Even though your precious travel memories are most commonly shared on Facebook or in blogs like this one, most people like to have a photo album to relive their experiences and share with their friends. I personally have big bulky photo albums going back to the 80’s of some of my trips. Many of the photos are fading and the plastic pockets they are in are peeling. These albums also weigh a ton!
For the past 2 years, I have been using Shutterfly to create coffee table style photobooks of our trips. I first started using them from a promo that awarded a free small photobook and some Hilton HHonors points. I was so happy with the results, I have been using them ever since!
This is the album I created using photos from our trip to Indonesia in March 2013.
Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.
***Please note that I do not have an affiliate relationship with Shutterfly as of this date.
What I like about Shutterfly is the ability to choose all kinds of layouts, some with large photo slots and some with smaller ones so I can squeeze everything in. You can have up to 1000 photos in one book. In most cases the book and first 20 pages cost around $40, then you add pages for $1 each. Once you are a member of Shutterfly, they email you codes for up to 50% off. This photobook would have cost me $123 but I got it down to $53 after applying discounts and codes. I also clicked through Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall which gives 4 points extra per $.
Here’s an example of current discount codes, you are allowed only one per order.
They have tutorial videos to show you how to make a photobook. Unfortunately I can’t embed them here but you can see them on their website. I use the custom page option and do my own layouts, dragging the photos from the strip as you see this lady doing in the video.
Shutterfly ships internationally and you save on the US sales tax if you take this option. Otherwise you can sometimes get free shipping with a code within the USA. In my experience, it takes 4-6 weeks for the photobook to arrive in Australia once it’s ordered.
