Betterbidding.com – Inside information for Priceline.com

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Brad Christensen

Have you ever hesitated to use Priceline.com because you were afraid you’d get a dive hotel or one that is located far from where you’re hoping?

Considering the stock chart of Priceline.com (from $43 in 2007 to $510 today), I’m always surprised to still hear about people who’ve never used it.

I’m a big fan in the right circumstance, and I’ve stayed in some great places at even greater prices.  My personal favorite was when I landed the Belleview Biltmore near Clearwater, FL for something ridiculous like $40 a night.  It’s closed now, and might possibly end up as a retirement home, but it was a hotel with a lot of old character that I really enjoyed.  The ceilings and doors were all very tall, and it had an elegant feeling that transported me back in time.  I’d have never stayed there or even known about it if I hadn’t used Priceline.com.

But we’re not always so lucky.  I’ve heard priceline horror stories.  That’s why I’m  a big fan of www.betterbidding.com.  It’s a forum for priceline and hotwire users, and offers some clarity into what bidders are getting for what prices in different places.  One of my favorite tools is their priceline maps feature, which shows the hotels and prices that bidders are landing on a map in some of the larger markets.

For example, let’s just say that you’re a big Boise State Bronco fan and you’re looking for a hotel in Atlanta for the big game vs. Georgia this weekend. Scroll down and go to the Georgia page, then click on Priceline. If you’re a high roller, see what people have been getting 4* hotels for in Atlanta.  It looks like someone just nabbed the Hyatt Regency Downtown for $50 a night.  If you’re more of a tightwad, like me, you could shoot for a 3* in the Peachtree/Norcross area for $27 a night.

Hopefully this will help you if you’re in the market for some clarity on your Priceline or Hotwire expectations.

 

Posted in Hotels | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Currency and Travel Quiz – Win a Travel Adapter

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Brad Christensen

We’d like to spice this up a bit and see if we can encourage more guesses and commentary on the Sunday Photo post.

We tried to think of a prize that would be a pro pros for our fellow wanderlusters, and we concluded that a universal travel adapter might be just the thing you need.  So, to the winner of this week’s contest, we’ll send you a WorldWanderlusting Travel Adapter.

Where was this photo taken, and what currency do they use there?

I realize that this could easily be anywhere, so I’ll offer a hint in saying that this photo was taken from along a highway that follows the coast along a deep inlet or “arm.”  The drive along this highway is widely considered among the best in the world for its spectacular views.

Incidentally, my travel to this location cost me less than $20 per person and a few thousand frequent flyer miles… it’s a beautiful thing.  If you haven’t seen them already, check out our posts on Flying First Class and the Bank of America travel rewards card.

 

Posted in Travel Quiz | 2 Comments

Wanderlusting Portobelo Panama

Posted on August 27, 2011 by wpengine

I’m sure that a great number of you have visited the two castles that make up part of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.  They have Castillo Morris, and Castillo Cristobal Colon.  I love the feeling of visiting places that have been nearly restored the way they looked many years past.  These forts have been restored and look absolutely beautiful.  It is incredible to see the moats, the cannon balls, the living quarters, and the lookout towers.

If you’ve never been to Old San Juan, it is a great place to visit.  There is a lot to see and it is beautiful.

Brad and I have also visited Panama with our wives.  We did a trip in June of 2008 because we found a mistake airline fare on American Airlines.  We had diligently watched for a great deal and decided to pounce on this deal as it took us from SLC to PTY for $230 per person.  It seems like the taxes were about $100, meaning that AA only got $130 to fly us to Panama and Back.  It was a great deal and we absolutely loved Panama.

When the Spanish came to the Americas they had a few ports that were VERY important to them.  One of those was Old San Juan.  It was usually the last place that the gold stopped at before it headed home for the motherland.  Their conquest of the Americas was primarily for finding gold.  Much of the gold that they found was discovered in the Incan civilization.  The problem that they faced was that the Incan empire was housed on the west coast of the Americas, and they needed to be on the east coast.

The Spanish did their homework and figured out that the most narrow part of the continent was Panama.  They built a fort on the East side of Panama so they could defend the gold that was being trekked across the isthmus of Panama.  The name of this port was Portobelo.  I find it interesting that it isn’t called Porto Bello, which is Spanish for “Beautiful Port.”  Instead it has been named “Portobelo,” which is Portuguese for “Beautiful Port.”

This fort has probably been fixed up a little bit, but nothing like Old San Juan.  It isn’t a huge tourist attraction, but it is absolutely beautiful.  The thing that made it most interesting to me was when I went to Old San Juan after having visited Portobelo.  The similarities in architecture prove that the Spanish build the fort.  The cannons are the same, the lookout towers have the same architectural style, etc.

