San Francisco to Pittsburgh $150 RT Incl. Taxes

Delta Airlines continues to offer roundtrip airfare from SFO to Pittsburgh, PA for just $150, including all taxes and fees. Fare is available now through the end of 2010. Click here and search by "flexible dates."

San Francisco to Dublin $402 RT Tax Included - Thru May

If you haven't finalized late Spring travel plans, consider this great deal over to Dublin, Ireland. 

Fly from SFO to Dublin for about $402 round-trip, tax included. 

International airfares have dropped substantially in the past few months, but this fare is particularly attractive since it is available on most carriers, including U.S. Airways, Air Canada, Air France, Aer Lingus and Delta, and valid for travel through May 26th - leading up to the busy travel season. A Saturday night stay is required for this discounted rate. Click here to check availability using the "flexible dates" option. 

San Francisco to Ft Lauderdale $187 "All In"

American and Continental have dropped fares between San Francisco and Ft Lauderdale to under $200 round-trip, taxes and fees included. Plenty of availability through April 30, 2009. 21-day advance ticketing required. To book, visit Travelocity.com and search by "flexible dates."

Sacramento to Philadelphia $181 "All In"

Sacramento to Philadelphia is currently pricing at $155+ tax, "$181 all in."
The fare is available on United ("L" class) and Northwest ("K" Class) with good availability through early January 2009. Visit Travelocity and search using the "flexible dates" option.

Travelocity Brings Back 'Flexible Dates' Feature For International Travel

Back in July 2006, Travelocity opted to disable the "flexible dates" functionality that allowed customers to search for the best international fares when travel dates were flexible. They did so after failing to reach an agreement with the Department of Transportation on how to show the most accurate fare when factoring in all surcharges, which vary by city and carrier.

Well, that wonderful feature is back! According to our friends at Airfarewatchdog.com, Travelocity reintroduced this functionality late last week.

How it works: Let's say you want to travel from San Francisco to Paris (CDG). On the Travelocity website (and really most travel booking sites) you simply enter the travel dates you want to fly and the site returns with the best available prices. Easy enough. But using the flexible dates feature, which Travelocity again offers, the site searches 330 days in advance and reports back the least expensive travel dates. Most other travel sites do not have this extensive international search feature - farecompare.com being a notable exception.

I have not seen an official press release from Travelocity as yet regarding the recent changes. But let's hope this move is permanent, thereby enabling travelers with more tools when making travel plans. Two thumbs up for Travelocity.

Pacific Coast or Baja California Cruise $199+ per person

Sure...sure... you will be tucked away in a 180 square foot windowless room, but you do get complimentary room service down there!



Travelocity is advertising some pretty good cruise deals this week. The 3-night Norwegian Pacific Coast cruise runs roundtrip from L.A to Vancouver, while the 4-night Carnival Baja trip runs roundtrip Long Beach to Catalina to Ensenada. There are some inexpensive Bahamas and Gulf of Mexico cruises to be had as well. Many of these offer a $25 onboard ship credit when using your Mastercard for payment. Still some good sail dates left in late Spring and early Summer. Book soon.

HOT! San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) -$177 round-trip, taxes incl. United & US Airway
Valid from April 2008 thru the Summer! Book at http://www.united.com/ or http://www.travelocity.com/
Fare basis: LR14NX

JetBlue has announced today it has begun selling tickets on online travel sites, such as Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline.com. The deals mean JetBlue can expand its customer base and step up competition on the US domestic market. Until today, travelers had to purchase tickets directly from JetBlue.

Priceline Eliminates Airline Ticket Booking Fees
This month, Priceline began eliminating airline ticket booking fees on all published domestic and international fares. The change does not apply to Priceline's Name Your Own Price airline ticketing service, which offers already discounted tickets.

There are many pro's and con's to using Priceline and other travel sites such as Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity. A con has historically been the added service charge for airline tickets, though often only $5-$15 per ticket. This policy change at Priceline may be a wake up call to the other travel sites to reexamine their fees, while at the same time making such travel sites a more attractive option to consumers.

Travelocity Promotion: $50 off a 3 night stay at participating hotels, when using your Mastercard. Expires November 30th.

