Steals & Deals for 2015 WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE DEALS I've written about travel bargains as long as I've written about business travel, which dates back to (yikes!) 1983. Nobody pays their way onto these pages. I post deals solely for the benefit of members based on my perception of what is a great price, a terrific value or a unique opportunity. Unless otherwise stated, you should be able to book these deals online, at any travel agency or directly from the listed travel supplier. And 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 DECEMBER 17, 2015 Amtrak offers last-minute holiday discounts on Acela and Northeast Corridor trains. Major hotel chains unveil really lame first-quarter points promotions. Lufthansa continues to offer steep discounts in premium economy despite claiming its new booking fee isn't hurting sales. DECEMBER 3, 2015 Hainan Airlines cuts the price of coach and business class travel to China. EVA Airways discounts in premium economy to Asia via Taipei. Lufthansa says its offensive new booking fee isn't hurting business, but why are seats in its new premium economy class selling so cheaply? NOVEMBER 27, 2015 The travel industry gets into the Black Friday/Cyber Monday game--and adds Orange Wednesday. All the deals we know about now. Meanwhile, Accor Hotels has a global sale that turns into a Babel of rules, discounts and restrictions. And United Airlines cuts the cost of claiming some Europe awards. NOVEMBER 19, 2015 How to go to Paris to show your support at great fares. It's time to think about going to Oxford for its Summer Education Experience. Hilton offers a small perk for travel in December. NOVEMBER 12, 2015 EVA Airways cuts the price of coach flights to Asia below $700 roundtrip. Hyatt cuts the price of about 180 hotels by 20-25 percent. Marriott is giving 1,000 American AAdvantage points per stay. NOVEMBER 5, 2015 British Airways extends the $400 AARP business class discount for another year. United's miles promotion on Haneda flights. Aer Lingus cuts business class fares through March. Another business class sale to South America from LAN. And Air New Zealand is back to $2,000 roundtrip on business class flights to the South Pacific. OCTOBER 29, 2015 L'Compagnie once again slashes the price of business class travel to Paris and London. Chase offers double points and miles on its Marriott and United credit cards. Avis and American have a modest promotion. Alitalia's wacky (and short) premium economy sale. Hyatt wants to discount your winter weekends in Paris. OCTOBER 23, 2015 Last call for business class discounts to Europe for Christmas and New Year. Singapore Airlines unveils promotional fares for its premium economy flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco. United and Hertz offer as much as 2,750 miles for rentals as short as one day. Virgin America offers double points and status credit. One more shot at $400 off BA business and first class seats. OCTOBER 8, 2015 It's snowbird "drive in" season so the car-rental firms are offering incredibly cheap one-way rates if you take cars to Florida and Arizona. Unbelievable coach prices (some less than $800 roundtrip) on flights to South Africa, which rarely sees any kind of sale. OCTOBER 1, 2015 Alitalia unveils some great business class deals for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years travel. Hainan Airlines offers cheap coach seats to China. Really cheap seats, in fact. David Rowell has another big deal on a Christmas market cruise. And great business class deals to London, Paris, Dublin and the South Pacific are extended. SEPTEMBER 25, 2015 Roundtrip business class to London and Paris for as little as $1,500 a person or $2,500 a couple? Yup. Buy now and travel all fall. Oneworld Alliance carriers plying the North Atlantic offer as many as 125,000 bonus miles this autumn. The Aer Lingus business class sale cuts prices to Ireland to as little as $2,500 roundtrip through the end of the year. Air New Zealand offers its South Pacific business class sale one more time. SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 Leave it to Alitalia to mount a sale to the Middle East that offers bargain seats to Tel Aviv--and Tehran. There are big bargains on long hauls to India if you're willing to sit in coach. American Airlines and Japan Airlines offer double AAdvantage miles for higher-priced tickets to Asia. SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 Enterprise revives its $10-a-day weekend special. LAN discounts business-class fares to South America. Choice and Best Western hotels post their fall promotions. Amtrak unveils a double-points offer for fall travel. SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 Finnair offers startling business-class prices to Russia and