travel news

More huge savings on flash-travel! Newcomer site: Spire

by Kirsten on June 22, 2011

Spire.com is the newest kid on the block with travel flash-sales

I can’t get enough of flash-sale travel sites. In fact, about 75% of my most recent travels have been, in part, due to these darn sites knowing just how to tickle my fancy and get me to bite! They offer amazing deals that cannot be booked elsewhere. (Yes, that includes Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak… etc)

From Jetsetter, to Snique Away , Vacationist , and VoyagePrive (who btw is now partnering with one of my favorite fashion flash-sale sites, ideeli), a new kid is now on the block…..Spire.

Spire just launched on Tuesday and promises to offer deals on luxury hotels that are at least 30 percent off the lowest rates found anywhere else! Seriously, how can you refuse?!

For those that are unfamiliar, perhaps a bit hesitant to jump into this new way of booking travel, I’ll explain a bit as to how it works.

Most sites offer a small variety of travel sales on hotels, cruises, or full vacation packages for only a few days at a time. Once the deal has passed, it’s gone, and you lost your chance at a great savings. Typically, these sales are restricted to members only and often you have to be invited by another member to join in the fun and savings. (Interested in joining? Use the links above and/or on the side of the page for travel sample sale sites).

Spire is offering something very needed, the chance to cancel or change your reservation with 72 hours after booking, something many of the other sites do not allow. Yes, sometimes there is a catch with these flash sites (albeit a very small one in my humble opinion). You will get charged a $29 fee, but no biggie if it means you get the rest of your money back!

The competition is getting fierce in this industry, and that makes me one happy girl. Competition hopefully equals even better travel deals. Fingers crossed!

Spire also offers a best-deal guarantee, which works in conjunction with their 30%-lower price guarantee. “If you purchase something on our site for $1,000 and find the same offer somewhere else for $1,200, we’ll still give you $100 in Spire credits because we weren’t 30 percent lower,” said Jennifer Gaines, the company’s senior travel editor.

Like I mentioned before, they are up to some fierce competition, many of whom are upping their game at a seemingly rapid rate. Who will hail as the best? I think it’s still up in the air.

Be on the lookout soon for Groupon Getaways, a proposed joint offering between Groupon and Expedia. Expected to launch in the coming weeks, they plan to offer up to 50% hotels in both the US and Canada, eventually including deals on airfare, cruises, and vacation packages. I’ll be waiting to see how this turns out.

What do you think of all these sites? Have you tried them out yet? Are you a huge fan like me? Tell us your thoughts below by leaving a comment!

Love, K.

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Southwest To Offer Brand New Rapid Rewards Program!

by Kirsten on January 6, 2011

Southwest Airlines has had some flack in the past regarding their currently structured rewards program. Considered a bit lack-luster and hard to achieve the end result of a free flight, they have completely revamped their program, effective March 1, 2011!

After taking a look at some of the changes, tell me what you think by leaving a comment below! Do you think the program is any better? I am excited to see how it plays out, but sometimes these programs become too complicated and cumbersome to seem worth it. Your thoughts?

Take a look at some of the changes you can expect:

Every seat on every flight, every day is a rewards seat. If there’s a seat available, you can redeem your points for it.

No blackout dates. We’ve done away with blackout dates, which means you can fly when you want. Every day is now eligible for reward travel.

Your points don’t expire.** Plan your getaway for next week or next year. Either way, it’s no problem since your points no longer have an expiration date.

Earn points for every dollar you spend. The amount of your fare now determines how many points you earn. And since you can also earn points with our Partners, that free flight won’t be far behind.

Redeem for International flights and more. Free flights are just the beginning. With the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card from Chase, you can now redeem your points for International flights, cruises, hotel stays, car rentals, gift cards, and access to exclusive events.

Here are some screenshots of the new benefits:

Check out the new program terms here at Southwest.com!!

Don’t forget to leave your thoughts and opinions below!
Love, K.

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ideeli Announces ideelACCESS with Daily Local Deals and new Travel Tuesdays!!

by Kirsten on October 27, 2010

ideeli happens to be one of my favorite daily addictions, as well as the fastest growing online members-only shopping sites in the U.S. I can’t tell you how many amazing deals I have received on designer jeans, shoes, tops, and so much more. So, you can imagine my excitement when I learned of their new ideelACCESS local daily deals and Travel Tuesdays!

This week I spoke with Tamara Rosenthal, Executive Director of Marketing for ideeli – who, by the way, is amazing – and we chatted about all the great developments for ideeli in the last month. September 21, 2010, marked the official date ideeli announced Travel Tuesdays, their dedicated category for too-good-to-pass-up travel deals and packages. At 30-60% off regular prices, ideeli will offer curated member-only packages to luxury and boutique properties world-wide.

These travel experiences will not only be exclusive to hotel stays, but will be augmented by members-only perks such as complimentary room upgrades, spa and restaurant credits, free pool and cabana rentals, and even a gourmet picnic lunch or other amenity packages! These amazing deals will be featured every Tuesday (hence the name “Travel Tuesdays”), and will run for six days or until sold out.

Check out some of their past travel offerings:

A group-buy deal on ideelACCESS: $50 for a $100 credit toward any of the 600+ properties in the Mr. and Mrs. Smith luxury hotel network.
Exclusive packages to Lake Austin Spa (Texas), The Venetian (Las Vegas) and Cabo Azul (Mexico).
Giveaway to a 4-night stay at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba, a 5-star star property in Playa del Carmen valued at up to $4500.

