Gadling TAKE FIVE: Week of May 17-23

by Jamie Rhein on

This has been a week where deal snagging has been a bit elusive and prices are rising.

For example:

  • Grant noted American Airlines announcement that it will start charging $15 for the first checked bag.
  • Jeffrey gave us details about how we can expect the price of plane tickets to keep going up as the availability of flights go down.
  • Aaron made note of the higher gas prices which could affect some travel plans for drivers this three-day weekend.
  • Iva has been searching in Moscow for things that are cheap without much luck, unless one considers the subway, vodka and symphony tickets.

But, on the bright side, Tynan was hooked up once more with his beloved Aloksak Plastic Bags which can help pack items more tightly so they can fit in those carry-ons. Plus, they are waterproof so things like your camera won’t get ruined. That’s money saving.

Budget Fares from New York to Egypt

by Grant Martin on

Airfare Watchdog is reporting the latest in a string of strange USA-LON-XXX flights that are remarkably cheap for this time of year. This week, the Egyptian port of Sharm el-Sheikh is on sale from New York City for the paltry sum of about 600USD.

Availability appears to be anywhere between November and March, and AFWD has created a series of handy dandy links to help you search throughout an entire month of availability. The trick with booking this flight is to be flexible. Most dirt-cheap tickets are going to require a little bit of leeway on your part — leaving on a weekday or flying out of your way to get to where you need to be. Just remember that you’re getting a steal on airline tickets and any deal you can work out and book is a gift.

Another thing to remember is that deals like this often don’t last long. Gadling readers searching for this fare on Wednesday may already be too late; often times you may have a few hours to research, book and confirm your tickets. I won’t advocate making any snap decisions on international travel, but it may be a good idea to check the cancellation policy on your favorite booking engine’s FAQ. Many have a clause where you can cancel a ticket within 24 hours without penalty. That way you can book a ticket for you and your girlfriend from work right now and ask for her permission when you get home.

Trans-Atlantic legs appear to be mostly on British Airways, a oneworld alliance member earning you miles on American, British, Cathay and Quantas among others.

With regard to Egyptian travel, you can pay for a visa at the border (nifty postage stamp visas that you can paste into your passport yourself) for a reasonable price. Sharm el-Sheikh is a fabulous city at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula well known as a tourist destination and home to excellent scuba diving and western hobnobbery.

Don’t forget your Cipro.

More Tips for Cheap Airfares

by Jamie Rhein on

No matter how many articles about cheap airfare there are, there’s always room for another. Here’s one of the latest. In “8 tips to snag the lowest fare” Karen Aho gives some tips we’ve covered before, such as, check with sites like Travelocity and Expedia for the lowest prices, then go directly to the airline’s Web site. Karen mentions another advantage of doing this. In addition to a cheaper rate, by booking through the airline, you’ll get email messages from the airline.

When seeking out cheap flights, she suggests thinking about how a business traveler might think and do the opposite. Business travelers tend to travel at the beginning of the week and at the beginning of the day or the end of the day, therefore think middle of the week and middle of the day. As Karen points out, this doesn’t always work, but it’s a starting point.

What I found interesting is that you should look well in advance for cheap flights, as in several months if possible. The 21 day advance flights may not have the cheapest seats left. That’s certainly true with Skybus. And when booking, don’t hesitate since thousands of people are seeking out flights at the same time you are. I hesitated on booking Skybus and it cost us $100 per ticket. However, when we went to Florida last December, I assumed flights would be expensive since we didn’t start looking until the beginning of November. I was amazed to find flights for $160 round-trip from Columbus.

Checking alternative airports is also a great strategy. I’ve found this particularly true when traveling to New York City. Between Newark, La Guardia and JFK there seems to be a cheap flight somewhere. The downside is the cost and ease of getting in to and out of Manhattan, but even that is getting competitive.

To see if a fare is going up, Karen suggests checking with Farecast. This site tells what fares will go up or down over a 7-day period for specific airlines. The idea behind this is that you can decide to buy now or wait.

Another strategy that might work is being nice. For example, Karen switched seats twice on an airplane after being asked and was so nice about it that the flight attendant put her in first-class. This strategy also can work on merry-go-rounds. When I took my son to the Ohio State Fair, one woman asked if my son would switch horses so she could sit next to her son. When he switched, she gave me two ride tickets.

Consumer Reports Magazine Says to Call Hotel Directly

by Jamie Rhein on

In an article on how to find the best hotel deals, Dan Serra who writes about money management for The Gazette in Colorado Springs cites a Consumer Reports finding. According to the magazine, you might have better luck with striking a bargain if you call the hotel directly. Better yet, show up without a reservation. Without a reservation you often have better bargaining power. These are general recommendations. There are exceptions for hotel bargain hunting. Here are some other tips from this Consumer Reports guide:

1. Join a loyalty program. This helps you earn free nights and discounts. My tip: If you recently stayed at one of the hotels in a chain and want to stay in another one use your earlier stay as a bargaining chip. I did this last summer with La Quinta Inn. We stayed in two different ones in the Denver area two weeks apart. We used the bargain we got with the first stay to get the second stay’s deal.

2. If you are flexible with dates you can get a better rate. My finding: Last week we almost stayed at a Marriot Courtyard in the Washington, D.C. area. Because we were going to stay over on a Friday night the price dropped considerably, even for the Thursday night rate.

3. Book early, but check in right before your stay. This way you may get a discount since the hotel wants to lock in your business, but the price might drop later. This reminds me that I need to book a hotel for our August trip to Montana. The night before our flight back to Columbus we need to stay in Bellingham, Washington. Our flight is too early in the morning to stay with our friends who live in Seattle.

4. Ask for lowest rate when you call. My experience: When I recently made hotel reservations in Owenboro, Kentucky for my cousin’s wedding in August, I checked the on-line price and also asked when I called. The AAA rate is better than the deal the hotel gave for wedding guests.

* Odd Zen writes under his photo on the Flickr site gives this bit of sage wisdom when finding a vacancy: Often the best hotel when road fatique hits is the first one you see. I bet in that case, money isn’t really an issue.