E-MAIL JOE    PRINT    2009 STEALS & DEALS    ARCHIVES    SEARCH ARCHIVES THE BIG BARGAINS FOR JULY 2 - JULY 16, 2009 Delta/Northwest: Double Miles on All Flights Through 2009 Hey, time to party like it's the early days of the frequency programs again. Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines are reviving one of the great frequent flyer promotions of all time: double miles on all flights. And there are only two tiny catches: You have to register here and you have to have a Delta American Express SkyMiles card. (And therein may be the genesis of the promo: Delta is trying to encourage Northwest flyers, who had a US Bank WorldPerks card, to switch to American Express, Delta's credit card partner.) You don't need to charge the flights to the SkyMiles card, however. The promotion is valid on Delta, Delta Connection and Northwest flights until the end of the year. And, so far, no other carrier has matched. THIS WEEK'S OTHER NOTABLE TRAVEL BARGAINS Courtyard by Marriott: Book a Weekend, Get a Gift Card Marriott's apparently endless quest not to cut rates has led to still another value-added promotion. Book a weekend stay at a Courtyard hotel by September 13 and you'll get a $20 Visa gift card. Use promotion code CYS and make sure your stay includes a Friday or Saturday night. Information: the Book a Weekend Stay page. Alaska Airlines: Fly the Bay to Hawaii, Get 10-40 Percent Discounts Alaska Airlines is launching flights to Maui and Kona from Oakland in November and it has launched a battery of deals and discounts to promote the service. First of all, fares are as low as $169 each way. And if you register for a special promotion, you'll receive a discount coupon for 10 percent off the Hawaii fares. Then if you fly twice on Alaska Air or its Horizon Air commuter carrier from Northern California--San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento or Santa Rosa--by September 30, you'll receive a discount coupon worth 20 percent off Hawaii fares. Fly three times and you'll get 30 percent off; four times will get you a 40 percent discount coupon. The discounts can be used for Hawaii flights until March 1 although there are blackout dates around the holidays. The only other catches: You must register here and be a member of Alaska's frequent flyer program. China Eastern: $3,200 in Business Class to China China Eastern Airlines has emerged as one of the largest and most important carriers in China and it has a vast network of flights in the country. Consolidator Al Thomas is offering business-class flights on China Eastern from New York for as little as $3,200 roundtrip plus tax. That price includes flights to Shanghai, Hong Kong or any of 20 other destinations in China. Information: 800-258-0135 LAST CALL FOR THE SUMMER BUSINESS-CLASS BARGAINS Airlines: Have We Got Some Fare Sales for You It has been an extraordinary year for summer business-class sales. Transatlantic fares dropped as low as $1,300 roundtrip and we saw the first transpacific summer sales of note. But all good things must end: In the next ten days or so, the purchase-by deadline for virtually all of the airline summer business class deals will have passed. So consider this your last call. If you want to fly cheap and in comfort to Europe this summer, act now. Surf here for all of the details. THE MOST NOTABLE FREQUENT-TRAVEL PROMOTIONS Hyatt Hotels: Sure Our Rates Are High, But We Got Big Bonuses... Check rates in virtually any city or resort destination and you'll see that Hyatt properties are noticeably higher-priced than its other full-line competitors. In New York, for instance, while full-line Hiltons, Marriotts and Starwood hotels are currently asking about $250-$300 a night (and much less on weekends), the only Hyatt, a rather soulless place above Grand Central Terminal, is routinely charging more than $400 on most evenings. To balance its much-too-high prices, Hyatt has a solution: 2,500 bonus Gold Passport points for each stay through September 15. (The only caveats: You must register in advance and pay with a MasterCard.) And since 5,000 points gets you a free night in many Hyatt and Hyatt Place hotels, the bonus offer is a pretty good deal. For more information and to register: the Hyatt Gold Passport Web site. East Coast Air Shuttles: Delta Matches US Airways, Which Had Matched Delta... Once upon a time in the 1980s--uh, oh!--the Air Shuttle wars between Eastern Airlines and New York Air were so intense that the carriers routinely offered 2,000 bonus frequent flyer miles per segment on the 200-or-so-mile flights between New York and Boston and New York and Washington. As the Shuttles changed hands (US Airways has what was the Eastern operations and Delta has what was once the New York Air Shuttle.) and prices skyrocketed, passengers and promotions fell away. These days, the Shuttles are a shell of their former selves. But give Delta kudos for trying to revive interest in its version of the Northeast Corridor dinosaurs. It has slashed some walk-up fares to as low as $129 each way and then introduced a 2,500-mile bonus for flying a one-way segment and a 5,000-mile bonus for flying roundtrip. You must register in advance. Better late then never, American Airlines matched the Delta bonus on its commuter flights between LaGuardia and Boston. Click here for details. And very tardily, US Airways matched on its Shuttle flights. To make up for its late response, US Airways is offering the 2,500-mile bonus through August 