The Rise & Fall of the 'online booking bonus'

By Mike Grasso

So sad. Delta Airlines has discontinued its online booking bonus of 500 miles.
Airlines which historically have offered online booking bonuses initially did so to lure people to book tickets through their computer, rather than a travel agent or on the phone. Back in the day, many reservations booked online at the airlines website scored you upwards of 1000 added frequent flyer miles.

Since then, airlines have initiated service fees for booking reservations with an agent - ranging from $10-$40 bucks. Some airlines have also trimmed, cut, and slashed travel agent commissions on booking air-only reservations. Finally, online travel sites such as Expedia and Travelocity often charge a service fee, albeit it minimal, for booking air tickets. All of this has worked to the airlines advantage, to the point where online booking bonuses are rarely necessary to get folks to travel with the mouse directly to the airlines website.

Delta joins Northwest in discontinuing online booking bonuses, while United, Continental and U.S Air only offer 500 miles, and American now down to 250 bonus miles.

San Francisco - New York City non-stop $219/RT w/taxes Aug 18-Sept 29th
Travel not allowed on Fridays or Sundays. Booking through Travelocity

Monterey - Miami, FL $143 + tax roundtrip on United Airlines
Valid for travel through May 08, Saturday night stay required.
Fare Basis: LE14NNX

Some other decent deals available from Oakland/San Francisco/San Jose to Ft.Lauderdale/West Palm Beach starting at about $25 more with varying restrictions. Travelocity

A few decent fares from the Bay Area this morning:
San Francisco - San Diego $39 each way on United for travel starting August 16th
San Francisco - Salt Lake City $59 each way on JetBlue for travel starting July 27th
Oakland- Long Beach $44 each way on JetBlue for travel starting August 9th

Search tools: Travelocity & Farecompare utilizing "flexible dates" tool

Travelocity has extended their $50 off coupon which applies to selected hotel stays of 3 days or longer. Use coupon code HOTEL50 or click here. Must book by July 31st and discount is valid for hotel stays through October 31. I selected some random dates for hotels on the strip in Las Vegas and came up with a couple (decent) options priced under $75/night before the discount.

Emergency Travel - Bereavement Fares

Sorting out flight arrangements is often the least concern when a distant family member has recently died or is imminent. Search engines likes Travelocity and Expedia make it much easier to sort schedules and fares for most of the airlines allowing you to choose what makes the most sense. But, sometimes you need some flexibility.

One option is redeeming frequent flyer miles for an air ticket. They often have more flexibility than a standard purchased ticket, with many airlines allowing you to change dates/times of departure at no fee providing there are still available seats.

A more classic option, Bereavement fares, can also provide customers options such as open return dates - because who knows how long you may need to stay at the destination to work through family matters. This program is usually available to immediate family members including domestic partners. But, not all airlines offer Bereavement fares any longer, so you need to call the airlines directly to find out.

Prices range from 10-75% off the FULL FARE price of a ticket for the same routing. Therefore, Bereavement fares are not always the least expensive - but again, can offer a greater ability to make changes as needed during your travel.

HOT FARE
San Francisco to Las Vegas $108 round-trip TAXES INCLUDED on United Airlines
Valid for travel from August 27th through October. Not valid on Friday or Sunday travel.
Use Expedia or Travelocity "flexible dates" option

Hot Coupon
Travelocity $50 off 3+ night hotel stay
$50 off a 3 night or more hotel stay when booking at Travelocity.com and using coupon code
HOTEL50 or clicking this link. Offer expires June 30th valid for stays through October 07.
Must use a Mastercard for the purchase.

UNITED: SFO-Cincinnati Ohio $98+ tax roundtrip

Fare has been around several hours this afternoon - what a deal.
SFO-CVG valid now through end of flight schedule with a 14 day advance purchase. "L" fare
$98+ tax. About $130 "all in"
Connections could include Denver, Chicago, and for some real fun, Las Vegas, Ontario, Dallas or Phoenix work on some days.
Base mileage earned 4000-5000 depending on stops.
http://www.travelocity.com/ - use "flexible dates" feature