Cheap Flights To Las Vegas

If you want to get a vacation with a cheap flight, Las Vegas package deals can give you hotels, flights, meals, tours and entertainment at one low price. The best thing about opting for a vacation in this manner is that you have it all paid for before you go on vacation. You don't have to budget while you are there and only need to make sure you have money enough to cover the extras, such as shopping, drinks, etc.

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There are many sites online where you can get a flight cheap to Las Vegas. This will give you extra money to spend on the hotel or gambling in the casino. Try http://www.travelocity.com and look for last minute deals that might just give you the flight and the hotel for what you would ordinarily pay for just the flight. You can also book a rental car in this way so you won't have to depend on taxis or public transportation.

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Other sites you might want to look at include http://www.expedia.com. [http://www.cheaptickets.com] or http://www.itravel2000.com. If you have lots of time and it doesn't matter when you get a flight, you can bid online for a flight on http://www.priceline.com. You may have to take an early morning or late night flight, but if you are getting the ticket at a bargain, then it is worth the loss of sleep.

Another way you can get a cheap flight without even trying is to volunteer to stay back if the flight you are on is booked. The airlines will give you a later flight and a free ticket to fly to any destination that the airline has. You can make Las Vegas your free flight and have the time of your life.

Cheap Flights To Las Vegas

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Last Minute Cruises

Obviously, if you want to go on a cruise, your best bet is to make the travel arrangements in advance. After all, taking a cruise is not the same thing as taking a spontaneous weekend vacation. Cruises are not usually thought of as the type of vacation that someone prone to spontaneous travel arranging goes for. There are however, deals to be had on last minute cruises if you know where to find them.

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Believe it or not, the last minute cruise deals are often better than the "early bird specials" when it comes to travel arrangements. A simple google search for "last minute cruises" will bring up a number of websites all competing for your business. If you are familiar with the various cruise lines, you can also go directly to the cruise line's website to see if they have any last minute cruises being offered at special deals. Another fantastic source of last minute deals is travel agents. Travel agents are fantastic at putting cruise packages together.

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The best way to ensure that you get the best deal possible on last minute cruises is to pay attention to the following advice:

Keep a flexible schedule. If you are tied to your desk, taking off for a few days might not be an option, so if keep your schedule in mind when looking for last minute cruises. The more flexible you can be as to the departure dates and times, the more likely you are to get a deal you won't be able to refuse.

Sign up for any sort of alert program that a travel agency, website or cruise line has. Often the alert program will email its members when the cost of a cruise has dropped or if there is a special deal going on. Sometimes these alert program members are notified for "first dibs" on sale priced tickets.

You might also want to keep a few of your favorite travel websites bookmarked and check them regularly. Typically last minute cruises deals are posted in the middle of the week for the upcoming weekend. Just by checking in to these sites regularly, you might be able to find something affordable.

Make friends with a good travel agent. Make sure that the agent knows that you are a customer who likes to know about last minute cruises and are always glad to find good deals. This way the travel agent will know to keep you in mind if he or she learns of any sale prices. They might also know other ways for you to save money on your last minute plans.

Some of the best websites to have bookmarked are: Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline, SmartTravel and, of course, Lastminutecruises.com.

Taking last minute cruises can certainly be a nice way to relax and get away from the rest of your "normal" world...if you can afford to go on them. After all, your vacation won't be nearly as relaxing if you know that you paid through the nose for it.

Last Minute Cruises

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Really Cheap Plane Tickets

To begin with, the best place to buy really cheap plane tickets is online. Travel agencies can't compete with discount ticket sites. Search Google ("cheap airfare south america", for example), or try the well-known sites, like Expedia, Travelocity, Cheap Tickets, Hotwire or Priceline.

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Just now I checked fares from Tucson, Arizona to Traverse City, Michigan on the five sites mentioned above. The cheapest quotes ranged from 4 to 2. Nevermind which was cheapest (oh, okay, it was Expedia), because you never know from day to day which sites will find the cheapest flights.

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Check at least three places. In this case, it would mean a savings of 2. The flight durations are within minutes of each other, by the way, and the food is probably equally bad on all the flights.

Flexibility For Even Cheaper Airfare

The more flexible you are, the better your chance of getting a really cheap plane tickets. Try different departure and return dates if you can. Check the box "2 or more connecting flights". Mark the "anytime" departure, even if you don't want to leave at midnight - the savings might change your mind. Try all the options. If the savings aren't enough, you can always book first class, direct flights, or whatever you prefer.

Really Cheap Plane Tickets - More Ways

You can buy two tickets. The cheapest airfare from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Tucson, Arizona costs 1 roundtrip right now. Las Vegas to Tucson is only 1, however, and there are regular 9 specials to Vegas from Grand Rapids. It's up to you whether saving is worth booking two flights. (It saved us over 00 when we went to South America.) There is the problem of whether you'll get a refund if your timing is off on the connections (you probably won't).

Check for package deals, where you pay for plane tickets and your hotel room. I haven't had much luck with these deals, but it can't hurt to look at them.

Buying ahead of time gets you cheaper plane tickets. Any thing less than a week away tends to be expensive, although you never can tell in the mysterious realm of airfare pricing. Sometimes the "last minute specials" are the best thing going.

Priceline still has their "Name Your Own Price" feature. Make your bid, and the airlines say yes or no, depending on whether they have empty seats to fill. First search for the cheapest tickets you can find, then bid lower than that. If your bid is rejected, you can return to the website where you found the best deal and book it.

If You're Really Cheap

My wife and I once took a bus from Michigan to Miami, and flew from there to Ecuador. For us at that time, saving a couple hundred dollars was worth 38 hours on a bus. This won't save you much on domestic flights. Right now, for example, taking a bus from Traverse City to Detroit, then flying to Los Angeles, would only save about (allowing for cab fare to the airport) over flying directly.

There are other options beyond the scope of this article. Courier flights, for example, can be a great deal if you don't mind letting a company use your baggage allowance (you get carry-on only). There are also stand-by deals and last minute deals and other ways to get really cheap plane tickets. Good luck!

Really Cheap Plane Tickets

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Book Plane Ticket Secrets

Many airlines offer incentives to passengers who make their own bookings on the internet using the airlines website directly. Cheap international plane tickets are a huge commodity of those that frequently fly overseas for business or pleasure each year. Many airlines offer last minute airfare deals that can even be cheaper than student tickets; it is sometimes easier to contact the customer service line for these rates. The best selection of plane tickets will be found by doing a general search online; this will allow you to see all the multiple prices that are available.

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A few years back, alot of people bought plane tickets through a travel agent or directly from the airline over the phone. Roundtrip airline tickets that involve flights at bad hours or on off days generally come at a cheaper price. Extremely cheap plane tickets will come in handy when you are purchasing flights for an entire family to go on a vacation. Airline companies are now in competition with the discount plane ticket services that have sprung about for the last ten to fifteen years. The cheapest quotes for plane tickets will occasionally vary from day to day; however, the closer you get to your flight the date the more prices can rise.

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The concept of finding the cheapest plane ticket available is not always easy to do; simply because what is considered cheap depends on the spender. The best prices for tickets may be found over the internet; a person simply has to be able to commit sometime to looking for the best flight available. The best way to shop for a plane ticket is to; know your destination, look around for the best prices, and be willing to take some serious cost savings. The cheapest quotes available will occasionally stem from third party flight finders like; priceline or hotwire, they have tendency to find cheap plane tickets.

Compare prices of the different carriers and consider flying to smaller airports to save money on plane tickets as well. As a reward to your diligence in finding your plane tickets online, you can treat yourself to spending more at your destination if you like. Compare prices on at least three different plane ticket online sites before buying a ticket that may not be the best bargain for you. Discounted international flights are not normally available on the smaller discount plane ticket web sites due to their limited destinations available. A few years ago, many people were at the mercy of a travel agent when it came time to purchase a plane ticket or other travel issues. As a reward for your online shopping, it is typical to find plane tickets discounted to five or ten percent off of the regularly priced fares.

Book Plane Ticket Secrets

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Air Ticket

Booking air tickets is like an art. A day too late and you have to pay hundreds more than you need to. It takes a lot of sleuthing and finesse to get the right flight at the right fares and at the time when you wish to travel. You must start looking at least 21 days before travelling to get a wide range of choices in flights and fares. Be on the lookout because the cheap seats are the first to go. Try staying over Saturday night or travel midweek. Look for the flight rates on your regular flying airline and compare it to those on the websites like Travelocity.com, Priceline.com, and Expedia.com. Also check out auction sites. Many websites offer low internet fares.

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It is better to fly through a secondary airport like the Orange County and Burbank are good alternatives to LAX or Newark International can be a substitute for the busy JFK and LaGuardia airports. There could be a little drive but you might be surprised by the easy use and cheaper prices of smaller airports. Always request a seat preference when you purchase your ticket otherwise you might be stuck with a middle seat if you wait till check-in. Many websites have detailed maps of the seating arrangement with the best and worst seats so you can avoid the ones that don't recline and choose the ones which have extra legroom.