15, almost three weeks longer than Delta's original offer. (Click here for details and to register.) And now Delta has matched US Airways on the expiration date and its bonus offer will last through August 15, too. Marriott: We Got Free Nights Now, Too… You know how you know things are really bad in the hotel business? The big chains are giving away rooms. Really. Whether it's by bonus offers routed through the frequent-guest programs or flat-out "gift with purchase" kind of arrangements, the chains are in a tizzy trying to unload their inventory. The latest contestant in the frequent-guest category is Marriott, which is responding to earlier offers from Starwood and InterContinental (see below). When Marriott Rewards members register by June 30 and complete three stays by August 31, they receive a free night that can be used by December 31. There is a catch, of course. While the qualifying nights can be completed at virtually any Marriott brand (excluding Ritz-Carlton), the free nights are only for hotels in the lowest (categories 1-4) tiers of the Marriott Rewards program. Starwood: Free Weekend Nights--and an Early Pitch The truly dire state of hotelkeeping--falling nightly room rates and plummeting occupancy rates--has the big lodging companies revving up the promotions. In the case of Starwood, it isn't just launching a free nights deal modeled on Hyatt's Faster Free Night operation, but it was also promoting it two weeks before it began. The deal is simple and rich: If you are a member of Starwood Preferred Guest and register in advance, two stays at any Starwood hotel between May 1 and July 31 earns a free weekend night that can be used until the end of September. There's no limit on the number of weekend nights (that means a Friday, Saturday or Sunday stay) you can earn during the promotion. Information: the SPG Free Weekends page. Marriott Rewards: The, Er, Point of This Promo Is That Resorts Are Hurting How badly are the world's warm-weather resorts suffering from the double-barreled impact of the global recession and the AIG Effect, which has companies thinking twice about booking a meeting in high-profile destinations? The major hotel frequent stay programs are beginning to discount award stays as a way to put heads on beds. How does you claiming an award help a resort that is empty? For starters, the frequent stay program pays the resort for your stay. And even though you're getting a freebie, you're likely to shell out hard cash for on-property meals, spa treatments and other activities. To that end, Marriott Rewards is now offering three resort nights for the price you'd pay in points for just two nights. The promotion runs through September 7 and covers dozens of participating Marriott Family warm-weather resorts around the globe. To score the deal, which could knock as much as 35,000 points off the price of a three-night stay, request the 3 for 2 Resort Redemption Special. GREAT HOTEL BARGAINS AVAILABLE AROUND THE WORLD Marriott: We'll Give You a Free Night, But… As we've told you repeatedly in recent months, Marriott will do just about anything to avoid "naked discounting," the industry term for cutting the nightly rate. So it's tried value-added promotions, gift-card giveaways and, now, a free-night promotion. About 300 hotels outside the continental United States in the JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard chains are participating. But there are plenty of confusing rules and restrictions. Generally speaking, however, city hotels are offering the third night free when you book three consecutive nights between Thursday and Sunday. In London, however, the third free night is available only on midweek stays. At resorts, the offer is the fourth night free when you book four consecutive nights anytime. The deal is valid for stays until September 7 when you use code RR2. Information: the Explore a new country page. Hyatt Hotels: Okay, We'll Cut Some of Our Rates, Too… Hyatt apparently has decided that only offering big bonuses won't cut it in one of the most bearish hotel markets in recent decades. So it is selectively cutting rates this summer in an effort to bring its prices in line with other hotel chains. For most of the summer at many Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency properties around the world, Hyatt is lowering its so-called Hyatt Daily Rate by as much as 29 percent. The chain says that the price cut "averages 25 percent," but, as always, you must be careful: No single chainwide rate category is always the lowest at any particular property. The so-called LTO Sale is valid for stays at participating U.S., Canada and Caribbean properties between June 26 and October 4, but you must book your reservations between June 19 and July 9 or August 14 through September 3. Internationally, the discount is a flat 20 percent when you book 7- to 14-days in advance before September 3. You can stay at the discount prices from July 3 through mid-September, although the specific end date varies by property. To score the deal, use code LTO109. Hyatt Hotels: Meanwhile, Back at the Limited-Service Sectors… Hyatt's limited-service brands--the spacious, restyled Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites--are much more aggressively priced in their respective lodging segments than the full-service Hyatt properties, but Hyatt is nevertheless slashing prices there, too. If you're booking at least two nights at a Hyatt Place or Summerfield Suites before September 