Travel Deal of the Day (May 30, 2008)

American Airlines is going to be changing some aspects of the American AAdvantage program starting October 1, 2008. The changes include an increase to the amount of miles needed for certain trips and a new $5 fee to be imposed for any frequent flyer travel booked at aa.com. These new changes are likely a sign of things to come at all airlines – more fees and more hassles using your frequent flyer miles. The moral of this story is to use your miles – quickly!!! The miles are depreciating rapidly and will become increasingly difficult to use.

To find out more information about the specific changes at AA, go to this link. Expect more changes for frequent flyer programs at other major US airlines to be coming very soon.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 29, 2008)

Today’s post is going to be a bit different than other posts. I found an article online that had some interesting content that I thought I would share.

The Deal:
Cnn.com/travelandleisure.com has an interesting article today on the best new budget hotels. While the definition of “budget” hotel can vary (for some people, “budget” means a bare-bones hostel; other people interpret “budget” to mean something much more expensive such as a two- or three-star level Hampton Inn), this article discusses some of the major trends in budget hotels.

How:
Find the article here.

The Inside Scoop:
If you frequently stay at “budget” level hotels, it is important to keep abreast of trends in such hotels. Many of the budget-oriented hotels built years ago are becoming quite unpleasant. By keeping up to date on the latest trends, you will ensure that you pay an appropriate amount for hotel facilities. You would not want to pay $75 or $100 a night for a thirty-year old, dungy hotel room when you can have a brand new, comfortable room in a similar location.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 28, 2008)

Travelzoo.com is offering a great deal at the four-star Sheraton Maui.

The Deal:
Get a room at the four-star Sheraton Maui for $199/night for stays until June 11, 2008 and for $250/night for stays from August 24, 2008 through December 22, 2008. Certain blackout dates apply.

How:
Go to the Travelzoo Sheraton Maui Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 27, 2008)

To lounge or not to lounge? At many three, four and five star hotels, the top level of the hotel contains a concierge lounge with a variety of amenities not available elsewhere in the hotel - including complementary food and alcohol, concierge services and expedited check-in and check-out privileges. Because of the extras available on the concierge level, it can often be a good idea to stay on that level.

The Deal:
The extras available on a concierge level of a hotel can make a trip much more enjoyable and can potentially reduce the cost of a trip. Here are some ways to obtain access to the concierge level for free or for a low fee:

(1) If you are an “elite” member of a frequent guest/stay club, make sure the hotel knows your membership status. Being an elite member often entitles you to complementary access to the concierge level.

(2) Even if you are not an elite member of a frequent guest club, if you are a return guest to the hotel, make sure the hotel knows that fact. If you are a very frequent guest, the hotel may be tracking your stays and may offer to upgrade you. If the hotel is not aware of your stay history, you should ensure the hotel knows about your loyalty to the hotel.

(3) Notify the hotel about any special occasion you are celebrating while at the hotel – you can often obtain access to the concierge level because you are celebrating a special occasion.

(4) When checking rates for your hotel stay and when checking in, verify the cost of upgrading to the concierge level. At some hotels, concierge lounges offer three full meals a day plus dessert and free drinks. If the extra cost of concierge lounge access is small, it may be worth the money – especially in high cost locations or if you are traveling with a large family.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 22, 2008)

It is always quite difficult to find frequent flyer seats to Hawaii. Alaska Airlines is starting new service to Kona (Big Island) from Seattle in mid-November 2008 – if you are looking to use frequent flyer miles to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, Christmas or anytime in 2009, start looking for seats on these flights now.

The Deal:
Whenever an airline starts new service to a destination, that is the best time to find free seats to that destination. Seats using frequent flyer miles are especially difficult to find during holiday time periods. Because Alaska Airlines has just announced new service to Kona starting November 17, 2008, this is a great time to find seats available using your miles. Since Alaska is a partner of so many US airlines, your miles with airlines like American can be used to get you to Hawaii on the Seattle-Kona flight. (If you live in a city other than Seattle, you can use the same number of miles to obtain a flight from your departure city to Seattle and then connect onto Kona using the Alaska Airlines flight.)

