CheapTickets Wants To Pay Your Student Loans For A Year, So You Can Go On A Vacay

Sometimes, responsibilities like making student loan payments really put a damper on the fun parts of “adulting.” Thankfully, there’s one travel booking company that wants to help. You may think it’s a dream to forget about your school loan payments for a whole year, but CheapTickets’ Student Loan Vacation sweepstakes will make it a reality for a few lucky winners. If you’re ready to start putting savings toward your next dream vacay instead of dumping those funds into your loan payoff, here’s how to enter the CheapTickets contest for your chance to score $5,000.

Budget travel site CheapTickets announced its Student Loan Vacation sweepstakes on Friday, May 21, and it could change your travel game in a big way. According to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the average student loan payment is $393 per month (an amount that could get you more than two Starbucks sips per day, FYI). Per CheapTickets’ May 2021 survey “Student Loan Travel Intent” — which surveyed 500 students and recent grads ages 22 through 32 about how student loans affect their travel plans — more than 70% of recent graduates surveyed said their loans prevent them from taking trips. Additionally, one of four agrees they’d prioritize investing in travel if they had no student loan payments for a year.

That’s why CheapTickets want to help recent grads 20 and older save for a trip by freeing up a total of $4,716 — equal to one full year of average student loan payments — plus an extra $250 in CheapCash. The total amount of the prize, including the CheapCash, is $4,966. To try your luck, you can enter the sweepstakes on the “Student Loan Vacation” website through 11:59 p.m. CT on Sunday, June 6, by filling out the form with your information.

CheapTickets’ sponsor will hold a random drawing on or about June 10 to choose the five winners. It’s unclear when winners will receive notification of their prize via email, but it’ll likely be shortly after the drawing.

The winners will receive $4,716 via Visa gift cards and a $250 CheapCash deposit in their CheapTickets account. The CheapCash will be redeemable for a year from the deposit date.

Even if you don’t win the contest, CheapTickets is offering an 18% discount for students on select hotels, redeemable through June 30, which you can get by going to their website’s student page.

After you enter the contest, you can get some inspo for your next getaway by checking out CheapTickets’ summer bargain destinations. You can also use the brand’s Vacation Value Finder to see which trips are within your price point if you’re planning a trip ASAP.

The CDC recommends traveling only after you’re fully vaccinated and your vaccine has become fully effective. If you’re not fully vaccinated and must travel, check the CDC guidelines before you book. Check your destination’s vaccination and testing requirements before you depart.