Travel Deal of the Day (May 31, 2007)

Dining at nice resorts is expensive. Especially in very expensive cities such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, London and Honolulu, dinner for two can easily be as expensive as a night in a hotel.

The Deal:
Marriott offers prepaid certificates for dinner for two people, which include: appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert, and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages. The certificates are $99 (for dinner for both people) and are a great deal if you are in a very expensive city. You do not even have to stay at a Marriott hotel to use the certificate for dinner.

How:
Go to the Marriott Dinner For Two page.

The Inside Scoop:
Marriott knows this is an extraordinary deal in super expensive cities, so Marriott has blacked out some of the most expensive restaurants in the most expensive cities such as New York City and Honolulu. However, there are still quite a few Marriott restaurants even in the most expensive cities which will accept these certificates. For instance, though one expensive restaurant at the JW Marriott in Ko Olina (Oahu) is excluded from this certificate, there are still other expensive restaurants at the JW participating with the certificate as well as all restaurants at the Marriott in Waikiki.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 30, 2007)

The Westin in Las Vegas is offering a great $77.77/night special for summer travel, including a free upgrade and a late checkout.

The Deal:
Stay at the Westin Casuarina Las Vegas for $77.77/night for two night stays from June 18-September 20. The rate includes a 4pm late checkout if available, a free upgrade, and 750 additional Starwood Preferred Guest points.

How:
Go to the Westin Las Vegas Deal.

The Inside Scoop:
There are a couple drawbacks associated with the Westin Las Vegas: 1) The Westin Las Vegas is not a five star hotel - even calling this hotel a four star hotel is a bit of a stretch; 2) Also, the Westin is a block or two off of the strip. However, even with the drawbacks, this is a great rate for what can be called a solid 3.5 star hotel, especially for weekend stays (which are especially expensive even during the summer), and especially given the free upgrade and the late checkout which are included.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 29, 2007)

AAA offers a wide variety of discounts. If you are a frequent user of Amtrak, you should know that AAA offers 10% off of Amtrak fares.

The Deal:
Get 10% off of Amtrak fares with AAA membership.

How:
Go to www.amtrak.com.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 25, 2007)

Hertz is offering 50% off of any car for all US locations except metro New York City and Hawaii.

The Deal:
Receive 50% off of any car rental with Hertz at any US location other than in New York City or Hawaii.

How:
Go to the 50% Off Hertz Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 24, 2007)

This is the time of year when the incredible summer deals at 4 and 5 star Las Vegas hotels start. Keep on the lookout for some incredible weekday summer deals over the next few weeks.

The Deal:
The Las Vegas summer hotel specials have started. Though the best sales have not yet started, this is the time of year when many hotels will start their specials. The MGM Grand already has started an $89/night deal for summer travel. Over the next few weeks, the Bellagio, Wynn and Venetian will also offer great deals, especially for midweek (Sunday - Thursday night) travel in August. Many times these deals will include free upgrades to a better view or a tremendous discount on a suite upgrade.

How:
The best way to find out about deals at 4 and 5 star Las Vegas hotels, especially the Bellagio, Venetian and the Wynn, is to sign up on the hotels’ websites to be emailed their specials. These emails contain links to rates that are actually lower than those rates that appear on the hotel websites.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 23, 2007)

If you are still searching for a Memorial Day weekend trip, do not forget about the last minute deals at site59.com.

The Deal:
Site59.com offers great last minute hotel, air and car deals for weekend trips planned within a few weeks of travel. You can buy a(n): (1) air and car package, (2) air and hotel package, (3) hotel and car package or (4) air, hotel and car package. The rates for these packages can be extremely competitive, especially for holiday weekends. Standard rates booked through traditional travel booking websites often are higher on holiday weekends. But site59.com often negotiates the same rates on holiday weekends as on other weekends, so many of the rates are extremely competitive on weekends such as Memorial Day.

How:
Go to site59.com.

The Inside Scoop:
Note that in some cases the price of a package on site59 is actually lower than the price of one of the components of the package booked directly with the travel provider. For instance, the price of a hotel and car package booked through site59 may be cheaper than booking the hotel directly with the hotel's in-house reservation department.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 22, 2007)

If you are a travel agent or are otherwise involved in the travel industry, you may be eligible for highly discounted rates at various major hotel chains. Some of these discounts are tremendous, especially when compared with generally available rates.

