Travel Deal of the Day (June 30, 2009)

TravelZoo has a great deal at the four-star Arizona Biltmore.

The Deal:
If you can stand the summer heat, you can obtain a "Resort Room" at the Arizona Biltmore for $80/night (plus tax/resort fee). Rooms must be booked by July 3, 2009, and travel must be completed by July 14, 2009. See all rules/restrictions at the below link.

How:
Go to the Arizona Biltmore Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 29, 2009)

I have received multiple recent advertisements for airport parking. Many travel-related vendors have seen a decrease in demand for travel-related services. To compete, some airport parking companies have become more aggresive in terms of providing incentives for using their services. If you are interested in saving the most possible money on airport parking, be sure to investigate all possible parking options. If you are interested in using an airport parking lot, be sure to check into sale/promotional rates and verify if the parking lot provides discounts for any professional or other associations (AAA, ABA, AARP, AMA...). Also, check the website of the parking lot, as additional discounts may be available online. Please note the following additional options (outside of the standard airport parking lots):

(1) Some hotels offer nightly rates that include parking. Be sure to investigate this option, as you may spend less money by purchasing a night in the hotel (that includes parking);

(2) Be sure to check options for long-term parking near a public transportation facility and using public transportation to get you to the airport; and

(3) Some businesses located near an airport will sell long term parking in their parking lots.

If you find the webiste of your local airport or call the administrative office of your airport, you may receive helpful suggestions for inexpensive parking.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 26, 2009)

Clark Howard provides details regarding fares on Singapore Airlines from Los Angeles to Bangkok, Thailand for as low as $109/way plus fuel surcharges and taxes. Note that surcharges, fees and taxes are quite high in this market, but a base fare (without fees/taxes/surcharges) of $109/way is quite reasonable for such a long journey. See ClarkHoward.com (go to the "SE Asia" sale section) for more information.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 25, 2009)

Hilton is offering a second night free deal for participating hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. Rates are non-refundable once booked. Rates must be booked by August 17, 2009 for stays until August 31, 2009. For full restrictions and to book, go to the Hilton 2 for 1 Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 24, 2009)

Southwest is offering new service to Milwaukee, WI starting November 1, 2009. To promote the new service, Southwest is offering fares as low as $35/way for markets in which it is offering nonstop service.

The Deal:
Fly between Milwaukee and Baltimore, Kansas City, Tampa, Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix starting at $35/way. Various airlines are offering/matching these fares on a market-by-market basis. The cheapest fares are for travel November 1, 2009 to November 18, 2009 and must be purchased by June 26, 2009.

How:
To book on Southwest, go to the Southwest Sale. To find fares on other airlines, go to an aggregator booking website such as Kayak.

The Inside Scoop:
While all of these fares are very reasonable, $35 each way for travel between Milwaukee and Las Vegas or Phoenix is incredibly inexpensive.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 23, 2009)

Southwest Airlines just opened its schedule until early 2010. Because many cheap fares are now available for the most demanded travel dates around Thanksgiving and the December holidays, today would be a good day to book travel for the very high demand days. Such peak travel days (such as the Wednesday before and the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving) are rarely discounted and most/all flights on those dates are full, so it would be advisable to purchase any discounted seats now as those disocunts will not be available if you wait. Go to Southwest to book any travel.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 23, 2009)

If you are traveling for the July 4th holiday weekend, you may save money by strategically selecting your travel dates.

The Deal:
You will likely save money on airfare when traveling for the July 4th holiday weekend by avoiding travel on Friday July 3 and Sunday July 5. These two dates will likely have the highest demand, so the cheapest fares will likely be available on other dates. Be sure to check fares for travel on July 2nd, 4th and 6th to find the best fares. As always, check all possible airports near your preferred departure and arrival cities. In addition, watch out for great last minute deals starting this week - with the decline in travel demand, travel retailers will likely offer promotions to spark demand.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 22, 2009)

If you live in Fort Lauderdale, watch out for some excellent fares to other warm weather destinations.

