Travel Deal of the Day (October 24, 2008)

This post is a follow-up regarding a post from around a month ago where I discussed the benefits of not paying for a rate with breakfast (in some situations). Assuming your hotel rate does not include breakfast, I am finding that Costco can be very helpful in providing you to the tools for a reasonably priced breakfast while on the road.

The Deal:

Though I am not a big advocate of gift cards, it appears that the economic conditions have caused some restaurants to provide gift cards to Costco at a discount. It is now possible to find gift cards to two major coffee/breakfast restaurants, Starbucks and the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, at Costco. Assuming you are vacationing in a location with either of both of these chains (in a convenient location), I would highly recommend pickup up a gift card before you leave for vacation as you can save money – first, by avoiding the overpriced hotel restaurant, and second by receiving around a 20% discount at either Starbucks or the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (when you purchase the discounted gift cards).