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- iHaveNet.com: Travel
By Ed Perkins
Senior discounts are still around -- neither as plentiful nor as big as they once were -- but still worth pursuing. Here's my overview of the senior picture for this summer.
AIR TRAVEL
Basically, nothing doing. Southwest is the only airline that still posts senior fares on all routes, and they're almost never the lowest fares that line offers. They're useful only when the lower fares for travelers of any age are no longer available. And although a few airlines say they still have senior deals, I haven't found any. That holds true for Europe and Asia, too -- senior airline deals are basically off the table.
RAIL TRAVEL
Seniors do a bit better on trains. As I've noted,
In Europe, France does best by seniors. Its first-class-only senior railpass costs just a bit more than the second-class any-age pass, so it's a good deal. In the UK, standard class any-age passes cost about 20 percent less than first-class-only senior passes, and standard class good enough to make you question the value of the senior pass. As an alternative, both France and the UK sell senior railcards that offer up to 50 percent and 33 percent, respectively, off most rail tickets for a full year. And senior railpases are good deals for the Balkans, Northern Ireland, and Romania.
I haven't come across any senior rail discounts in other areas of the world. But you may find a few.
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
Some of the best senior deals around the U.S. are for local and regional transit service. By just showing a
In general, European and Asian transit systems do not offer special senior rates. But it never hurts to check.
RENTAL CARS
Although the big U.S. rental car companies offer "special" rates, in my experience, they're about the same as you can get through other sources. rates do, however, offer an important advantage: superior insurance coverage. I haven't seen any senior deals from rental companies outside North America.
CRUISES
Cruise lines sometimes promote what they claim are senior discounts, although it's hard to tell if the rates are really any better than those offered to other segments of the population. When you're considering a cruise, by all means, check out any senior deals you can spot. But checkout the any-age prices, as well.
HOTELS
Many large U.S.-based hotel chains and many independent units offer modest senior discounts, typically around 10 percent, but sometimes up to 15 percent. They're offered both through and separately. They're also generally the same deals that the hotels offer members of AAA and other large organizations. /senior/AAA rates are often as good as you can find in the large budget and midprice ranges.
More upscale hotels and resorts, however, often offer considerably better deals through chain-wide promotions, local promotions, and especially through discounters such as Hotwire, Priceline, Quikbook, and such. In these hotels, you should view the senior discount, if any, as a fallback position to use only when you can't find a better deal through a discount operation.
© U.S. Ed Perkins, On Travel
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Travel | Where the Summer Discounts Are and Are Not