Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 29, 2006)

Another day, another Las Vegas deal. The five star Bellagio Hotel in the center of the Las Vegas Strip is running a promotional sale for certain nights during the first three months of 2007.

The Deal:
The Bellagio is offering a $169/night promotional rate for the following dates: 1/31, 2/5, 2/6, 2/28, 3/1, 3/7 and 3/8. Suites are also available on the same dates for $249/night.

How:
Go to: Bellagio Deal

The Inside Scoop:
This deal technically requires you to pay an additional $50/night for a lakeview room (higher room category than the standard non-view room). In the past, I have been able to pay the standard rate and get a free upgrade at check-in using the tips previously mentioned in this blog (see Nov. 23, 2006 post).

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 28, 2006)

Want to go to Vegas for New Year’s Eve? Priceline.com has a great deal right on the strip for New Year’s Eve (a time when it is normally next to impossible to get a deal).

The Deal:
Get a room at the four star Aladdin Hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve for around $125/night.

How:
Normally, hotels on the Strip for New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas are outrageously expensive. However, it appears that Priceline.com has some great deals for Las Vegas for New Years’s Eve. (In case you are not familiar with Priceline, Priceline obtains discounted rooms from travel providers - but the names of the hotels are not apparent to you until after you bid for a location, price and star level for your hotel choice.)

Biddingfortravel.com, a great resource for finding out what bid prices people are using on Priceline, is reporting that when bidding using Priceline.com for a four star hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas, the Aladdin Hotel is coming up for around $125 (see this link for more information).

To get this deal, go to Priceline.com and bid for a 4 star hotel in the “Las Vegas Strip Vicinity” district. If you bid appromiately $125, while supplies last, you will likely be able to obtain the Aladdin.

The Inside Scoop:
Note that there may be a minimum stay required to obtain this deal, so bidding for just the night of 12/31 may be unsuccessful. Biddingfortravel.com is reporting that bidders have been able to obtain the Aladdin by bidding for minimum three or four night stays which include New Year’s Eve.

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 27, 2006)

Rental car rates have been going up - way up. If you need to rent a car over the next few months, you may find that rates are a lot higher than you have been used to over the past few years. There are some ways to avoid paying outrageous rates - try renting a car at a non-airport, local location.

The Deal:
Save money renting your next car by renting at a local location as opposed to the airport.

How:
Hertz is offering 50% off of fullsize through midsize SUV car rentals if you rent at a local/non-airport location. This offer is available at: Hertz Deal

The Inside Scoop:
1) Local/non-airport locations are not always cheaper than airport locations - you must compare the rates. But when you find airport rates to be outrageous, it pays to check the rates at local locations.

2) You may find great rates at local car rental locations on weekends when demand from business-related renters is low.

3) Many local locations will either provide you transportation to their location or will reimburse reasonable cab expenses - inquire with the car rental location at the time of booking to find out what the car rental company offers.

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 26, 2006)

Have you thought about a European trip? Late winter and early spring may be a great time to go without spending a lot of money.

The Deal:
Save money by taking your trip to Europe before the end of March.

How:
1) Fares to Europe during the late winter and early spring can be really low. In fact, fares from the East Coast to Europe are as low as $75 each way plus taxes and surcharges. Check for incredible airfare specials to Europe until the end of March. If you are traveling to Central Europe or Eastern Europe, try traveling to more competitive, major Western Europe gateways (such as London or Paris) and taking Easyjet or Ryanair, two European low cost carriers, to your European destinations.

2) Look for incredible hotel rates in late winter or early spring - check out the deals at Starwood hotels in Europe at: Starwood Deal (HURRY - sale fares must be booked by 11:59PM (GMT) on Dec. 26).

The Inside Scoop:
The rates in winter should be extraordinarily low. Do not let a travel provider make you think you are getting an incredible deal just by stating that their winter rates are slightly lower than the peak season (summer) rates. During the winter, the weather is far less desirable in most of Europe - the rates should be far lower. Travel providers should be offering significant discounts to obtain your business during this time period.

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 22, 2006)

You found a deal and it requires a certain credit card - but you do not have that credit card. Can you still qualify for the deal? Surprisingly - the answer may be yes.

The Deal:
When a travel deal requires a certain credit card that you do not have, you may still be eligible for the deal if you buy a prepaid credit card and use that prepaid card for the deal.

