Travel Deal of the Day (September 30, 2009)

Southwest Airlines has a new sale for Fall and Winter travel. Fares must be purchased by October 15, 2009 for travel until February 11, 2010. 14 days advance purchase is required, and travel is not permitted on Friday or Sunday. Sales fares are available in select markets, and certain blackout dates apply. Fares under this sale appear to range from $59/way to $149/way, so be sure to check all non-sale fares and be sure to check fares on a variety of carriers to ensure that fares under this sale are the best deal for your dates of travel. For more information, see the Southwest Airlines Sale.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 29, 2009)

Get ready to plan your trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland next year if you volunteer in a participating program. Disney will be offering a free entry in 2010 for one day to either Walt Disney World or Disneyland under the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program. There are some terms and conditions that apply to the deal, so check out the full details at this link.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 25, 2009)

SlickDeals.net (a website listing various coupons/promotions/sales) has the details regarding an easy way to obtain a coupon for 10% off travel on American Airlines. The discount is valid for up to six passengers traveling until November 27, 2009 (blackout dates apply) and purchasing tickets by October 31, 2009. For more information or for full terms and conditions, see this link.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 24, 2009)

Enterprise is offering 50% off select weekend rates for non-airport rentals through May 21, 2010. Rentals must be for three days (Friday through Monday) for Economy through Full Size cars. For full terms/restrictions or to book, go to the Enterprise Weekend Discount.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 23, 2009)

Omni Hotels is offering a buy two, get the third night free package at participating Omni resort hotels. The package also includes late checkout. Additional terms/conditions apply to rooms booked under this package. For full terms/conditions or to book, go to the Omni Free Night Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 22, 2009)

If you are using the web to purchase multiple airline tickets, hotel rooms or car rental reservations, how you book can affect the perks you receive.

The Deal:
When you book a travel reservation, you often receive bonus miles for booking online. Often such bonuses are awarded "one per reservation," meaning that if you book for three people in the same reservation, only one person receives the bonus. Also, some websites (such as FatWallet.com or ebates.com) provide rebates for booking online, but sometimes such rebates are only awarded once per booking. In such situations, it may be advantageous to book each passenger/hotel room/car separately to receive an award/perk for each booking. Just something to think about the next time you book.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 21, 2009)

Smithsonian.com provides details regarding free admission to hundreds of museums and cultural attractions nationwide on Saturday September 26, 2009. To take advantage of this offer, see the terms/conditions at this link and see a complete list of participating museums/attractions here.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 18, 2009)

Jetblue is offering 15% off roundtrip flights booked by September 20, 2009 for travel until December 16, 2009 (blackout dates apply) when booking with an American Express Card. Travel must originate at: JFK, Boston, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, LAX, Washington IAD, Buffalo, Oakland, San Juan or Austin. For full terms/conditions or to book, go to the Jetblue American Express Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 17, 2009)

If you ever visit the spa when traveling, you are aware that services at spas are quite expensive. Here is a great deal if you enjoy the spa. Spa Week, a program provided by various businesses, will allow consumers in various states and in Canada to obtain spa treatments for $50. Businesses in certain locations are offering these highly discounted spa treatments on two sets of dates: September 14-20 (some locations) and October 12-18 (other locations). Spas participating in this promotion accepted appointments as early as 30 days in advance, so if spaces are still available, you should now be able to make appointments for any available spots. For more information or to find instructions for locating eligible spas or to book an appointment, go to Spa Week Website.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 16, 2009)

I am often shocked by how often people forget to utilize the benefits of their warehouse club membership when renting a car. If you are renting a car and belong to a warehouse club (Costco, BJs, Sam's Club), you should check out the discounts/coupons provided by your warehouse club. Each of the major warehouse clubs offer coupons/discounts with major car rental companies. Sometimes the coupons offer both a dollar amount off of your car rental AND a free day or a percentage off your car rental. In addition, sometimes these warehouse club discounts are combinable with other discounts such as AAA or AARP. Be sure to check out the website of your warehouse club or call the travel/customer service desk of your local warehouse club to find out about the discounts that may substantially reduce the cost of your next car rental. Here are some examples of warehouse club discounts:

(1) Costco
(2) BJs
(3) Sam's Club

Travel Deal of the Day (September 15, 2009)

AirTran has a sale offering fares as low as $39/way. Travel must be booked by September 17, 2009 for travel through January 27, 2010 (blackout dates apply). Other airlines may match on a market-by-market basis. For full terms and conditons or to book, go to the AirTran Sale or go to an aggregator website such as Kayak.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 14, 2009)

Southwest Airlines is offering a deal through its "Vacations" (package) division. The deal provides discounts on air and hotel packages to Las Vegas. Qualifying bookings are eligible for various discounts, including:

(1) Every second person flies free; and
(2) Depending on the dates of travel, stay three or four nights, and the third or fourth night is free.

