Sites like Expedia and Orbitz make it so easy to search for travel, don’t they? But, they’re not a replacement for a real travel agent. Nor are they a replacement for common sense. A recent situation yields some tips for how to protect yourself from issues booking with an online travel agency.
Orbitz
$50 Off At Orbitz, Fly The New A350 & 2,000 Bonus Points From IHG
Today’s Best of the Rest includes a $50 discount at Orbitz, an opportunity to use miles to fly the A350 to/from the US, Spirit on-time arrivals are still horrible.
75,000 Mile AA Sign-Up Bonus, Free Boeing Tour Giveaway. The Best of The Rest For Monday, July 6th 2015
The Best of the Rest covers a bigger sign-up bonus, $10 discounts from Amazon and Orbits, new 787 destinations for American and more….
How Marriott’s Partnership With TripAdvisor May Deliver Them Higher Ratings (And Profit)
The Marriott partnership with TripAdvisor is an interesting one. Marriott is the only major top-tier chain to negotiate a direct booking deal with TripAdvisor (Best Western has one as well). What does this mean for the accuracy of TripAdvisor’s rankings? How about the future of companies like Expedia and Orbitz?
Is TripAdvisor Selling Out With Their Marriott Deal?
TripAdvisor has been shifting from a company that just provides objective 3rd party reviews to one that can book your next vacation for you. Now that Marriott and TripAdvisor have a deal for direct bookings, have TripAdvisor’s motives changed? Read more…
$20 Credit For Each Hotel Booking And Other Things I Find Interesting on Sunday, January 18th, 2015
Orbitz will give you a $20 hotel credit for each flight you book with them between now and the end of January. I don’t generally use OTAs to book my tickets even though I know I can earn more rewards doing so. But, $20 a booking might be enough to move me in that direction. The Citi Hilton HHonors Card has new benefits. Deals We Like covers the new benefits, which include an upgrade to HiltonHHonors Gold status. Mommy Points reveals a quick tip on how to save a few […]
Is United Hurting Themselves By Suing?
Hidden city/throwaway ticketing poses an interesting challenge for the airlines. But, should it be illegal? United is saying essentially that they should be able to use the weight of law to stop the practice.
$200 GIVEAWAY: Test Driving A New Hotel Booking Engine
I’ve been testing a new hotel booking engine that I really like and I wanted to share it with you. There’s a lot to cover, including how it works, a first-time booking discount and a pretty cool giveaway. Full disclosure, I don’t make a lot of my bookings through online travel agencies (OTAs). I use them to search for what I need and ultimately book at the hotel chain’s website for virtually 100% of my bookings. I don’t stack some of the small rebates out there, though I know plenty that […]
Hotel Power: New Hotel Booking Engine Has Solid Discounts
Plenty of websites will offer great discounts on hotels. After a detailed review of Hotel Power, I believe it offers a solid list of hotel discounts in a variety of cities.
Southwest and American Airlines Union Issues, Another Fight With Orbitz and Other Things I Find Interesting On Thursday, August 28th, 2014
Apologies for the lack of content over the past few days. This whole one-handed typing thing is slowing me down more than I expected and a lot more than I want. Here are some things I’ve been reading with interest recently: Southwest Airlines is having union issues, which is a fairly rare occurrence for them. If you’re only a casual observer of the airline industry, you might not even know they have unions. The interesting thing here is that this group of employees still have a contract. They’re negotiating for […]
