Steals & Deals for 2018 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 6, 2018 Hainan is selling business class to China for less than $2,000 in business class. La Compagnie is launching flights to Nice for $1,200 roundtrip in business class. Another round of huge credit card acquisition bonuses. Amtrak has a sale on sleeper "roomettes." And more. NOVEMBER 8, 2018 La Compagnie cuts holiday flights to Paris to $1,300 roundtrip in business class. Baron Wolman offers members exclusive bonuses with his new book of photos of Jimi Hendrix. A Christmas golf package in Florida. Two Hyatt statement credits. Bonus points at some Courtyard by Marriott hotels. And more. OCTOBER 18, 2018 Premium class deals to Africa? Fuggedaboutit! But airlines linking the United States and Africa offer roundtrip coach fares starting as low as $550. A look at what nine carriers are selling. Need a warm-weather cruise? Some jazz and soul music? I got ya covered. Accor offers a third night free at thousands of hotels worldwide. And more. OCTOBER 11, 2018 Florida drive-in rates for car rentals start at $7.99 a day. Hyatt offers 25 percent off Chicago hotel stays. Amtrak revives a double-points promotion. La Compagnie slashes the price of business class to Paris. Two-for-one rates at a resort on Mount Washington. And more. SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 Enterprise is renting cars for as little as $13 a weekend day. A list of wan quarterly hotel promotions. Finnair offers business class bargains to parts of Europe. United and Hertz, two worst-in-class players, offer big bonuses to ignore the awfulness. SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 Time to get your Rhodes Scholar on. American Express really, really wants you to take a Hilton card. Hainan Airlines cuts business class fares to China as low as $2,300 roundtrip. And that Air New Zealand deal to the South Pacific is back again. And more. AUGUST 23, 2018 National's 12FREE, the best travel promotion ever, returns with two valuable new twists. Cathay Pacific teams up with Swire Hotels for big discounts on luxury travel packages in Greater China. How to earn 190,000 American AAdvantage miles for $190 in credit card fees. And more. AUGUST 16, 2018 A credit card for frequent diners offers a 4 percent rebate. EVA Airways slashes the price of premium economy travel to Asia from Chicago. Paris in business class for just $1,600 roundtrip this fall and winter. Mileage promotions from Hertz, Avis and Budget. And more. AUGUST 9, 2018 Looking for hotel deals as nightly room rates rise? Certain cards--notably Amex Platinum and Visa Signature--have special rates and bundle rooms with perks such as free breakfast and late checkout. Delta offers introductory rates on flights to Osaka, Japan. Don't forget Aer Lingus is offering free flights to France, Italy and Spain when you purchase a business class seat to Dublin. And more. AUGUST 2, 2018 Club1 Hotels, which claims it has secret discounts for hotels and cruises, may be worth what you pay for it. (It's free for JoeSentMe members.) United discounts award travel to sun destinations. Omni Hotels lowers the price on summer rooms the longer you stay. Air New Zealand lowers fares to the South Pacific again. And more. JULY 26, 2018 Summer discount offers from Best Western, Choice, Radisson and Wyndham Hotels. Are they big enough to shake your loyalty to the larger chains? Your call. Aer Lingus offers JoeSentMe members free flights to France, Spain, Italy and Amsterdam. JULY 13, 2018 Hainan Airlines offers stunning fares to China, below $500 roundtrip in coach and under $2,500 in business class. Hyatt's new credit card offers 60,000 points as an acquisition bonus. Singapore Airlines offers cheaper business class fares from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Radisson offers double points for two-night stays this summer. Air New Zealand again slashes prices for South Pacific holidays. JUNE 14, 2018 Larger-than-usual credit card acquisition bonuses from United (Chase) and American (Citi). Air Canada offers a global premium economy fare sale. Air New Zealand revives a fare promo to the South Pacific with huge coach, premium economy and business class discounts. Avis and Budget offer bonus American AAdvantage points. JUNE 7, 2018 Singapore Airlines is reviving the world's longest nonstop between Newark and Singapore and offers a fabulous deal on premium economy fares. Some long-overdue summer business class sale fares are posted by Alitalia, KLM and Lufthansa. And