ChaimTime

After joining the military I’ve been traveling a lot more not only professionally but a lot more for recreation. I don’t consider myself to be an expert in vacation planning but I wanted to pass on some things that I have learned.

Oh yeah, and I know chaimtime.com is all about the 1%, you know, the biker gang but I thought I’d start out with something helpful instead of just complaining right off the bat. Trust me, I think plenty of things are stupid and when I’m ready I’ll begin posting my 2¢. For now, lets stick to me helping you not be stupid, like I was.

Start Early
When planning out a vacation, start as early as you can. Plane tickets are usually cheaper when they’re bought far in advance so be sure to pick those up ASAP. Always look into getting a refundable ticket if they’re reasonably priced. If it gets close to your travel date and they have some kind of incredible sale then you can return the original tickets and get the lower price. Once I couldn’t get a refundable ticket but saw that buying ticket insurance wasn’t too badly priced. I didn’t buy it but as you’ll soon see, I’d heavily advise any purchaser to research everything they buy. Always know your options.

An early start gives a lot of time to find special deals. If a great price can’t be found, don’t feel forced to purchase something now that can wait until later. For instance, a hotel room’s price doesn’t generally sky rocket if it’s booked the night of arrival (but you might want to ensure you have a place to stay before you get on a plane). Same thing for car rentals, tours, shows, attractions, etc. I’m definitely not saying NEVER purchase these early, however, jump only on a great deal.

Shop Around
A good tool I use for planning vacations is Orbitz. However, I’ve purchased package deals only later to find out that I don’t necessarily have to use Orbitz to get those good deals. I can find the best airline prices of the day, then call those airlines to get a price just as good and sometimes even better. Just call the airline, give them the flight information and see if they have a better price. While I’m on airlines, be sure to ask about their baggage charges. Sometimes you’ll be able to avoid fees if you check in online before you get to the airport.

Military: For military reading this, some airlines don’t charge military for bags even when the member is not traveling on orders. Okay, at this time it’s only US Airways. Also, military airline pricing isn’t a discount, it’s a decently priced refundable ticket. If there is little to no risk of being called back, just get a non-refundable ticket.

Finding Shelter
Finding a good place to stay can be fun. Notice I didn’t say hotel. On my last vacation I rented a timeshare from someone who wasn’t using their time. I got a great deal because it was off season and I opted to have no housekeeping. At first I thought, “how could I survive without someone coming to make my bed every day?” but it was actually a great thing. Think about it, who really needs someone to come in every single day to pick up your towels and make your bed? Well, some people do, but not me. The other great thing about it was that I didn’t have to worry about someone forcing their way in at 9:00 AM, which to housekeeping is the time that all tourists are out and about.

I’ve never done this myself but some of my friends and family mostly rent houses for a week instead of getting a hotel. That’s something else worth looking into and I’m definitely going to give it a look next time.

Renting A Vehicle
I also want to cover car rentals. Do you really need a flashy car? Sure, sometimes. But do yourself a favor and pick one day for the outrageous price hike. I liked having my Camaro when driving to my friend’s wedding but I really didn’t need to leave it in the parking lot of Universal Studios all day. Plus rental companies usually rent the lower end version of sports cars. It’s not that great after a day or so anyway.

Avoid Being Ripped Off
Okay, time for my biggest money saver: avoid being ripped off. Simple right? Maybe not. The biggest rip off comes from businesses try to sell additional things at the desk when checking in. They do this because they’re usually trying to sell things that really aren’t needed (e.g., insurance) and/or are a really bad deal (e.g., buying all meals in advance). This works for them because the customer is forced to make a quick decision. It would be very awkward to balance pluses and minuses in that situation. Don’t go spending money on any “great deals” they have only at the counter. Trust me, if a company had a really good deal it would be advertised somewhere else before then.

To tell my personal story at being ripped off at the counter. I was renting a car. A small Hyundai for about $20 a day. The cashier asked if I would like to rent a Camaro instead. I asked for the price difference and he said it would only be an extra $30. Next he said, “Of course you want full coverage for that car right?” I don’t remember the exact price but it was a very large number (per day, which he forgot to mention that). Finally he offered to sell me the gas that was already in the car. He would charge me the same price they sell out in town but since I bought it from him I wouldn’t have to worry about filling the tank up when I come back. “How could that be a bad deal?” I said to myself.

In the end I fell for two of his tricks. I spent an extra $150 on renting a Camaro. You should have seen the expression on my face when I found out he meant $150 not $30. The key point there is that he didn’t say $30 a day. Next, I bought the great deal on gas he had for me. By great I mean terrible. It’s a terrible deal because I don’t get refunded for the gas I don’t use. The only way that’s a good deal, is…well, never. I can only break even if I bring the car back and it stalls from a dry tank in the parking lot.

So here I am exhausted after a whole day of flying on planes just dying to get to my home away from home and then he sticks this receipt in my face. Stupid me thinks I got a great deal and I just sign it. The best part is that I didn’t find out how great of a deal I really got until I read the whole contract when I got home. If I just said no to everything I would have saved over $200. All I needed was a car to get me from point A to point B and I had that in my reservation. Just think, if I said yes to the insurance I would have spent about $500 on things I didn’t need.

Buying insurance for a rental car.
If a driver has car insurance it most likely covers them in any car they drive. Yes there is an issue with the deductible but later I did the math to see how much the insurance would cost me over the 5 days I rented. My deductible is $500 and the insurance would cost me about $300. Maybe that would be worth saving $200 but I don’t think so. You be the judge.

Key Points:

• Get plane tickets early;
• Look beyond hotels;
• There is nothing wrong with waiting until the last minute to get certain things;
• DON’T BUY ANYTHING ADDITIONAL AT THE REGISTER.