Holiday Travel Tips; Planning Ahead

Air travel is expensive. But I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. There are many ways to save money on air travel some of them will save you a little, some will save you a lot. Before you book your next trip, see if any of these money savings tips are options for you.

Consider flying out of another airport. Sometimes the nearest airport does not have the best rates. Checking the rates at one or two of the next nearest airports may yield better airfare rates than the airport that is closest to you. It may be worth it to travel an extra hour to the airport to save hundreds of dollars.

If you have a trip planned for the future, but you aren’t ready to order your tickets yet, sign up for e-mail alerts from all of the airlines that fly from the airport(s) near you to your destination. You never know when an airline may be running a special to your exact destination.

If you are ready to order your tickets, order them as far in advance as possible. The cheapest airfares sell out quickly. The closer to the flight you buy your tickets; the more expensive the tickets are likely to be. This is especially true around the holidays.

If you are booking travel during the holidays, consider flying on the holiday itself. The days prior to a holiday, airfares can be the highest they are all year. If you can fly on the day of the holiday, you can get some of the lowest airfares of the year. If you do decide to book on the holiday, try to book as early in the day as possible in case there are any delays so you don’t miss the holiday festivities once you get to your destination.

If you are phoning the airline directly for your tickets, ask for the cheapest fare, not just the fare for coach. There may be a cheaper fare in a better seat, but you’ll never know if you don’t ask.

Fly on the off days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and sometimes Saturday are considered the off days (unless it’s around a holiday). If you can fly to and from your destination on those days, you are much more likely to get cheaper flights.

Check out the fares on red-eye flights. Those flights don’t sell out as quickly as other flights and therefore may have less expensive fares. Sure, if money were no object, the red-eye probably wouldn’t be your first choice, but then again you may sleep your way through the whole flight. That’s always a good way to spend a flight. And if you combine flying on the off days with flying a red-eye on an off day, you may get a real deal.

Do your homework by comparing rates on the different websites. Travelocity, Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz, Cheap Tickets and many other websites have discounted airline tickets as well as discounts on hotels, car rentals, and other things related to travel. Take the time to check out the rates for each website each time you book your travel.

While you are doing your homework, don’t forget to check out the airline’s websites. Sometimes the airline’s websites have even better deals than the discount sites. All this homework takes some time, but it will pay off in the end with big savings.

Go outside your comfort zone. You may be used to always flying the same big airline, but if you consider one of the newer smaller airlines, you may be surprised at the savings you can grab.

Before you book your tickets, make sure that the price you have includes all fees and taxes. If you’re not getting the full price of the tickets including fees and taxes, you may not actually be booking the least expensive airfare.

Now that you’ve saved money on your airfare, there are some things that you can do to help save money in other areas of your flight.

Find out what the maximum luggage weight is for the airline you are traveling, and make sure you don’t exceed it. If you check in luggage that is over the weight limit, the airline can charge you a fee for each bag that is over the limit.

If you are driving to the airport, plan to leave early enough so that you can park at one of the off site parking facilities that are close to the airport.

If you’ve got a college age niece or nephew, next door neighbor or someone in that age range who lives nearby ask them to drive you to and from the airport. You can pay them $25 each way and save a bundle on airport parking, and get door to door service to the airport.

Take your own snacks. If your airline does serve food, they may charge for it, and chances are it won’t be very good. You also won’t be tempted to pay the high price for the snacks you buy at the concessions after security because you’ll already have what you’ll need on the plane.

Same goes for your reading materials. Bring your own that you already have at home instead of buying them from the airport stores. A flight is the perfect time to read that book you’ve been meaning to read.

AOI Marketing Opens its New Revenue Platform to Airlines and Travel Providers

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AOI Marketing announced today it will open its patent pending Incremental Revenue Platform (IRP) to airlines and travel providers. While enhancing the model with a low fare carrier for over five years, AOI has proven the concept for a membership airfare model and produced results showing its effectiveness for the airline and customer alike. Titled “The New Era of Building Pre-Paid Loyalty & Incremental Revenue For Low Fare Carriers: How a Regional Airline

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AOI Marketing Opens its New Revenue Platform to Airlines and Travel Providers

Martinique Wins ‘Best Gourmet Island’ Award for 2nd Straight Year

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Martinique has been named “Best Gourmet Island of the Year 2009” by Caribbean World Magazine, reaffirming its leadership position as the top Caribbean destination for culinary travel. This marks the second straight year that Martinique has received the prestigious award, which was presented at the 15th Caribbean World Annual Awards, held recently during World Travel Market (WTM) in London. Muriel Wiltord, director Americas for the Martinique Promotion Burea

