10 Tips to Travel With a Full-Time Job

Don’t let your full-time job stop you from traveling. My husband and I have been traveling while working full-time for the last eight years. We take advantage of weekends, national holidays, and paid time off to travel. Since we have limited time to travel due to our jobs we try to balance saving time and money when booking trips. Continue reading for the top 10 tips for traveling while working full-time.

1. Know your PTO policy & take that PTO

First, always take your PTO! You deserve it, and the company will function without you for a week or two. Make sure to understand your PTO benefits as they can vary across companies and states. There are a range of PTO policies such as having to accrue your PTO based on the number of days/hours worked versus automatically getting a set amount of PTO or “unlimited vacation days.” There are certain states such as California that protect your PTO so if you don’t use it then it rolls over to the next year. In some states if you don’t use your PTO before the end of the year you lose it. Make sure you know the policy so you don’t end up losing PTO days!

2. Use weekends and national holidays to travel

Take advantage of your weekends, especially those rare three-day weekends. Our weekend getaway guides are a perfect place to start planning trips that are doable in a weekend.

If you are looking to take a longer trip, leverage your company holidays and combine them with PTO. For example, Thanksgiving is the best time to travel internationally. You get two holidays and only need to use three PTO days to add up to nine total travel days since you can span across two weekends. Flights during Thanksgiving can often be cheaper internationally than within the United States.

A few years back we flew to Beijing during Thanksgiving from PHX for $410, which was about the same price as flying to Boston or Atlanta to visit our families. We then visited our families at a different time when domestic flights weren’t inflated due to the holiday.

3. Take advantage of travel benefits your company provides

Many companies offer travel benefits such as rental car discounts, lower rate hotels, and flight discount codes for certain airlines. Make sure to check your travel benefits through your job and take advantage of them, as they could save you a lot of money.

If you travel for work you can accumulate airline points which can help you get status faster and you can also use the points for leisure travel. This also applies to hotel chain rewards programs where you can collect points from work travel and be able to use them for booking stays for personal travel.

4. Apply for a travel credit card

Travel credit cards offer a great way to get additional travel benefits and points to use for future travel. Top-rated travel credit cards include the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and Capital One Venture X card. Most travel credit cards don’t have foreign transaction fees and provide additional benefits such as travel insurance, car insurance, Priority Pass membership, and more. If your company lets you book work trips with your personal travel credit card you can accumulate credit card points that you can then use towards your leisure travels.

We have the Capital One Venture X card and highly recommend it. Along with the above benefits it also has a great portal for booking flights that includes price protection. If the price of the flight goes down within the next 10 days after booking you will get travel credit back up to $50 per ticket for the difference. Make sure to apply to the Capital One Venture X card with our referral link!

5. Know how to find flight deals so you can travel more, for less

Finding a good flight deal is the best way to save money on a trip and optimize your vacation time. Use a flight search engine such as Skyscanner or Google Flights to find the best price across airlines, dates, and destinations. If you are set on the destination but are flexible on dates you can input your origin and destination and use the calendar feature to find the cheapest dates. If you know the dates you want to travel but are open to different destinations you can use the map feature to see the best deals from your origin on those dates. Read our guide on how to find cheap flights for more details.

6. Get TSA PreCheck

Less time at the airport means less PTO you need to use for that trip. TSA PreCheck is a MUST if you want to save time at the airport. At only $78 for 5 years, TSA PreCheck will be the best $78 you ever spent. Along with going through a much shorter security line you also don’t need to take off your shoes or take your laptop out of your bag. Finding ways to save as much time as possible in-transit is one of the best tips for being able to travel with a full-time job.

7. Prioritize location when booking accommodation

You can save time on your trip if you prioritize location when booking your accommodation. The closer you are to the main attractions, the faster you can visit the places you want to see. If you work full-time and have limited vacation days then saving time can be very helpful to allow you to see more. For more tips on booking accommodation, make sure to check out our article: The Best Sites for Booking Your Stay.

8. Book activities in advance

With a full-time job you have limited time to travel so it is important to plan ahead to not miss out on experiences you traveled for. In popular destinations during peak season organized tours and experiences can sell out.

Make sure you get to see everything you came for by booking your activities in advance. One of my favorite ways to find and book unique experiences is by searching for the destination on Viator. This will show you the best experiences at your travel destination that you can then book directly through Viator. In New Zealand, we visited a place called Rotorua and found an experience on Viator to white water raft down a river and the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world.

9. Extend your travels by working remote

Not everyone has this flexibility but if you do it is a great way to extend your time traveling. A few days of working remote from your destination could make your trip extend over another weekend which would add 2 more days to your vacation. When we went to Greece my husband didn’t have enough PTO to extend our trip over the next weekend so he worked for 3 days. The hours weren’t great but we were able to explore during the day and then he would work in the evening.

10. Explore nearby places

I’m always surprised by how many people don’t explore the area they live in. There are so many ways to find hidden gems in your own back yard. Take a look at google maps and see what parks, walking paths, lakes, or ponds might be near you. You can find so much using google maps satellite that you might have never known exists around you. If you are looking for a hiking trail you can see nearby paths on the All Trails app.

Road trips are always a great option! Are there any national parks within 4-6 hours drive from you? State parks? Beaches? Mountains? The easiest way to travel with a full-time job is to explore your own backyard.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links for products and services I recommend. At no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.