Archive for Coupon deals
Planning for real savings on vacation travel
Part of the planning that goes into a trip involves transportation. Transportation to your destination, while you’re at your destination and transportation back home again. There are only a handful of choices if you’re traveling to far away destinations, but more often than not once you get there your choices for getting from point A to point B are basically taxi, bus, rental car or walking. Let’s take a look at these and see how the frugal traveler does it.
Fly the ‘friendly’ skies
Really? How friendly is it to charge extra for baggage? Meals? Drinks? What have you? Is that how you treat your friends? Not me. Southwest Airlines is still one of the few airlines not charging for baggage. They’ve got decent prices, in accordance with their competition, and polite, friendly personnel. Check out their website for specials to save even more.
Bookthroughus.com
Or whatever ‘discount’ travel service you’re using always brag that they have sensational bargains on low air fares, on hotel stays and more. Some of these sites actually do offer reasonable deals; but buyers beware. Check out complaints online before booking with one of these services so that you know what to watch out for. Some of these sites promise you a four star hotel, but won’t tell you the name of the hotel. And I don’t know about you, but I want to know where I’m going to be staying. Watch for hidden fees, cancellation fees and charges for changes in plans. And by all means don’t be shy about informing a site with whom you are planning your vacation that the exact same package is cheaper at another site.
Sometimes booking through an online site may be a disadvantage, although you may save money. This actually happened to me with Expedia. I booked with Expedia, got even more discount with their expedia coupon code, but the problem started when I was late for my flight. I could NOT get the next airline because I had booked through expedia. The lady at the counter told me that I could not switch to the next flight and I had to contact expedia. I was unable to contact expedia, and kept getting their hold music. Needless to say, I missed my flight and therefore missed my hotel reservations as well.
A frequent (or not) flyer
So you say you don’t have a frequent flyer membership because you don’t really travel all that often. Don’t let that stop you. Frequent flyer memberships not only give you the credits for flying (which if you’re going to be flying, you might as well get credit for) but offer additional perks as well. Car rentals, hotel discounts and other deals and bargains can be obtained through frequent flyer memberships. And who knows; those credits may build up faster than you thought; allowing you a free flight. And what’s better than free?
Once you arrive…
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the bus is one way of getting around town that is far cheaper than a taxi. Though the ride on a bus maybe longer, the money you’re saving can go toward something else… like a spa treatment perhaps. All day passes are a great way to get around town without having to shell out money every time you step on the bus. The airport probably has a station at which you can purchase bus passes. Actual travel by bus, rather than by air, tacks additional hours onto your travel time; but if you have the time to spare, passes are available for greyhound and other cross country bus services. The services frequently offer discounts for booking your trip over the Internet, students, veterans, children and seniors. And just like with frequent flyer memberships, these bus service often offer road rewards.
Have you seen the price of gas?
If you’re taking the family car on vacation, consider what kind of mileage you can expect with that family car. If it’s a gas guzzler, you may be better off renting the appropriate car for the trip. If friends are traveling with you, splitting the cost of gas will make it a little easier on everyone’s pocketbook. There are gas stations that, in order to entice you to obtain one of their gas credit cards, will offer discounts on gasoline for the first few months. That can last you all summer! You can probably find out which gas stations offer these credit card awards by surfing the web for specific gas station’s sites.
In fact, the Internet is where you’re going to find any number of ways to save on vacations. Blogs, coupons and other discounts are all over the Internet, so take advantage of them. Even if you choose not to fly with Southwest Airlines, watch for specials on airfares by checking the various airlines’ web sites. Getting there may be half the fun, but it’s probably 75% of the cost involved!