Travel Deal of the Day (May 29, 2009)

Here is an update on the deal yesteday with fares as low as $29/way for flights to and from Atlanta.

The Deal:
Multiple airlines are now offering the sale initiated by AirTran with fares as low as $29/way for flights departing from Atlanta after 10PM. For flights returning to Atlanta, many airlines are allowing you to fly at any time (not limited to flights after 10PM). Sale fares must be purchased by May 29, 2009 for travel through September 8, 2009. Travel can occur any day other than Friday or Sunday.

How:
Use an aggregator website such as Kayak.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 28, 2009)

AirTran has a sale with fares as low as $29/way - the catch is that you must fly on flights scheduled after 10PM.

The Deal:
Find fares as low as $29/way for travel through September 8, 2009 for flights departing after 10PM. (Sample fares include $29 for Atlanta to Jacksonville, FL and $39 for Atlanta to Orlando, FL.) Fares are valid from Atlanta only and require a 14 day advance purchase. Fares are available for purchase through May 29, 2009.

How:
Book flights at the AirTran website.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 27, 2009)

The four-star Naples Grande Resort in Naples, Florida (part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection of hotels) is offering rates this summer under $100/night (plus resort fees and taxes).

The Deal:
The Naples Grande Resort is offering summer rates starting at $99/night (plus resort fees and taxes).

How:
Go to the Naples Grande Resort Deal.

The Inside Scoop:
When comparing the rates at this hotel and other hotels, be sure to consider the resort fee in your budget.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 26, 2009)

There are some great airfares between the Mid-Atlantic region and Florida. Airfares between Baltimore Washington (BWI) and Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) start at $92 roundtrip (plus tax). Airfares between BWI and Fort Myers (RSW) start at $98 roundtrip (plus tax). These airfares are incredibly cheap if you are considering travel between the Mid-Atlantic region and Florida. For best airfares, use an aggregator website such as Kayak and be sure to check airfares at all airports near your origin and destination points (airfares may be incredibly cheap from one airport but quite a bit more expensive from another close airport).

Travel Deal of the Day (May 22, 2009)

British Airways is offering a two-for-one sale in Business Class to London from the US when you purchase tickets by May 26, 2009. Travel is valid from June 1, 2009 until October 31, 2009. Both the paid ticket and the free ticket must be for the same flights and dates. Full details can be found at this link.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 21, 2009)

Priceline is offering a future discount (of up to $100) when bidding on two or more rooms at the same time.

The Deal:
Priceline is offering a future discount if you bid for two or more rooms at the same time by June 15, 2009. The future discount provides a bonus of $20/room for up to five days on a future Priceline hotel bid.

How:
For full details or to book a room, go to the Priceline Multiple Room Discount.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 20, 2009)

There are quite a few free night deals right now at various hotels (where you receive one or more free nights during your stay). Here is one tip regarding these deals - check out which nights are free. Some deals automatically deduct the least expensive night(s) and other deals just deduct the final night of your stay. The savings can vary dramatically. Sometimes, the last night of your stay can be quite a bit more expensive than the least expensive night of your stay - so finding out how your free night(s) deal is calculated can be important. Hotels may be more willing to offer you a better free night deal during these recessionary times - so check out the deals and negotiate with the hotel. You may find quite a deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 19, 2009)

The LA Times Travel Blog notes an excellent deal at the five-star Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel and the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay for this summer.

The Deal:
Obtain a room at the five-star Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel or the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay for $199/night (plus tax and resort fees) for select weeknights through September 2009. Rooms must be booked by May 20, 2009.

How:
The deal appears to be available on the websites of each of the two hotels. The rates are also likely available by calling Ritz Carlton reservations and referring to the "California Coast Summer Special."

Travel Deal of the Day (May 18, 2009)

Hilton is offering 25% off of select rates if you have a Visa Signature card, Visa Infinite card or (in some situations) a Visa Platinum card. The discount is valid for stays until September 30, 2009. The discount is generally off of the "best available rate," which is usually higher than the most discounted rates - so ensure you compare this discount with other discounted rates. See this link to book or this link for terms and conditions.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 15, 2009)

If you are considering a Memorial Day weekend trip, you may want to think about booking your travel today, as you may find the cheapest fares with a seven day advance purchase. If you cannot book your travel today, note that there are an increasing number of fares with a three day advance purchase requirement because of the bad economy. Some deals may not have any advance purchase requirement. You may be able to find incredibly good deals this Memorial Day weekend even if you book just before the holiday weekend. Be sure to check a variety of websites for travel deals, such as an aggregator website (such as Kayak) and check a site with last minutes specials (such as ListMinute).