The Deal:
Travel agents and other travel industry professionals may be eligible for tremendous discounts at Starwood and Marriott hotels. Starwood (Westin, Sheraton, W, St. Regis) offers Travel Agent Education (TAED) Rates that mostly range from $39 to $79 at most hotels (some very high-end hotels have rates above $100/night). TAED Rates are usually limited to a maximum of 3 nights. Marriott offers travel industry rates that vary by hotel but can also be highly discounted.

How:
For more information about Starwood’s TAED Rates, see this link. When booking Starwood’s TAED rates, usually you must call the in-house reservations of the Starwood hotel you are interested in booking. For Marriott’s travel industry rates, enter code “T77” or “TVL” in the box for “corporate/promotional code” on Marriott.com.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 21, 2007)

If you live in the Atlanta area, you should consider traveling two hours west to Birmingham to fly to the west coast. The fares from Birmingham, due to intense competition headed by Southwest Airlines, are extraordinarily competitive, often much lower than the fares to the same west coast cities out of Atlanta.

The Deal:
Save money if you live in the Atlanta area by driving two hours west to Birmingham, Alabama. Fares to the west coast out of Birmingham are often quite a bit lower than fares out of Atlanta. For instance, Birmingham-Phoenix fares now start at $49/way on various major carriers.

How:
To find fares such as the $49/way fare from Birmingham to Phoenix, go to an aggregator website such as kayak.com.

The Inside Scoop:

Given the current price of gas, you must always factor the fuel cost into your decision whether to drive to Birmingham versus flying out of a closer airport. Even with fuel costs, the coast-to-coast fares out of (or into) Birmingham are often so low that it is worth the trip.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 18, 2007)

Loews Hotels is offering a free subscription to Travel & Leisure Magazine for booking its hotels on its website.

The Deal:
Loews Hotels is offering a sale for stays through September 9, 2007 (with certain exceptions based on the individual hotel). Included with the sale (if you book on the loewshotels.com website) is a free 12 month subscription to Travel & Leisure Magazine and a 4 issue subscription to Travel & Leisure Family Magazine.

How:
Go to the Experience Summer at Loews Hotels Promotion.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 17, 2007)

National Car Rental is offering $30/week off of a rental of a compact through luxury car (includes minivans or SUVs) through June 27, 2007.

The Deal:
Receive $30/week a National Car Rental when renting for at least five days (including a Saturday night) through June 27, 2007.

How:
Go to the National Car Rental Weekly Coupon.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 16, 2007)

Airtran has lowered fares on its early morning flights to as low as $29/way in its latest sale which ends May 17, 2007.

The Deal:
Airtran is offering one-way fares as low as $29/way for flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays departing before 9:00 am. Fares must be purchased by May 17, 2007 for travel from May 30, 2007 – June 20, 2007 (14 days advance purchase required). Sample fares include $29/way from Atlanta to Washington Dulles, $29/way from Atlanta to Akron, OH, and $39/way from Atlanta to Dallas.

How:
Go to an aggregator website such as kayak.com.

The Inside Scoop:
$29/way is an extraordinarily low fare for travel between some of the city pairs being offered in this sale, especially for travel on Sunday.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 15, 2007)

If you are a member of Costco Wholesale Club and are renting a car, be sure to check the availability of rates using the Costco car rental coupons available near the exits of most Costco locations.

The Deal:
Save money using the car rental coupons offered at Costco locations. As a Costco member, you are eligible to receive discounted rates (percentage off discounts) at many car rental companies. In addition to this percent off discount, you also can use the coupons at your local Costco to save additional money (the discounts often include a free day or a free upgrade).

How:
Inquire at your local Costco location about the car rental coupons (usually located near the exit doors).

The Inside Scoop:
In addition to checking rates using the Costco coupons, also check the discounts available using other membership organizations (such as AAA or Entertainment) and the car rental company webrates available on the individual car rental company websites. (Note that these webrates may not be eligible for a Costco or AAA discount but may, nonetheless, be lower than any other available rate.)

Travel Deal of the Day (May 14, 2007)

United Airlines is offering enough bonus miles for a free roundtrip domestic ticket for depositing money at Fidelity, a low-cost brokerage.

The Deal:
Earn up to 25,000 United Mileage Plus miles, enough for a free roundtrip domestic ticket, for opening and funding a new account at Fidelity Investments. Mileage amounts vary by the amount of your initial deposit.

How:
Find out more information here.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 11, 2007)

If you use hotwire.com to book travel, it is important to note that your past activity on Hotwire may influence the rates you are quoted for travel for future purchases on Hotwire.

