FrugalMonkey Discount Travel News

Tag: Travel Deals

  • TravelZoo Newsletter

    Using travel providers like Expedia and Orbitz is a great way to find cheap and affordable web deals. But here, we’re showing you another way to find the week’s best travel deals through a resource we use often when trying to hunt down our favorite bargains: TravelZoo.com. TravelZoo is like Expedia and Orbitz except they aren’t a travel provider—they are a publisher of deals. They release a weekly newsletter to over 17 million subscribers, highlighting travel deals that their company has uniquely architected with businesses such as Avis Rental Car, British Airways, and Royal Caribbean Cruises. It is a great place to get one-of-a-kind deals that you won’t find published on any other travel sites. The only catch is, you have to login and subscribe to their newsletter or accessing the direct link to their deals can be difficult to find, and sadly, they do release email addresses to solicitors. Still, it’s a great way for travelers to find excellent deals at budget friendly prices if you’re willing to deal with a number of other associated emails that will now be found in your inbox. If you’re willing and wanting to find some really great deals, give it a try!


  • Fall Travel Tips and How to Find Discounted Airfare

    If you’ve been reading our blog, you’ve probably noticed our highly focused reporting on summer flight and vacation deals. That’s because this summer was one of the cheapest and best summers for vacationers in years, with a number of flights discounted as much as 60% from previous rates. But now, it’s time for fall and as some articles are reporting, the ways in which to find discounted and cheap airfare will take a slightly different savvy than the way it was done this summer. Take a look!

    This summer, it was all about last minute travel deals.


    Airlines were so strapped for cash that they would post fares as low as $39 each way in order to entice last minute travelers to book a flight. The same was true for hotels. Occupancy was so low that at the last minute, you wouldn’t face over capacity fares but instead, even cheaper versions of your typical hotel stay. The fall however, will likely be different, so you might need to change up your deal-hunting strategy.

    Last quarter, almost all airlines announced that they would be cutting back flights in order to save money, which means less available seats and higher fares. Also, a number of airlines (United, Virgin America, American, and Jet Blue) have already set in place a number of fall deals (flights as cheap as $49) that are available for flights running through December 17. This means in order to get the deal you have to book now, instead of relying on cheap last minute deals. This is especially true around the holidays, when trips are preplanned and flights are booked early in the fall. With the number of flights cut back and the types of deals available now, playing chicken with the airlines just might not pay off like it did this summer. Then again, only time will tell.

    For more information on how to take advantage of last minute deals, check out the travel information on FrugalMonkey. Find out about becoming an air courier if you fly often and want to book some seriously low rates. Keep an eye on our blog as we will continue to bring you the best travel deals available post-Labor Day and into the holidays!

  • How To Find Cheap Flights

    We want to hear from you! Have you booked a cheap flight using one of our tried and true money saving techniques? Or, maybe you have found a great site that no one knows about where you have had success in finding really cheap flights, hotels, and other accommodations. Perhaps you just want to share a really great vacation you’ve been on, or a job opportunity that is travel related. We want to hear from you, loyal FrugalMonkey bloggers so pipe up! Tell us where you’ve had the most success in finding travel deals and how you went about doing it.


  • AAA Car Rentals

    We’re always on the lookout for good ways to save. We’ve found one in particular that works as a good reminder for travelers that some of the best ways to save are right under our noses. AAA members get a lot of local savings and one area in particular stood out in our minds: car rentals. There are numerous reasons for renting a car, however, this one travel cost can up your travel budget by hundreds of dollars. Look to your AAA membership for those rental car agencies that will provide you with a discount. Hertz is one such company that has a long withstanding relationship with AAA. Members can save as much as 10-20% on Hertz car rentals when they show they book through their AAA membership.

    If you’re not a AAA member, take a look at our car rentals page for more information on agencies and car rental discounts.


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  • Hurricane Season Travel Discounts

    You’ve no doubt heard us chirping about the amazing travel deals you can nab to places like Maui, Hawaii and Mexico. Well, this week, if you really want to get a great deal, set your sights on the Gulf of Mexico where, because of Hurricane season, Florida hotels and Gulf resorts are lowering their prices as much as 50%. Although hurricane season can mean some nasty weather, there are also weeks of sunny and balmy days inbetween nasty storms. If you’re willing to risk it to travel to places like Florida’s Gulf Islands where FREE nights are being given away by choice hotels, then more power to you! Enjoy!


  • Jet Blue Pulls Promotion

    Sorry kiddies. If you were hoping to snatch up a Jet Blue all-you-can-travel pass, then you’re out of luck. Jet Blue just announced this morning that the promotion, one that allowed passengers to fly to any number of domestic Jet Blue locations throughout September for only $600, has been suspended. As you might imagine the suspension was announced due to an extremely large volume of pass purchases, so many in fact, that Jet Blue spokesperson Sebastian White says, “We want to make sure that we don’t sell so many (passes) that it becomes a challenge for people to find seats.”