Travel Deal of the Day (May 14, 2009)

Earlier this month, I profiled a Ritz Carlton deal providing up to three free nights as well as free breakfast, valet parking, internet, etc. at various Ritz Carlton hotels (see this link). Ritz Carlton is offering a similar deal for American Express cardholders. However, unlike the prior deal, this deal includes a room upgrade.

The Deal:
Ritz Carlton is offering a summer package through September 30, 2009 at participating hotels when paying for a room with an American Express card. The package includes the following: (1) Pay for two, receive third night free and/or pay for three, receive fourth and fifth nights free and/or pay for four, receive fifth, sixth and seventh nights free (discount depends on the hotel/not all hotels are offering all discounts); (2) Free breakfast in the hotel restaurant; (3) Free internet; (4) Valet parking; (5) Ritz Kids activities (participating properties only); and (6) Room upgrade (subject to availability).

How:
Go to the Ritz Carlton American Express Summer Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 13, 2009)

Be on the lookout for two car rental pricing anomalies that may help you find better car rental rates.

The Deal:
(1) Some of the larger (traditionally more expensive) cars are being offered at lower prices. This may be occurring because people are more frugal in these recessionary times, so the smaller cars with better gas mileage are in higher demand. Regardless of the reason, note that car rental prices may be displayed from smallest car size to largest car size, even though the larger cars are less expensive. Be sure to check various types of cars to ensure that you find the lowest price.

(2) Some car rental companies are offering their best rates on a "potluck" category of rental car which allows the car rental company to give you whatever car is available at the time you pick-up the car. Be sure to verify if this is an option - it may save you money.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 12, 2009)

If you drink Coca Cola products, you may be aware of the MyCokeRewards program, which provides prizes for redeeming codes on Coke products. Here is a travel deal related to the program.

The Deal:
One of the new prizes allows for the redemption of 500 points for $35 off of an Airtran flight. This may seem like a small discount, but in these recessionary times, this may be a valuable discount because it saves you money off of a plane ticket and it provides a good redemption for your points (redemption value of 7 cents per Coke point redeemed).

How:
Go to the MyCokeRewards Program and search for the AirTran $35 Off Prize.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 11, 2009)

American Airlines AAdvantage (the frequent flyer program of American Airlines) is now offering one-way awards for one-half the miles. This is an excellent option for a variety of situations:

(1) If you only need to travel one-way, now you can use one-half the miles to obtain a free ticket;
(2) If you want to fly two separate one-way tickets, you likely had to follow very strict rules regarding what qualified for a round-trip under the old rules - now you can simply use two one-way award tickets;
(3) If there is availability in coach one direction and a premium cabin for the other direction, you can now book a one way coach award and a one-way premium award; and
(4) If you only have as few as 12,500 miles, you now can redeem those miles.

These are just some of the reasons this might be very good news for you. For more information, see this USA Today article reporting on the change.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 8, 2009)

If you are looking to save money on a rental car, be sure to check the "Last Minute Specials" section of a car rental company website when booking a car. Recently, I have seen some incredible rates for car rentals via this section of car rental company websites. The rates in this section are often quite a bit cheaper than rates you would otherwise find if you booked via the main part of the car rental company website. These last minute specials usually are announced a few weeks in advance - so, when you re-check car rental rates for an upcoming car rental reservation, be sure to check this section of the website to verify if there are great last minute deals.

How:
Here are a few examples of such deals for various car rental companies:
(1) National Car Rental
(2) Thrifty
(3) Alamo

The Inside Scoop:
I have found that these last minute special rates may beat or exceed deals available on websites such as Priceline, so be sure to check these rates before booking a pre-paid, non refundable rate via a website such as Priceline.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 7, 2009)

If you are planning a trip to Disney World, the price of the vacation can often be daunting. Be sure to note special discounts that apply to a Disney World vacation.