How:
Contact the frequent flyer program of the airline on which you have miles.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 21, 2008)

Hotels.com is offering a great deal for a Memorial Day weekend hotel stay – a free night.

The Deal:
Get a free night on a Memorial Day weekend stay at a hotel in a variety of cities when booking the hotel on Hotels.com. There are some truly extraordinary deals using this promotion – the five-star Mansion on Turtle Creek is being offered at an average of $133/night ($199/night for two nights and the third night free).

How:
Go to the Hotels.com Memorial Day Weekend Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 20, 2008)

If you are looking to plan a last-minute Memorial Day weekend trip, I have two suggestions to help you find affordable travel options.

The Deal:
Use Smarter Travel and Last Minute to find last minute Memorial Day deals for this upcoming holiday weekend.

(1) Smarter Travel – Airlines usually publish last-minute fares at the beginning of the week for travel at the end of the week. Smarter Travel aggregates all of the last minute published airline, hotel and car rental rates and makes them easy to search. Since availability will be very limited for Memorial Day weekend, I would highly advocate searching for these fares as soon as possible as many flights over Memorial Day weekend will sell out by the end of the week. (Usually the airlines publish all last-minute fares for the following weekend by Wednesday morning - so, Wednesday morning is a good time to search for these fares.)

(2) Last Minute – Last Minute provides travel packages (air and hotel; air and car; hotel and car; and air, hotel and car) for travel booked within two weeks of departure. Last Minute can have great deals for holiday weekend travel as the package prices including airfare are often much lower than what you would find if you searched for published (standard) airfares. Given the amount of travel on Friday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend, I would advocate looking for a departure on Thursday (5/22) or Saturday (5/24) and a return on Sunday (5/25) or Tuesday (5/27) to save the most money and to find the best availability.

How:
Go to Smarter Travel and Last Minute.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 15, 2008)

I know quite a few people that are taking 10,000 mile roundtrip (or greater) journeys over the next few months. If you are taking such a trip, you might want to consider consolidating your travel on the airline you are using for that trip to attempt to earn elite status and all the perks that come with elite status.

The Deal:
On most airlines, if you fly 25,000 miles or more in a calendar year, you begin to earn various perks (such as free upgrades, expedited check-in and boarding lines, free access to special seats on an airplane and dedicated reservation lines) that are associated with a frequent flyer “elite” status. If you know you are taking a very long journey in the next few months, you may want to attempt to consolidate your travel with that airline to attempt to earn this elite status. Given the frequent delays and mishaps that occur when traveling, elite status can often mean the difference during a disruptive event such as a snowstorm between being re-accommodated the same day or getting stuck in a city for three days.

How:
To find more information, research your airline’s frequent flyer program.

The Inside Scoop:
Note that some low-cost carriers have no elite status – which brings me to an important point. I do not value elite status enough that I would constantly pay a significant premium to fly on the same airline to consolidate my travel on one airline (when lower cost options exist on other airlines). If you find that the airline you are choosing has higher fares than other alternative airlines, you need to consider whether elite status would be worth that premium.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 14, 2008)

If you are looking to save money on your next trip or simply looking to find ways to expand your travel budget, you may want to start thinking about public transportation options available on your next vacation.

The Deal:
People often forget that public transportation options exist for traveling to and from airports in many cities. It is easy to remember that public transportation options exist to and from the airport in cities such as Washington, DC (people know that cities like Washington, DC have highly publicized subway systems). But many cities that do not have well publicized public transportation systems do (in fact) have public transportation options for travel traveling to and from the airport. In these times of high gas prices and parking charges, do not forget that using public transportation can save you a ton of money. In fact, the money you save by not paying for gas to and from the airport, airport parking and taxicabs from your destination airport to and from your destination hotel will often be enough to cover your airfare to your destination or enough to cover an additional hotel night at your destination.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 13, 2008)

I previously wrote about an incredible deal using American Airlines AAdvantage miles for travel from New York/JFK to Papeete (PPT) for an incredibly low 15,000 miles each way. That deal has been expanded for use during this Summer and Fall – this is an incredible deal.