7, you'll receive 50 percent off the Hyatt Daily Rate on the second night. (As previously noted, there is no guarantee that the Hyatt Daily Rate--or any publicly discussed chainwide rate--is the lowest available, so be sure to check prices carefully.) To get the second-night discount being offered under the rubric of Summer Family rate, make sure to book using the code SUMFAM. Information: the Hyatt Place or Summerfield Suites Web sites. Hilton: 2-for-1 Stays in Asia All Summer--and Late Checkout, Too The worldwide collapse of hotel demand is finally leading Asian hoteliers to start rethinking their rates. One of the first chains out of the box? The Asia Pacific hotels and resorts in the Hilton Family. Their first offer: Stay two nights for the price of one until August 31. The deal represents a 50 percent savings over the hotels' respective "best available rate" category, which is generally the lowest non-advance purchase price. Want to stay longer? The participating Hilton Family hotels will give you a free night for every two you book, so a four-night stay will be priced at just a two-night stay, a six-night stay will cost the equivalent of three nights and so on. Weekend stays will also receive late checkout until 6 p.m. The special rate must be booked by July 31. Information: the Exceptional times. Exceptional offers. page. Naples, Florida: Making Hotel Lemonade From Very High-Priced Lemons Almost two years ago, Hilton Hotels sold itself to Blackstone for a whopping $26 billion. It was the last of really big, really stupid deals of our pre-recession's go-go years and Hilton and Blackstone have been picking up the financial pieces ever since. One small ray of sunshine has been Blackstone's decision to fold a bunch of other swanky resorts it owns into Hilton's nascent Waldorf Astoria Collection. That's brought properties like the Boca Raton Resort and the Naples Grande Beach Resort under the Waldorf rubric. But it's off-season in Florida and that means bargains--and you're not likely to find a better one than the Naples Grande is offering just now: as low as $99 a night with the fourth night free. Book by July 15 and you'll receive a certificate for another free night that can be used before December 20. And the so-called Summer Escape Package also includes a battery of other incentives at the 23-acre waterfront property, including dining discounts; price breaks on spa treatments; tennis and golf discounts; and free stuff for the kids. The $99 rate is good on a capacity-controlled basis until September 30. One caveat: Like a lot of resorts, there's a mandatory (and annoying) daily "resort fee" that covers stuff like parking, in-room coffee, newspapers and the like. Information: the Naples Grande Escape page. Radisson: Oh, Just Take the Summer Fridays for Nothing… And what if you don't have a strong or compelling frequent-guest program? Like, oh, say, Radisson, which tries to get by with the limp GoldPoints Plus plan? Since you can't get traction through frequency, you just bundle the freebies into existing stays. Hence the Friday is Freeday idea: If a paid stay includes a Thursday or a Saturday, Radisson will throw in the Friday for free. The promotion runs through September 15 and is valid at Radisson hotels in North and South America, the Asia/Pacific region and Radisson Edwardian hotels in the United Kingdom. The promotion requires a seven-day advance reservation and only standard rooms qualify for the free Friday stay. Information: the Friday is Freeday page. Berlin: Twenty Years On, The Wall as Hotel Promotional Tool It's been exactly 20 years since the Berlin Wall came tumbling down and marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Empire as we knew them. Over the years, Die Mauer, which is what the Germans used to call it, has become kitsch, a souvenir, a metaphor, a tourist attraction, a political talking point, and now, perhaps inevitably, a tool for hotel marketing. The Ritz-Carlton Berlin's Remember The Wall package offers a ticket to the Berlin Wall Museum, a piece of The Wall itself, overnight accommodations and breakfast. The bundle includes a sample of two famous East German consumer products that survived the reunification with the West: Zetti sweet crunchy chocolate chips and Rotkäppchen sparkling wine. Guests booking the package also receive a DVD copy of Goodbye Lenin!, an Oscar-nominated documentary, and a welcome drink called a Gorbachev Cocktail. (If you're fuzzy on the history, then-president Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987 and exhorted then-Soviet premier Gorbachev to "tear down this wall.") The package is available through December 29 and costs 245 euros for single occupancy and 305 euros for a double. By the way, the Ritz is on Potsdamer Platz, the heart of reunified Berlin, not far from where a section of The Wall once stood. Information: the Remember the Wall page. Residence Inn: Rate Cuts? Let Them Eat Bonus Bucks! Unlike Hilton and several other chains that are now slashing rates with gusto--it's called "naked discounting" in industry parlance--Marriott is desperately trying to avoid selling on price. So it continues to invent value-added offers to tempt travelers to fill the copious number of empty rooms it now has. The latest offer is from its Residence Inn division: Stay a weekend night and receive a $50 Bonus Bucks coupon that can be redeemed as part of a future two-night weekend stay at participating Marriott hotels and resorts around