The Deal:
Here are a few tips to save money on your next Disney World vacation (especially relevant given the weak economy and current travel fears due to the swine flu):

(1) If you are a Florida resident, there are special discounts available - see this link;

(2) You can save a tremendous amount of money by staying off-property at a non-Disney property. Though the drawbacks of staying off-property include the fact that you will spend more time commuting to the parks and you will not have access to a few perks available to guests of Disney properties, the money you will save will likely be tremendous;

(3) Plan your trip in advance and keep checking hotel/car rates as your vacation approaches. Hotel and car prices change constantly, so be sure to check prices every few weeks (and check daily about a week or two before arrival). If travel companies expect high demand, the prices even far in advance will be high - but if fewer people book than expected, prices may drop dramatically close to your date of arrival. Also, be sure to note cancellation policies for your hotel and car reservations as you want to ensure that you can take advantage of a lower price without paying a cancellation fee;

(4) As always, be sure to consider Priceline and Hotwire for hotel and car deals; and

(5) There are great web posting boards where frequent Disney visitors share tips - check out Disboards (for instance) to find great Disney advice.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 6, 2009)

Enterprise has started a program to allow discounted one-way car rentals from Florida. As has been noted previously, these discounts (for Enterprise and other companies) exist to allow car rental companies to move cars out of Florida during low-demand time periods. For more information on the Enterprise discount, call (800) RENT-A-CAR and refer to customer number "FLDRIVE."

Travel Deal of the Day (May 5, 2009)

Ritz Carlton has a "Peace of Mind" package at participating hotels worldwide that offers up to three complementary nights as well as free parking, free breakfast, all resort fees and internet.

The Deal:
Ritz Carlton is offering a "Peace of Mind" package through September 30, 2009 at participating hotels that is quite a deal. The package includes the following:
(1) Pay for two, receive third night free and/or pay for three, receive fourth and fifth nights free and/or pay for four, receive fifth, sixth and seventh nights free (discount depends on the hotel/not all hotels are offering all discounts);
(2) Free breakfast in the hotel restaurant;
(3) Free internet;
(4) Local calls;
(5) Resort fees (included in package, where applicable);
(6) Ritz Kids activities for two children (participating properties only); and
(7) Valet parking, where applicable/available.

How:
Go to RitzCarlton and use the "Corporate/Promo" code "PAF."

Travel Deal of the Day (May 4, 2009)

If you travel frequently, you may want to consider a service called MajicJack, which offers unlimited US local and long distance calling for a very low set price each year.

The Deal:
MajicJack is a device that offers unlimited local and long distance calling within the US via your computer's USB port. Most retailers sell the unit for around $40, which includes unlimited local and long distance calling (as well as a few other features) for the first year. Considering how expensive many internet calling plans are, this is a very inexpensive way to call others. The great thing about MajicJack is that you can call US phone numbers under the plan when traveling anywhere in the world, as long as you have access to high speed internet. Please note there are multiple customer service complaints about the unit - so, you are receiving a very low price with very little customer service if something goes wrong - but given how cheap the unit is, you may find the unit an excellent bargain. Please also note that you are paying in advance for the phone service - so all the normal risks associated with payment in advance apply.

How:
For more information, go to MagicJack or use a web search tool (such as Google) to find local retailers selling MajicJack. Radio and TV personalilty Clark Howard frequently recommends MajicJack - his posting here provides additional information regarding the tool.

The Inside Scoop:
If you really want to save money, consider buying the MajicJack at Radio Shack if you have an Entertainment Book (coupon/discount book) with a Radio Shack coupon. Many Entertainment Books have a $10 off coupon (usually with a $50 purchase) for Radio Shack, so if you have such a coupon and buy the Magic Jack (usually $40) and another $10+ item, you can receive $10 off of your purchase.

Travel Deal of the Day (May 1, 2009)

There are some excellent car rental deals in Florida right now. If you are interested in a one-way rental, there are unique opportunities when renting a car in Florida.

The Deal:
At most non-Florida locations, when you pick up a car in one location and drop it off in another location, you are likely to pay either a very high daily rate or a large "drop off" fee associated with the cost to the car rental company to return the car to the place where you originally picked up the car. In Florida, you will likely pay the same price for a one-way rental as you would for a traditional rental. Note this when you plan a Florida trip as you may be able to see a larger area of Florida.

There are also unique deals when picking up a car in Florida and dropping the car off elsewhere in the United States. Hertz, for instance, has a deal (see this link) that provides discounted rates when picking up in Florida and dropping off at participating locations elsewhere in the US. The car rental companies are willing to offer such discounts to you as they need to move the cars out of Florida for the summer months. Be sure to look out for these kinds of deals if you need to travel one-way from Florida.