As London gears for the Olympics (visit official London 2012 site here) this summer, visitors coming to London to soak up the atmosphere and the grandeur of the Olympics, will need all the help you can get to navigate the grid that is London. Below, I have outlined options and recommendations for travelling to London, travelling within London and hotel options.

Groupon has reinvigorated the online coupon and deals business with its savvy approach. As consumers, we all like the appeal of saving 80% or 90% on things we wouldn’t normally do if it weren’t for the discount. And for the most part, it works out really well. I’ve often purchased a gourmet dinner, a massage and even an expensive hair cut for a fraction of what I would normally pay and been quite satisfied.

But when it comes to travel, I seriously question any deal that flashes across on my screen, be it from Groupon, Living Social or KGB Deals.

More often than not, if you price out their offering on your favorite travel site, you will find that you could get the deal at the same price or sometimes even cheaper if you price it yourself. Don’t believe me? I will prove it.

Today, I got an email with a KGB deal offering a trip to Budapest for £199 per person including return flights from London (Luton) and a 3-night stay at Lion’s Gate Hotel. You have to buy two vouchers since the price is based on double occupancy. So, this deal costs £398 for two people.

Now, if I price this out using Hotels.com, I get a rate of £144 for 3 nights (double bedroom) from Feb 10-13 (which is within the dates the coupon must be used).

Now, if I price the tickets from Luton using Easyjet, I find that two tickets for a direct flight from Luton to Budapest cost £236. In fact, if I prefer British airways (which I do), the fare is £322 for two round-trip tickets. See screen shots below:

So you see, if you go with Easyjet, you can get the entire package of hotel plus airfare for two for £380 which is cheaper than the price of two KGB Deals vouchers, while the more expensive British Airways option is £466, which while higher than the £398 KGB Deal, is still only 15% more than the KGB option. This is no where near the “up to 50%” discount they claim to be providing. Also, while this is just one example, I have done this calculation on many travel deals over the last few weeks, and have noticed a pattern, which then prompted me to write this post.

Keep in mind, the “deal” comes with restrictions and you might not even get the dates/times you want once you buy the deal. So please be aware that while these travel deals from sites like Groupon et al look attractive, they really are not.

Safe travels!

In the world of travel names like Rick Steves and the good people at the Travel Channel have great influence on travelers. And while I appreciate Rick Steve’s work and the information diseminated by Samantha Brown, I have come to realize that they are not your average travelers and as such the information they provide needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

First, even though they give you budget travel tips, their food and dining choices are anything but for the budget minded. Second, they are not local to the regions they travel to. As such, most places they recommend are very commercial. Third, these folks have a whole crew that either travels with them or helps organizes the travels, including accomodation, reservations and transportation. So, if you find yourself struggling to cram everything they do in the short time, or find room at the hotels they recommend, don’t beat yourself over it. Finally, networks like the Travel Channel, and authors like Rick Steves often need to obtain permits from the local governments. I wonder if some of these permits come with pre-conditions about visiting or writing about specific establishments. Is it a coincidence that both Rick Steves and Samantha Brown recommend Cafe A Brasiliera in Lisbon, where there are literally a thousand plus cafes. What’s more, this particular cafe is the most expensive one that I have ever been to in the city and I know this because I confirmed with family members who have lived in Lisbon now for over three decades.

I purchased Rick Steves’ Portugal guide to see things that my family might not be aware of. It turns out that very important things like Frangush de Guia (Grilled Chicken from Guia) and Palaccio de Mafra, which is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal are completely missing from his book. In fact, there is no mention of what locals consider the Seven Wonders of Portugal.

Cafe Suica and Confeiteria Nacionale, both recommeded by Rick Steves are extremely over-priced and are far from my favorites. While it is possible that these places, were truly independently reviewed by Rick, and he really liked them, having people there actually tell you their favorites is an entirely different thing. In the same area as Cafe A Brasiliero, Confeiteria Nacionale and Cafe Suica, there is a place called Cafe Gelo, which has better Pastais de Natas, a better Belinhos de Bacalau and a much better Galao (Portuguese version of Cafe Latte).