more. MAY 31, 2018 Business class bargains on select (and odd) routes to Europe and Asia. A small hotel chain makes it easy to understand its bundles. Best Western kicks back $20 on a stay. Big bonuses and rate reductions at the remade Radisson. And many more. MAY 10, 2018 Just two weeks left to score up to $300 off summer travel to Europe on Aer Lingus. Radisson makes you jump through hoops for a $25 gift card. Hyatt knocks 20 percent off rates in Atlanta and Miami. Chase's new Marriott card offers a 100,000-point acquisition bonus. Earn 1,000 Starwood points for a three-day Hertz rental. And more. APRIL 26, 2018 Bummed by hotel frequency devaluations? Well, there are other chains out there and they are discounting for summer travel. A Death Valley/Star Wars hotel package. Hilton offers double points for summer bookings. Hainan Airlines drops coach prices to China below $500 roundtrip. Lufthansa keeps dealing on premium economy. And more. APRIL 19, 2018 Save up to $300 roundtrip on business travel airfares to Europe this summer. Save 20 percent on Hawaiian coffee, candies, cookies and more. Take a unique trip to several former Soviet Republics--and get me (literally) as a bonus. A special perk when you rent a Thai villa. All four deals are available only to JoeSentMe members. APRIL 12, 2018 Cathay Pacific's summer business class sale has brilliant prices from Chicago. KLM's summer business class sale has wondrous fares from the West Coast. NH Hotels knocks 30 percent off room rates in Europe and South America. Chase plugs a new InterContinental credit card with a big acquisition bonus. And more. APRIL 5, 2018 Hainan Airlines cuts coach fares to China below $500 roundtrip. Marriott and Starwood move in lockstep on their next quarterly promotion. Looking for cheap business class to Europe this summer? Finnair promotes Russia and Finland with rock-bottom prices. Lufthansa puts premium economy on sale. Avis/Budget and American have a mileage promotion. And more. MARCH 29, 2018 Alaska Airlines revives the $99 transcon flight. Hainan Airlines offers eye-popping business class fares to "secondary" China cities and great rates to Beijing and Shanghai, too. Norwegian sells sub-$700 premium cabin fares to Europe from three cities. And more. MARCH 22, 2018 OpenSkies offers its last premium economy seats to Paris for under $900 roundtrip. Free hotel night promotions from Accor and Choice. Lufthansa cuts the price of premium economy to Europe again. Singapore Airlines slices business class fares on its nonstop U.S. flights to Asia and Europe. And more. MARCH 8, 2018 La Compagnie is back to $1,400 roundtrip in business to Paris--but now to Orly instead. Hainan slashes the price of business class travel to China to as little as $2,000 roundtrip. Amex offers 70,000 bonus miles--and MQMs, too--for its Delta card. Fairmont slashes early spring room rates. One last chance for a Southern Italy trip with a JoeSentMe discount. FEBRUARY 15, 2018 KLM slashes coach fares to Africa. Hyatt offers 500-1,000 bonus points per night until mid-May. Premium economy to Europe dips below $1,400 roundtrip. Carlson knocks 30 percent off room rates at hundreds of hotels worldwide. Best Western offers a small cash incentive. Amtrak offers cheap weekend trains to Montreal. FEBRUARY 8, 2018 India from $635 roundtrip in coach and $2,785 in business class. Alaska Airlines slashes prices of transcon flights. Free stopovers on new flights to Milan. A free night after two stays at Wyndham. Big business class discounts on business class to Asia. Huge Rapid Rewards bonuses for National Car rentals. FEBRUARY 1, 2018 This week: Paris in business class for $1,600 roundtrip (or maybe $1,800). China in business class for $3,400 roundtrip. Free spa treatments for Delta super-elites. Hyatt Visa brings home the bacon (and other groceries) and a 10 percent rebate. Marriott offers 75,000-point acquisition bonus. BA beats on the AARP discount again. And many more. JANUARY 18, 2018 Meridiana discounts its new U.S.-Milan nonstops. Accor's global sale. Silvercar knocks 40 percent off weekly rentals with a special code. British Airways cuts its AARP discount--again. And more. JANUARY 4, 2018 Amtrak revives its winter promotion in the Northeast Corridor. Emirates slashes business class fares to India and other destinations. A New York all-suites chain reduces rates for stays in January and February. And more. These columns originally appeared at JoeSentMe.com. Copyright © 1993-2018 by Joe Brancatelli. All rights reserved.