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Martinique Wins ‘Best Gourmet Island’ Award for 2nd Straight Year

A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Mondial Assistance International AG and Jefferson Insurance Company

OLDWICK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” of Mondial Assistance International AG (MAI) (Switzerland) and its subsidiary, Jefferson Insurance Company (New York). The outlook for all ratings remains stable. The ratings of MAI reflect its adequate risk-adjusted capitalisation, resilient operating performance and excellent business profile as a leading provider of travel insur

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A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Mondial Assistance International AG and Jefferson Insurance Company

Budget Center Announces LOI with HotelsCombined.com

LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Budget Center Inc. (OTC: BDGN) (the “Company) is pleased to announce that the Company’s owned travel website www.budgethotels.com has signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) for a “white paper affiliate” agreement with Hotels Combined Pty Ltd. of Sydney, Australia. The terms of the LOI outline an agreement with HotelsCombined.com to proceed with a complete corporate build out utilizing Hotels Combined’s extensive worldwide inventory

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Budget Center Announces LOI with HotelsCombined.com

Unexpected luxury… – Phuket, Thailand Travel Blog

Unexpected luxury …: Read the story and see 92 photos of a visit to Phuket, Thailand by TravelPod member holly_ken.

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Unexpected luxury… – Phuket, Thailand Travel Blog

Next 1 Interactive, Inc. Announces Its Resort and Residence Television Network Is Airing Programming on Travel and … (Marketwire)

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL–(Marketwire – November 20, 2009) – Next 1 Interactive Inc. ( OTCBB : NXOI ) has announced Resort and Residence Television Network, a 24/7 programming network, is completing its first two weeks on the air. The network focuses on two consumer passion categories, Travel and Real Estate. The initial launch of the network is in over 21 million households, available on satellite …

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Next 1 Interactive, Inc. Announces Its Resort and Residence Television Network Is Airing Programming on Travel and … (Marketwire)

Nation Digest: FEC eases restrictions on candidates’ luxury jets (Washington Post)

The Federal Election Commission on Thursday eased restrictions on the use of luxury jets by many candidates for federal office, ruling that Senate and presidential candidates can pay discounted prices for private air travel as long as they do not do so on behalf of their own campaign.

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Nation Digest: FEC eases restrictions on candidates’ luxury jets (Washington Post)

Tips For Booking Your Holiday Travel

Holiday season is in the air. We could already breathe in and feel it. Everybody wishes to have a break, unwind and have a vacation from the exhausting everyday activities and chores of work. Truly, we deserve to have a time out.

Make this holiday season different from what you have before. Why not take a travel?

Many people say that it is really expensive and it will really cost a lot to have a travel. May it be a land, water or air holiday travel; surely it will have a cost. Nowadays, there are plenty of ways to have a vacation you dream and crave of having at a cheap cost.

Here are some of the tips:

Early birds catch the early worm! Book your trips early. Spare some time to call your travel company or agency. The more early you booked your holiday travel, the greater amount you will save. Consider that the demands for travel and flights are greater as the holiday season approaches. Note that travel companies have a number of flights per month. They cannot and will not provide a flight just for you.

Another advantage of having early booking is that you will have the opportunity to have great deals and options.

Set your itinerary. Choose exactly the places that you want to visit. List your itinerary in a piece of paper and also, do not forget to book and reserve your visit especially if you want to go to museums etc.

Reserve the hotel where you will spend your days. Do this as soon as you booked your flight.

It is advised that you have your travel agency. Most of these agencies now have promos and discounts for their customers for the holiday season. Most of them give travel packages that are budget friendly. Others give freebies and other items for gimmickries to attract customers and tourists. Use this as an opportunity to save and have cheap deals.

Being flexible is also a key in a more convenient and cheap holiday travel. If you are flexible enough, you can get into different flights that are available. Make sure that your schedule is open and flexible to all sorts of situations that may come along. Also, by being flexible you need to be choosy and things will easily go without minding the hassle.

Booking at the peak of the holiday season should be avoided in order for you to have a cheap travel.

Holiday season is created for us to stop and pause for a while and to appreciate the hardships that we had in the previous months. This is just once in a lifetime experience; make the most out of your travel.

Luxury Hotels – Cool Penthouse in Cape Town with Private Butler

Luxury Travel Butler discovered a great new hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. A luxury Penthouse, situated on top of one of Cape Town’s most prestigious buildings: The Pinnacle. It combines all the luxury , style and service of a 5 star …

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Luxury Hotels – Cool Penthouse in Cape Town with Private Butler

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