China. British Airways and Iberia publish a year's worth of business-class discounts. Cathay Pacific offers a bundle of bonus miles for flights to Hong Kong. A members-only discount on a Southern Italy tour. American Express ups the benefit and bonuses on the Starwood Preferred Card. AUGUST 27, 2015 LOT Polish unleashes a big sale for travel in all three classes to destinations throughout Eastern Europe. Delta has a sale on flights to Beijing and Shanghai. A first-class sale from Virgin America. Another MegaBonus promotion from Marriott Rewards. Twenty percent off luxury weekend hotel stays from Starwood. AUGUST 20, 2015 National revives the best free-rental deal in history. Hyatt knocks 15 percent off rates in selected cities. Avis offers bonus AAdvantage miles. Air New Zealand keeps plugging away on its South Pacific business-class deal. Hilton HHonors offers double and triple points for its fall promotion. AUGUST 13, 2015 Finnair launches a huge coach sale to Russia--and Tel Aviv. Starwood's Element Hotels chain offers two free nights when you book four paid nights. Lufthansa rolls out a big business-class sale for Thanksgiving travel to Europe. Accor posts a worldwide sale offering as much as 50 percent off rates if you pay in advance. AUGUST 6, 2015 Aer Lingus extends its summer business-class bargains into the fall if you book quickly. Delta Air Lines jumps into the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year business-class sale game. Air New Zealand keeps discounting on business-class fares to the South Pacific. JULY 23, 2015 The Star Alliance unveils its Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years business-class sales to Europe and I explain how to find them. Marriott offers a huge points bonus for its credit card. Lufthansa deals on premium-economy travel. Pacific Island business-class really cheap. LAN's business-class sale for South American travel. JULY 16, 2015 Two dysfunctional companies, United and Hertz, will buy your business with huge mileage bonanzas. Emirates offers cheap coach and business-class twofers to Singapore. A points play that can save you hundreds at some of the best hotels in the world. London and Paris in business class for less than $2,000 roundtrip. JULY 9, 2015 Aer Lingus extends its summer business-class sale through October if you buy fast. EVA Air discounts on transpacific routes from Los Angeles. Independent hotels offer an array of discounts for multiple-night stays. Lufthansa continues dealing on its new premium-economy class. British Airways and Iberia publish business-class deals a year out. JUNE 25, 2015 Lufthansa launches a big fall sale for its premium-economy class. LAN mounts a Latin America business-class sale. A desperate Sheraton will give away free weekend nights. La Compagnie slashes business-class fares to London and Paris below $1,800 roundtrip. JUNE 18, 2015 Cathay Pacific and Korean Air offer hot coach sales to Asia and Cathay discounts on premium economy, too. Hilton adds 5000-point-per-stay bonus for a few weeks. Accor mounts a global hotel sale for summer travel. Budget gives scads of Amtrak points. Air New Zealand's South Pacific business-class deal returns. Last call for summer business-class sales to Europe. JUNE 11, 2015 Virgin America puts first class on sale across its network. Hainan Airlines cuts business-class fares between Seattle and Shanghai. A mess of messy quarterly hotel promotions. HoJo wants you to go the (kids') museums. MAY 28, 2015 British Airways rolls out a year of business-class sales to Europe on a chart. Air France slashes the price of first-class flying for summer travel. Emirates offers deep, deep discounts on flights to its Dubai hub. And more. MAY 21, 2015 Emirates slashes business-class fares to India. Asiana has a summer sale for business-class travel to Asia. Cathay Pacific discounts its premium-economy cabin. British Airways offers up to $400 off fares. And more. MAY 14, 2015 Delta mounts a flaccid business-class sale to Europe for summer travel. Hilton knocks 25-30 percent off summer and fall rates at hotels in Southeast Asia. Huge bonuses from Oneworld carriers for transatlantic flights. Choice Hotels dangles $50 gift card for two spring and summer stays. MAY 7, 2015 Cathay Pacific unleashes a summer business-class sale for Asia travel. Lufthansa mounts a systemwide premium-economy sale. An interesting points play for the best Hyatt hotels in the world. EVA Air cuts premium-economy prices to Taipei. APRIL 30, 2015 Air France slashes the price of business-class flights between New York and Paris. Alaska's appealing introductory rates on new transcontinental flights. Hyatt slices 15 percent off room rates in Hawaii. A fast LOT Polish premium-economy class sale to Eastern Europe. Air New Zealand is back with another sale on