I know most people don’t vacation to Panama, but those who truly have the wanderlust long to go there. We would love to hear about your Panamanian experience if you’ve ever been there.  Please share it with us.

 

 

Posted in Central America, Fun Travel Stories | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Are Airline Vouchers Transferable?

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Brad Christensen

This is a question that was recently asked by one of our readers.

In most cases, vouchers are non-transferable,  but that doesn’t mean that you can’t transfer them.  I know that doesn’t make a lick of sense, but that’s how it works.

For example, with Delta, if a voucher (e-credit number) is issued to Brad Christensen, then Brad Christensen’s name must be used along with the e-cert number in order to book the tickets, but Brad Christensen doesn’t necessarily have to fly.  The ticket could be booked for John Doe.  Essentially what you are paying for is the e-cert number as well as the name on the voucher.  Then you book the ticket as if you were the holder of the voucher.

Some vouchers are transferable, and may charge a fee.  You kind of have to look at this on an individual level.  Make your seller do the research.  They shouldn’t be selling it if they aren’t 100% sure that you can use it.

The easiest way to protect yourself is to validate the certificate by typing the code into the reservations system.  The seller may be reluctant to offer the code before receiving the money, just as you might be reluctant to offer the money before receiving the code.  Thus, it’s best to use paypal or some other method of payment where you have some form of recourse – basic practice for any transaction.

Theoretically, though, the seller could record the certificate number and later use it, thereby invalidating the voucher they sold to you.  This is one reason I’d only recommend buying a voucher once you’re completely ready to book, so that there’s no time lapse there at all.

If you’re a little skeptical, that’s normal, but if you’re feeling like a seller is really shady, go with your gut and don’t take the risk.

Also remember that one of the beauties of using these vouchers is that you’ll also collect frequent flier miles for the routes you travel.  If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our original post on secondhand vouchers and our follow-up post.

Posted in Delta, Uncategorized, Vouchers | Tagged | Leave a comment

Updated Credit Score

Posted on August 25, 2011 by wpengine

So, one year later after my first credit card and my score has risen 26 points!!!! I started a year ago and had an 800 credit score at the time.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the score had risen over the last year by 26 points.

Some people tell me that I should be proud of my  826 score.  Obviously it is great that I have good credit, but it isn’t amazing because the score doesn’t really help me much as long as it is over 720.  I still want to keep it high to show that I am worthy of having credit, but not so worried that I keep it above a 826.

CreditSesame.com is the product that I use to get my Experian credit score reported to me on a monthly basis.  It is a free service and they have worked great ever since I initially signed up with them.

Before you get too excited and apply for a million cards we wish to caution you and remind you that your credit is very important.  It is never worth one sign on bonus if you are going to be missing your payments or you are going to be carrying balances on 20% interest rates.  You’ll notice that we always talk about paying off the credit card in full every month.  This is crucial to making sure that you never pay anything for these huge sign on bonuses.

I’m coming up on my first year with the American Airlines Citi Visa credit card.  It has treated me well and scored me a lot of points.  I’ve racked up over 80,000 AAdvantage miles on that card.  Here in the next week or so I will be canceling this card.  I will be sure to ask for some type of a retention bonus, or ask them to waive the annual fee like we mentioned in our post the other day.

So far this year has been a great success.  Let me recap my earnings:

  • Citi Visa: 75,000 AAdvantage miles as a bonus, plus over 5000 in charges.
  • Citi Business Visa: 75,000 AAdvantage miles as a bonus, plus over 5000 in charges.
  • Capital One Venture Match your Miles Promotion:  Bonus: 110,000 Points= $1100 in spending whether on airfare, hotel, car rental, etc.
  • SPG Amex: 10,000 bonus for first purchase, plus 20,000 after spending a hefty $15,000.
  • SPG TD  Ameritrade Deal: 20,000 Star points
  • Citi Visa (Wife): 75,000 AAdvantage Miles plus over $5000 in charges.
  • Capital One Venture Match your Miles Promotion (Wife):  Bonus: 110,000 Points= $1100 in spending whether on airfare, hotel, car rental, etc.
  • SPG Amex: 10,000 bonus for first purchase, plus 20,000 after spending $4500

Grand Totals:

  • 240,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
  • $2200 in Travel Expenses
  • 100,000 Starpoints

I’d call that a great success.  All the while my credit score increased 26 points over the same course of time. My wife’s has stayed the same over the last year.

The end result is that you can score some amazing deals as long as you are patient, and you are disciplined enough to pay them off at the end of the month.  Make sure that you never charge anything on the card that you wouldn’t pay in cash.  I may joke about it with the cashier at the store, but it isn’t free money.  It can be very expensive money if you are not careful.