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While booking air tickets for infants, keep the length of the flight and the luggage you are carrying in mind. In a domestic flight, you can carry a child on your lap if they are less than 2 years of age but you need to purchase a ticket if you travel by an international flight. They offer special meals which are low in calories or high-fiber, low-protein, low-sodium or even vegan. These meals mostly taste better than regular food. While booking air tickets, make sure they are refundable, transferable or changeable before you purchase them.

Air Ticket

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Travelocity Launches 'Top Secret' Hotels But Can You Really Save 45 Percent?

I have long been a fan of 'masked' hotel reservation sites like Hotwire and Priceline. If you are not familiar with the concept, this is how it works. Prior to making a reservation, you are given some information about the hotel you're about to reserve, but not all information. Typically, you know the general vicinity of the hotel, and the hotel's star rating. In the case of Hotwire, you are also provided with a list of hotel amenities such as pool, on-site restaurant, shuttle service to the airport, and so on. If you like the price, you can make a reservation and then learn the hotel name and specific location.

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This is not for everyone. If you think you might want to cancel your reservation, don't bother using these sites as they are non-refundable most of the time. Also, if you want to join your friends or colleagues at a specific hotel, don't use 'masked' hotel booking services. But if you're somewhat flexible on your location and confident your plans won't change, then these services are great. I've been using these sites for several years and have saved a lot of money in the process.

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Travelocity is the latest to offer 'masked' hotel reservations with a service they call Top Secret Hotels. Top Secret Hotels has actually been offered on their site for some 3 or 4 months, but I wanted to let them work out the kinks before using it and writing a review.

To find out first hand if Travelocity's Top Secret Hotels was as good as the competition and could save me up to 45%, I used their service for an upcoming 2-night trip to San Francisco. My approach was simple: I would perform the same hotel search on Priceline, Hotwire and Travelocity (using both regular and Top Secret reservations). My results were quite disappointing:

Selection: First, Top Secret Hotels only has 14 cities to choose from, 10 of which are in the US and 4 from Canada. I was fortunate that San Francisco made the list. When I performed my search, there were only 2 Top Secret Hotels available in all of San Francisco. Hotwire had 25 hotels, Priceline had 158, and Travelocity's own regular reservation system had 286 hotels available. Price: The very purpose of using a 'masked' reservation system is to save money. Why else would anyone book a hotel that they cannot cancel and not know the hotel name or location? The 2 Top Secret Hotels averaged 0/night. The other sites had equivalent (or better) hotels at 50 percent or less of Travelocity's Top Secret Prices. So much for saving 45% Area: Masked hotel reservation systems don't release the exact hotel location until after you purchase, but they do give you a general area of where the hotel is situated. For example, Hotwire breaks downtown San Francisco into 8 areas and informs you prior to purchase which of these 8 areas your hotel is located. Priceline breaks downtown San Francisco into 7 areas. Travelocity -- Just one area that spans from the Golden Gate Bridge to Redwood City. In other words, book a hotel in San Francisco and you could find yourself 25 miles outside of town. Hotel Information: There was very little information about the 2 Top Secret Hotels available in my test search. Other than the hotel star rating, there were no hotel amenities or other hotel details provided, although one hotel indicated it was non-smoking. Talk about top secret! Compare this to Hotwire, where every hotel amenity is listed. In fact, with Hotwire it's possible to identify your hotel before you make a reservation by matching up the Hotwire information with HotelDealsRevealed's Hotel Inventory.

Top Secret Hotels by Travelocity obviously needs a lot of work. To give Travelocity credit, they have publically stated that they are going to grow and expand their offering. I truly hope so. They've got a long road ahead of them. In the meantime, I will keep using the other guys.

Travelocity Launches 'Top Secret' Hotels But Can You Really Save 45 Percent?

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The Cheapest Way to Fly - Cheap Tickets Around the World

There are many places you can look for cheap airfare, but for the best global travel cheap airfares, there are a few top picks, good trustworthy places you can always rely on for fair prices. Here are just a few:

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Travelzoo: Travelzoo has the most amazing deals in travel. The only thing is, you have to be flexible in your travel plans. They carry all the most popular destination deals for all the big cities and famous tourist places of travel, and now they even offer vacation resorts and packages. To find the best deals in airfare, check out their prices for last minute travel, and you will be amazed at the low prices they offer.

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Orbitz: This conglomerate of global travel cheap airfares does have its good points. Though it doesn't always offer the best rates, you can use this site to find which airlines go where, and the basic rate for flights. Then you can go on the airlines own websites and usually find an even better deal. Orbitz now has hotel deals as well, though, again, you can probably find better deals elsewhere, but use this site to find the average rate.

Travelocity: This site offers some great travel deals. You can usually find good prices on airfare, but just make sure you're definitely going on this trip, because if you have to cancel at the last minute, you might not get a refund or be able to make any changes. There are often some global travel cheap airfares here.

Expedia: This site is very similar to Travelocity's for airfare deals, and again, if you have to cancel or change your flight plans, they may not be able to accomodate you. Watch for the last minute deals, those are usually the best in travel savings.

Hotwire: This is one of those 'name your own price' sites. If you're willing to fly on red eye flights or at odd times, this is the place for you, you can save a lot of money if you're flexible in your travel. There are some very nice global travel cheap airfares here.

Priceline: Another 'name your own price' site. Priceline is usually pretty dependable in airfare deals, but it's best to check the going rate at Orbitz first, and then come here to cinch the deal. Priceline has grown the past few years in their offerings, and you can plan your whole vacation here, if you're really looking for a travel deal.

These are just a few of the places you can look for airfare deals, and there are more popping up everyday. But when you need a name you can trust, these are among the top websites on the worldwide web to find your airfare travel needs.

The Cheapest Way to Fly - Cheap Tickets Around the World

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5 Tips For Getting the Cheapest Airline Fares

There are some tricks to getting the cheapest airline fares, but they are pretty easy. You just need to know where to look if you want to book the really cheap flights. It is also important to be flexible if you want the rock bottom prices. Timing can mean everything in the travel industry.

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1. Check Online Travel Agencies First

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First thing I do when I'm looking for the best airfare is check with one of the big travel sites. I like to get a benchmark for airfare prices. I usually check Priceline because it has no booking fees and I can see the total cost of the plane ticket, including taxes, without having to add anything to my shopping cart. But you can check Hotwire, Travelocity or Orbitz too. It doesn't really matter. You just need to get a price.

2. Check the Airline's Website

After getting the cheapest airfare I can find on Priceline, then I check with the actual airlines. I actually start with whatever airline was offering the cheapest airline fare on the consolidator's website. Sometimes these airlines offer extra discounts if you sign up for an account and book with them directly. An extra off a 0 fare is a 10% savings. It also doesn't hurt to look for any coupon deals, so be sure to use Google to search for coupons for whatever airlines you are flying.

Also, there are airlines that won't be found on the big travel sites. They are usually smaller, budget airlines, but if they fly the route that you are traveling, you should check with them. Try Spirit Airlines or Southwest for US flights. Other cheap airlines are JetBlue and AirTrans. You can find their fares on the big online travel agency sites, but be sure to check their own sites for any extra breaks they are offering if you book direct.

3. Look for the Cheapest Days to Fly

If your dates are flexible, you can get the really cheap airfares by flying on Tuesday or Wednesday and making sure you stay overnight on Saturday. Sometimes Sundays can be very cheap day to fly too. So play around with the calendar a bit when you are checking airfare to see if the price drops. Or check the "flexible dates" feature and you should see a list of best fare prices.

4. Book in Advance

I'm sure you already know this. You will save money on your flight by booking in advance. Usually 21 days is the optimum booking window. Booking your ticket at least 21 days in advance will almost always get you the cheapest airline fare. So it pays to think ahead.

5. Call a Travel Agent

This may seem a shocking idea in this age of "Do it Yourself" travel, but you may be surprised by what you find. So go ahead and do your research yourself online. Once you know your best deal, call a travel agency and see if they can beat it. I've saved more than 0 on a couple of international flights by doing this, so it is worth a quick phone call. Usually a travel agent can give you an answer after just a couple of minutes search.

5 Tips For Getting the Cheapest Airline Fares

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All About Booking Airline Tickets

The capability to reserve airline tickets has grown greatly throughout the timeline of air travel from a lengthier manual operation to an computerized task with minimal manpower needed. Though this might seem like a drawback to workers it has allowed for departmental movement within the airline business and increased efficiency with the reservation system leading to in real-time monitoring of flight data that assists both the airline and the passengers.

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Since the progression in technology permits the airline business a bigger amount of information about seating reservations and times, changes can be done last-minute for any flight shortly before boarding but in our economy today, how should we go on when ticket prices vary and sometimes traveling is such a bother? To move inside the confines of the system and acquire affordable tickets one has to have an understanding of the options that are on hand presently and how to let those options work for him/her.

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Now we are aware that whenever we are looking for something "cheap" we are actually just seeking for the item or service with the cheapest price that will still provide at minimum acceptable service, so here are some tips to helping you locate the cheapest air tickets on the market today.

