| Hotwire.com
Hotwire's mission is to offer flexible leisure travelers a quick and easy way to get better deals on airline tickets, hotel reservations and car rentals. Through partnerships with leading travel companies, Hotwire can negotiate special prices -- Hot-Fares® and Hot-Rates® -- that can't be found anywhere else. How does it work? Our partners allow us access to their unsold inventory -- i.e., empty seats on flights, empty hotel rooms and cars sitting in the lot -- all at big savings. We pass these savings on to those travelers who can be flexible about their plans
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Airfare Tips: Flying Free
Hotwire Tips: Hotwire Savings Club Once you join you have 30 days to cancel before they start charging you and your credit card.
They have a bunch of discounts but the only one of interest to me is the resturant money.
There are several chains including Outback (+ Carrabbas, Bonefish Grill, Flemings, Roys).
You can buy upto $350 worth of gift certificates total and Hotwire will credit you back 20% or $70.
They ship the certificates fast. Then you must wait for the credit to appear on your credit card statement. I thought this would take more than a month (thus they get to charge you $10 for the month in the savings club) but the rebate appeared in 2 weeks (it helps to have online Credit Card account so you can see it posted immediately).
When the rebate is posted, call the savings club 800# and cancel your membership before the end of month one. Thus it cost nothing at all and you made $70. With Outback, they send you $25 certificates and at the resturants, they give you change in cash for any difference.
There are also certificates for Darien (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze) and Bennigans and maybe others by now. The $350 cap is for all resturants combined.
Flying for free or nearly so
Courier Travel can get you a flight for almost nothing and sometimes even free! Due to increased security this option while still available isn't as prevelant as it used to be.
The international association of Air Travel Couriers can point you in the right direction.
Getting Bumped on purpose can land you in first class or get a free flight at a later date. Here's how to do it.
Here's how the online discount airfare companies work.
My Shopping Review
- How user friendly is Hotwire?
Browsing the site is easy via a constant top navigation bar with categories such as Flights, Hotels, Car Rental, Packages, and more.
There is no search feature. The addition of one, especially in the customer-service section, would be a welcome improvement.
The travel-search feature allows you to provide key travel information, such as travel dates and destination. Results include the least-expensive options available through Hotwire. Your travel plans need to be flexible--only a limited amount of information is provided. For example, flight-booking information states that the airline will be a major carrier, and you will be alerted if the flight is a red-eye. Other details (such as the specific airline carrier and flight times, hotel and street location, or car-rental company) are shown only after you complete your purchase.
Keep in mind that there are major restrictions on the tickets you purchase. For example, all airline tickets are for round-trip travel and are non-refundable. Furthermore, seat assignments are made at the airport on the day of departure, and upgrades and standbys are not available.
You cannot make special requests (seat selection, bed size, non-smoking car, etc.) until you make a reservation. After that, you must personally contact the carrier, hotel, or car-rental company--but there is no guarantee that your request will be fulfilled. Reservations are not eligible for frequent-traveler points, upgrades, or other discounts.
Booking is a fairly simple process. There is a logical progression of screens for entering your personal and billing information when completing a reservation.
What Hotwire has to say.
Hotwire provides all necessary customer-service contact information, including a toll-free phone number that is accessible 24/7. There is also a helpful FAQ section. Hotwire offers a “Double the Difference” price guarantee for its hotel reservations, but there is no such guarantee for airfares or car-rental rates. Hotwire charges a processing fee. (For example, $5 for airline reservations.) Be aware that cancellations are not permitted and there are no refunds
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