Packages must be booked by September 28, 2009 for travel through February 3, 2010 (blackout dates apply). The discounts are valid on packages at hotels of all price ranges (from budget-oriented hotels to five-star Strip hotels). Before using this deal, check published hotel and airfare rates - however, you may find that this special provides an excellent deal. For full terms and conditions or to book, go to the following links:

Southwest Vacations Deal (Sep - Oct 2009 Travel)
Southwest Vacations Deal (Travel Starting Nov 2009)

Travel Deal of the Day (September 10, 2009)

National Car Rental is offering $30 off weekly rates for rentals until December 15, 2009, and Thanksgiving rentals appear to apply for the discount (subject to availability). Discounts are valid on Compact through Luxury, Minivan and SUV cars. A Saturday night stay is required. For more information and for full terms, go to the National Car Rental Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 9, 2009)

As noted previously, Restaurant.com provides gift certificates for participating restaurants throughout the US at a tremendous discount off of the "face value" of the certificates. This can be a great deal if you travel frequently and need to eat out on a regular basis.

The Deal:
Restaurant.com is now running a 90% off promotion (until September 12, 2009 or September 13, 2009) - for many restaurants, you can now buy a $25 gift certificate for $1 (90% off of the normal $10 price). If you can comply with the various terms and conditions of the certificates (terms vary for each restaurant), this is a great time to take advantage of this promotion.

How:
For more information, go to Restaurant.com and use the promotion code "ninety" when purchasing certificates.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 8, 2009)

Groupon, a website offering daily discounts in a variety of US cities, is offering 1/2 off standard admission to the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC ($9/ person, 50% off of the standard $18/person admission price). The admission must be purchased by the end of September 8, 2009, and the admission is valid until December 24, 2009 (blacked out November 26-29, 2009). For more information, see the Washington DC Groupon Deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 4, 2009)

Starwood is offering 50% off of eligible rates at participating hotels in Hawaii and French Polynesia. Certain other perks may apply, and certain blackout dates may apply as well. Rates must be booked by Sepetember 12, 2009 for travel until June 30, 2010. Additional terms and conditions apply; see the Starwood Hawaii & French Polynesia Deal for full terms or to book.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 3, 2009)

Before you pick seat assignments for your next trip, be sure to check out SeatGuru and SeatExpert, which are websites that rate your airline/aircraft seat assignment for no charge. Both are set up slightly differently - but the purpose of both is to tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of your seat assignment. This service can be especially helpful if you have to decide whether to purchase a seat assignment (for those airlines requiring you to purchase special "premium" seat assignments). Be sure to check both websites out before picking your next seat assignment, especially for a long flight.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 2, 2009)

You can now pay to be one of the first few passengers to board a Southwest flight. Passengers on Southwest obtain boarding passes up to 24 hours in advance of departure. A few groups of passengers, the airline's most frequent flyers, passengers paying a very select group of high "business" fares and/or connecting passengers (when applicable), currently obtain the first boarding passes, and then all other passengers are accomodated based on how early they check-in at the Southwest website. Southwest will now offer passengers the ability to purchase priority boarding - for $10/way, you can obtain the next boarding passes (after the previously mentioned groups) regardless of when you check-in at Southwest's website. For more information, see this post on the Southwest Blog.

Travel Deal of the Day (September 1, 2009)

AirTran has a new sale with fares starting at $39/way. Tickets must be purchased by September 3, 2009 and fares are valid for travel until December 16, 2009 (blackout dates apply). Ten days advance purchased required for tickets purchased using this sale. Other airlines will likely match this sale on a market-by-market basis. Other terms and conditions apply. For full terms/conditions or to book, go to the AirTran Sale.