How:
Quite often, credit cards like Visa and American Express offer amazing travel deals (for example, see the American Express deal from the Dec. 20, 2006 post). While you may think you are ineligible for the deal if you do not have that credit card, you can go to the website of that credit card (or a local bank or retailer) and purchase a prepaid card. Prepaid credit cards carry the logo of a standard credit card and can be used at any place that accepts that credit card. These prepaid cards have certain drawbacks that a standard credit card would not have - but, if you are interested in a great travel deal that requires that you have a certain type of credit card, this may be a way to get that deal even if you do not have the credit card that is necessary for the deal.

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 21, 2006)

If you have been following the news you know that Denver got two feet of snow, forcing the airport to shut down for up to 48 hours and forcing many travelers to get stranded (probably for many days). These people have few alternatives because most flights at holiday time are already sold out or overbooked. There are some ways that people, however, can avoid getting stuck when a major weather event occurs.

The Deal:
It is important when a big weather event occurs to follow certain rules to attempt to avoid catastrophe, especially near holiday time periods where most, if not all flights, are completely full. Planning ahead and utilizing flexible travel policies of airlines and hotels will help you avoid catastrophe during major weather events.

How:
There are various rules to abide by when traveling during major weather events (snowstorm, hurricane, tornado…):

1) Monitor the weather at your origination, connection and destination cities at least one day in advance of your travel.

2) When traveling during a major weather event, most airlines and hotel companies will waive almost all restrictions associated with your reservation. Airlines and hotels will usually implement such a policy and post the details on their website (either on the main section of the homepage or in the press release area of the website). If such a policy is put in place, you may no longer be required to abide by advance purchase, minimum stay, maximum stay or capacity control requirements associated with your reservation.

3) If you find that your travel will involve a major weather event, take advantage of the loosened restrictions and avoid the cities affected by the weather event.

Inside Scoop:
The key to effectively using the flexible travel policies during major weather events is to act before the weather event occurs. Usually airlines and hotels will put these policies in place 24 hours in advance of the event to avoid stranding people in the city with the major weather event. Unfortunately, many people ignore the early warning. You must act when the policy is first put in place to reschedule your travel. If you wait too long, many people will already have been rebooked - so there will be few, if any, alternatives for you to rebook.

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 20, 2006)

Want to stay in a luxury hotel on a budget? Starwood has a free night offer for some of its W Hotels.

The Deal:
Various W Hotels (luxury brand offered by Starwood) are offering a buy two nights, get one night free offer when you book a stay using an American Express Card.

How:
1) Book and stay at a W Hotel by April 15, 2007 at the following link: W Hotels Link

2) Reserve a room using your American Express Card.

The Inside Scoop:
1) This deal is good Thursday through Sunday at most hotels, however the following hotels offer the deal seven nights a week: W Chicago - Lakeshore, W Montréal, both W hotels in New Orleans, W San Diego, and W Seattle.

2) Various terms and conditions apply – the rules for the rate, including instructions if you prefer to book by phone, are available at the “Terms and Conditions” link at: W Hotels Link.

3) Be sure to also check the Starwood buy two nights, get one night deal mentioned in the Dec. 6, 2006 post if this deal does not work for you.

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 19, 2006)

Hotel chains are now touting the incredible rates available on their websites – usually these rates are accompanied by some claim such as “best rate guaranteed” and the rates are usually non-refundable and non-changeable. Before booking that highly restrictive rate, you must examine all of your options to ensure that you are not overpaying.

The Deal:
Think twice before booking the non-refundable/non-changeable rates available on the hotel chains’ websites.

How:
When you find a non-refundable/non-changeable rate on a hotel chain website, you should examine your options before booking that rate – here are some steps to take:

1) Examine the membership club discounts available – AAA, AARP, Entertainment Card, ABA, American Express Platinum or Centurion, etc. This may sound obvious, but the major hotel chains have made these discounts less obvious on their websites and made these discounts harder to find. On sites such as Hilton, you now must enter all 16 digits of your AAA number just to find the rate. Even though it may be a pain, check all these rates before locking yourself into non-refundable rates.

2) Check aggregator websites such as: Kayak.com (see Dec. 13, 2006 post).

3) Check out the prepaid rates via Hotwire and Priceline. If you are buying a non-changeable/non-refundable rate anyway, check out what can be incredible prepaid bargains on Hotwire and Priceline. For a guide to bidding on these sites, check out www.biddingfortravel.com and www.betterbidding.com.

