Flights and accommodation might take the biggest chunk of your holidays' budget, but you can also save by scoring deals on other commodities, such as a cruise, rental cars, frequent flier miles, among others.
If you want to book a cruise, you might want to visit CruiseCompete.com, which features over 300 travel agencies competing to give you the lowest prices for dates, ports and ships you specify, whether you are booking in advance or at the last minute. All you have to do is set up a CruiseCompete account to receive their best offers. The site also has live agents available to guide you through the process through a live chat or by phone.
When it comes to rental cars, the go-to website is Hotwire.com, offering the best published deals on cars by collecting rates from its eight rental car company partners, such as Alamo, Enterprise and Hertz.
The site also offers “hot rates” from rental companies unidentified until after you've paid. However, this is less risky than booking an unidentified hotel since a car is a car, regardless of the company that provides it. Another option is to go to Priceline.com and try to bid for a better bargain.
Even though Hotwire offers some good prepaid rental car deals in international cities, AutoEurope will offer better bargains in the European continent. Said website offers rentals at more than 20,000 locations worldwide, and if you have problems with the rental-car provider you are dealing with, AutoEurope will help you resolve it.
For currency conversion, check XE.com for reliable, mid-market exchange rates. Apart from a simple and functional network of conversion rates on the homepage and a host of other tools, XE.com features calculators for travel expenses, credit-card charges and currency conversions.
For all the information you need regarding your flight, FlightStats.com can help you plan a hassle-free trip by advising you on the best time of day to fly from a specific airport and which terminals to avoid for connecting flights. The site also allows you to view live updates of flight delays and you can sign up for free e-mail and phone alerts.
When it comes to collecting Frequent-Flier Miles, at WebFlyer.com you can see how your miles convert between programs. The site allows you to discover changes to your frequent-flier program and learn how to maximize the value of your mileage points when you redeem them for merchandise or services.
It is hard to foresee what emergency might spoil your travel plans and you don't want to find yourself in a foreign country without coverage. You can buy them from agencies and travel provides but that is not really the best option because of price markups and restrictions on filing claims. That is why it is recommended to get travel insurance at InsureMyTrip.com where you can compare plans and prices from multiple insurance providers with just one search. You can also narrow your search results by specifying the kind of coverage you are looking for.