Favorite Travel Discount Sites
- Thread starter Zee09
- Start date
I hate them all. I've never seen a rate lower than I could get by booking directly.
I find kayak very useful in searching for flights and it will usually take you to the airline's site for whatever you decide to book.
Booking.com is good for hotels.
Booking directly is fine when looking for a room in the US but does not work so well when trying to book a hotel in a foreign land where the lingua franca is not spoken by you. You can't always get an English speaker on the phone.
Booking.com is good for hotels.
Booking directly is fine when looking for a room in the US but does not work so well when trying to book a hotel in a foreign land where the lingua franca is not spoken by you. You can't always get an English speaker on the phone.
Zee09
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I did look at a dump I stay in...it's actually nice. On Bookings the price was $47 plus tax daily for a week and hotel direct was $84 and the senior discount put it at $64 and plus tax...
So it didn't work here
Being prior militay, I use USAA for my insurance and a credit card. They have a "Perks" section where I've found the hotels save quite a bit, e.g. a Marriott where we stayed last week for four nights was over $200/night on all sites except USAA Perks. We paid $128/night concierge room, which included breakfast.
I have never found a flight cheaper on their website, only hotels.
I have never found a flight cheaper on their website, only hotels.
Zee09
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I like Bookings too
Are the Perks at their website, I have the card.
I was going to ask about using a travel credit card (and I'm specifically referring to one with an annual fee) and going through their site. I could see that working out better. Plus you usually get travel insurance included when you use their card. Been thinking about that.
I tend to use one of two hotel chains in the US, so there app, and I tend to look for flights on Google then just book with the airline.
Out of the US or somewhere that my chains aren't available I like booking.com but have only used it a couple times.
BTW - on booking what does this mean - free cancelation?
Out of the US or somewhere that my chains aren't available I like booking.com but have only used it a couple times.
BTW - on booking what does this mean - free cancelation?
I use Chase Sapphire Reserve for my travel card. What it offers is worth the expense to me (travel insurance, car rental coverage, $300/yr travel credit, etc). If I didn't travel as much, it wouldn't be worth the annual fee to me.
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Zee09
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What is the annual fee
Login to USAA and select Perks --> Travel Deals. There are a lot of other offers, but I've never searched them. Hotels are totally worth it.
https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/sapphire/preferred $95
https://creditcards.chase.com/rewards-credit-cards/sapphire/reserve $550
And I would be looking at the various companies ~$100 annual fee cards. They usually get you one night at a hotel plus insurance perks.
Looks like it's going up! Mine is the Reserve. My wife has her own card tied to the account and it's an additional $75/yr... but it may be going up, too!
"The annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is now $795, which is an increase from the previous fee of $550. This change will take effect starting June 23, 2025, and comes with new benefits and credits for cardholders."
I will probably switch to the Preferred when I retire.
When I travelled a lot I had one that stacked miles with the airline I used most. They had a website but it was no cheaper than going directly to the airline, and their hotels were worse than elsewhere. I may have changed, that was a while ago.
My boss has the AMEX platinum cards which gives you access to pretty much every airport lounge irrelevant of airline. Its $700 annual fee when I looked so too rich for me, but I like going with him!
Zee09
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Thanks I have a travel card I got a few months ago and I forget the name and I never called and got it setup lol..... I need to dig it up...crazy but true..
Like so many other things in life, you don't need it until you need it.
I book directly. I get the best price, and the loyalty/points. Allow me to ad that I use discount codes (my employer, USAA, military, etc.) when booking directly and it pays to compare - e.g. I check IHG, Hilton, and Marriot when booking a hotel. I am lifetime Platinum on Marriott, so, in the event of a tie on price - I will choose the company that gives me better "perks" like lounge access.
Zee09
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Yeah that's what's it about...I need to dig it up and see if it's worth having. My platinum MC does nothing for me....good time to dump it... My Discover card at certain times gives me a good bit off of Amazon purchases
Expedia, Bookings, Tripadvisor own pretty much all the travel sites. It's a fairly integrated market. Personally I typically use Expedia for no particular reason other than it was the first one I opened an account with.