Firstly, this is not the 1950's and beginning of 1960's when the booking system was tracked by people at a central area though the information is still updated and monitored by actual people, the process is nearly completely electronic. Changes are immediate and you never again are required to call ahead and go into broad call queues or join painfully extensive lines to discover which flights are headed in the direction you desire to go - the response is frequently just a small amount of clicks away.

There are many websites online that offer services tabling the rates of differing airlines and if you rather to check for yourself you can even visit the various airlines' websites to observe their booking options and availabilities for a countless number of destinations. For the individual with time on their hands fishing through the various sites for the various airlines may not be such a horrible idea however, for someone who does not have that much time a company that does everything and shows the findings on a lone page is more appropriate.

Frequently advertised services such as Hotwire and Priceline allow you the decision to see listed prices or set a price on your personal rate if you rather. Hotwire will search varying airline vacancies and give you a listing to choose from, while Priceline offers you to name a price and wait to see if the airline you choose accepts your bid.

Despite of the direction you choose, factors affecting pricing include the flexibility of your agenda and how urgently you need a flight. Reservations required in less than seven days are usually a lot more expensive, alternatively reservations prepared weeks or months before are commonly less expensive. An airline might also has a cheap seat available if a passenger cancels and no-one fills the reservation.

All About Booking Airline Tickets

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Tips on Renting a Timeshare

Renting out a Timeshare or Vacation property is never an easy task. Thousands of owners have tried and failed. When it comes to renting out a week by owner there are several things one needs to keep in mind. Pricing your week in my experience is the key in successfully renting or selling your timeshare. People often try to rent out their weeks by pricing them a few bucks less than what they assume the going rental price is. This is often their biggest mistake.

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In my experience there is no set value of a timeshare week, you can't get your property appraised, your property value never increases as some were promised at their first timeshare presentation, and finally when there are thousands of websites like travel-o-city and priceline why would one consider to rent their vacation home from an individual like you and me?

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To successfully rent your timeshare one must extensively research their home resort and resorts around the area, Renter should know what the major attractions are and what is there to do in that particular city. Advertising online on major search engines and platforms with highly targeted traffic is essential but along with that making sure your marketing agency has the ability to provide virtual tours of your property is just as important. Having the right week priced at the right point and marketed at the proper authority websites can make renting out your timeshare a breeze.

One last thing to remember before trying to market your timeshare for rent or for sale is that no matter how impressive the telemarketing agent sounds on the phone one should never pay for the sale or rental of your timeshare before it is sold or rented, a reasonable fee to list your timeshare on authority websites is perfectly fine but that fee should never exceed more than 0

Tips on Renting a Timeshare

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Lowest Online Airfares

The best way to find low airfares online is to be aware of all the good travel websites, then search for prices on different routes and departure dates and compare airfares across several airlines. Narrow down the sites to a few sites with special offers and low airfares and then make a decision quickly. These low airfare offers on the Internet do not last very long and are quickly picked up so it's best to act fast.

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One good way to start searching for low airfares online would be to visit fare finder web sites such as Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia. These websites will look through their database and find discount airfares and bargain tickets - all you have to do is enter the destination and date of departure. These travel websites also offer discount packages on airfares and other things which is another great way to save money. You will however need to act fast as such bargains and offers expire quickly.

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But often the best deals can be found directly in the airline's website. Practically all airline web sites have sections for special offers such as ""Discount"" or ""Bargain"" or ""Specials"". The first thing to do would be to visit these special offers pages for low fares, promotions and sales. Usually there is an ""Internet Specials"" page which is available but only if the tickets are booked online.

It is also a good idea to sign up with different airline websites for their free weekly emails. These e-mails are a good way to get alerted about the airline's weekly special offers and current bargains.

Another way to save money on air travel is to bid for the lowest tickets to wherever you want to go. One very popular website is Priceline.com, where all you have to do is enter the destination and how much you would be willing to pay for your ticket. The site then tries to find a flight on an airline that is willing to accept your low bid. The downside is you will have to enter your credit card details to bid and if Priceline picks your flight you are obligated to purchase it with no refunds and no changes.

Lowest Online Airfares

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Extremely Cheap Airfares - 2 Proven Tips to Get Dirt Cheap Airfare

Taking advantage of extremely cheap airfares is crucial, especially during today's hard times. If you weren't exactly born with a silver spoon in your mouth (and a diamond rattle on one hand), you can still enjoy great vacations if you know how to search for extremely cheap airfares.

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Here are 2 useful tips to help you get the lowest airfare available:

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Extremely Cheap Airfares Tip 1: Travel Agencies

One place where you can find extremely cheap airfares is the travel agency. Travel agencies don't only help you figure out the best places to go, they could also help you take advantage of secret airfare deals

Of course, you have to be smart about these hidden airfare bargains and never say yes to every offer they present to you.

Carefully look through the colorful brochures they give you and check out every package available. Some of them might come with lodging at a specific hotel. If you don't have just one choice of hotel, taking advantage of these packages might be a good idea.

Extremely Cheap Airfares Tip 2: Check Out Travel and Airfare Websites.

If you're too lazy to get out of the house, you can just stay where you are and look for travel or airfare websites. There are dozens of them all over the net, waiting for an excited traveler to come their way.

These websites could help book you with dirt cheap plane flights. Many of these travel sites make a living out of monitoring airfare changes, so rest assured that you're in good hands.

Booking online can also reduce your airfare expenses by around 40%! Some websites like Expedia.com even go as far as having airfare sales! Other sites include Travelocity.com, Cheapflights.com, Priceline.com, and Onetravel.com.

Extremely cheap airfares aren't difficult to obtain. All you have to do is bear a positive attitude and be on the lookout for amazing deals-whether on land or online!

Extremely Cheap Airfares - 2 Proven Tips to Get Dirt Cheap Airfare

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Is Agoda a Reputable Hotel Reservation Service?

Most people know by now that the best rates for hotel reservations can be found online. What they don't know, and are often worried about, is how reliable many of these online reservation companies are.

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Agoda is one of the major reservation companies you will come across if you are looking for accommodation in Asia. They provide booking services for pretty much every country throughout the world, but Asia is their specialty.

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You may not have heard of Agoda if you haven't traveled to Asia much, and might therefore have some concerns, which I will look at today.

There are three main issues that travelers have when making hotel reservations online, which I will outline, and then address below.

One of the first concerns people have when handing over money on the Internet, or to any company for that matter, is whether the company is reliable or not. Are they are fly-by-night? Will they honor the agreement? Or will you arrive at your destination, suitcase in hand, only to have the front desk clerk claim to know nothing of your reservation?

Low prices are great, but what if you need to make changes or cancel? Are the reservations flexible? Or will you lose your money with no recourse if you need to cancel your reservation?

The final concern is the reliability of guest reviews on Agoda. Some sites have come under criticism for the reliability of their reviews, and suspicions that some of the favorable reviews were written by owners or staff of the hotel in question.

Reliable?

Although you may not have heard of Agoda before you thought about making a reservation with them, they are actually backed by one of the major players in the online reservation business. Priceline acquired Agoda in November 2007, adding Agoda's inventory of 8000 hotels in Asia and 49000 throughout the world to their already large stock.

With such a giant in the industry as Priceline backing and lending credibility and stability, Agoda won't be going away (and taking your reservation with it) anytime soon.

Cancellation Policy.

Agoda provides many ways to contact them, including telephone support in many languages, email and live chat. There is also a "self service" section on the website where you can make changes to your reservation, make special requests or cancel your booking.

Provided you cancel before the deadline mentioned in the reservation confirmation email, which is typically 14 days, you will be able to cancel your reservation, and your payment will be refunded, minus a USD15 cancellation fee.

Reliability of reviews.

Unlike other websites where anybody can leave reviews, either anonymously, or after creating a free account, reviews on Agoda can only be written by guests who have actually stayed at the hotel or resort after booking through them.

A week or two after your stay, Agoda sends out an email with an invitation to write a review, which can only be done by following the link in the email. This works as a preventative measure to stop fake reviews from not only the owners of bad hotels, but also bad reviews from other hotels trying to sabotage a competitor.

Is Agoda a Reputable Hotel Reservation Service?

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Japan's Rakuten Travel Hotel Reservation Review

Japan ranks as one of the most expensive countries in the world to visit. For travelers planning a trip to Japan they will certainly notice how expensive hotel costs are over there. But you can easily find more affordable and even budget hotels and charming Ryokans (guesthouses) in Japan if you know which company to choose to book online for Japanese hotels.

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Rakuten Travel Inc. is one such company where you can find discounted hotel rates in most of Japan. These days almost everyone makes their own travel reservations through Internet travel agencies. And they will usually head for the most well known companies out there with names like Priceline.com or Travelocity.com. But you won't find the best room rates through their services. Though they are reputable companies they do not specialize in any region and their reservation services are too general and not focused on the Asian hotel market.

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While Rakuten only deals with hotels and hotels only. So whether you need an affordable business hotel in Kyoto or a rustic Ryokan in Osaka, you will find that their services are much more specialized.

Since Rakuten Travel specifically connects travelers with Japan's hotel market they are able to offer up to date low hotel rates through the 24,000 accommodation listings in the country. With so many choices of lodging Rakuten makes it easy for travelers to find the right lodging that fits their budgetary needs.