    As the travel industry approaches the slowest months for travel in the upcoming weeks, we wonder if they will promote the pass again.

    Would you buy an unlimited pass?


  • A Preview of Fall Travel Deals

    This flight deal is so good you couldn’t even turn your television on last night and miss this incredible offer from Jet Blue Airlines. This fall, Jet Blue is offering travelers the opportunity to purchase a one month free-for-all travel pass for only $599. From September 8 to October 8, 2009, travelers who purchase the pass can fly to any of Jet Blues 59 city destinations at no additional cost. It’s like a bus pass for airlines! If you travel for business, want to see the country, or even have just a few destinations you’d like to visit, this travel pass might be right for you. But hurry, you have to purchase the pass before August 21, 2009 which lands you right at next Friday! We think this knocks the socks off of any of those online travel auction sites!

    Packages can be purchased online.


  • Hotels Take Over Travel Deals This Labor Day

    It’s all about hotel deals this Labor Day. Although travelers are snatching up some incredible flight prices and packages, the real deals are being found in lower than low hotel rates. Check out some of our favorite Labor Day hotel deals this year – it’s all about the big cities!

    Check out Los Angeles this Labor Day and enjoy over half off hotel deals at the Hotel Palomar. Prices start at $122 a night.

    Even better savings can be found over the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, where this labor day you will save nearly 60% off normal rates at Four Star Hotel Triton. Rates begin at $99 a night and if you access this hotel promotion, you score a free bottle of wine too!

    Lastly, enjoy a romantic weekend in New Orleans at the Five Star Windsor Court Hotel, with prices starting at only $200. That’s a steal!

    Keep checking back for more deals each and every week at FrugalMonkey!


  • Still Going Strong

    Flight deals, hotel deals, vacation packages, car rentals, and cruises are all cheaper than they have been in years. Although it seems like at any day the travel industry is going to unveil extraordinarily high prices, the travel deals continue to pour in. This has us smiling of course, because there is so much industry news (and deals!) to pass onto consumers, we can barely type fast enough to keep up.

    We just wanted to pass along a travel update saying, “All is well! Continue to book up those great travel deals!” While you’re doing so, consider taking a look at FrugalMonkey’s free online travel guides. We have information about South African wildlife vacations, Mexico beach resorts, and cruises in Alaska. Whatever you want to do, or wherever you want to go, you can find it here at FrugalMonkey.


  • Travel Deal Tips

    USA Today just released its 7 tips for finding the best travel deals. You’ve probably read some of our tried and true reports on how to save money on travel, but we thought we’d pass along their money saving tips as well.


    You know, to sort of spread the wealth. Check out what USA Today says are 7 great ways to save on travel. We just so happen to agree that money saved on travel is excellent travel news!

    Stay In The Know

    It’s important to stay up on the market as travel companies release amazing deals that might last only a few days. This can be hard to do if you don’t have hours to spend trolling the Internet however, a few helpful tools can keep you in the know. Try singing up for Google Alerts or travel newsletters from some of the industry’s top companies and airlines. We recommend using TravelZoo – they do a great job spotting deals! By looking at specific places online you can find great deals that you would have otherwise missed.

    Be Flexible

    This is a tried and true way to save money while you’re traveling. If you can enter flight dates within a flexible range, you can sometimes save hundreds on just a single flight. When it comes to travel, being flexible is one of your greatest allies.

    Look to the High-End

    You probably won’t find 50% off hotel prices at Motel 6, but you can find some incredible discounts when it comes to high-end hotels, restaurants and even flight prices. By keeping your sights set on more expensive areas, you will find the greatest discounts. Keep in mind this doesn’t always translate into less money spent, but you might find an incredible deals at high-end resorts in Cancun along the way. Give it a shot. As it turns out, that’s where the deals are!

    Cash Works Too

    People are very eager to cash in on frequent flier miles on credit cards, but a lot of times there will be fussy restrictions. With so many good travel deals going on right now, some of the best deals will be found by simply paying for the discounted trip rather than trying to leverage it with miles. Remember that cash works too, when you’re booking travel plans.

    Compare

    You won’t save much if you don’t compare the prices listed on other travel websites.


    Take the amounts you see for deals and on airline websites and through travel deals and always compare them with a price listed on another location. You can find amazing prices this way and this will ensure, you’re getting the most bang for your buck!

    Bargain Your Way Down

    Sure, you probably won’t talk an airline into giving you a cheaper ticket, but for hotels in the throws of the economic slump this works wonders. Try talking your way into a bigger and better room and you might be surprised. This is a great way to generate some great perks!

    Wait For It

    Although waiting last minute might not work all the time, last minute flight deals are some of the best in the industry. If you find a great deal, we suggest you snatch it up, but there are some great discounts to be enjoyed by taking advantage of airlines who are making drastic attempts to fill up flights at the last minute.