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Save on airfare by buying a package
Okay, I consider myself a pretty savvy FT'er, but this was a new one, at least for me.
Had to fly DFW-SLC on short notice. Without a 14 day advance, nonstops (both AA & DL) were running $1023 RT on Orbitz & the airline websites. Unfortunately, with 1-stops on Frontier and Amer. West running about $400, that expense report would not get thru accounting. Knowing that occasionally Expedia & Travelocity beat the airline websites, I decided to check them out. Unfortunately, with the short notice, the process were about the same. Then, on Travelocity, I noticed this: Flights + 4 Nights Hotel Save with TotalTrip SM from $442 So I go to check this out, choose that option, and sort by price. Sure enough, there's the beautiful Days Inn SLC South with a total trip price of $442. And there's also a modify flights link, that lets me change to the AA nonstops of my choice at the same price. I'm pretty sure you could just no-show at the hotel with no penalty (as I read the fine print, at least), or play it safe and just check in to the hotel, then sleep at your usual hotel of choice. As it turns out, Expedia has the same sorts of deals, including one of my preferred hotels at a comparable cost to Frontier flights plus the client hotel rate. So I booked that, so I won't have to explain to accounting why I'm expensing two hotels. Only downside I see is a lack of refundability/changability for both hotel & flight, but that's less of a concern on short-notice trips. But for a $600 / 60% off, that's a decent tradeoff, IMO. That's comparable to a Priceline deal, but completely non-opaque, plus I may even get miles (can't tell the fare basis, but I'll update after flying whether anything posts). Anyone else seen deals like this in the past? :) |
Usually when you choose different flights that are nonstop, the package re-prices. I tried to do the same with a recent flight to Paris. Tried to swith from SFO/PHL/CDG to SFO/CDG and price went up substantially. YMMV. Good luck.
FDuvall
Originally Posted by swag
Okay, I consider myself a pretty savvy FT'er, but this was a new one, at least for me.
Had to fly DFW-SLC on short notice. Without a 14 day advance, nonstops (both AA & DL) were running $1023 RT on Orbitz & the airline websites. Unfortunately, with 1-stops on Frontier and Amer. West running about $400, that expense report would not get thru accounting. Knowing that occasionally Expedia & Travelocity beat the airline websites, I decided to check them out. Unfortunately, with the short notice, the process were about the same. Then, on Travelocity, I noticed this: Well, hmmm.... So I go to check this out, choose that option, and sort by price. Sure enough, there's the beautiful Days Inn SLC South with a total trip price of $442. And there's also a modify flights link, that lets me change to the AA nonstops of my choice at the same price. I'm pretty sure you could just no-show at the hotel with no penalty (as I read the fine print, at least), or play it safe and just check in to the hotel, then sleep at your usual hotel of choice. As it turns out, Expedia has the same sorts of deals, including one of my preferred hotels at a comparable cost to Frontier flights plus the client hotel rate. So I booked that, so I won't have to explain to accounting why I'm expensing two hotels. Only downside I see is a lack of refundability/changability for both hotel & flight, but that's less of a concern on short-notice trips. But for a $600 / 60% off, that's a decent tradeoff, IMO. That's comparable to a Priceline deal, but completely non-opaque, plus I may even get miles (can't tell the fare basis, but I'll update after flying whether anything posts). Anyone else seen deals like this in the past? :) |
See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...32#post3675832
:) I'd choose DL/AA for the miles/maintain status even if there were a premium, maybe not as big as yours,...and stops without miles just makes me feel bad. |
Quick follow up - my miles for the first leg posted. Pretty sweet.
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Always, especially last minute deals. Check places like site59, or the airline's vacation websites (usually the word vacations on the url, for example United is Unitedvacations.com).
You can find deals with a hotel and car that are sometimes way below what just the airfare is from the same airline on the same flights. |
las is one destination where adding a hotel often results in a lower total cost.
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Site59 and Travelocity feature the same packages, and yes they can provide a savings of many hundreds of dollars on airfare alone.
I've used Site59 a couple of times for weekend trips to London. One of these was in mid-July from JFK to LHR, a month and route when even the lowest fares routinely run over $800 roundtrip. Site59 offered an "Air and More" package, with a nonstop on AA in both directions and a dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, for less than $500. And in September, I paid $435 for another JFK-LHR AA roundtrip--- including one night's stay at a Holiday Inn in central London. I added a cheap Independence Air flight from IAD to JFK (just over $100 r/t, booked separately) and had myself a blast. Unfortunately, most of the Site59/Travelocity packages are only valid for Thurs/Fri/Sat travel on the outbound and a Sun/Mon/Tue return, so for business trips they don't usually fit unless you want to spend a few extra days at your destination. |
Absolutely agree. ex-UK, the two main players for this are WWTE (resold via expedia.co.uk, flybmi.com and others) and lastminute.com.
A couple of times, it's been to the point that the package is cheaper than one of its component parts... One thing to watch out for, though: they can sometimes book you into 'package' fare codes that aren't always miles-earning. |
yep they are called it or itx fares. Airlines offer them usually for the entire season. In peak season they can be cheaper than the published ones. However in off season they are usually a bit more. They have to be sold with another travel component - either a car or a hotel.
I've booked trips to the US many times using these to visit the in-laws. Usually via lastminute.com in the UK coz they offer the ability to only book one night in the hotel even if the tix length is 2 weeks or so. It can be much cheaper to book it that way than the published fares available. I never show up at the hotel! |
Is there any way to tell in advance whether you're going to be flying on a mileage earning fare?
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