Joanne was excited about this long awaited vacation. It had been two years since she sauntered the streets of Puerto Rico. Tanning, beach BBQs, cocktail parties, dancing the nights away were all things of the past.
Besides the occasional weekend get-together with friends, there was hardly anything she did that she could call FUN. Perhaps, this was the situation for most of us. For some, planning a vacation feels like building castles in the sky! We hardly save enough when we live on a super tight budget.
After much deliberation, she finally decided to give it a whirl, take that leap of faith and plan her dream vacation. She thought "It's now or never", girl. Overworked, underpaid, exhausted and clearly in need of a break, mistakes were bound to be made in planning, and boy were they ever.
She called up her travel agent and asked them to book a package vacation to Zurich. Ah, the breathtaking the Swiss Alps! Unfortunately, what you don't know is that Joanne's IDEAL ski getaway was actually a tourist trap. She ended up paying almost double the actual cost without any upgrades or special discounts.
During the flight, she could have easily gained an upgrade, given the miles she had accrued in Star Alliance's Miles and More frequent fliers program. But her agent booked an airline, which is not a Star Alliance partner. What a lost opportunity!
Joanne's first mistake was that she planned and booked in haste. When, in fact, budget travel requires planning well in advance, scouring the internet for the cheapest air fare, searching for discount accommodations, cheap rent-a-cars, etc. I mean, really, who can afford to take the first travel package that comes their way?
Any discerning traveler today would prefer a travel website over an agent it's one of the advantages of the World Wide Web! Keep surfing for the best deals. Compare each website and calculate all the pros and cons. Never book in a hurry.
When you have time, you can always book in advance and grab the lowest airfare. So why wait until the last few days and pay top dollar? Okay, you want to snatch a last minute deal. Here's what you need NOT do in this case. Don't book during peak travel times; i.e. Fridays, Sunday evenings, Monday mornings, the day before and after a holiday, or mid-day flights. Joanne's agent had her flying out on a Friday evening flight!
Also, don't book another air flight when you have flier miles accrued with your regular airline or the airline's partners. This means, if you're a frequent flyer of Star Alliance partner airlines, ideally, you shouldn't change over to Oneworld or Sky Team. Changing to a different alliance will eliminate your eligibility for the upgrades and benefits, which you could earn from your frequent fliers program. Thus, while Joanne could have opted for a Swiss Airlines flight to Zurich, her agent booked British Airways. Swiss Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, which she uses quite frequently for all her domestic trips. Hence, this time, she couldn't use her flier miles.
So, you see, planning can earn you incredible benefits and even more savings. So, learn from Joanne's mistake! Plan your vacation wisely and don't just take the first deal that comes your way. Scour the internet for the best deals out there. Look at all-inclusive vacation packages versus a la carte vacations.
Manoj Borah is a Senior Writer & Journalist working with CheapoAir.com, a top travel site online. Manoj writes and reviews articles with special focus on ?a mode vacation spots for budget travelers and road warriors, besides sharing tips and nuggets on booking cheap airplane tickets, hotels and cheap weekend getaways .
Source: http://www.postarticles.com/Article/How-NOT-to-book-a-vacation/48502
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