They are also able to provide hotel reservation services in China, Korea and Southeast Asia, in all a total of 47,000 hotels. Though their rates for those regions are not as competitive but certainly worth checking through for price comparisons.

Is Rakuten Travel's a reliable hotel agency?

Rakuten (established in 2002) operates the country's largest online hotel reservation website with 200 employees. They are also a publicly traded company on the Japanese stock market. With offices in Tokyo and Osaka, Rakuten is closely linked with the country's hotel industry. They handle almost 2 million hotel bookings per month. Today they are partnered with All Nippon Airways to simplify travel planning to Japan.

How does Rakuten offer better rates than book hotel directly?

Hotel reservation agencies like Rakuten are hotel room wholesalers. Since they have a much wider presence on the Internet than any specific hotel they are more easily found by travelers planning a trip to Japan. Since hotels, whether small or big, knows that Rakuten can provide their property a greater presence on the Internet they partner themselves with Rakuten, by offering significantly discounted room rates to them. So whenever you book a room through their website you will receive those discounts as well.

Japan's Rakuten Travel Hotel Reservation Review

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How to Get Compensation For a Bad Hotel Experience

Almost all of us have had a bad experience with a hotel at one point or another. Perhaps the room was not entirely clean, had an odor, or was located a little too close to the ice machine. Maybe the complimentary continental breakfast was only worth what you paid. Or perhaps the 17 year old front desk clerk was too busy on her BlackBerry to check you out, making you miss the next shuttle bus to the airport.

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Whatever the case may be, consumers should not just complain to their family and friends after they get home from their vacation or business trip. Raise the issue with the hotel - if done correctly, you not only may resolve the problem but you may receive compensation. Wouldn't it be great to receive a free hotel stays, room upgrades, discount coupons, or even cash refunds for your troubles? Follow these 3 steps for best results to resolving a hotel complaint:

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1. Address the problem right away: When something goes wrong with your hotel stay, the first course of action is to raise the issue with the hotel clerk as soon as the problem is discovered. Simply explain to them how your expectation is not being met and what you would like them to do about it.

Suppose you receive a room that is located near the ice machine and you can hear the machine every time someone goes for ice. Tell the front desk that your room is noisy due to the ice machine, that you are a light sleeper and would like to be moved. When speaking with hotel staff, always remain calm and polite but do not be afraid to assert yourself. For instance, do not hesitate to tell them that you are willing to take a room upgrade but a downgrade is not acceptable.

2. Go to top (but be reasonable): Elevate your problem to the hotel manager on duty. Do not waste your time with the lower level staff if they are not easily willing to resolve the problem or do not have the authority to do so. When you speak to the hotel manager, understand that even the manager not be able to accommodate your request. If it is a different hotel room you are seeking, the hotel may be at maximum capacity. Try to be flexible and think outside the box. If the pool is closed, perhaps there is a nearby hotel whose pool you can use. The point is this - work with the hotel to find a solution.

3. The Letter of Complaint: If the hotel cannot adequately resolve the issue, it is a good idea to write a letter. A good letter of complaint to a hotel starts before you even leave the hotel. Take notes of the dates and times of key events, the name and position of the staff you spoke with, and the nature of the conversation. These notes will come in handy. The letter should be sent to the highest person in the company you can find - even the CEO. Stick to the facts and do not be rude. Most importantly, tell them how you would like to be compensated. Common items received include full or partial refunds, complimentary future stays, hotel loyalty points, and discount coupons.

I travel up to 100 days per year. While many hotels fail to meet certain standards, promises and expectations, I find that most hotels are genuinely interested in resolving problems. Do not hesitate to tell someone when something is not right. You may find the hotel is willing to fix the problem while receiving valuable feedback to improve the stay of future visitors.

How to Get Compensation For a Bad Hotel Experience

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Mystery Hotels - How to Cheat and Maybe Get a Bargain

We have spent some time looking at lastminute.com's 'Mystery Hotel' range and the new mystery offers from wotif.com. In some cases, LastMinute's descriptions of its mystery hotels make it pretty easy to pinpoint the actual hotel. Wotif's mystery hotels are a little harder to fathom but there are some clues, for instance they might be selling 'Comfort' and 'Grand Comfort' rooms at a mystery hotel so you just go through the list of other Wotif hotels in the same city and see which hotel uses that description for its rooms. The US company Priceline was the originator of the mystery hotel deal and we have always had serious misgivings about using them.

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The main objection is that instead of seeing a discounted price (20% off the usual agent's price is fairly normal for both LastMinute and Wotif) at a specific hotel, Priceline gives you no clue as to the actual hotel and you have to bid the price you are prepared to pay. Priceline does give a little help - it breaks cities down into areas and shows the normal retail price of hotels in different star categories and suggests a likely discount you should apply when bidding. Nonetheless, there is a huge danger that you will end up paying more than you need to. Priceline might have set a secret minimum bid of a night but if someone bids the company will happily accept the bid. Also, in recent years, business has been very good for the hotel industry and we suspect that Priceline was selling rooms at some hotels that would otherwise have difficulty in attracting guests. In other words, you could end up paying over the odds for an inferior hotel.

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However, now the game has changed a little. Quite a few hotels have empty rooms and are willing to sell them at low rates through Priceline, on condition of anonymity to avoid destroying their normal rating. And, we have found a rather handy guide that should help you avoid some of the Priceline pitfalls.

One community forum for users of Priceline (and HotWire, a division of Expedia, which is designed more for US customers) is http://www.betterbidding.com. The front page is a bit messy, but all you need do is scroll down to find the forum dedicated to the area you want to visit. Pick Boston and the first post will be a list of hotels that forum members have purchased through Priceline. There is no guarantee that this list is completely accurate - hotels will come and go, depending on season and occupancy - but at least you have an idea of the sort of hotel you will get in each star category. Then you go through the most recent posts where members have listed deals they have actually obtained from Priceline. You may see that someone was able to bid for a room at the Omni Parker two days ago and a bid of got a room at the Hyatt Regency a week earlier. You need to take careful note of when the reservations were for (weekdays or weekends) and how far in advance the reservations were made because this is bound to have an effect on the price.

This site works best with Priceline's US hotels. Postings for international reservations are far sparser. If you want to stay in Venice in May, it is of little use to know that someone was able to bid for a room at the Hilton Molino in February.

All prices on Priceline are before the dreaded 'taxes and charges', which can add a sizeable sum to the total and clearly include a generous service charge. We could not see how they came up with charges of £28 on a basic hotel cost of £92. At least you see this figure before your bid is submitted.

Once you are ready to go ahead, you have to submit your payment details. If the bid is accepted, your money is taken immediately and there is no possibility of cancellation or alteration. If the bid is not accepted, no money is taken and you are only allowed to rebid if you alter some of the terms of the original bid. Betterbidding suggests a way around this. Let's say you want to stay in a five-star hotel in one area of Paris. Your initial bid is turned down so you alter your bid to include another area of Paris but an area which you can see from Betterbidding does not have a Priceline five-star hotel. Assuming Priceline has not suddenly added a new hotel (which is a very real possibility) then your increased bid on the hotel you want should be accepted.

Betterbidding also gives the same range of information for HotWire. This is part of the same group that owns Expedia and Hotels.com but it is designed principally for US customers and payment is taken in dollars - effectively adding to the cost for UK customers.

HotWire's system is similar to Priceline with the bidding aspect removed. You know the star rating in advance, the area of the city involved and the full cost (plus taxes and charges). A quick look at Betterbidding should give you an idea of which hotels it is selling in the various categories and cities. The site is not as strong on hotels outside North America as Priceline.

With both these sites, we recommend you attempt to cross-check prices with the hotels direct or hotels of a similar category. Neither Booking.com, nor Expedia/Hotels.com (the companies behind these mystery sites) is noted for selling hotels cheaply. In some cases, a 20% discount off their rates will only equate to a 10% discount off rates available elsewhere. If you think you can get a room at the Luxor in Las Vegas for , you might find it better to take away the guesswork and book direct with the hotel for .

We certainly cannot recommend Priceline and the Betterbidding site to everyone. It can be very time-consuming and dangerous. There is a huge potential for error: you can easily pay quite a lot of money for a hotel you do not want. Another significant danger is that you can get carried away with the whole game and concentrate too much on trying to 'win' rather than on finding a hotel that is suitable for you! However, there are some genuine bargains around, particularly in the US, where Priceline is stronger, and there is plenty of information on Betterbidding. If you are looking for a couple of nights in a hotel in New York, and you have the time and patience, you might just get a good deal.

Will I get the worst room in the hotel if I have booked a mystery deal at a special price?

There is a possibility that a few hotels will use these mystery deals to sell a handful of less desirable rooms they would not normally sell unless the hotel was full. Most hotels will give you a standard room but, as is common for rooms booked at special rates through agents, it is likely to be the lowest-category room available. The better rooms may be on higher floors, have more modern furnishings or better views and these are likely to be allocated to clients who have booked direct with the hotel.

But...

