Some people are not "joiners."
They find frequent flier clubs and room reward clubs to be distasteful, and generators of junk mail or spam.
I suggest those people are spending more money for travel than they should!
There are scores of ways to earn free stays in nice hotels.
Business travelers usually patronize one chain while on expense account, accumulating points for free vacation stays.
But you need not travel frequently to make these clubs pay handsomely.
There are credit cards you can use that will earn points for every dollar you spend--money you'll be spending anyway for milk, laundry detergent and other mundane necessities.
There are special offers that only club members receive--discounts among them. Not all the clubs are hotel-based. Ask any member of AARP or AAA if they get discounts on hotels.
What you'll have to buy in order to get a free stay will vary by hotel chain. As an example: Holiday Inn's Priority Club offers a free stay in their Express locations after perhaps six or seven nights.
Remember that if you use Priceline, most hotels will not award points.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TRAVEL CLUBS>
Here's another way the Internet has improved our lives: you now have access to scores of marketplaces where hotels are available at discount prices.
Many of these search engine operations will link you to the hotel's Web site, or show you a synopsis (complete with photographs) that they've prepared.
It might be Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia. Maybe you're a Qixo fan. Perhaps your last good deal came from Hotels.com.
These services deal in volume, which sets them apart from the consolidators we've already discussed. Here, you're likely to pay a bit more than the consolidators will charge. In return, you get more choices, more dates and perhaps a better mechanism for complaints if they arise.
There are volume dealers who specialize in Asia or Europe. Some cater to business travelers or vacation plans.
Give them all a look--even if you intend to use one of the other techniques. They often establish a good budget travel baseline for shopping.
Shopping is the key word. Any place you want to visit has hotel rooms that are overpriced and underpriced. You must find the latter without getting stuck with the former.
Next Page: More Money-Saving Features
They find frequent flier clubs and room reward clubs to be distasteful, and generators of junk mail or spam.
I suggest those people are spending more money for travel than they should!
Technique #4: Sign up as a preferred customer
There are scores of ways to earn free stays in nice hotels.
Business travelers usually patronize one chain while on expense account, accumulating points for free vacation stays.
But you need not travel frequently to make these clubs pay handsomely.
There are credit cards you can use that will earn points for every dollar you spend--money you'll be spending anyway for milk, laundry detergent and other mundane necessities.
There are special offers that only club members receive--discounts among them. Not all the clubs are hotel-based. Ask any member of AARP or AAA if they get discounts on hotels.
What you'll have to buy in order to get a free stay will vary by hotel chain. As an example: Holiday Inn's Priority Club offers a free stay in their Express locations after perhaps six or seven nights.
Remember that if you use Priceline, most hotels will not award points.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TRAVEL CLUBS>
Technique #5: Tap into volume sales at the search engines
Here's another way the Internet has improved our lives: you now have access to scores of marketplaces where hotels are available at discount prices.
Many of these search engine operations will link you to the hotel's Web site, or show you a synopsis (complete with photographs) that they've prepared.
It might be Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia. Maybe you're a Qixo fan. Perhaps your last good deal came from Hotels.com.
These services deal in volume, which sets them apart from the consolidators we've already discussed. Here, you're likely to pay a bit more than the consolidators will charge. In return, you get more choices, more dates and perhaps a better mechanism for complaints if they arise.
There are volume dealers who specialize in Asia or Europe. Some cater to business travelers or vacation plans.
Give them all a look--even if you intend to use one of the other techniques. They often establish a good budget travel baseline for shopping.
Shopping is the key word. Any place you want to visit has hotel rooms that are overpriced and underpriced. You must find the latter without getting stuck with the former.
Next Page: More Money-Saving Features