By Ed Perkins

You'll still find lots of good travel deals for travel this winter, and some promotions are still available for the holiday season. That's the information I get from several organizations that sell travel -- I don't -- and they're in a position to keep up-to-the-minute watch on travel markets.

The folks at Priceline.com regularly issue releases detailing airfare trends. Their latest bulletin reports that holiday airfares are remaining very flat, with little week-to-week change. Fares from major cities to domestic warm weather destinations, and especially Florida, showed a downward trend, but fares between big cities -- typical business travel routes -- edged upwards, at least a bit.

Kayak, a leading travel search engine, reports that early-winter airfares to, and hotel rates at, most prime winter season destinations are showing lower for this coming year than last. Among the beach destinations, fares to Hawaii are down only slightly but hotel rates are down 19 percent; fares to Cancun are down 31 percent and hotel rates are down 13 percent; and rates to Trinidad and Tobago are down 17 percent, with hotel declining a big 36 percent. Overall, that's good news for snowbirds.

As to ski destinations, Kayak reports Aspen fares down 21 percent and hotel rates down 24 percent, Reno fares are down 19 percent but hotel rates are up slightly; the Calgary situation is opposite Reno, with fares up slightly but hotels down 14 percent. And to Europe, fares to London are up slightly but hotel rates are down 28 percent; Paris is about the same; and for Barcelona, both fares and hotel rates are down 16 percent to 17 percent. Overall, Kayak's figures tell me that travelers looking for good prices this winter are likely to find something they like.

AutoEurope doesn't report year-to-year changes, and I don't have any last-year data available, but this year's featured car rental rates look to be quite a bit higher than last year's. That change parallels the rental market, generally, where I keep hearing about large rate increases -- plus, of course, the pile-on of various fees and charges. Rental car bargains will be hard to find, and AutoEurope says that, despite the prices, they're running out of holiday rentals. However, if you can pay the rates, you probably won't have any trouble finding cars this winter after the holidays.

TripAdvisor, the giant hotel review site, posts some remaining "Top 5 Christmas getaways" suggestions: Chicago, Honolulu, Orlando, New York City, and San Diego, with links to a wide range of promotional prices.

American Express chipped in with the reminder that travelers with big mileage balances on credit cards may find that using those miles to buy hotel accommodations and travel packages may be easier than trying to find any "free" airline award seats. Many cards, including most AmEx cards, allow you to use your miles this way, typically at a value of 1 cent per mile or point. AmEx also makes the recommendation -- self-serving, but still valid -- that if you're having a tough time finding the holiday or winter trip to suit your needs, consider using a travel agency.

Lots of online agencies, including from Hotwire to Online Vacation Center, continue to post really good cruise rates -- some for less than $50 per person per day, and quite a few under $60 a day. Although many of the best deals are last minute, I also see some good advance early-season rates to Alaska.

But I'm seeing at least one cruise offer we don't need: Celebrity Cruises is pushing all-you-can drink packages. Although the idea has merit, the prices are over the top: bottled water, $13.50 per person per night; beer $34.50 per night, and wine starting at $114 per night per package. Even for heavy drinkers, that's either a nonstop binge or a gross overcharge.

One final comment. I get lots of releases highlighting extensive data that are useless to help you decide where or how to go. For example: 25 percent of Americans plan to stay with relatives this season. Big deal. Will somebody tell me exactly how that number can help anyone -- except, possibly, to warn relatives of an upcoming home invasion?

 

© Ed Perkins

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