The Deal:
Use your American AAdvantage miles to fly from in economy class on Air Tahiti Nui (partner of American Airlines) from JFK to Papeete (PPT) from now until July 31, 2008 and from September 1, 2008 until October 31, 2008 (this deal was previously only available through the end of May 2008). The deal requires only 15,000 miles each way. This is an incredibly low amount of miles for such a long journey – a domestic roundtrip coach ticket requires 25,000 miles – you can travel all the way to Papeete for only 2,500 miles each way more than a domestic ticket. The deal only allows for travel between JFK-PPT. All travel to JFK and from PPT would require a separate ticket.

How:
Find booking information at the American AAdvantage Air Tahiti Nui Deal Page.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 8, 2008)

The softening economy must be having a tremendous impact on Las Vegas – because the Las Vegas hotel deals are quite numerous right now. MGM Grand is having a sale for a low demand two-week time period in late May/early June that will save you money if you are looking for a Las Vegas hotel.

The Deal:
MGM Grand Las Vegas is offering rooms at $68/night (standard room), $78/night (West Wing room), $88/night (Bungalow Suite) and $98/night (Celebrity/Hollywood Suite) for ten specific nights from May 26, 2008 through June 8, 2008. The sale rates must be booked by May 17, 2008.

How:
Go to the MGM Sale.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 7, 2008)

Fairmont is offering a summer sale at some of its hotels. If you can handle the strict booking terms, some of the rates are very favorable.

The Deal:
Fairmont is offering a summer sale (validity of rates varies based on the specific hotel) at various hotels and resorts. Rates vary based on the specific hotel – some example rates include $129 in Miami, $149 in Boston and $149 (CAD) in Lake Louise. Rates must be prepaid and are non-refundable. The sale rates must be booked within the next seven days.

How:
Go to the Fairmont Summer Sale.

The Inside Scoop:
You must be a member of Fairmont’s frequent stay club (President’s Club) to use these rates. Membership is free and can be obtained at this link.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 6, 2008)

Here is a rule of thumb that I highly advocate – check your hotel and car rental rates just before the cancellation policy would be imposed. You can often save a lot of money.

The Deal:
If you are truly obsessed with finding the best deal, keep reading (those who are not so obsessed may find the following tip over the top). I ALWAYS re-check a rate right before a cancellation penalty would be imposed. For instance, for a hotel room with a 24 hour cancellation policy, I always re-check the rate at 48 hours out and 25 hours out to see if the rates decreased because the hotel wanted to unload unsold rooms. (FYI – for this hypothetical room, I also likely checked the rates at multiple other times. But checking at the last minute is an absolute necessity). The reason that this last-minute check is so important is that hotels and car rental companies are most likely to reduce rates at the last minute if they realize their inventory will go unsold. This works especially well with car rental rates as there usually is no cancellation policy (so, I would check a car rental rate 24 hours in advance and maybe even a few hours in advance). This does not work as well with airfare as most airfares include huge cancellation policies. But if you do have an airfare with no cancellation policy or are flying an airline that will credit you (either with cash or voucher) if your airfare decreases, I would also advocate checking for changes in airfares.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 1, 2008)

The MGM Grand in Las Vegas has a $99/night summer promotion for travel until the end of September 2008. Rates must be booked by May 15, 2008.

The Deal:
Get a room at the MGM Grand for $99/night or a suite for $149/night (suite rate based on availability at check-in). Rates are valid until September 30, 2008 and must be booked by May 15, 2008.

How:
Go to the MGM Grand Summer Deal.