Whether you’re a frequent traveler or an occasional traveler, these helpful travel tips will help you save money on flights, hotels, and rental cars and travel more safely by road or air.

1. Booking hotels for the weekend is all business. Hotels that cater to vacationers generally raise rates on the weekends, while hotels designed for business travelers tend to lower their weekend rates. By booking where business travelers stay, you may be able to save a good chunk of change, especially in larger cities.
2. Sign up to receive flight status notifications. To find out if your flight is delayed or on time before you get to the airport, go to FlightStats.com or TripIt.com and sign up for email and/or text alerts.
3. Meet the skinny in your seat. Seatguru.com is a site that provides information and ratings on various airlines’ onboard seating and services, such as legroom, so you can make an informed decision about the seat you choose. Tip: JetBlue scored above average for seat comfort in a Consumer Reports survey.
4. How to take shortcuts in a rental car. Rental car rates are going up. To save money, look for coupons and discounts at Autoslash.com and rent from an off-airport location. Also, beware of extra offers from the car rental company – you may already have accident insurance through your own car insurance or credit card. And you may want to pass on the prepaid gas offer; you will likely overpay, especially if you return the car with gas in the tank.
5. Find out the safety rating of your rental car. Vehicles vary in their frontal collision, side impact, rear impact and rollover ratings. Find out the safety rating of the car you’ll be driving at sites like safercar.gov or IIHS.org/ratings.
6. Take advantage of free apps. Go to gateguruapp.com for an app that gives you information about food options, shopping, and services at a given airport. The Flysmart and goHow apps provide information about restaurants, shops, ATMs, restrooms, and other airport services within each airport, as well as arrival and departure times.
7. Receive email alerts for sales and special offers. Follow your favorite airline on Twitter for fares and special offers, and sign up for email alerts at Orbitz.com, SmarterTravel.com and TripAdvisor.com. Also, the best time to book is Tuesday at 3pm EST, as most airline sales campaigns start on Monday night.
8. Other useful travel sites: Inside-Trip.com rates the airline as “TripQuality” based on 12 factors, including legroom, aircraft age and punctuality. Gogobot.com offers travel tips from real people on Facebook and Twitter. Tripit.com turns your hotel, flight, and other travel confirmation emails into mobile itineraries for your phone or PDS. Jetsetter.com is a beautiful site that offers its members great discounts on exotic vacations. Room77.com ranks hotel rooms based on various criteria, such as price and room view.