The Deal:
JetBlue is offering $29/way fares from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, Bahamas and Cancun, Mexico. Availability is very limited, and fares are valid for travel throughout the summer. (Travel dates vary in each market.) Full terms and conditions can be found at the jetBlue website.

How:
To book, use the jetBlue website or use an aggregator travel booking site such as Kayak.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 19, 2009)

If you are booking two (or more) rooms for your next vacation, be aware that you can usually receive a great discount on the second room.

The Deal:
Many hotels routinely offer discounts when purchasing two rooms for your hotel stay. Sometimes, these discounts are named "Family Plan" or "Second Room Package" - whatever the name, be aware that you generally should not pay full price for the second room as you will usually have access to a good discount when reserving a second room for the same nights as the first room. Here are some examples:

(1) Hyatt Family Plan - Hyatt offers 50% off of a second room for use by children 12 years and under - see this link;
(2) Prince Hotels Second Room Free Offer - Various Prince Hotels (a chain of three to four star hotels offering a variety of properties in Hawaii) routinely offer a second room free offer such as the offer at this link; and
(3) Some Westin Hotels offer a second room at half off package - such as this offer (see "Children are Welcome" offer).

How:
When searching for a discounted second room, do a web search for the hotel and relevant search terms (such as "second room free"; "discounted second room"; "multiple room discount"). Also, call both the nationwide reservation line and the in-house reservations department and ask for a second room discount - you will be surprised at how often such a discount is available.

The Inside Scoop:
Though some second room discounts are only intended for children of the people in the same room, other discounts/promotions have no such limitations. If two or more families are traveling together, you may be able to use these kinds of promotions to cut the cost of your trip (by booking your hotel reservations together (with one room at full price and the second room using the second room discount) and splitting the total cost of the hotel stay).

Travel Deal of the Day (June 18, 2009)

Earn 2,500 bonus Dividend Miles (in addition to the standard 500 Dividend Miles) for each flight on the US Airways Shuttle (flying between Boston, New York, NY and Washington, DC) between June 10, 2009 and August 15, 2009. For each eligible roundtrip, you will earn a total of 6,000 miles (500 base miles each way and 5,000 bonus miles for the roundtrip.)

How:
(1) Register for the US Airways Shuttle Bonus at this link;
(2) Book a trip and fly on the US Airways Shuttle between June 10, 2009 and August 15, 2009 and include your Dividend Miles number in the reservation.
(See all terms and conditions for this special at this link.)

Travel Deal of the Day (June 17, 2009)

Airtran has a new sale that is being matched by various airlines on a market-by-market basis. Fares start at $39/way for travel by November 4, 2009. Tickets must be purchased by June 30, 2009 with at least ten days advance notice. Fares are lowest on Tuesday and Wednesday and no travel is allowed on Sunday using this sale. To book travel, use an aggregator website such as Kayak.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 16, 2009)

The price of Entertainment Books (providing coupons for a variety of businesses) drop throughout the year (until the expiration date for most coupons on November). The books are now free with the purchase of a book for 2010. The purchase of a book can be a great deal, if for no other reason than the 5% off American Airlines electronic coupon in the book. Check out the Entertainment Book website to find out about the travel (and other) coupons - you may find that you pay for the book with a single (discounted) travel purchase.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 15, 2009)

The bad economy has created incredible Hawaii deals - here is an excellent deal in Oahu.

The Deal:
BiddingForTravel (one of a few websites dedicated to reporting winning Priceline bids for hotels) is reporting that the four to five star Ihilani Resort in Oahu is available for $100/night (plus taxes and fees) via bidding on Priceline. The Ihilani Resort has not offered such low Priceline rates in years. The resort is very nice, especially at this price, and this is a deal you should consider if you would enjoy a trip to Oahu.

How:
See this post for more information.

The Inside Scoop:
Note that the Ihilani does charge approximately $25/night for parking - so budget accordingly.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 12, 2009)

Radisson is offering a free stay on Friday nights this summer when staying two or more participating nights.

The Deal:
Receive a free stay at a Radisson hotel on Friday night when staying at least two consecutive nights, including a Thursday or Saturday night. Rates are valid for stays until September 15, 2009.