If you have booked a standard room through an agent (whether it be Priceline or not), there is no reason why you cannot upgrade the room when you arrive. Many hotels are more than happy to upgrade agency customers to executive-floor rooms (maybe for an extra £30 a night) or give them a larger room or one with a better view. Hotels are looking for extra revenue at every opportunity and if someone offers them money, and they have a better room available, they are unlikely to turn them down. Interestingly, this method can quite often lead to a free upgrade! A receptionist may find the task of taking the extra payment on the computer system too daunting and just allocate a better room without charge. Offering to pay for an upgrade can be a better way of getting a free upgrade than just asking.

Mystery Hotels - How to Cheat and Maybe Get a Bargain

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How to Choose a Hotel in Las Vegas

Staying on the strip in one of the big resort hotels can be the most expensive. Places like Bellagio, Paris, MandalayBay and MGM Grand aren't cheap, but there are often deals to be found. Try to get on the hotel's email list. They send out discount offers all the time.

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Some of the older hotels can be real bargains. The Tropicana, right across the street from MGM Grand often has very good deals. There are also a number of smaller places, just off the Strip, that can save you a lot of money. But they aren't the type of place you'd want to spend hours lounging around the pool. Mainly because they don't have a pool.

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Be aware of where you are staying in the hotel as well. If you want a view you'll have to pay for it. I'll give you an example. I once stayed at New YorkNew York. We got a great deal on a room with a whirlpool. However, the room looked out onto the roof of some low buildings. You couldn't see the street or anything else and in fact, the sun never got to the windows of the room. It was pretty bleak. So ask when you make the reservation if a view is important to you.

As for making that reservation, there are tons of aggregators out there for Las Vegas hotels. They can often get a good deal. Vegas.com is the granddaddy of the bunch, but places like Orbitz and Priceline can also get you deals. The disadvantage with getting your room from a third party is they have less flexibility in getting you special treatment. Dealing directly with the hotel or resort you want to stay at can get you as good a deal and maybe a room that better fits your needs. Not like that room I got at New YorkNew York.

Most of the national chains, like Marriott, Four Seasons and Sheraton on the high end, along with places like Motel 6 on the other end, have a presence in Las Vegas so calling their 800 numbers can get you a room. When calling the hotel or the 800 numbers be sure to ask about discount. Many chains have discounts for some auto club members and other groups. There are also often discounts for military members, so ask.

How to Choose a Hotel in Las Vegas

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Booking Hotels Online - Travel Industry Secrets on Finding the Best Discount Hotel Deals

Booking hotels online today has never been easier. There are many reliable Internet-based travel related websites available right at your fingertips. But how and when to find the best hotel deals is sometimes more important than where to find the best deals. Here in this article we'll explore several factors for finding the best room rates for where ever you are traveling to.

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Booking hotels from online travel agencies verses directly from hotels - Which is Better?

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Any company like Priceline.com, Travelocity.com or Orbitz.com are online reservation agencies. These agencies work with hotels, airlines and car rental services on a bulk wholesale basis. In this case these companies are able to offer better room rates than hotels directly simply because they have a greater presence on the Internet than any one hotel property. Hotels recognize that partnering with an agency with deep room discounts means that they can get more guests to fill their hotel's room quota. So if you book through any online travel agency the savings are passed on to travelers.

Book hotels in low season, it's cheaper - Or is it?

Regardless of high season or low season hotels have to keep a certain amount of rooms filled just to keep up with working cost. A large number of unfilled rooms during any season is the kiss of death for a hotel. And this can happen to any hotel, big or small. The funny thing is hotels will not deeply slash their room rates if you check their website because they have to appear business as usual. However, hotels will send out notices of last-minute hotel sales to online travel agencies so that they can promote them.

How to find the best hotel deals?

The best thing to do is to find a local hotel reservation agency that has an office in the country or region you want to visit. I don't recommend companies such as Priceline.com or any other similar service that offers discounts on hotels, plane tickets and car rentals. It is better to stick strictly with a company that specializes in reserving hotel rooms only.

To get the best hotel deals search out a local hotel reservation agency and don't worry about high season rates as you can often find last-minute hotel deals from companies that are based in the region you are traveling to.

Booking Hotels Online - Travel Industry Secrets on Finding the Best Discount Hotel Deals

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What You Should Know Before Buying A Mobile Phone

Don't buy a phone until you've read this report.

I am a former Mobile Phone Store Manager, and through my job I learned a lot about mobile phone deals and the industry itself. Every week friends, family or a stranger will seek me out to ask me to help find them a good mobile phone deal. To save time I just go through the internet every week and list them on my websites, at least I can just tell them where to look.

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It amazes me though that they still make the same mistakes. If you read this report hopefully you won't make the same ones!

Mistake Number 1

Not buying online. I know its tempting to get your desired phone in your hand straight away, but if you can wait until next working day, you will generally get a better deal (I want to say ALWAYS get a better deal, but just in case, I'll protect myself). The online merchants don't have to pay staff, so you will usually get free accessories at the very least as a benefit. You always need to buy from a reputable merchant though.

Mistake Number 2

Not being honest to themselves about the use of the phone. How many times do I advise a friend to get a contract phone with a free line rental deal rather than buy a pay as you go? "I won't use it much" - yeah right. At the time of writing this deal is available online -

Motorola V3 plus Motorola V3 Pay As You Go FREE.
Free phones, free connection, half price line rental for 12 months.

It's an 18 month contract at £33 per month, so total cost for 18 months =
6 months at £33 = £198, 12 months at £16.50 = £198

TOTAL = £396, but also £200 cross network minutes per month and 100 texts included, and you can sell the pay as you go phone on or give it as a gift.

Pay as You Go

Recommended retail price of phone £199. The higher cost of calls or minimum voucher top up means my friend pays an average £20 per month.

18 * £20 = £360, plus cost of phone to buy = £199. TOTAL £559

It would have been cheaper for my friend to buy the V3 on contract by £163, save the up front cost, enjoy the extra minutes and not have to worry about the phone cutting out due to lack of credit as she could have used the free minutes and texts each month. She also could have given me the free V3!

Also, after 18 months she could upgrade the phone for free, and not have to spend another £200 on a decent phone, or finish the contract and start again with another good offer.

Mistake Number 3

Not claiming the cashback offer. It seems a fairly common thing offer at the moment. You will have to claim your free line rental as cashback, where you will fill in a form and send it to the merchant along with a copy of certain bills. Some split the cash back over the term of the contract, whilst others make you claim in one go. There are 2 schools of thought here - if you are forgetful, then its better to have a split cash back deal, because you may remember the next one, or you could argue its better to get it over with in one go, so you only have to remember it once. When I worked in the store I was amazed at how many people didn't claim their cashback. When they realised they had forgotten, it always somehow managed to be the stores fault, and not theirs, but there is a way you will always remember to claim.

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Every phone I know of at the minute has at least a basic calendar / organiser. After you charge your phone, make the first job you do with it be to enter the dates for cashback in the organiser. You should be able to get an alarm to come up with this as well. I always keep my paperwork in the phone box which I keep in a cupboard. If you are likely to forget where you have put the paperwork, put this in the organiser as well - see, it's a trick of the trade!

Mistake Number 4

Trying to buy a Sim free phone from Ebay, and losing out on it because they don't understand fraud, or paying too much. I've sold lots of mobile phones on ebay only to be charged fees for a sale that didn't actually happen or be scammed. If you sell a phone on ebay, then beware any buyer with 0 feedback. Be even more aware if they want the phone shipping to Nigeria. Every single one of these transactions was either rejected by the networks, or I was left paying ebay fees on an item that I didn't actually sell because they would refuse to pay by Paypal or cheque.
The problem here is for the legitimate buyer, who ends up competing against the scammers. If you look in the advanced search box on ebay for any mobile phone, you will probably see them selling for a good couple of hundred pounds more than they are worth. I am almost certain that the "buyer" will have a rating of 0, or probably -1 by the time the item is complete.

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If you are buying a phone on ebay, then do not bid until the last minute if you can help it. This way the bid price stands less chance of being artificially raised. If the price does seem to be going too high and you look at the bidding history and see that people with no feedback are bidding, then it may be worth contacting the seller, suggesting that if the sale doesn't go through, he may want to contact you. You can then hopefully negotiate a fair price. The seller can then offer you a second chance sale through ebay, and everybody is happy.

Mistake Number 5

Not shopping around "properly". They ask me for a good deal and I'm only too happy to tell them where to look, after all I've reviewed all of the best sites online, but when I ask how they got on I sometimes found they could have save money, or got a better deal. They could either have got the same line rental deal but got free accessories with another merchant, or worse still lost out on free line rental!

Mistake Number 6

Forgetting to Upgrade. The networks will give you a mobile phone after your minimum contract expires. They don't usually remind you because it costs them money to give you a replacement handset. The upside for them is that it will start a new contract, but you can often turn this to your advantage.

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Put an entry in the phones organiser reminding you to go and look for a new deal at the end of your contract. If you then ring up your current provider and tell them you want to cancel because you've found a better deal, they will usually match it to keep you as a customer. I can't promise it will work every time, but if it doesn't simply take your number and get the new deal from your choice of retailer.