The Deal:
Hotwire.com is known as an “opaque” travel booking website, in that it allows you to receive discounted air/hotel/car rates in exchange for not knowing the exact airline/flight times (for air travel), hotel name/location (for hotels) or car rental company (for car rentals). Hotwire (and Priceline) often provide tremendous discounts as opposed to booking through normal channels. One thing to note when booking travel on Hotwire is that the site tracks your past searches and purchases through internet “cookies,” so the price it quotes you may be based on your past searching and/or purchasing tendencies. What this means is that it may be best to search using your Hotwire profile and then clear out the cookies from your internet browser and search again without logging into a travel profile to compare rates.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 10, 2007)
Airtran has started an airfare war that most major carriers have matched on a route-by-route basis, with fares starting at $39/way.

The Deal:
Travel on various major carriers in markets served by Airtran for as low as $39/way. Fares are lowest on Tuesday and Wednesday, but higher fares are available all other days except Sunday. Travel must be purchased by Friday, May 11, 2007. Travel must be completed by November 13, 2007.

How:
Search for sale fares at an aggregator website such as kayak.com.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 9, 2007)

Starwood is adding more hotels to its last minute specials program – Starpicks. If you are traveling the following weekend, it is worth checking whether any last minute Starpicks provide competitive rates.

The Deal:
Find last minute hotel specials for Starwood Hotels in the Starpicks Program. Starwood selects certain hotels around the world with unsold rooms and provides discounts at those hotels. The rates are sometimes a tremendous deal, especially at Starwood Hotels that rarely provide substantial discounts. However, you should always check all available rates since the rates are not always the best deal available.

How:
Go to the Starpicks Program.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 8, 2007)

American Bar Association members can get great rates at hotels worldwide. Until the end of the year, if you are traveling to Miami, you can get rates at the Ritz Carlton Coconut Grove starting at $149/night.

The Deal:
ABA members can get room rates at the Ritz Carlton Coconut Grove starting at $149/night.

How:
Go to ritzcarlton.com and enter “ABA” in the "corp/promo" code box.

The Inside Scoop:
As noted in the Feb. 5, 2007 post, you do not have to be an attorney to join ABA. For more information, see the ABA Travel Information Page.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 7, 2007)

AAA members can save off of 2-day weekend rentals with Hertz.

The Deal:
AAA members receive $20 off of Hertz weekend rentals of economy through premium level cars through the end of June 2007. If you are a budget traveler, since economy rates are often pretty close to $10/day, this deal can provide a very inexpensive economy rental rate over a two-day weekend. This discount also applies to premium level car rates.

How:
Go to www.hertz.com and enter promotional code 101150 on the reservation page.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 4, 2007)

If you join a hotel frequent guest program, you can earn points for staying at that brand’s hotels. In addition to this perk, Hyatt is now offering a free night if you stay twice within 90 days of joining Hyatt Gold Passport.

The Deal:
Get a free night at a Hyatt hotel when you join the Hyatt Gold Passport frequent stay club between May 1, 2007 and May 30, 2007 and stay twice at any Hyatt or Hyatt-partner hotel or resort within 90 days of enrollment. Some terms and conditions apply to this offer.

How:
Join the Hyatt Gold Passport program via the promotional link.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 3, 2007)

Fairmont is having a spring sale at many of its hotels, with rates around $129/night for many four-star properties.

The Deal:
Fairmont is having a spring sale for stays May 1-21, May 24-30 and June 1-30. Sale rates vary, but some example rates include: $129/night in Banff, Scottsdale and Washington, DC.

How:
1) Join the Fairmont President’s Club (free) if you are not already a member.
2) Go to the Fairmont President’s Club Spring Sale.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 2, 2007)

Fares to South Africa are generally very expensive, starting at well above $1000 from east coast cities. Major airlines are offering very good sales right now from various east coast cities to Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Deal:
Fares to Johannesburg, South Africa are on sale from Washington, DC and Atlanta, starting at around $836 or $875 roundtrip plus taxes and surcharges.

How:
Go to kayak.com.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 1, 2007)
Hyatt has tremendous senior citizen discount rates at various hotels and resorts.

The Deal:
Save up to fifty percent off of Hyatt Hotels and Resorts under its senior citizen discount program. Quite often, when other discounts are unavailable, the senior rates are still available. In addition, at many Hyatt Hotels, the senior rate is much lower than other discounted rates.

How:
Go to the Hyatt Senior Discount Website.

The Inside Scoop:
While Hyatt requires seniors to be 62 or over, many other hotel chains (such as Westin) allow AARP members to be eligible for senior rates. Note than AARP membership starts at 50 years old, so fifty-somethings would be eligible for senior discounts.