Over the years I would like to think that I have mastered the art of upgrading my travels and am constantly learning how to save more.
I want to visit as many cities as possible, but with limited finances, I have to be wise about my traveling budget. Here are just a few tips that I have learned along the way.
Signing up for Online Promo Deals:
In order to take advantage of upgrade on my local and international travels, I sign up for Airline tweets. Most of the time airlines have promos, like low fare, and they just pop up anytime of the day.
I am using my Twitter all of the time, which makes it every easy to get good deals several months ahead of time.
I also sign up for alerts, You can find fare alerts from commonly used airlines, and I get access to cheap flight deals from my local airport.
Being a frequent flier myself, I sign up for the frequent traveler program. By doing this I gain access to more freebies. As well as upgrades in airport lounges etc..
Most of the time, I get access to a round trip ticket to Chicago from New York for half the price, there are times when I don’t even have to pay higher than $100.
During one of my travels, I was able to get a non-stop round trip flight from New York to Istanbul, because I was able to waive off the taxes using some deals I have accumulated for the past months.
I do research time, and learn as much as I can about upgrade travel. Learning how to get an upgrade has its many wonders.
A lot of companies are willing to teach people online how to get an upgrade on their deals as part of their promotion.
Due to economic reasons, a lot of airlines are willing to cut their costs, there have been fewer flights in the recent years, and because of that, airline business as well as car rental companies are providing affordable rates.
Additional tip for flights:
I asked some friends, what they do in order to get bumped into better seats or first class seats. One of them mentioned that he brings chocolates during the trip and he always has a positive attitude. Chocolate helps him get an upgraded seat, or a better coach seat at times.
What he does, is give the crew chocolates, the gate agents and the flight crew and he gets in easier. Having a positive attitude while traveling has never really hurt anyone, that is why I also swear by it.
For me this works best in Eastern Europe, as it is part of the way of doing business there in general. As for other parts of the world I have not tried.
Hotel Upgrades and how to get them:
How to get an upgrade. There are so many hotels that are willing to upgrade your rooms while abroad, once they have traced that you are a signed up in the frequent traveler programs affiliated with their hotel. Another way to help you upgrade is by booking direct.
Directly call the hotel, and ask if they can match or beat the promo online, in doing this you stand a chance in getting promoted to a better hotel room, as they are able to save on the commission.
Upgrading your rental car:
The easiest way,and for me it works almost every time, Is that I never book the cheapest car. generally I book one step up from the cheapest, generally it is no more then a couple of Euro’s , and in most cases when I fly in they tend not have that model class car on the lot, so then they offer me a choice of a few much nicer models.
Another way In order to be able to save on car rental, is I go to off-port locations, rather than the airport location based rental car companies.
This is due to the airport fees, if I am new in that country, I use Google Maps and check the place and the location of the rental company even before my flight. It helps me save a lot of rental money and transportation costs.
I also do the multiple reservations trick, and play with the system. In this way, there are lesser chances that my rental service will get cancelled.
I also ask the agents, first hand, how much will it cost for me to upgrade to a better or nicer car to rent. Also play around with them a bit, I once had a case in Liverpool where they wanted to give me a car, with these little donut type wheels on it.. I joked ” are you sure this little thing will be ok,, I will be driving on the motorway to Oxford, and I would hate for this little thing to just self-combust..? ” They all laughed and then said they can give me the next step up for free. Everybody likes a break in the stress of the day, especially when dealing with stressed out Travelers.
Learn to negotiate, in truth, there is really not set guidelines for the upgrades of rental cars, but if you know how to charm your way into get them to agree,then you can save a lot of money and experience better service over time, and have a fun time doing it.
It would also be better to book your flights, during February, instead of November and December where there are a higher number of tourists. Most rental companies are more than willing to slash off prices during off peak seasons. I usually get better deals, when I travel alone.
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