On a side note…..We love having all of the questions and comments.  We will do our best to answer your questions if possible.  Make sure you like us on Facebook and share it with your friends.  We have also updated the Frequent Flier Miles Credit Cards page on the site.  Let us know if you see any other great deals too.

Posted in Credit Advice | Tagged | Leave a comment

Screaming Deal: $750 from Idaho Falls or Boise to Shanghai, China

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Brad Christensen

This is one of those “every once in a while” fares that must be pounced on.  I just happened to search tonight and found some incredible fares into Shanghai.  I first came across the opportunity on the flyertalk fares search on www.farecompare.com.  Never trusting, I also checked www.kayak.com and then went straight to www.Delta.com.

As of tonight, you can book a flight from IDA or BOI to PVG for somewhere in the neighborhood of $753.  The dates I’m using are November 1-15, but I’ve also seen those fares tonight in October, as well.

Of that total, roughly $417 is taxes and fees and the remaining $336 is the actual fare… pretty incredible for a round trip to Asia.  I looked at a flight earlier this month and couldn’t have gotten to Spokane for that price.

If that weren’t enough reason to celebrate, consider that you’ll earn somewhere in the neighborhood of 12,500 Delta Skymiles on your trip… in other words, this is also a “buy two cheap-ass flights to China, get one domestic flight free” kind of deal.

Wow… I’m frantically seeking a babysitter.  Do any of our readers want to earn some extra cash in November?  Can you tolerate 4 hyperactive children?

Along these lines, in the past, we’ve seized these kinds of opportunities to take us to some amazing places.

We flew from SLC to Belize for $220, to Panama for $280, and to Costa Rica for $270.  These deals come every once in a while, but you cannot wait… let your wanderlust overtake you and book this thing while it’s still available.  Then tell us about it!

 

Posted in Delta, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The $20 Sandwich Trick – Your Ticket to a Hotel Upgrade

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Brad Christensen

Sometimes getting a super cheap deal on a hotel is as simple as asking for it (and a little sly deceit).

It was the last night of our Motorcycle ride through Banff and Glacier National Park. We’d ridden 360 miles through some beautiful country and were reflecting on it as we partook in our third helping of chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant in Kalispell, Montana.

As we arose from the table to leave, the conversation turned to where we would sleep that night. We were all stinging from the $280 pricetag of our hotel the previous night in Banff, so no one was anxious about paying much, but it was clouding up and camping didn’t feel like a great option, either. I had checked hotels.com, and our best option was the Outlaw Inn for $87 after taxes. We considered Priceline.com, but with the late hour, it wasn’t an option.

We decided to do our own localized version of priceline and split to see where we could get the best deal at three different hotel options: Motel 6, the Outlaw Inn (hoping we could get it cheaper in person), and Super 8. I know, we’re not exactly classy, but value was our biggest objective.

The Outlaw Inn quoted us higher than the Hotels.com rate, even with some sweet-talking. Motel 6 could work us a good deal on a single bed -$66, but no less than $84 for two beds. I put on my widest smile when I approached “Sarah B” at the Super 8 desk, I told her that we were looking for a screaming deal and playfully told her we’d be pitting her against neighboring hotels. She asked if I had any discounts and started to list them – AAA… I stopped her short and answered, “All of them…” She came in at $77 for two beds and continental breakfast. I told her I’d rendezvous with my party and get back with her.

It was already the best deal, but I thought I’d see if I could push it any further. When I came back, I told her that Motel 6 had come in cheaper, but since I really liked her I wanted to stay at the Super 8. She asked how much Motel 6 was, and, not bothering to say that it was for a single bed, I told her “$66.” She smiled and said, “then I guess I’ll have to give it to you for $65.

I know, this is totally cheesy and slightly ridiculous that I’m pleased enough with a $12 discount to waste all this time making a post about it, but it illustrates a point that I think is helpful for tightwad wanderlusters – Don’t hesitate to be a bargainer. Those people at the front desk have more leniency than they let on.

Getting an Upgrade – the $20 sandwich

Along these same lines, I’ve read about a little trick that can sometimes win you a discounted upgrade in a very nice hotel. It’s called “the $20 sandwich.” When you go to check in, they’ll always ask you for your credit card and identification. Carefully prepare them with an Andrew Jackson squeezed between the two, and don’t forget the “wink-wink.” I’ve yet to attempt this, as most of the hotels I book are in the $60-80 range – and I’m trying to save $20, not spend it… but for those special occasions, it might be worth it. For more details, check out www.frontdesktip.com or www.thetwentydollartrick.com.

 

Posted in Hotels | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment