Blew $80 on a hostel card that didn't save me a dime

I bought a Hostelling International membership card for $28 (plus a $40 booking) thinking I'd get cheap beds across Europe, but then I found a private room on Booking.com in Prague for $22 a night instead. The card only got me 10% off at a few places that were already more expensive than what I could grab last minute on hostelworld. Anyone else ever waste cash on a travel membership that just didn't pay off?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_webb5d ago

Oh man, this hits close to home. Back when I was young and dumb, I dropped like 50 bucks on some 'global travel club' membership that was supposed to get me secret deals. Found out the hard way that my 'exclusive' rate at a hostel in Berlin was actually 5 bucks more than what the guy next to me paid just walking in off the street. Take this with a grain of salt, but I think those cards are mostly a trap for people who overplan, like me. Your mileage may vary, but I've never found one that beat just haggling or using a hotel app last minute. At least you only lost the card fee and not a whole trip, which is more than I can say for my wallet sometimes.

pat_harris5d ago

Dropped 60 bucks on a "budget travel club" membership back in 2014 and the only deal I got was a slightly cheaper bus ticket from Rome to Florence that still cost more than just buying it at the station. @parker_webb is totally right, those cards are designed to make you feel like a savvy traveler when you're really just paying extra to overthink everything. Made me feel like I paid 60 bucks for a fancy piece of paper that taught me to just show up and bargain instead.

angelamurphy5d ago

Nah I gotta disagree a bit here. I've actually had good luck with my HI card, used it for like 15 nights across France and Italy last year and saved around $8-12 per night at the bigger city hostels. @pat_harris your bus ticket story is rough though, sounds like that club was a total scam. The trick is you gotta book through their actual sites in advance not just show up, and they're mostly worth it if you're hitting expensive places like Paris or London where the private room prices are nuts anyway. Not saying every membership is a winner, but the HI card worked out fine for me when I planned ahead and actually used it right.

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