Last Minute Travel Deal Blog

• Register with British Airways, then fly roundtrip in Club World (business class) or World Traveller Plus (premium economy) by Dec. 31, 2008.
• The next time you book a roundtrip flight in Club World (business class) or in World Traveller Plus (premium economy), you’ll receive a complimentary companion ticket. This trip can be booked anytime between Jan. 5 - June 30, for travel through the end of 2009.

What we like most about this sale is you can travel to any destination that British Airways serves. So while you may choose to fly from Chicago to London for your first trip, you can use your companion ticket to fly from Chicago to Moscow in business class, a route that usually goes for at least $3000!

Air New Zealand is offering free stopovers in New Zealand on flights to Australia. You can also stopover in South Pacific destinations, such as Cook Islands, Samoa or Tonga for $100 each stop.

http://www.airnewzealand.com/airfares_offers/web_specials_flights/flights/cheap-flights-to-australai-and-new-zealand-usd1098-kau8u.htm

American Airlines just released a huge Caribbean & Mexico Sale from cities across the U.S.  There are several great deals, but we were shocked to see flights to Cabo San Lucas from Los Angeles for just $95 each way!

Travel is valid Sept. 2-Dec. 10.  You must book by Sept. 12.

Click here for full details and to book on AA.com.

If you’ve got time, then have I found a deal for you!

Vacationstogo.com has an extreme discount on the transcontinental New York to London cruise leaving August 7th and arriving  August 13th.  All you can eat, your bed and the transportation for only $804.  You’ll even be sailing on the historic Queen Mary 2.

This is a great deal for anyone with 6 days to spare.  Have fun.

We found this deal on TravelZoo.com

American Airlines is offering flights to Central America from Southern Florida for as little as $74 each way. That’s around 50% OFF what we normally see for these routes!

Travel is valid all the way through Oct. 2. You must book by July 28.

Here are some of our favorite each-way fares:

• Miami (MIA) - Panama (PTY) … $74
• Miami (MIA) - Guatamala (GUA) … $84
• Miami (MIA) - Costa Rica (SJO) … $84
• Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) - Costa Rica (SJO) … $84
• Miami (MIA) - Honduras (SAP) … $84

Click here for full details and to book on AA.com.

Today is a good day for making last minute travel plans.  You can save $15 when you book your flight on Jet Blue before Thursday and travel between September and December.  Visit jetblue.com and use promo code FF1508.

You can thank me later.

Found a great last minute car rental deal on Hotwire today. Rent a car this weekend in St Louis, Mo Thursday through Sunday and it’s only $8.95 a day. You’ll probably pay twice as much in gas. Rent a car this weekend and take a road trip. Have fun.

I’m going to the Olympics in Beijing this year. I leave in exactly 4 weeks. My usual style is to book the air and hotel, put the family in the car and go. We usually don’t plan anything more than where we will rest our heads at night. I’m a “planner” but this style of travel works best for us; leave the options open so when we get to the destination, there is plenty of time to see the sights and visit those things the Aussie, etc. told us not to miss on the plane.

My planning for the Olympics hasn’t been so last minute. I entered a lottery for the tickets in May 2007 — I booked and paid for the hotel in January — We just picked up our visas at the China Consulate office in downtown LA last week. Hardly last minute with a whole 4 weeks to go…

Despite all my preparation to secure everything needed for a great experience in Beijing, a few articles have talked about hotel occupancy being less than 80% and that there is room for more in Beijing for the games. The fact that YOU didn’t prepay your hotel room at outrageous prices 8 months in advance is going to work very well in your favor. Got Olympic fever and have to go to Beijing now? These sites can help you with your last minute travel plans.

homestaybeijing2008 - Started last May by dutchman Piet Bos who has lived in China since 1998, you can book an apartment, not just a hotel room, for less than $250 a night. Check out their latest offers page.

Olympic Events Tickets - There is varying information out there that says tickets are in high demand and that tickets are plentiful for spectators. One event you can for sure score a ticket to is the Marathon. All spectators on the route can watch for free. At least you wont go home without one event under your belt. You’ll need to pick up any available tickets when you get the Beijing. Click here to see how much tickets will set you back.

lastminutetravel.com - check out their destination Beijing page which has hotels at about half of the price a decent 3+ star when I booked my trip.

craigslist Beijing - you know you’re not that far from home when you find a craigslist for your vacation city. There are many postings for cheap housing during the Olympics. You can also score Olympics tickets to your favorite events as well. I don’t have to warn you twice about using this site for tickets. It’s hard enough to buy tickets in your hometown, let along in a country you don’t even have a plane ticket to visit. I wouldn’t recommend making an international sales deal for tickets, but you can find some great deals from people here in the states selling off their supply.

