and Travel and USAA. You can also earn vacation points by purchasing jewelry through Explore Cruise and Travel and USAA.

Once you're on the Explore Cruise and Travel site, you can start planning your trip. Use the drop down menus to determine a time and location for your cruise, tour, or resort stay. You'll find there's a large array of choices of places to go as well as prices that run the gamut. A one or two night cruise can be booked for as little as a couple of hundred dollars, while a monthlong cruise can cost thousands. Explore Cruise and Travel site can also help you with hotel stays; in fact, at this writing, USAA members can earn eight vacation points for every dollar they spend on a hotel reservation.

Vacation points can be redeemed for significant savings on travel packages booked through USAA. Last year, my husband and I purchased a four night cruise through Explore Cruise and Travel, so we now have a total of 13,437 points. The next time we decide to book travel through USAA, we can use those points to get a certain dollar amount off the price of our trip. At this writing, 10,000 vacation points can be redeemed for up to $600 off the price of a cruise and as much as $300 off the price of a tour. USAA awards different point values for different types of purchases. Be sure to check the Web site for the most recent values for vacation points.

USAA Eagle Points and USAA Total Rewards

Another way to save money on travel through USAA is by using your USAA credit or debit card. If you do your banking through USAA, you should have a debit card. You may also have a credit card. Sign up for USAA's rewards program, and you'll accrue points for every purchase you make. Currently, USAA awards one point for every dollar in net purchases spent using a USAA Total Rewards credit card and one point for every two dollars in net purchases spent using a USAA Total Rewards debit card. USAA awards points for debit activity on a daily basis, while credit card activity is awarded at the end of each billing cycle.

As you collect points, they can be redeemed for a variety of different products and services, including travel. For instance, you can cash in as few as 15,000 points for $150 off an airline ticket. As few as 3,000 points will qualify you for $25 off a car rental through Hertz or $25 off a hotel stay at a Marriott owned hotel. You can also trade them in for activities such as a day of rock climbing, spa treatments, or white water rafting. Total Rewards even offers a chance for points collectors to go to rodeo school by redeeming their points.

If you're inclined to keep saving your Total Reward points, you can redeem them for cash off a trip booked through Explore Cruise and Travel. At this writing, 15,150 Total Rewards points will buy you $150 off your next cruise. The discounts increase as you collect more points; redeeming 303,600 points will get you $3600 off a cruise. If you use your credit card often, the points can add up quickly. So far, my husband and I each have over 22,000 points through our Total Rewards cards. If we both redeemed our Total Rewards points through Explore Cruise and Travel, we could each get $225 off of our fares in addition to whatever discount we're entitled to by using our vacation points.

Added bonuses make it easy and affordable to upgrade

You might decide you want to take a seven day cruise in Europe and stay in an inside stateroom. However, if you book through Explore Cruise and Travel, not only are you guaranteed the best rate, your vacation points can be redeemed to make an outdoor stateroom or maybe even a balcony more affordable.

As an added perk to USAA travelers, Explore Cruise and Travel also awards complimentary resort stays to those who purchase qualifying cruise fares of $999 or more per person after deducting any savings. To take advantage of this deal, look for fares that have the notation "complimentary resort stay" in red next to them. That means if you book that fare, Explore Cruise and Travel will throw in a free five night stay at one of two luxury resorts in Mexico. My husband and I haven't taken advantage of this deal yet, but you can bet we will soon, especially since I've never been to Mexico!

Even with the savings and the resort stays, USAA consistently offers excellent prices on vacation packages. I have compared their prices to those on VacationsToGo.com and Expedia.com as well as the cruise lines' own Web sites. More often than not, USAA's prices are better.

Caveats

So far, my husband and I have had good experiences using USAA's travel services. However, there are a couple of drawbacks to the service. First of all, not all cruise lines can be booked through USAA. Last year, we booked our first cruise, a four night cruise in the Baltic Sea on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, a large, mainstream cruise company that offers cruises worldwide. We had a great time on Royal Caribbean, but decided that for our next cruise, we wanted to try Sea Dream Yacht Club, a much smaller luxury line. I spotted an excellent fare on Sea Dream's Web site.

Although USAA does do business with most of the major cruise lines, they don't work with the smaller luxury lines like Sea Dream Yacht Club. So we didn't get any points or perks for the cruise we will be taking next month in the Caribbean. On the other hand, USAA does do business with larger luxury lines such as Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, and Silversea. If we decide we like luxury cruising and can find an affordable fare on one of those lines, we can still book through USAA and take advantage of its perks for travelers. Besides, I used my USAA credit card to pay for our Sea Dream cruise, so we still got Total Rewards points that can later be used for dollars off a cruise or another type of vacation that can be booked through Explore Cruise and Travel.

Another thing to know is that while Explore Cruise and Travel will honor price drops in cruise fares, it will also deduct vacation points if you get any money back from them. In other words, when you pay for your cruise, you immediately get credited vacation points for the money you spend. But if any of that money is refunded due to a last minute price adjustment, you will also forfeit the appropriate number of vacation points. Last year, our cruise fare dropped in the weeks before we sailed. Explore Cruise and Travel promptly refunded the extra money to us and we didn't even have to ask them. But they also promptly adjusted our vacation points!

But still...

Booking trips through Explore Cruise and Travel through USAA is a great deal. Not just for cruisegoers, Explore Cruise and Travel's consultants can help you book resort stays, tours, and hotel rooms. Their Web site is easy to use, but if you have any problems with it or need help, you can also call one of Explore Cruise and Travel's consultants toll free.

Explore Cruise and Travel also offers last minute deals on cruises and hotel rooms, so you can search for a fun getaway at the last minute and save a significant amount of money. Once you book your first trip through this agency, you will collect valuable points and score free copies of its travel magazine.

USAA is well known for its excellent insurance and banking services. I predict that before long, it will also be known as a great place to book your next getaway.