4) Think about what rates may not be available online. Some hotels offer a 50% discount for the Entertainment card, but it is only available by calling. Package or promotional rates may be available in a special “package” or “promotions” section of the website. (An example of such a rate is the Marriott/Hertz buy 2 nights, get 1 free promotion mentioned in the Nov. 20, 2006 post. This changeable/refundable promotional rate is less expensive than almost any non-refundable rate that would be offered by a Marriott hotel.)

The Inside Scoop:
The most important thing to consider when booking non-refundable rates is whether rates will decrease closer to your check-in date. The rate that is the lowest at the time you book may be quite expensive when compared to the rate that is available within a week of your travel date when the hotel lowers its rates when it sees how many unsold rooms it has. If you book a non-refundable rate and the rates go down, most likely you are stuck, even if a lower non-refundable rate becomes available. So, in most cases, if it is more than two weeks from check-in, I usually book the least expensive cancelable/changeable rate and take my chances that rates will decrease or that I can find a bargain on Priceline close to the check-in date.

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 18, 2006)

How about a trip to the Caribbean? Just as the weather gets poor in northern climates, there is a great opportunity to go to a warm weather destination – St. Maarten. The Westin St. Marten, which is making its grand opening over the next few weeks, is offering its rooms at a great discount to attract visitors to the new hotel.

The Deal:
Traveling to the new Westin St. Marteen can be a great deal if you can go during the next few weeks as the Westin tries to fill its rooms just after its grand opening.

How:
Two offers are available:
1) Rooms are only $199/night if you can travel from January 2 – January 21 – you can book this offer at: January Hotel Link

2) Rooms are 25% off for travel between January 2 and April 16 (excluding certain blackout days in February and April) – you can book this offer at: Spring Hotel Link

For a full listing of restrictions (including blackout days), go to:
Link of Restrictions

The Inside Scoop:
Even if you are not interested in going to the Westin St. Maarten, be aware that grand openings for hotels can be a great bargain. If you are looking for a deal, it can be helpful to look for hotel grand openings. Since brand new hotels have very little time to fill rooms just after the grand opening (often due to uncertainty about the exact opening date) and such hotels do not have return guests to fill rooms, brand new hotels usually offer great deals. You may have to endure some grand opening “hiccups” (such as amenities that are not entirely open or service issues that are not yet resolved), but the savings at such hotels can be incredible.

Travel Deal of the Day (Dec. 15, 2006)

What do you think of timeshares? For many people, the concept creates negative connotations. And, quite frankly, I would not recommend that you purchase a timeshare. But, travelers to popular destinations can sometimes find quite affordable (and even free) vacation accommodations from timeshares when the facilities are not used by owners. But, this deal is only for those people who have incredibly good will power.

The Deal:
Take advantage of great deals on accommodations at timeshares, as long as you can resist the sales pitches of the timeshare personnel.

How:
1) When you are checking rates at expensive locations, check out the rates at some of the timeshares run by the major hotel chains (such as Westin, Marriott, Hyatt…) Timeshare operators often have a good sense well in advance whether owners want to use their timeshares. If the owners do not want to use their units, the timeshare companies will often deeply discount their accommodations. Here is an example of a great deal that is being offered through the end of the year: 5 nights at a really nice Marriott timeshare property in Oahu (Ko Olina Villas) and 25,000 Mileage Plus frequent flyer miles for $850. There are multiple restrictions that apply to these kinds of deals, but a deal like this is quite a bit less expensive than traditional hotel rates at a comperable hotel.

(For more information on the deal mentioned above, see this link)

2) Do you know someone who owns a timeshare? It is quite possible that they can “recommend” you as someone who might be interested in a timeshare. Once you are recommended to the timeshare company, the company will likely solicit you to come to the accommodation at a tremendous discount.

3) Some timeshares want you at their property so badly that they will give you up to a week for free. (I recently got an offer for 2 nights for free in a 4 ½ star property.) What is the catch? They hope you fall in love with the accommodations and buy a timeshare, making the salespeople a huge commission and making the “free” vacation a very, very expensive vacation.

The Inside Scoop:
As mentioned above, a deal at a timeshare is only a deal if you resist the sales pitch and do not buy a timeshare. The deals mentioned here will often require that you attend a timeshare presentation where they try to sell a timeshare to you. If you are easily persuaded, I would recommend that you forget that you ever read this deal since there is too great a risk that you will buy a timeshare. But if you have strong willpower, take advantage of what can be a great deal.