Are you planning for a trip in the near future? If you are and your plans will require air travel, you will find that you have a number of choices when booking your trip. One of these options is to buy a vacation deal.
Keeping in mind that vacation packages have their pros and cons, there are many travelers who buy them and will recommend (more…)
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If you’ve been keeping up with my blog posts lately you’ll know I’ve come to adding a few news posts from around the web on this subject. I’ve got a couple more today that are new and updated, so let me know what you think of em…
Reasons To Avoid Timeshare Vacation Packages – Artipot
It's only natural to look for ways to make vacationing (more…)
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Do you want an affordable family vacation tour within the reach of your budget? The cheap last minute family holiday vacations will please you in the manner you live. These packages are just purposely arranged for those who are a desire to go for a holiday tour but their monetary conditions don’t allow them doing so. At least, the (more…)
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As in real estate where the mantra is location, location location; the mantra to remember when you have a timeshare for sale is; value, value, value! Of course, location is important when selling your timeshare – the more desirable a location, the more desirable your unit will be. But, in order to properly structure your timeshare sale, (more…)
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The Pros And Cons Of All-inclusive Vacations
When there is a budget to a vacation, all-inclusive deals are the best option. For a low-price, the all inclusive holiday packages feature round trip airfare, luxurious rooms, meals and drinks and resort activities. These cheap-travel deals are great if you have teenagers because they (more…)
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How To Bring Your Family Together On Disney Vacation
Having a vacation in different places is much happier if all the members are complete. And when it comes to family bonding, Walt Disney World offers the best place to enjoy. Disney World is not created just for children. It is created to bring the child in every one of us. Its (more…)
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6 Cheeky Ways To Get An Upgrade On Your Air Ticket
by: Jacky Uy
Some business travellers exercise more ingenuity and cunning finding a way around their company travel policy, than they use in their actual job.
Many business travellers shed tears at the demise of Concorde. Blagging their way onto Concorde represented the pinnacle of transatlantic travel achievement. Few company travel policies allow such luxury, but Concorde rarely flew without a majority of business travel passengers.
Concorde flights spawned many excuses. Shorter time without a cigarette, fear of flying, creativity etc. Since Concorde retired, first class became the main goal – followed by business class, or maximum air miles.
Company travel managers can actually save their companies vastly more money than negotiating with travel suppliers. If someone flies economy instead of business, that’s often worth about four tickets.
But the big company employee still holds a bag of tricks :
* Medical
* Schedule
* Late Booking
* Hotels
* Inefficient Systems
* Promotion
Medical grounds provide good excuses for upgrade. Did you hear the expression ‘economy class syndrome’ ? It refers to deep-vein thrombosis. This, undoubtedly unpleasant and dangerous condition, produces the biggest increase in business class upgrade requests. Many people actually hand over a medical certificate to support their claim… know any doctor friends ?
A good trick manipulates Schedules. This works well for people collecting air miles. Simply arrange your meeting so you can only get there using your preferred flight.
Book late, hoping economy sells-out early, and only business class seats remain. This common ploy usually fails if company policy requires an advance notice period.
Even if you can’t get your preferred flight upgrade, a 5 * hotel will help soothe your disappointment. Although travel managers carefully monitor air travel and car hire, they’re less likely to have local hotel knowledge. You can find yourself in a far superior hotel than company policy really allows.
Your company may run a strict travel policy. But inefficient systems prevent them actually detecting your abuse. Try to find out how your company checks its business travel. Does the travel agent provide reports ? Are you forced to use a corporate card that itemizes all your expenses ? Even if they do, not all companies actually analyze the data. Search for chinks in your companies travel policy armour.
Finally, if all else fails, get promotion ! Yes, if you get a senior management position you can ignore your own rules. Or you might finally be entitled to the standard of travel you feel appropriate to you.
Using these six ways, and any others you can think of, every business trip soon becomes a luxury you can look forward to.
Air Fare
The key to finding low-cost airfares is flexibility, know-how and even luck.
Some tips are given here for a chea air fare:
* Use insider language when you search for a flight
If you book directly through an airline, specifically ask for the lowest published fare. If you don’t, you could get a higher fare on the same flight, same seat. In fact, tickets are classified by everything from restrictions on cancellation to numbers of days before flight time. A seat with more restrictions and a lower price is fine for the average pleasure or business traveler.
After asking for the lowest fare, inquire for any available promotions on that day or coming up soon.
* Use the Web to shop for cheaper flights
Comparing fares used to be a full-time job. No more. Frequent travelers can learn about fare wars online, via e-mail or by fax.
* Look for promotions
Special promotions are offered all the time by airlines, usually in concert with a credit card company or a retailer.
* Buy ‘APEX’
If you book directly with an airline, plan ahead enough to get an APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion) fare. Buy your tickets seven, 14 or 21 days before the flight and stay over a Saturday. Tickets are nonrefundable, but often can be exchanged for a $100 fee. On domestic flights, APEX costs about one-third or less than the regular fare. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic shave an extra $100 off if you book 90 days or 45 days ahead respectively. Airlines change fare policies quickly, however, so call airlines regularly.
* Book through consolidators
Consolidators are companies that buy blocks of tickets from airlines and resell them at a discount from 30% to 60%. The only catch is that you may not get frequent-flier miles and changing plans may be more restrictive. You can call directly or use a travel agent. Some airlines have their own consolidators.
* Look for creative booking strategies
If you like puzzles, you can book that $224 round trip special from Boston to Miami for mid-April, then fly to the Bahamas for another $193. The round trip from New York is about $501. You save $84. Especially for long flights or offbeat destinations, this can work wonders. But if the savings are relatively modest, then you must decide if convenience is worth the extra price.
* Consider charter airlines
Charter companies hire airplanes and fill them to the brim. It’s not my favorite way to travel for several reasons.
* Companion fares for two
Airlines often offer special “companion fares” to induce you and your significant other to choose that carrier. The fares are often based on a higher priced ticket for the first traveler, but offer significantly reduced rates for the second passenger. The sum total is less than if you bought two tickets at even a discounted rate.
Flying for less is not a difficult task. Just because the person next to you paid full freight to fly in a crowded coach section of a cross-continent flight doesn’t mean you have to share in that experience.
About The Author
Jacky Uy writes for http://www.cheapairfareguide.info where you can find out more about cheap airfare guides and other topics.
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While shopping for swimwear, there are three options that should be considered. First, it should be considered which styles are going to best flatter the body and second, the venue where the swimwear is going to be worn should be taken into account to determine which styles are suitable and lastly, swimwear trends should be considered (more…)
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