3 days ago
Trump sparks a surge in homegrown road trips. Here's where to look for savings on your next adventure
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war is even affecting a great Canadian summer ritual — the road trip.
According to a recent survey by the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada, 51 per cent of drivers have recently cancelled their road trips to the U.S., with a whopping 88 per cent looking to explore Canada by car this summer.
Having lived in four different cities across Canada, Jessica Robinson, a content marketer based in Toronto, has taken her fair share of road trips — long and short — and picked up tips for saving money along the way.
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'You tend to be a little bit more budget-conscious on a longer road trip than on a shorter one,' says Robinson, whose longest trip has been from Toronto to Halifax and back.
The car itself is the biggest expense. Robinson has rented, borrowed and even used a car-share service for her journeys.
The price of a rental depends on several factors, including the pickup and drop-off locations, the type (gas, hybrid or electric) and size of the vehicle and the car rental supplier.
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According to Kayak, you can expect to pay an average of $78 to $115 per day, depending on how big — and nice — a vehicle you end up renting.
Travel services sites like Kayak let you set price alerts on car rentals for the dates you plan to hit the road so that you can score the best deal.
The next largest expense is fuel. Calculate the distance of your trip in kilometres to figure out just how much fuel you'll need for the trip.
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Loyalty programs like Shell Fuel Rewards or Petro-Points can also help you stretch a buck on filling up through discounts and rewards that can be redeemed later on — or right at the pump.
Shell, for instance, offers per-litre discounts for both CAA and Air Miles users.
Using both cards can cut five cents a litre at the pump. It may not seem like a lot, but over a several-thousand-kilometre adventure, the savings can add up.
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Trip calculators, like the one from GasBuddy, can estimate how money you'll spend on fuel on the trip.
'See if there are opportunities to get car rental deals through your loyalty programs that might be affiliated with your credit cards, CAA memberships or even your Costco card,' says Jackie Porter, certified financial planner at Carte Wealth Management in Mississauga.
Some credit cards offer additional discounts and insurance coverage options for car rentals.
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For instance, the American Express Cobalt, Scotiabank Gold American Express and TD Cash Back Visa Infinite cards offer some type of rental car coverage.
Scotiabank Scene+ Visa offers up to 25 per cent off base rates at select Avis and Budget, while the RBC Avion Visa Platinum and RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege offer discounted base rates at participating Hertz locations.
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Porter recommends budgeting for a road trip in a savings account so 'even if you use your cards to give you more points, the money is there when you come back from that trip to pay that bill.'
Budgeting for souvenirs and snacks sometimes goes overlooked, points out Robinson.
You might tell yourself you won't make a pit stop on the road, she says, 'but when it's three o'clock, you've been driving for five hours and you're a little bit tired, you're going to pull over and get that next coffee.'