Similarly, I have seen guidebooks often rate some museums very high. But to a generalist traveler who is not biased towards museums, a museum may not be worth exploring once you have seen the Louvre in Paris or the Vatican museum.

Now I am certainly not suggesting not reading, watching or following these folks, because some of the ones mentioned here truly deserve to be followed and respected, but take their suggested eateries and accomodation with a grain of salt. Focus on discovering what locals like and have your own favorites rather than trying out their’s. For those who don’t have access to local experts in the area, consider using forums on sites like Lonely Planet, Rick Steves or Boots Travels to post questions in advance. Or simply pick up a map and go it alone.

Safe travels!

With so many options for online travel, you need all the help you can get to try and eek out a better price for your airfare. Here are some tips to help you get the best airfare.

• Early morning and overnight red-eye flights are typically cheaper. Try to seek out airfare at odd hours to get a better deal.
• Wednesday is usually the cheapest day to fly, but Tuesdays and Saturdays are also relatively cheap. Staying through a weekend also helps lower your cost of airfare.
• No one likes traveling on holidays. To get a good deal, try traveling on days like Thanksgiving Day or even Christmas Day if your plans allow it.
• Be flexible with your dates. When searching for airfares, use the option for flexible days.
  
• Alternative airports can sometimes reduce the price of your airfare dramatically. For example, instead of Los Angeles (LAX), try airports nearby like Long Beach, Ontario or Burbank. While this won’t always work, it does not hurt to try and I have often seen a 5-10% difference in airfare just by selecting this option.

Search for Cheap Summer Fares here!

Happy surfing!

Sherman’s Travel released these five tips below to find cheap vacations for summer:

Tip #1: Book a midweek getaway. Weekend travel usually carries premiums on flights and hotels. Try searching in August for the best results.

Tip #2: Avoid holiday weekends. Long-weekend holidays like Independence Day and Labor Day are in high demand — and priced accordingly.

Tip #3: Choose an off-season destination. Go where the crowds aren’t to avoid paying peak-season rates. Beach destinations in the Caribbean are particularly affordable right now, as are mountain resorts in Colorado, Vermont, and more.

Tip #4: Book flights at off-peak times. Red-eye and early morning flights are usually cheaper — and you can sleep on the plane.

Tip #5: Check departures from alternate airports. If your city is serviced by several airports, include them all in your search. It might even be worthwhile to drive an hour or two to a neighboring city’s airport when factoring in the savings.

Happy travels!

Priceline.com is perhaps one of the best online travel sites out there, pioneering the “Name Your Price” model. While the site offers discounted prices on hotels, airfare, car rentals and vacations much like competitors like Expedia and Orbitz, it distinguishes itself from these competitors by offering this unique “Name Your Price” feature.

The only catch with this feature is that once you specify your criteria, you don’t have control over what you get. For example, in Las Vegas, bidding on a 4 star hotel could land you the Tropicana, which is certainly not in the same category as the Monte Carlo or Treasure Island.

Hotwire is the only other site that comes close to offering something similar to Priceline. They offer deeply discounted prices on airfares and hotels, but don’t reveal the details until you pay.

In both cases, there is a site (well, more of a forum) that allows would-be travellers to inquire about what they might end up with if they were to name their own price on Priceline or if they were to accept a deeply discounted price on Hotwire. This site is betterbidding.com, operated by actual people and having used them myself, I can say with some certainty that they generally get it right.

Update – You can now See Winning Hotel Bids in Top Cities on Priceline.com

Happy bidding!

The average person today has many choices when it comes to credit cards. Gone are the days when only the upper-middle class or higher enjoyed carrying plastic with the prestige of earning rewards for their loyalty. Gone are the days when an average Joe had to pay annual fees for the convenience and pay even more for a reward program. Today, we are faced with many choices, some may argue we have too many choices. Being that this is a travel related site, I want to use this post to discuss the choices available for travellers today.

