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[quote=Anonymous]I've not traveled to London recently but I have traveled to Europe.  I do have 1 travel credit card (chase sapphire preferred) but you have to spend I believe 3k or 4k in 3 months time and you earn a TON of points, I believe it is worth like $700 on just that.  We have childcare costs so I took out an FSA for my childcare 5k a year, put childcare on the credit card (paid it off immediately of course), put groceries, a few bills, and we just continued doing this instead of getting a different credit card and earned tons of points.  We used our original big point rewards years ago and then saved up points the past 2 years, not really trying to maximize points but had more than $2500 worth of travel reward points which covered our flights.  We could have gotten a 2nd one and started using that instead but my husband is uncomfortable with it so we just have the one soo not too crazy!

Mostly for saving money this is what I do:

Search EARLY for flights - scott's cheap flights, google flights, skyscanner.  Put in alerts and be ready with your dates to JUMP on flights. I mean, if a deal comes up...you book it right then and there but it helps if you know if you are looking at a great deal or not.  I've seen some low-cost flights from DC-London so deals do exist! I think I've seen under $400 if you are willing to accept a layover---make sure it is a longish layover; often they want to sell one with a 1 hour layover, too risky! Do carry-on only (if you are like me and find yourself buying some new clothes/shoes, ect it limits how much you will buy, saves time, money, and heartache since a lot of luggage is being lost).

Lodging: airbnb or booking.com.  I've found in Europe there are tons of great airbnb and booking.com apartments.  I just carefully look at the reviews and make sure the reviews are recent and from people who have made multiple reviews around the world so they are more legit. I also put in "free cancellation" which limits your search somewhat but I've never not found an awesome place....I typically look for places under $200 a night but will splurge on $250 for a few nights if there is nothing else available. ex: portugal this month almost all lodgings ran about $130-145 a night. Christmas eve/DAY in Paris is more expensive $262 for an apartment in Le Marais but Alsace is $181 a night and heidelberg, germany $123 a night so it balances out....$196 a night over Christmas so find a great deal or balance it by spending a little time in a more affordable spot.

Food: You can often buy your own food and prepare it yourself or plan to have one meal out a day if you want. London is probably a place that is so expensive that you will want to cook it yourself.

Tours/tickets: buy in advance, often there's discounts for kids, sometimes you can do bundles to save money.  Honestly, you don't have to do TONS of tours to have a good time. There's tons of free things in every city.  If your children are young like mine, they will be super low-cost.  Plot out the playgrounds in the city.  I spent probably about $150 on tours on my last trip.

Those are my tips. 
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