Choosing the Best Travel Loyalty Programs

Every travel provider wants you to join their loyalty program. Why?  Because they want you connect with their brand, track your behaviour/spending and think of them first when you book your next trip.  Benefits to travel companies aside, if you choose one or two loyalty programs you like, the benefits and savings can significantly add up.

The Irony In my travelling infancy, I would only consider price.  As a result, I'm part of about 15 airline and hotel loyalty programs.  I have enough member numbers and passcodes to sink a ship.   The sad part is, after 15  years of heavy travelling, I'm only now at the point where I can start taking advantage of the miles/points accumulated.  The irony is, because I never had any loyalty, I haven't been able to reap any benefits.

Be Selective Each loyalty program offers different benefits, so it is important to choose one or two airline and hotel programs that match your primary airport, preferred destinations, preferences and values.  For example, I like Fairmont's loyalty program because it has hotels and resorts where I like to travel, the brand carries a high-level of service, their great rates feature provides excellent cost-savings, I heart the free wireless and the benefits of their tiers are decent.   Similarly, I like to fly Alaska Airlines when I can because they offer $50 upgrades to business class if there is space, have polite service and fly where I like to go.

Determining the Best Travel Loyalty Program for You

• do their brand values fit with your personal values?
• where are the destinations?
• how is the service?
• what partner offers do they have?
• is there a hotel group or airline that met or exceeded your expectations more than once, if so, could it be a fit?
• do they have hotels or resorts in close proximity for weekend getaways?
• what are your business and/or leisure needs (wireless, business centre use, free gym access, etc...)?

Great Travel Loyalty Program Resources:

• flyertalk.com - an interactive community that provides up-to-date information on travel-related loyalty reward programs.
• pointmaven.com - helps you earn the most points for every trip by connecting you with offers in your destination city

17 Google Tips for Every Traveler

If you are a traveler who brings along their laptop, netbook, blackberry or iphone on vacation, these online travel tips will rock your world.  Don't smirk, yes we travel to get away from it all, but having an internet connection can be invaluable.

Here are the best Google travel tips: [items 1 - 12 were originally put together by Vagabondish, an excellent travel blog]

Type the following "search queries" into google's search bar...

1. weather - "weather city/city code" ex: "weather los angeles" or "weather 90210"
2. flight status - "flight name and/or number" ex: "ha 30"
3. currency - “amount currency to second currency” ex: "100 usd to euro"  note that sometimes this feature can be finicky, for example, a search for "100 usd to cnd" did not work, but this did "100 usd to canadian dollars"
4. get local time - "time place" ex: "time madrid"
5. identify people, places or things - heard something in a foreign language but don't know what it is?  type it into google image search.  ex: gato in spanish is cat, gateau in french is cake.
6. view airport weather conditions - “[airport name/code] airport + conditions” ex: "ogg airport + conditions"
7. convert temperatures - "[temperature] [C/F] to [F/C]” ex: "12 c to f"
8. convert distances - “[value] [first distance unit] to [second distance unit]” ex: "140 miles to km"
9. convert driving speeds - “[value] [first distance unit] to [second distance unit]” ex: "90 mph to kph"
10. find a phone # - “[person's name] [city or zip/postal code]” ex: "john smith LA"
11. find a business - “[business name or type], [city or zip/postal code]” ex: "carrefour marseille"
12. find a local restaurant - “[food type], [city or zip code/postal code]” ex: "pizza, vancouver"
13. track a package - "fedex, usps, ups code"
14. translate text - go to translate.google.com and convert words from one 'tongue' to another ex: english to spanish. Can you tell me where the bank is? ¿Me puede decir donde el banco es?
15. get directions - go to maps.google.com, click 'get directions' then enter your starting and end point, then the system will provide the walking, driving or transit route
16. get a sightseeing itinerary = still in beta, google city tours provides customizable itineraries for select cities
17. like the info on a specific webpage? get similar info by typing the following into Google's search box: “related:www.yoursitename.com”

Fairmont President's Club + Great Rates

[trip style = budget + luxe]

On the first Tuesday of every month at 9pm pacific, the Fairmont posts "Great Rates" for their President Club Members. I am a big fan of Fairmont and have booked a few of my stays with the Great Rates feature.  The majority of Great Rates range from $99/night at city & resort properties to $159/night.  These price points are incredibly low given Fairmont's regular rates.

Sample of this Week's Deals

• Bermuda, from $129
• Riviera Maya, from $129
• Tremblant, from $129

Getting the most out of Fairmont's Great Rates

• plan on the potential of taking a vacation within the two months of the posted rate
• login the night the rates are posted to get your top pick
• plan on having a little flexibility to get the rate

Fairmont Great Rates Info

• most great rates are valid for select dates within the current and following month of posting
• they go quickly (we have called within 24 hours of posting and the rate was no longer available)
• they are posted the first Tues of every month at 9pm pacific and kept on the website for a week

[If you like Fairmont and have stayed with the hotel group in the past, or plan to in the future, joining is advantageous for the Great Rates alone....and a host of other reasons.  How to join.]

2009 Advent Holiday Deals are Here

Think of it as your 2009 adult advent calendar, and each day you get to open a new travel gift.  Today is the last day of  Starwood's 3-day sale and tomorrow Fairmont posts their monthly great rates for Presidents Club Members (free to join).

With the onset of Advent, travel operators will be spending major dollars hoping you'll want to escape the bleak winter weather for a hot holiday or cool getaway.  With the spread between Christmas and New Years being one of the biggest, most profitable travel times for trip providers, they are hoping you'll be caught by the imagery of the blue ocean lapping against a white-sand beach and decide to throw caution to the wind and book on impulse.

There's a catch.  Due to recession worries still top-of-mind, high season prices will likely be lower.  This makes it easier for you to justify a jaunt down south.

Normally I like to stay away from traveling in high season, but last year we bit the bullet and paid a little too much to lounge on the beach and sip bevvies at an all-inclusive in the Bahamas (more on this in a later post).  While at our resort, the Assistant General Manager said "we pray for bad winters in the US + Canada, this way, our bookings increase."

It's rare that the weather is great between Christmas and New Years, so if you want to escape for warmer conditions, here are a few tips:

• figure out your budget before you start looking for your winter getaway!!!!
• peruse your newspaper's travel section for competing offers
• if you are part of a hotel group's loyal club, check out their internal rates
• if you want a package vacation, look online:
  • Canada: itravel2000.com, jubileetravel.com, exitnow.ca
  • USA: applevacations.com, expedia.com, vacationstogo.com