First, frequent flier miles are lame. They are good in theory but bad in practice. For example, for 25,000 miles, all you can get is a flight less than $200. If you want to fly from LAX to Florida, those tickets generally cost 37,500 miles minimum. Most of the time, you can only use airline miles when you are travelling off-season or if you book a few months in advance. In other words, miles are restrictive and you need a lot of miles to be able to get a free ticket.

Second, not all airlines fly everywhere for a good price. So you have to be enrolled in multiple mileage programs to take full advantage. United, Continental, Delta and American are the big 4 carriers in the US. You can either get a credit card that is specific to an airline like Citi AAdvantage which gives you a mile for every $ spent, or get a generic one that give you a mile on any program for every $ spent like the Discover Miles Card. Regardless, you’d have to spend at least $20,000 to get 25,000 miles which would get you a ticket from LAX to SFO or Seattle and that too, only on unpopular flights at odd hours, in off-season unless you book 2 months or so in advance. So spend is $20,000 – reward is less than $200 with some restrictions. 1% ROI.

I like the convenience of credit cards and I love getting something for what I spend. Having said that, my goal is always to get the most value out of what I charge on credit cards. I have realized over the years that miles programs are the wrong choice for credit cards. Consider the alternatives.

If you own a Hilton Honors American Express, you can get 3 points for every dollar spent, 5 points for every dollar spent on eligible purchases at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, dining establishments, the U.S. Postal Service, wireless phone bills and your Hilton hotel purchase. So spending $10,000 will get you 35,000 points, which will get you a free night at a 4 star hotel in the Hilton network. The advantage here is that there are usually no blackouts and its easier to book a free night at a hotel than it is to get a free flight. So spend is $10,000 and reward is less than $200 without much restriction. 2% ROI.

If you own a regular card that has a reward program that might work even better. For instance, American Express has a card with Costco (for Costco members only) called TrueEarnings Card, which gives you 3% rebate on gas and restaurants, 2% rebate on travel, and 1% on everything else. In this case, you get an instant rebate on your credit card statement and the ROI is anywhere from 1% to 3% and you don’t wait for the reward until you hit a certain spend – it comes to you automatically every month.

If you are going to be travelling a lot, I recommend getting a hotel card like Amex Hilton. With something like the Hilton card, you earn 5 points for groceries, medicine, gas, restaurants and your wireless bill. So every month, even if you don’t travel, you earn a lot. Now, when you travel, if you book your stay online at Hilton.com, you get 500 points just coz you booked online using the Hilton Amex card. Then you earn 5 points for every dollar spent on your Hilton stay that you charge to your Hilton amex. You also earn 10 points per dollar just for staying at a Hilton hotel regardless of the credit card. And you get 500 miles on an airline of your choice as part of their double-dip program when you stay at a Hilton hotel (regardless of credit card). So a stay of two nights at $200 per night in a Hilton or Doubletree or any of their hotels will get you:

• 500 bonus for booking on Hilton.com with your card
• 500 miles on any airline
• 4000 points for staying at the Hilton
• 2000 for paying for your stay with your card

Finally, they also upgrade you automatically to a Silver VIP status if you have a Hilton Honors credit card. Silver VIP means you get 10% additional points for each stay at a Hilton hotel. Also there is NO ANNUAL FEE with Hilton’s Amex card, while most airline cards have a $25-100 fee depending on the card.

If you still want an airline miles only card, I recommend one of the following:

• Getting the card that matches the airline you fly most. So Citi AAdvantage if you fly mostly American or Chase OnePass if you fly Continental most (an so on). This will have annual fees and 1 mile for every $.
• Discover Miles – you get 2 miles per dollar on travel and restaurant expenses and 1 mile per $ for everything else. Of course Discover is not the most popular but this card has no annual fee.
• Capital One No Hassle Visa – Earn 1.25 miles per $. No annual fee. Fly on any airline.

Apply for the No Fee Discover® Miles Card today!

For more information on the best travel rewards credit card for you, please visit FrequentFlier.com