What You Should Know Before Buying A Mobile Phone

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Get Attractive HTC HD7 Deals

HTC is one of the most reliable makers of the mobile phones. The handsets of the company are integrated with the best of features, and the latest HTC HD7 is no exception either. The handset incorporates the latest technology and the best of features, which makes it one of the most prominent handsets in the present times. It's biggest highlight is the 4.3 inches S-LCD capacitive touch screen that boasts 16 million colours and a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. Other vital features include a 5 mega pixel camera with dual LED flash and auto focus, 3G, Wi Fi, Digital compass, You Tube, A-GPS support and a lot more. If you want to make this irresistible handset your own at affordable price, then you have to search for the HTC HD7 deals.

At present, O2 seems to have won the initial battle of bringing the best HTC HD7 deals. The network operator features a wide range of contracts, and most of them are 24 months contract and the remaining ones are 18 month deals.

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The best deal is probably the O2 600 24 month contract. Here the subscribers need to pay a line rental of £30 for 24 months, which means the minimum amount to be paid is £720. Under this contract, the subscribers will get unlimited texts and 600 minutes of talk time. The handset is being offered for free under this plan.

The next best plan among the O2 HTC HD7 deals is O2 900. Here, the line rental is higher at £35 and the duration is same at 24 months. However, the number of free talk time minutes is 900 instead of 600 minutes of the previous deal. Text is unlimited. However, you can get cash back by redemption with 8 Months 1/2 Price Line Rental.

If you want more free minutes, but short contract term, then O2 brings O2 1200 plan, which is an 18 month mobile phone deal for HTC HD7. Under this contract, you have to play a line rental of £45 every month and you will get 1200 minutes of talk time and unlimited texts. Cash back on redemption is available with 6 Months 1/2 Price Line Rental.

There are several other O2 18 months and 24 months contract available on the HTC HD7 mobile phones. Other network providers are soon coming up with their exclusive HTC HD7 deals, we will feature the latest updates.

Get Attractive HTC HD7 Deals

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Last Minute Airfares

Last minute airtfares are airplane tickets that you buy very late in the usual process of booking flights. They can be bought for almost any destination in the world, either one-way or round-trip, and can sometimes be purchased on the same day as the flight. Last-minute airfares usually carry a lower fee, since the plane the companies are trying to book might not be full. That is great news for you as a consumer and/or frequent flyer. If you're on a budget, and you're looking for last minute travel deals go to websites like Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, cheaptickets.com and other low fare airline sites. On these sites you can check for last minute airfares.

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When you booking a low airfare at the last minute, you are taking advantage of seats on flights that have been marked for low fares. Try booking on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday before 7 am and after 7 pm, because the passenger volume is low during these times. Also, try to be flexible on your dates of travel - go when seats are available if possible.

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Besides Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz and cheaptickets.com, try other travel sites like cheaptickets.com, Hotwire.com and airlines like Southwest and Jet Blue. Check sites often, flight discounts can occur at any time, and if you see a flight you like, book it immediately, as they can disappear within minutes of posting.

On some sites like Priceline.com, you bid on a price, much like you would on an auction site. You won?t know the airline or the time of the flight until your bid has been accepted.

Last Minute Airfares

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Secret Airfare Deals - How to Get Inexpensive Airfares and Save Money

Itching to get on that plane but not willing to blow all of your savings? Easy! As long as you get a hold of these secret airfare deals, flying back and forth will become much more enjoyable for both you and your wallet!

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These secret airfare deals may take some snooping, but a little effort goes a long way. In fact, these tips can help you save thousands of dollars each year! If you're ready to get the best deal of your life, read on!

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Look For New International Routes.

It's the same concept used by companies trying to introduce a new product into the market. When airlines are trying to promote new international routes, the prices are often lower than what you would normally get them for. Take advantage of these inexpensive airfares and consider yourself in on the jetsetters' secret airfare deals.

Sniff Around For Seat Sales.

This is where your skill for bargain hunting comes in handy. Some airlines offer seat sales, which can reduce your cash shell-out by 40%! These sales often stem from last minute flight cancellations.

A good friend of mine actually snagged a good seat sale deal recently while planning her trip to Europe. Needless to say, she ended up spending the extra cash on souvenirs for all of her friends!

Book Your Flight Online.

One of the foundations of secret airfare deals: do your research!

Flights are relatively cheaper online. This is actually a win-win situation for you because now, you can also take the time to check out the places you want to visit and create a good itinerary.

Who knows, you might even stumble upon special airline + hotel package deals which best suit you, saving you more money in the long run.

Websites that help you get very cheap airfare tickets include Priceline.com, Bestfares.com, Travelocity.com, and Cheapflights.com.

These secret airfare deals are by no means as complex as the others out there. However, they do make sure that you get the best deals possible. Now that you're equipped with this knowledge, go pack your bags and have a good flight!

Secret Airfare Deals - How to Get Inexpensive Airfares and Save Money

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Introduction to E-Commerce

E- Commerce is the division of electronic business and is the process of buying or selling over internet, much like marketing but on the internet. Initially when Tim Berners-Lee programmed the internet, e-commerce was mainly meant to do Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Later as the internet developed the e-commerce also had developed. And with the development of E-Commerce the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) started regulating the activities of E-Commerce. E-Commerce includes anything from buying a virtual content for instant implementation to buying goods for domestic purposes.
 
E-commerce is can be further categorized into the following:
 
Business -to -Business (B2B) Business- to- Customer (B2C) Consumer-to-Business (C2B ) Consumer- to -consumer (C2C)
Business to business is one in which a company deals with another company for business and exchanging of goods, products, services. Some of the examples of b2b e-commerce sites are a company's official site, brokering sites etc.
 
Business to customer is one where the company sells its goods to the customer or trades with the customers. This is electronic retailing and called as e-tailing in common. One of the best examples is amazon.com.
 
Consumer to business is when a customer works for a certain company for business and the company buys it, here the consumer has to price the trade. Example for such a site is priceline.com
 
Consumer to consumer is more like auctioning, bartending, etc... where a consumer places bid and other buys it. Here the websites acts an intermediate for the business Example for such sites is eBay.
 
E-Commerce provides advantages to both the Business provider, consumers. For the business it is provides easier way to market a particular product at low cost and also the product easily reaches the global market. For the consumers they can buy products from home, so no tedious work in buying and they can trade any time. E-commerce thus is a greater benefit provided it has ultimate security.

priceline.com

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Introduction to E-Commerce

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Cheap International Flight Tickets - How To Find The Best Flight

Nowadays it is more of an art than a skill getting cheap international flight tickets. In many cases the situation was both better and worse, before the Internet became so popular. On one hand, there appeared to be less competition for offering cheap international flights. You had to make numerous calls to several airlines to get the best deal. Only few travelers exert themselves to really make sure that they were having a good price, a fact which kept rates higher. But then, if you were tough you may be able almost to get a great deal. May be you had to spend an hour or two, however by that time you would get a great idea of what airway carrier provided the best price tags on the dates you were considering of booking your flight.

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In these days, you can find cheap airline deals all over the World Wide Web. Just about every day, you can get a great number of promotions for cheap international flight tickets to any destination of your choice. Strangely enough, this can make it harder at all to get the best bargain than before. You can find many online travel sites where you can search for cheap flights tickets.

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A lot of travelers have their favorite. For instance, some people always start with Priceline. However others prefer Travelocity, Travelnow, or several other travel websites on the whole. Still, in fact, no one of the travel sites mentioned above can be always right. With cheap international flight tickets, like anything else to find out the best rate on the Internet, the more research you do the better will be your results.

Whenever you get going to search for cheap travel international, you should give Travelocity a first try. The benefit of that discount travel site is that it runs searches of different travel engines and offers a lot of specials on a short notice as well. So it is more expected than most others to offer the cheapest international tickets. Nonetheless, it couldn't offer the best bargain all the time. Occasionally, it misses a deal or you can get a special deal only on the homepage of an airline.

It changes at times, so it may be a good idea to go also with Priceline that provide the great option to make your own offerings. It allow you to bid for a name your own price airfare to any destination you would like to go at a price you can afford, whenever the airway go for the bid. Going with this travel site can decrease your cost of airfare by 40 percent.

Nevertheless, occasionally things can end up being disappointing. As an example, there will be times, when you have purchased a cheap airline ticket only to see one less expensive offered the next day. In these cases, it is important to keep your mind on the positive. So be prepared that you are finding a great bargain, and missing out on an even more beneficial one should not depress you as much. No matter how good a deal you get, as with any other thing, chances are that you will get even a better deal with cheap international flight tickets anywhere.

Cheap International Flight Tickets - How To Find The Best Flight

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Luxury Travel on a Shoestring Budget - Money Saving Travel Tips

Love to travel but don't have the thousands of dollars to do it?

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You can get luxury travel on a shoestring budget by planning your vacation or trip just a bit more carefully.
Read a few of these tips, and then go on your well-deserved getaway without burning a hole in your pocket.

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Always remember: When planning your trip, timing is key.

For example, school vacation weeks are the worst times to plan trips. Most parents have no choice but to travel at these high-peak seasons, so school vacation periods in any country are always going to be crowded. The airfare is always sky high - no pun intended.

