On The Money Latest Travel & Leisure Posts
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Talk about a sign of the times. For the first time in six years, fewer people are likely to travel this holiday season, according to AAA. And if many of us didn’t have to, the number would probably be much lower. So if you’re planning to hit the road (or sky) in the next few weeks for some much-needed family time, you're probably wondering how you can fit the trip into a tighter holiday budget.
That was the question Carmen posed on Wednesday to Peter Greenberg, travel editor for the TODAY show, who told her that the first step is knowing exactly when NOT to travel.
Christmas Eve and the day before Thanksgiving are the two worst days of the year to travel, he said. If you have any wiggle room in your schedule, try to book trips for either the week after Thanksgiving or the week after Christmas, which are known as “dead weeks.” You can also consider flying early on Christmas morning. The fares will be cheaper and the crowds far more manageable – and if you leave early enough you can still make it to the relatives’ house in time to open presents.
When it comes to booking flights, people usually do it in precisely the wrong way, Greenberg said. Instead of starting on the web, start with the phone. Call the airline and ask to speak to a representative. Once you get a real person on the phone you can try to negotiate a price. Remember that not all airline inventories are reflected on their web sites. If you can strike a deal over the phone, get a confirmation number which will give you 24 hours to pay for the tickets. That window is when you should get online and see if you can beat the price that was offered over the phone.
Then there’s the age-old question of baggage, which is only made more frustrating now that most airlines require you to pay for what you check. The way to get around this, Greenberg said, is to ship your luggage three or four days ahead of time using a ground service from UPS or FedEx, which will end up being cheaper (and less time consuming) than schlepping your bags to the airport and then praying that they make it on your same flight. If you’re bringing anything valuable with you, opt for the basic insurance when you ship it out.
If staying at the in-laws house just isn’t in the cards, you might be in luck this year. Hotels are slashing prices left and right to stay relevant in the battered economy, so you have a better shot of negotiating a deal there, too, Greenberg said. Again, don’t go online and don’t call the 1-800 number for reservations (that will just route you to a clearing house of inventory you can’t negotiate). Call the hotel in advance, ask to speak to the “manager on duty” or “director of sales” and then turn on that charm you used with the airline to work your way into a cheaper or better room.
Greenberg’s final tip: Just because you’re going a long distance doesn’t mean you have to fly. Amtrak is doing a deal on a train pass that allows you to travel anywhere in the country with 2-3 stopovers anywhere along the route for 15 days, so you can visit more than just one set of relatives (if you dare). The cost is $500 for adults and $250 for kids and you can learn more here.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes