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Virtually There

© Diane Goldberg under the original topic name

This week's web travels resulted in lots of learning. I've been skeptical regarding http://www.priceline.com from the get go, and frequent emails from readers seem to confirm my suspicions. Over at http://www.USATourist.com on the message board, Mike sums up the Priceline routine fairly well: Priceline airfares are targeted toward flyers that aren't aware of APEX bookings and other ways to get the cheapest seats.

However, Priceline also offers hotel bookings, and a recent travel tip from tip world recommends outlasting the system for a cheaper room rate. The tip told of a customer who kept entering a request for a $75 room in Manhattan. Priceline kept cautioning the customer with a screen saying that his request was too low. The guy stuck to his price and after ten tries got a room at the Sheraton for $75. A friend traveling the same dates believed the screen and booked an identical room for $150. The Sheraton website offered the rooms at $250. You can sign up for travel tips delivered to you via e-mail at http://www.topica.com You'll receive short succinct information about everything from low fares to interesting events.

In addition to tip world, http://www.briefme.com offers free email newsletters reviewing travel sites on the web. Their newsletter makes it a bit easier to try to find good sites without searching endlessly.

While interviewing folks for a fall getaway article that'll be featured at http://www.lodging.com later this month I made an amazing discovery. Some hotels have arrangements through Lodging.com to offer radically reduced rates through that site. You can get a better rate from that search engine than you'll get if you call the hotel directly.

One route to an inexpensive room worth checking out is what the airline you arrive on offers. Frequently airlines commit to booking a bunch of rooms and they're able to offer better prices that you'll get from the hotel.

I found that http://www.travelocity.com often offers airline tickets for a lower price than the airline. Unlike many consolidator deals, you can credit frequent flyer miles from tickets bought via travelocity. If you use their fare finder feature, the lowest price shown may not be available from the airline --- you can only obtain it through them.

That's it for my virtual travels this week. Next week check back for more ways to win the Rail Pass from Ms Budget Travel and http://www.railpass.com

For even more ideas on budget travel, see the online courses

The copyright of the article Virtually There in Traveling on a Budget is owned by Diane Goldberg under the original topic name. Permission to republish Virtually There in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.