the world. The promotion is valid until December 31 if you stay a Friday or Saturday night at a participating Residence Inn and use the rate code RPN. Information: the Suite Weekend page. OTHER GREAT AIRLINE DEALS THAT ARE STILL AVAILABLE Finnair: Big (and Even Bigger) Discounts for Business Class to Europe Let's be honest: Finnair isn't top of mind when it comes to flights to Europe, even though it has an extensive Northern European network centered on its compact, pleasant Helsinki hub and offers terrific service in business class. How do you combat that kind of traveler disinterest and ignorance? With eye-opening price cuts, of course. Finnair is offering an open-ended business-class sale to Europe with prices as low as $2,202 roundtrip from New York/Kennedy. That includes flights to Moscow, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Warsaw and almost a dozen other cities. All of the other European destinations that Finnair serves outside of Finland are priced as low as $2,552 roundtrip. The restrictions are quite modest: a five-day minimum stay and a 50 percent cancellation charge. But wait, there's more, as they say on those TV infomercials. Although Finnair isn't promoting it, you can drive roundtrip business-class prices down to about $1,900 if you're willing to accept nonrefundable tickets and a Saturday-night stay. Information: the Best Offers page. United Airlines: Big First-Class Bargains, Relatively Speaking Airlines now lustily and regularly discount their international business-class cabins, but first-class deals are much harder to come by. So United Airlines' first-class fare sale to Europe is much welcome, greatly appreciated and, comparatively speaking, a bargain. Sample fares: $3,442 each way between Washington/Dulles and Moscow; $4,435 between San Francisco and Vienna; $3,630 between Chicago/O'Hare and London; and $5,602 between Los Angeles and Paris. Those prices aren't cheap and United's first-class cabins are, well, garbage, but there is a silver lining: The prices are also good on Lufthansa, its Star Alliance partner. In fact, many of the flights marketed by United are actually Lufthansa flights. So choose carefully since Lufthansa has a much superior first-class cabin. The prices require a 14-day advance purchase except for London, which has a 42-day advance purchase. There is a seven-day minimum stay. Information: the European First Class page. OTHER GREAT TRAVEL DEALS THAT ARE STILL AVAILABLE Bologna: They Don't Call It The Fat City for Nothing… For all of the stupendous food and drink in Italy, virtually everyone agrees that the apogee of culinary perfection is Bologna, the aptly named Fat City. Since it doesn't have a nonstop flight from the United States, however, Bologna is unknown to far too many Americans. Now there's a solution from TourCrafters, a well-regarded Italy travel packager. It has introduced a bundle that includes roundtrip transportation to Bologna from New York on Alitalia (it's connecting service); five nights of lodging in a three-star hotel; a guided walking tour; an open-top bus tour of the city; and daily breakfast. But it also includes two food-driven extras: a four-hour cooking course plus lunch at La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese and a dinner at one of the city's most popular restaurants. Prices start at about $2,200 a couple in November and about $2,550 a couple in September and October. Taxes and fuel surcharges will add about $350 a person to the price. Hotel upgrades and departures from other cities are also available. Information: the TourCrafters Special Offers page. Ojai: Golf Until You Drop, Family Style--With Separate Rooms for the Kids The stark, whitewashed Ojai Valley Inn & Spa has been a fixture in California's Ventura County for more than 80 years. And now it has a creative, value-laden promotion for the golfing family, too. With a three-night minimum stay, you get a guestroom for the adults and a second room for children under 18; a family golf lesson; unlimited play on the resort's 18-hole course; and a spa treatment worth as much as $140. The package price? Standard rooms go for $605 a night and the bundle is available in all suite and room categories until September 3. The promotion code is FAMILY GOLF. Information: the Family Golf Package page.

THE FINE PRINT Nobody pays their way onto this page. I post the deals solely for the benefit of members based on my perception of what is a great price or a terrific value. The prices do not include applicable taxes unless specifically stated. Assume there are weird restrictions and caveats I never thought to ask about. Unless otherwise stated, you should be able to book these deals at any travel agency or directly from the listed travel supplier. Never assume that these prices (or any price listed publicly) are the lowest that are available. You should always ask if there’s a cheaper price or better deal. Virtually everything is capacity controlled or subject to blackout days, based on availability and subject to abrupt change whenever they think they can squeeze us for a few extra bucks. Please do not suspend your inbred skepticism. Don’t blame me if these deals are sold out when you try to book at these prices, but do let me know if you think that we're being scammed. It's important to expose the fakers and phonies. -- Joe Brancatelli This column is Copyright © 2009 by Joe Brancatelli. JoeSentMe.com is Copyright © 2009 by Joe Brancatelli. All rights reserved.