If you've traveled during these peak seasons, you may noticed that coach seats during a school vacation week could cost you more money than a first class ticket during the off-season. So remember, unless you MUST travel during these peak periods, avoid winter and spring breaks at all costs.

Here's another important tip: Regardless of how you decide to book your luxury travel arrangements - either through a travel agent or through an online travel website - make sure that you know exactly who you are working with. For example, your best bet to save on a hotel and car rental package is probably going to be with Priceline.com's "name your own price" option. However, Priceline.com is not the best choice for international airline travel. You'd be better off with an agent. Either way you go, try to use the same travel agent or service. This makes sure that you build a solid relationship with the company you're dealing with. If you are loyal to them, they will be loyal to you. Always remember, they want your business.

Think about how frequent flier programs work: if you choose their airline consistently, they'll reward you by giving you a free flight. Granted, you'll need to do a lot of flying if you're just going to earn points sitting on a plane, but with a little research, you'll find ways to make loyalty programs work in your favor. When booking online or with an agent, make sure you always ask questions. You will never get anywhere from being silent.

If for some reason the company you're working with makes an error, be sure to take advantage of it. Most companies want to keep up a high level of customer satisfaction, and they rely on their guests to provide them with information on how to achieve that. See if they could possibly upgrade an aspect of your trip. Your coach tickets could turn into first class, or maybe your suite could turn into a deluxe version. Don't be scared to ask for upgrades. If they say no, then you're no worse off than before. Your criticism will ensure that yourself (and other travelers) will have a satisfactory luxury vacation.

When you're looking your vacation online, you should search travel review sites for agents or an agencies who have shown they willing to work with unhappy customers, an have proven that they excel at customer service. Many times, customer service representatives get aggravated with customers who complain, or the service reps are based in a foreign country and can only read from a script. And you probably already know that scripts don't cover every possible customer service issue that a traveler may encounter.

You'll find just about any travel service rated on a review site somewhere. Just keep in mind that people like to complain about bad experiences, so you'll find many more complaints than good reviews for even the most well-known travel services. So take the complaints with a grain of salt. Look for the most commonly re-occurring complaints (like bad customer service). Most bad experiences are not usually the fault of the service. Rather the experience occurred because of the traveler's misunderstanding of the travel site policies.

* * * Read your travel site's terms and conditions BEFORE you book reservations * * *

You want to consider all aspects of your deal; not just the price tag. Quality wins over quantity in some cases. You find a rate online offering a room at .00 a night. It may sound appealing, right? Maybe you're taking your family to Disney World and you figured you just need someplace to rest your head at night. But when you check-in, that's when you discover the bathroom is shared with everyone on the floor, there's police tape strung across the the door to the room next to yours, and you see prostitutes wandering in the parking lot. Maybe this deal WAS too good to be true.

Do your research. There's plenty of information available to educate yourself on discounted travel mastery. Most of it is available for free; some of it you may have to pay for if you don't want to do the research. Go to travel websites and forums specific to the type of trip you're planning to take: Cruise, adventure tour, etc. If you are itching to take a trip that you don't want to pay full price for, and you opt to pay for money-saving travel information online, I'd recommend that you only consider offers that give you a 100% money-back guarantee. If you don't get great money-saving travel tips, at least you can get your money back.

Follow these simple practices, and you'll have the luxury you want on a shoestring budget.

Luxury Travel on a Shoestring Budget - Money Saving Travel Tips

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Bidding on Airline Tickets

Many individuals bid on airline tickets as a methods of saving money on travel prices. Airline bids are especially ideal for people who are planning a vacation and want the best discounts on prices by searching through all the available discounts. You also have the option of making bids on hotel accommodation to get them at the lowest rates. Decide where your destination of travel is to find out how much you should bid on a flight. This piece can be used as an outline for making bids for travel.

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Bidding on airfares via the internet is one of the more economical ways of bidding for tickets. The internet is very convenient and tickets can be purchased right from around your computer. There are a number of websites that will allow you to place a bid on airline tickets, some of the more popular sites are Priceline.com, Skyauction.com, Expedia.com, Travelocity and Hotwire.com. These sites enable you to input your criteria of travel to receive the schedules for all the planes heading to your desired destination with the times, schedules and price of each plane heading out. Looking at these times, schedules and prices, will give you an idea of the price range of each flight so you can better your chances of your bid being accepted. After you have received all the vital details then you will be able to go on with your bid.

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Bidding on a hotel accommodation also entails a similar procedure. On websites like priceline.com can choose their destination city, then you choose the specific area within the city where they would like to visit. The site will provide a listing of all the hotels including their quality ratings so persons can determine what type of hotels will suit you. Individuals can also place in the price they can afford for hotels, so they can get specifics on hotel availability. Make sure you browse through more than one site so you are better able to compare between the prices to get the best deals on the market.

In order to get the best deal from bidding for tickets at a reasonable price you may want to check out hotel accommodations that are not 4 star, as these are more expensive. Try to start your bidding at 50% of the suggested retail price and if you are not successful from your first bid then you can raise your bid by and bid again. If you are able to fly at flexible times, you can plan your trip on days like Sunday, Tuesday and Thursdays when the airfares are usually cheaper. Some airlines will allow bids on flights that are available to sell all of the remaining seats. Especially if you don't have to depart at any particular time, then bidding on airline tickets can save you a lot of money.

Bidding on Airline Tickets

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How To Find Cheap Airfare Tickets

Do you need to find cheap airfare tickets? Would you like to pay less for your airfare tickets? There are some secrets that will help you in your search for cheap airfare tickets.

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The first secret to cheap airfare is pretty simple. You need to know the right days of the week to fly and the right ones not to fly. The days of the week that are best to fly are usually Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Now this is not always true so you need to make sure to check the rates on each day of the week. You should also know that if you are flexible with the day and the time that you fly, then you will have a better chance at getting a lower price on your airline tickets.

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The second secret that you need to know is to use different booking websites to do your search. You never know who might have the cheapest airfare and there are some airlines that do not sell their tickets on the larger sites like Expedia and Priceline. These airlines can be very beneficial to you because they offer an alternative. You should also consider doing a search on Google in different countries if you are planning to fly oversees.

There are other ways to travel for very cheap if you have the time and flexibility. You can fly standby, which is very cheap, but you must be flexible in order to do so. You can also avoid direct flights in order to save money and make sure you are flying to and from the right airports by checking all of them in the area that you are flying to. You can also combine your hotel, car rental, and airline tickets together in order to save even more money.

There is also something to be said to flying to certain destination in the off season or at least waiting till the peak season is over. This would be like going to Florida in the summer time or early fall and avoiding Florida during spring break time.

You are now armed with some secrets that will allow you to find cheap airfare tickets faster and easier. Make sure to check all the major sites and the minor flight sites. There are plenty of airlines out there and as long as you fly out on the right day of the week and fly back on the right day of the week you can save yourself a bundle on your airline tickets. Also, don't forget to combine all your travel needs into one package to save more money on your trip.

How To Find Cheap Airfare Tickets

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How To Book a Cheap Hotel Room

Going on vacation is one of the best times of your life but you shouldn't have to shell out your entire bank account to have a good time. Searching the internet for a good deal is the best thing you can do. I personally think sites like Priceline offer the best deals on hotel rates. Most of these hotels are never fully occupied so they lower their rates for people looking for a place to stay. If you go into a hotel and try to get a room, they will never give you the discounted rate.

priceline

In order to get the discounted rate, you have to go through these websites to help you save money. Priceline lets you name a price and location where you want to stay. You can pick the rating of hotel, location, and price you want to pay. The search engine attempts to accommodate your request. Most times you will save anywhere from 25%-60% off the normal hotel rate. With savings like that, you would be a fool not to use these money saving websites.

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Anytime you go on a trip, especially to Las Vegas, use the internet to find the best deals. Simply by taking the time to look at competitors, you can save hundreds of dollars. It is a waste of money to simply accept the price the hotels advertise. The internet has opened up a huge door to savings for the smart shopper. Take advantage of the internet and name your price today.

How To Book a Cheap Hotel Room

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Online Travel Statistics

The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) released their annual Travelers' Use of the Internet study in December 2003. The study shows an increase in the number of people using the internet to research and book travel.

priceline.com

TIA found that 30% of the adult U.S. population (63.8 million) consult the web for travel information. These travelers spend (on average) 0 more on travel, and nearly 40% had an annual household income above ,000.

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Online travelers surf to two or more travel websites, spending an average of 37 minutes. They research and compare prices, check schedules and book trips. The number of people actually booking online increased by 8% over 2002 and grew to 42.2 million people in 2003. Within this group of online travelers, 32 million people made travel arrangements exclusively through the internet (a figure expected to grow according to the TIA).

10 million travelers responded to email campaigns, causing the TIA to believe that email campaigns are stimulating unplanned travel.

TIA stated that the top 10 travel websites are:

Expedia Travelocity Orbitz Yahoo Travel Cheap Tickets Hot Wire VIPfares Priceline.com ITN.net TravelNow.com

If your business supplies lodging, real estate, shopping, recreation, dining, events or tourist related specialty services, it may be wise to place advertisements with these websites. If you are not making full use of the internet for your marketing campaigns you are missing 30% of your potential market.