South Pacific getaways. APRIL 23, 2015 Meridiana cuts nonstop coach and business-class fares to Naples and Sicily after the summer rush. Hainan knocks 14 percent off business-class fares to China and Hong Kong. A messy global sale on summer lodging from Accor. Avis offers 500 AAdvantage miles a day for rentals. United's big bonuses for South America flights. A JoeSentMe member discount for a luxury Italy tour. Air France and United jump in with summer business-class sales. APRIL 16, 2015 A rare business-class sale to Africa. Business-class prices to Paris drop below $1,500 roundtrip. $50 back from Best Western. Points promotions from Air Canada and Club Carlson. And more. APRIL 9, 2015 Not counting code-share and alliance carriers, nearly a dozen airlines have now unveiled their summer business-class deals to Europe. And the fares are, quite frankly, distressing. Prices seem to have doubled compared to the recent past. Still, you can find some sub-$2,000 roundtrips and plenty of bargains compared to standard rates. APRIL 2, 2015 Airlines are battling on the Milan route with jaw-dropping discounts in coach and business-class. There are Hilton HHonors promos for credit cards and account maintenance. SAS has a summer-long sale in all three classes. Budget and Amtrak forge a ground alliance. And many more. MARCH 19, 2015 Boston is suddenly the place for cheap flights to China and Asia. Quadruple AAdvantage miles from Avis. Cheap nonstops to Sicily this spring. Change your Hilton password before it's required and you get 1,000 points. Accor's global three nights for the price of two sale. MARCH 12, 2015 The return of sub-$2,000 summer business-class fares to Europe. Looking for Love (in Dallas), Virgin America offers big discounts and two-for-one deals. Double points from Amtrak (again). A premium-economy deal from Cathay Pacific to the Pacific. MARCH 5, 2015 International business-class deals are harder than ever to find, but premium-economy deals now abound. The latest from Air France, EVA Air and Lufthansa. Meanwhile, there's also a cheap new way to ride the Dreamliner. And an amazing South Pacific business-class bargain gets even better. FEBRUARY 26, 2015 The Star Alliance carriers roll out their Easter/Passover and summer sales for business-class travel to Europe. There are some bargains, but you have to hunt for them. Hilton has a double points or miles promotion. FEBRUARY 19, 2015 Hyatt is rebating 20 percent of the cost of Gold Passport rewards. Air France deals on premium economy. Alaska Airlines offers double miles on flights from Seattle and Salt Lake City. Cheap fares to Milan are back. American Express knocks $5 off restaurant meals in New York. FEBRUARY 12, 2015 The return of the $2,000 business-class fare to the South Pacific. A new hotel in Chicago offers deep-discount introductory rates. Delta Air Lines offers really cheap seats on its new China flights. A big bonus to take a Chase United credit card. InterContinental is offering double miles. FEBRUARY 5, 2015 A new player is offering $1,000 transatlantic roundtrips in business class. Airlines release their Easter/Passover and summer business-class deals to Europe. Cathay Pacific has cheaper Asia business-class flights if you book very far in advance. A Downton Abbey bundle. Cold cash from Best Western. And many more. JANUARY 29, 2015 Lots of competition means lots of amazing deals to India in business class and coach. Air France deals on its premium-economy class. Free checked bags on Alaska Air with its credit card. And more. JANUARY 22, 2015 Lufthansa breaks the first Europe summer business-class fare. Korean Air posts very cheap transpacific fares in coach. EVA Air discounts premium-economy fares from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Promotions from Choice and Starwood hotels. A big bonus for taking a cheap American Airlines credit card. And more. JANUARY 15, 2015 Now is the best time to score a deal for premium-class travel to Paris. Hyatt Gold Passport jumps back into the quarterly points promotion game. Air New Zealand (again) revives that insane $2,200 roundtrip business-class deal to the South Pacific. National and Southwest offer 2,400 Rapid Rewards points for three-day rentals. Deeply discounted coach fares to Eastern Europe from LOT Polish. JANUARY 8, 2015 Fly to Beijing from Boston for less that $500 roundtrip. (No kidding!) Points promotions from Carlson and Starwood. Amtrak offers BOGO (sort of!) this winter for trains this summer. Accor offers as much as 40 percent off daily rates at hotels around the globe. Milan is once again a hotspot for the cheapest (coach) flights to Europe. A trip to the Scottish islands with David Rowell. These columns originally appeared at JoeSentMe.com. Copyright © 1993-2015 by Joe Brancatelli. All rights reserved.