Savvy shoppers can use various travel booking websites to compare ticket prices or find the best deals. Kayak.com offers registered users a search feature which allows them to input flexible dates and see the best prices for multiple airlines as well as run a search for prices on weekend travel in a specified month. For customers who book plane tickets through Expedia.com and then find a better deal online within twenty-four hours, Expedia will refund the difference and give customers a travel voucher worth fifty dollars. Travelzoo.com offers shoppers a list of top twenty travel deals each week which are often combination packages including both airfare and hotel.
Booking last minute tickets can be expensive so many airlines, including Delta, offer discounted airfare to people who have just lost a close family member. Delta's special fares are not available online but can be accessed by calling the airline's reservation department. The airline defines 'close family' as sibling, child or step-child, fiancé, spouse or domestic partner, grandparent or grandchild, aunts or uncles, and in-laws. Passengers interested in the bereavement fare must plan to travel within three days and must have available the name of the deceased and contact information for the funeral home, hospital or hospice facility.
Flexible travelers who aren't pressed for time might want to consider alternate travel methods. Amtrak trains are an interesting and sometimes new experience and rail lines run through most major cities in the United States. Amtrak offers discounts to people serving in the military as well as veterans, student advantage members, AAA members, children and seniors. They also offer discounted rail passes which provide passengers the opportunity to ride a number of times within a set amount of days for a lump sum as well as weekly travel deals.
People traveling strictly for pleasure might want to reconsider their plans and contemplate staying home -- or at least in their home town. Websites like Groupon.com offer daily deals organized by city. Subscribers can receive discounts on activities from wine tasting to theater tickets in their email inbox every day. Livingsocial.com offers both daily food and activity deals and weekly Livingsocial Escapes with discounted hotels or spa packages, often in the subscriber's home town or neighboring city. People can reap the relaxation benefits of vacation by splurging on a night in a hotel or an extravagant dinner without worrying about emptying their savings account on airfare or gasoline.