As online travelers' habits become more sophisticated you will find them expecting to find and book everything from one location.

Online Travel Statistics

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Advanced Bidding Strategies For Priceline's Name Your Own Price

I love staying at luxury hotels when I travel, but I don't enjoy paying 0 or more per night. That's part of the reason I love Priceline. You can get pretty good deals most of the time and amazing deals some of the time.

priceline

If you are not familiar with how Priceline works, here is a basic overview. Priceline has a unique feature called 'Name Your Own Price' where you actually name the price you're willing to pay for a hotel. The catch - you don't know the hotel brand and exact location until after you name a price and your 'bid' is accepted. You do know the general area of the hotel and the hotel classification (e.g., 5-star, 4-star, etc).

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The major benefit of using Priceline is that you can save a lot of money! The drawbacks - first, reservations are almost never refundable, and second, you may get a hotel brand you don't like or a hotel lacking a particular amenity you wanted. It is best to use Priceline when you are flexible on hotel location and your travel dates won't change.

The hardest part about 'bidding' on a hotel with Priceline is determining how much to offer. You might think of starting at , and if your bid is not accepted, then rebid at , then , and so on until it's finally accepted. Nice try. You basically only get one kick at the can in a 24 hour period for any given travel date and destination. If your offer is rejected, you have to wait 24 hours, use a different credit card, or change your dates/destination.

So before you book a hotel on Priceline, it is best to first do some research. The first thing you should do is try to find out what hotel you might win if your bid was successful. For example, suppose you wanted a 5* hotel in Las Vegas on the Strip. A great way to identify what hotel you might win is to use the Priceline Hotel Inventory from HotelDealsRevealed.com, a website dedicated to helping people identify Priceline hotels and prices.

If you're happy with the hotels you might win, the next step is to determine how much you should bid. Remember, you don't have an unlimited number of chances to rebid, so you want your bid to be high enough to win but low enough to save money. Check out some of the other travel websites, then subtract 10% to 30% as your bid. You can also check out HotelDealsRevealed.com forum where people share their winning Priceline bids.

The above techniques will save most people money most of the time, but for deeper discounts, here's an advanced strategy:

Suppose you want to stay at a 5 star hotel on the southern part of the Las Vegas Strip on a particular date. You do your research and going rates for 5 star hotels are around 0 for your travel dates on Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. With this information, you put in a bid on Priceline for 0 for a 5-Star hotel in Las Vegas Strip South and it is rejected. Remember, you can't ordinarily rebid for 24 hours, but here's how you get around that.

Priceline breaks cities up into many smaller areas. For instance, Las Vegas is broken into 12 different areas, so you can choose which part(s) of the city you want to stay.

Priceline will let your rebid immediately as long as you add another area to your bid. You could, for example, add Las Vegas Strip North and rebid without having to wait 24 hours. But what if you don't want to stay on the north part of the Strip? You could get stuck with a hotel in a location you don't want. There is a better way. Add an area that doesn't have a 5 star hotel. I'll explain...

Before you make your very first bid, check Priceline to find all the areas in your city that don't have 5 star hotels. Sticking with my Vegas example, there are 9 areas in Las Vegas that don't have 5 star hotels. I'm going to start my first bid at 0 for a 5-star hotel room in Las Vegas Strip South.

If my bid gets rejected, no problem. I'm going to an area that doesn't have a 5 star hotel (e.g., Las Vegas Strip East) and rebid at 5. (Yes, Priceline allows this.) Since I know Las Vegas Strip East doesn't have a 5 star hotel, I know I'm safe. I won't get a hotel in that area but I might get a hotel in Las Vegas Strip South at 5. If my second bid gets rejected, I'll add another area that doesn't have a 5 star hotel and bid at 0, and so on. In fact, I would get 9 chance to bid using this technique.

Just be careful not to add an area that DOES have a 5-star hotel or you might end up with a hotel in an area you don't want. Enjoy your travels!

Advanced Bidding Strategies For Priceline's Name Your Own Price

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Is World Ventures Worth Checking Out or Should You Stay Away?

Seeing as that a common question that most people who are brand new to the MLM industry have when evaluating a potential company is "Is this a scam?", so I wanted to take a couple of hours to research a relative newcomer in the notorious multi-level marketing travel industry that has a lot of people wondering if it's a good opportunity or not. The company I reviewed is World Ventures, so here's what I found which I hope will help you in determining for yourself, "Is World Ventures a legitimate buiness opportunity or a scam?".

Too bad you paid for your whole seat, because you're only going to need the edge for this one...

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Here are the most crucial things to review with any network marketing company you're thinking about joining:

1. Does the company offer a real service and/or product?

2. Does the service or product provide real value to people even if they're not involved with the company as a representative? Simply, would people still buy it even if they did not earn a commission (We'll go over the World Ventures LTC and Dream Trips programs in-depth soon)?

This is the most critical part of any serious evaluation, and World Ventures is no exception because if the service or product doesn't hold up to scrutiny, than every other aspect of a network marketing like World Ventures doesn't matter.

Would you agree?

World Ventures travel products: Do they provide real value?

The Dream Trips product currently sells for a 9.95 fee up-front and .99 per month after that. The concept behind this product is the same as Costco or Sam's Club. They buy in bulk and their customer's get access to discounted vacation packages in exchange for their monthly membership fee. According to the World Ventures website, there are approximately 70 different trips for their members to choose from.

Are the travel packages worth it or are they a scam?

It would be very time-consuming to compare all of the vacation packages that are typically being offered by World Ventures to properly determine the value, but the few prices I audited were actually pretty impressive when I compared them to some of the top online travel booking sites.

One vacation I compared was to Cabo San Lucas at the Riu Palace (yes, please!). For two adults, this vacation cost about 0 with World Ventures via the Dream Trips product and Travelocity was almost 0 more expensive at about 0.

Another comparison I ran was for a Jamaican vacation at the Grand Lido Braco resort. This trip for two adults was priced at about 0 through the Dream Trips product with World Ventures and Travelocity came in around 50. So in these two examples at least, the savings were pretty substantial.

In the spirit of comparing "apples-to-apples", there were some more extravagant vacations listed that couldn't be easily compared due to the fact that they included extras that couldn't be purchased through some of the major travel sites, or they didn't show the price unless you were a World Ventures customer.

Based on the numbers so far, it sounds like most World Ventures customers would recoup their Dream Trips membership cost with the money they'd save by booking their first vacation. Please keep in mind that this article isn't an exhaustive Dateline NBC-type investigation since I only reviewed 2 of the almost 70 Dream Trips to a major travel booking site, but based on the numbers so far, I think it's fair to say that people who take at least one good vacation per year would get a lot value out of their World Ventures membership.

The "World Ventures Scam" is looking unfounded so far...

World Ventures Leisure Travel Consultant Package (LTC)

The World Ventures LTC package also sells for an up-front fee of 9.95 and .99 per after that. The best way to think about it would be as an online travel business-in-a-box. The start-up fee includes your own online retail travel website, web-based travel learning courses along with an exam, and opportunities for higher-level travel industry training. Cutting edge marketing training excluded, from what I can tell they give their LTC's many of the tools they'll need to build a thriving online business in the travel industry.

I was also extremely impressed by the Rovia search engine because, after using it for a while and seeing how it searches all the other major sites, I could see how World Ventures' claims of not needing to search multiple sites to get the best deal could be very true.

Speaking of getting the best price, they also have a "Match or Beat" price guarantee for online vacation bookings against Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz which could be a very positive marketing tool for someone who is working to build a network marketing with World Ventures.

Common claim of why World Ventures is a "scam": World Ventures Leisure Travel Consultant program is essentially a "travel agent card mill"?

Over the past 10 years or so, there have been a few MLM companies that have tried to take advantage of the undeniable fact that a rapidly growing amount of travel is booked through the internet. Unfortunately for their customers, these companies didn't really provide much real value and left them with "a bone to pick" with the entire network marketing travel industry.

What these companies were doing was they were selling a cheap plastic card to their customers that allowed people to get discounts as if they were licensed travel agents when they technically weren't. This is where the term "card mills" came from.

It's kind of like those B.S. scam "courses" that are conducted in international waters where a school will issue you a college degree in an afternoon for a fee. Super, you got a piece of paper that says you're a qualified engineer in Kazakhstan. Very nice!

I'm happy to say that I didn't see anything on their website or in their marketing materials which would show that they've gone this route with their Leisure Travel Consultant program. Actually, World Ventures went a step further and made it so that LTC's can't get this card until they've booked a standard number of travel sales along with completing additional training similar to what offline agents must do.

It's important to keep in mind that the company's product is a discount based on their buying in bulk and not by giving everyone travel agent discount cards like some less-than-reputable network marketing travel companies have done in the past.

I hope this has helped provide some insight into World Ventures as a company and will help you figure out for yourself if it's a scam or not.

(Disclaimer: I am NOT affiliated with World Ventures in an way and am providing unbiased information along with my opinion based on 10 years in the MLM industry.)

Is World Ventures Worth Checking Out or Should You Stay Away?

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