I’ll let you know how the trip to Beijng goes. Please do the same.

Do you cruise? I’ve cruised once. I cruised last February 2007 with my husband for a wedding reception. The wedding was Friday morning. And then after eating lunch on our own, we boarded Carnival’s Paradise ship and sailed into the sunset for warmer waters. Ok, so we didn’t sail directly into the sunset, but I could see the shades of pink in the sky as we practiced our emergency evacuation drill before they pulled up the anchor. We were going to Mexico and we’d get there by 8am the next morning.

They say you can’t feel the boat rocking. But oh boy! I felt it. You’re talking to someone who gets sea sick in the bathtub. I quickly visited the infirmary and I found a whole mess of anti sea sick pills on the door. And they were free. You couldn’t get a better deal than that! That’s not my last minute travel deal recommendation. I don’t want to disappoint.

The cruise was wonderful, but halfway through my husband was quarantined to his room. He actually went into the infirmary and got some shot, not in his arm, for his sickness. Turns out that once you go see the doc, you can’t leave your room the rest of the trip - international law orders or some hokey pokey reason like that. Our trip wasn’t all wasted. We had an amazing Friday night celebrating the love of our two friends and the beginning of their married life. We met some great people who were there for the wedding and overall had a really good time - except that quarantine thing.

Cruising can be really inexpensive and convenient. Your accomodations are included. Your food is included. Cocktails won’t break you if you can hold off until you reach Mexico to get your drink on. And my most favorite part of it all is that the boat moves while you sleep, or drink, or eat, or shower, etc. The staterooms might be super tiny, but they sure beat 5-10 hours in coach while eating your free peanuts and the 4 oz of soda they give you every two hours.

One of my favorite sites is Vacationstogo.com. This site has a 90day ticker page that shows you hundreds of cruises that set sail in the next 90 days and are reduced in price as much as 75%.

Is your budget under $300? You can set sail from Miami on September 22nd aboard a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas for only $199 with Norwegian Cruiselines. Can’t wait that long and want to go to Bahamas next week? You can do the same 4 day cruise on Holland America for $299.

Is your budget under $500? This cruise has your name on it. Set sail August 30th on the Carnival Liberty from Miami for 7 nights in the Caribbean for only $479.

Time not an issue for you? You can cruise from London to New York for only $808! You leave next week, July 16th and will arrive July 22nd. Need to get home to New Jersey from Barcelona Spain next week? For $799 you can cruise on the cheap for 14 days and arrive rested, well fed, and happy. I can’t promise you that on an airplane, and I can’t promise you that if you don’t take the seasick prevention pills.

You can’t beat some of these last minute deals. And you for sure can’t beat them vs. airfare prices. To add to that, these cruise ships probably won’t charge you for your first, second or third bag either. Remember, your room and food is included. Now what are you waiting for? There is a cruise with your name on it leaving soon. Just don’t forget to take your sea sick medicine, or you may have to put up with that quarantine thing.

One of my favorite websites for great travel information and deals is Flyertalk.com. Flyertalk, introduced back in 1995, isn’t just for frequent fliers and frequent hotel guests. Don’t let the mileage runs and first class flyers scare you off; this is my first choice site for information and amazing leads.

Flyertalk is organized as a bunch of interactive discussion boards. I personally like their Hotel Deals page. One of the most recent posts on the board boasts a free $50 gas card with 3 night booking through hotels.com. That nifty benefit might just pay for part of your weekender out of town. You can also save $35 on Orbitz for your travel through the end of the year. That’s not so “last minute”, but that doesn’t mean you can’t set sail tomorrow and several times before you’re sipping champagne and ringing in the new year.

Mileage run, another huge perk of flyertalk, posts incorrect airline fares and hotel rooms that work in your favor. For instance, a hotel accidentally posted a $25 presidential suite per night. Flyertalk fans immediately posted the super cheap price which in some cases the hotel honored. But you can’t sit on these long before they are booked by your new fellow flyertalk friends and are GONE!

This is totally unrelated, but it’s one of my favorite posts I have ever read on flyertalk. Check out how this guy racked up miles while renting cars….lots of them….all at the same time.

More to come next week,

Josanna