Yesterday marked the start of three new sales, The Sofia Hotel: San Diego, CA, Banyan Tree Mayakoba: Riviera Maya, Mexico, andthe Sivory: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Um, yes, count me in!

To add a cherry on top, October 19, 2010, announced the official start of ideelACCESS, a local-extension of its social commerce platform. New York City is their first and only city offering daily local deals, but I have on good authority that a city on the West Coast will soon be added, most likely before the end of the year! I imagine it won’t be long before other major cities are featured.

Like other social commerce sites, ideelACCESS harnesses the power of group buying, requiring a minimum number of sales to activate the deal. Their launch week included offers at Manhattan favorites such as Exhale Spa, Ovando florist, Bistro Bagatelle, Jami Saunders Photography and Shop Gotham shopping tours.

When speaking with Tamara, I asked how ideeli differentiates themselves from other similar websites that offer drastically reduced-price travel deals and daily local deals. Her answer made a lot of sense, and reminded me of the exact reason why I love ideeli so much.

ideeli will be offering deals that they hand-select, and that fit the direct needs of their members. They have gone to great lengths to assure that no deal goes sour, and all will be fulfilled as promised. Unfortunately with some other sites, fulfillment of promised deals falls through at times. Yikes!

In addition, ideeli plans to offer a wide variety of travel deals that are financially attainable for their members. Sure high-priced luxury vacations are amazing, but let’s be real – we all can’t afford it. ideeli is aware of this issue, and therefore has created luxurious travel packages that are within the realm of possibility for most members! We also can expect less black-out dates, another huge benefit! Thank you for that, ideeli!

ideeli currently serves 3.2 million members. Just last December, they were at 1 million members. Wow! They don’t attribute this growth to just one factor, but really a series of developments since December – an updated look and feel to the site, significant engagement across social media platforms, expanded product offerings across additional categories, and the launch of their group buying platform, ideelACCESS. Congrats ideeli! You know I love you!

If you have not yet experienced ideeli, please accept my personal invitation to this members-only community. There is no sign-up fee, and you will be amazed at what they have to offer!

Sign up at ideeli here!!

Love, K.

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Passport fees go up in price on July 13

by Kirsten on July 7, 2010

We are right around the corner for another travel-related fee hike, this time with passports. What once cost around $100 will now be about $135. I wish I could say I am not surprised, but considering the government is the ones issuing these babies, it was just a matter of time before they tried to raise the price. They have to re-coup their money somehow, don’t they!?!

Here is a run down of the changes in passport fees:

New Passport

Old – $100*
New – $135*

New Passport for child under 16

Old – $85*
New – $105*

Passport Renewal

Old – $75
New – $110

Passport Cards

Old – $45*
New – $55*

Passports Cards for child under 16

Old – $35*
New – $40*

Extra Passport pages

Old – Free
New – $82

*Includes the $25 administrative fee

To see the full list of fees visit travel.state.gov

PS – Here is their reasoning behind the increase in fees:

The revised fees will cover actual operating expenses for the 301 overseas consular posts, 23 domestic passport agencies and other centers that provide these consular services to U.S. and foreign citizens.

Love, K

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Bing Travel Tells You the Best Time to Buy with Historical Data

by Kirsten on May 19, 2010

Bing recently added a tool that allows you to compare current rates with historical ones for over thirty U.S. cities. When using this service, a map will pop up with flags, either red, yellow, or green. (Green is a steal, yellow is average, and red means steer clear.)

I used this just the other day when looking at prices for flights. It gives you a great way to decide whether you want to risk waiting to book your flight later, or if it’s recommended you book now. With a current flight from SFO to Chicago around $400, Bing recommended I wait to book, as there is an 80% chance the price would drop by $50 in the next seven days. So, what did I do, I chose to wait! It also provided a great graph of the price trends of this particular flight showing when it was cheaper, more expensive, etc.

I wish all sites did this, and although I am unsure of the accuracy of this new tool, I would imagine a lot of research went into the development of it, so I will lean on the side of trusting their recommendations.

What do you think? Is this a useful tool you would like to see on all travel sites? Leave a comment below!

Love, K.

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Virgin Atlantic’s iPhone and iPad App to Help Eliminate Jet Lag

by Kirsten on May 16, 2010

Virgin Atlantic has recently released their “Jet Lag Fighter” app for both the iPhone and the iPad. Fighting jet lag is a common problem when you travel, so much so, that it can take every ounce of energy out of you, at completely the wrong time. I know that when I arrive to a location, I want to be ready to go, even should it mean to going to the nearest outdoor cafe for a cup of coffee, or an afternoon glass of wine.

This new app was released on May 12, 2010, so it’s brand spanking new. A great travel app is well worth the fee should it deliver as promised. Thankfully, this one is only $1.99, so even if it isn’t the greatest, you aren’t out too much money. In the screen shots of the app below, you can see it is designed to tell you how to eliminate jet lag by alerting you when to get more light, get exercise, or avoid light, all things that have a very direct impact on jet lag.

Virgin Atlantic partnered with the advice of Dr. Chris Idzikowski, allowing the user to enter in their flight details which then gives the app the proper information to let it figure out whether you need a sleep adjustment or light adjustment. An app that teaches you how to best get through jet lag is long overdue. I understand there to be a couple other apps out there, but this one is deemed to be superior.

What do you think, will you download this new app? If so, what do you think of it? If you have used it and have some feedback, good or bad, leave a comment below!

Love, K.