Unusual ways to save on summer travel

Most of us know to book our flights and hotels online.  We also know to cash in on our credit card rewards.   But we have some unusual ideas you've probably never considered.

First up, save on gas with the free GasBuddy app. You can find the cheapest gas near you on the go!

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Next, find free lodging. Why stay in a hotel when you can check out couchsurfing.org.  The site offers you the chance to stay at other people's homes for free.   Just log on, make a profile and contact families willing to open their home.

You can also try house swapping.  You can stay at your vacation spot for free while your swapee stays at yours. Check out homeexchange.com or homelink.org for more information.

And something we mentioned to you last month, a free app Consumer Reports recommends if you're trying to book a hotel the same night.  It's called Hotel Tonight and it shows deals on hotels in some 30 cities.  And just so you know, Orlando and Tampa are on the list in Florida. You can start checking rates at Noon in the hotel's time zone.  It even has a countdown clock for you to tell you when you can start finding deals.

And if you need to brush up on your foreign language skills before your next international trip, check out the BBC's website.  It offers free 12-week classes to learn languages like French, Spanish and Italian.