How:
Go to the Radisson Friday is Freeday Promotion.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 11, 2009)

Hertz has a new deal offering $35 off of a weekly rental.

The Deal:
Receive $35 off of a weekly rental at Hertz when renting an economy or higher class car. The special is valid for cars picked up between July 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009.

How:
Go to the Hertz $35 Off Special.

The Inside Scoop:
This $35 off a weekly car rental special can potentially save you quite a bit of money since you can use it on the least expensive class of cars (economy class cars). You should also note that Hertz has a $50 off of a weekly rental coupon for June 2009 rentals of midsize or larger cars (see this link).

Travel Deal of the Day (June 10, 2009)

TravelZoo is offering a $129/night rate at the Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel.

The Deal:
TravelZoo is offering a great rate at the four-star Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel - starting at $129/night. Rates are valid for select nights until early October 2009.

How:
Go to the TravelZoo/Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 9, 2009)

You can now receive 1% back on all purchases at Orbitz via Ebates.

The Deal:
Ebates, which offers a percentage back (percentage varies) on purchases at a variety of web retailers, is offering 1% back on purchases at Orbitz. If you are making a purchase at Orbitz, remember to go to Orbitz via Ebates.

How:
Go to Ebates and search for "Orbitz."

Travel Deal of the Day (June 8, 2009)

Not all websites charge the same change/cancellation fees for hotel room reservations. Even though you might think that a change fee is set by the hotel rather than the booking engine/website you use to book your reservation, in many cases the hotel charges no change fee but the website adds certain change fees. For this reason, you should research such policies before booking your hotel room to save money on future changes to your reservation.

The Deal:
When booking a hotel room, research the rates offered by different websites and the policies for changes and cancellation offered by the website you use to make your booking. Even though various websites may have the same rate for a hotel room, the websites may have dramatically different policies/fees for changes/cancellation. Many websites are now eliminating such fees - so be sure to check around when booking. You may find a website that gives you the lowest rates and complete flexibility to alter your reservation.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 5, 2009)

The National Park Service is offering fee-free weekends during three weekends this summer. This is a great value - there are so many incredible national parks, and this promotion can save you up to $25 in admission fees per day.

The Deal:
Obtain free admission at up to 100 selected national parks on June 20, June 21, July 18, July 19, August 15 and August 16, 2009. For more information, see this National Park Service Note.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 4, 2009)

If you are traveling to the Caribbean, JetBlue has new service and a new sale.

The Deal:
JetBlue has fares starting at $99/way for its new flights from JFK to Barbados, Kingston or Saint Lucia. Flights must be purchased by June 17, 2009 and travel must be completed by November 14, 2009. Travel may be limited to certain days of the week.

How:
Book your travel at an aggregator website such as Kayak. For more information about rules and restrictions, see the press release.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 3, 2009)

Sofitel has a fourth night free summer promotion for many of its hotels worldwide, including various Sofitel hotels in Europe. The promotion is valid for stays until August 31, 2009 if booked before July 5, 2009. The promotion also includes additional perks, including a guaranteed late check-out and a picnic basket to be used during the stay. For more information, go to the Sofitel Summer Promotion.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 2, 2009)

If you are not taking advantage of hotel promotions or hotel frequent stay programs, now is the time to do so.

The Deal:
Hotels are suffering from low occupancy rates, so they are offering incredible discounts and frequent stay promotions (second or third night free; % off discounts for rooms; bonus frequent stay points). Now is the time to plan your travel to maximize rewards and discounts if you want to limit your travel budget.

The Inside Scoop:
While maximizing travel promotions and discounts is important, be sure to avoid overpaying solely to take advantage of a travel reward.

Travel Deal of the Day (June 1, 2009)

Are you on Twitter? If you are not, you may be missing out on money-saving travel information and discounts for a wide range of travel providers.

The Deal:
The first "deal" is that Travel Deal of the Day is now on Twitter (under the name "TravelDealDaily"). If you are not on Twitter, you are likely missing out on many travel deals. Many travel companies are providing discounts via Twitter. You may receive a discount just for signing up to follow your favorite travel provider on Twitter.

How:
Go to Twitter.