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Chicago seems to be one of the best deals around these days when it comes to last-minute airfare deals.
This week United Airlines is boasting a last-minute airfare deal departing Saturday and returning Monday (or Tuesday) for $96 roundtrip. The fare goes even lower if you wanted to fly to Chicago next weekend: $80.
United has been quite consistent in offering these last-minute deals each week, which this week include fares to Akron ($142), Columbia, SC ($168), El Paso ($172) and several more.
Most of the same cities are available for the same days next week, along with a roundtrip fare to Vail, Colo., for $222.
All those deals and more can be found here:
http://travel.united.com/ube/efares/us/eFares.do
U.S. Airways is also offering a last-minute e-saver to Amsterdam for $618 roundtrip, available through Sept. 21.
That deal can be found here:
http://www.usairways.com/awa/faresale/eSaverIntl.aspx?c=00437_txt_link
As always, lots of fine print applies.
Other online deals spotted this week:
- Travelzoo is promoting an October sale to Hawaii this week here:
http://supersearch.travelzoo.com/?cp=hawaiioctober&catid=1014&destination=HNL
The site says several airlines, including Delta, Hawaiian, Northwest and United are boasting great sale fares to the islands. The sample fare from Minneapolis was $563 roundtrip.
- Sun Country’s fare sale continues this week with fares out of Minneapolis to everywhere from Boston ($198 roundtrip) to Fort Myers to San Francisco ($218 each).
Deals of that sale can be found here:
Last week I decided to give Bing.com a try on an airline route I know pretty well: Florida. With relatives there I try to make it to the panhandle state at least once a year.
So last week I plugged in my destination, with less than satisfactory results: $250 roundtrip to Tampa - and that included a layover.
Bing’s advice: Wait.
Knowing that route myself, I agreed.
This week that patience paid off.
That’s because this week AirTran announced its fall and winter sale. (I saw fares there for as low as $69 each way to Boston.)
And as is usually the case, this feisty, low-fare, Atlanta-based airline manages to get the major airlines to pretty closely match its sale fares.
Example: My fare to Tampa via AirTran was down to $150, plus tax and fees. (Came to about $190).
I liked what I saw, but I also know I’m not much for layovers. (Who is?)
So I plugged the same route into Bing. With a quick click to nonstop flights, I found the same flight I’d seen the week before, to Tampa, down to $188 plus tax, for a total of $209.
Is saving more than two hours and having a direct flight worth $20?
I said yes. Tampa here I come.
Details of AirTran’s latest fare sale are here:
http://www.airtran.com/sale/
- - -
That’s not the only fare sale out there.
United Airlines continues with its last-minute air travel deals out of Minneapolis, with flights this weekend going as low as $112 to Chicago (roundtrip!), to Vail, Colo., for $196. (Not to mention the fare to Chicago next week: $88 round trip.)
Only hitch hiking could be cheaper.
The usual fine print applies. Find out all the details here:
http://travel.united.com/ube/efares/us/eFares.do
As I was getting set to write a blog about booking spring break trips now, I saw an e-mail from local airline expert Terry Trippler suggesting you book your holiday travel now. Let this blog act as a double warning. Actually, Trippler noted, it is a tad late to find the best fares for holiday travel, but anyone planning to fly for the holidays should move now rather than wait for a better fare that won’t come. The same is true of spring break. Recently, when I spoke with my travel agent at AAA Minneapolis about booking a spring break trip to Hawaii, she told me that seats were already tight. That’s for travel all the way at the end of March, but it is one of the busiest times, after Thanksgiving and the holidays. If you want to have your place in the sun, book now.
Sure, it might be hurricane season, but that’s never stopped a true deal-seeking traveler, has it?
That was the first thing I thought when I saw deals to Los Cabos, Mexico this week from U.S. Airways for $330 on their International Getaways e-Saver page this week.
(The fine print: Travel good through Sept. 20. Tickets must be purchased by Monday, Aug. 24)
Most seasoned travelers know that summer is the best time to get deals to the popular winter destinations like Cabo or Jamaica or other parts of the Caribbean.
But those tickets can often come with a price: the late summer is also the height of the tropical storm season, which means you could spend a chunk of that time away in the rain.
Still, not a bad price for a roundtrip.
The deal can be booked here:
http://www.usairways.com/awa/faresale/eSaverIntl.aspx?c=00437_txt_link
And that’s not the only deal out of the Twin Cities this week.
United Airlines is offering several last-minute deals out of Minneapolis to U.S. cities including Chicago ($218), Roanoke, Va. ($244), and Reno ($262) among others.
Full details of that sale can be found at United’s e-fares page here:
http://travel.united.com/ube/efares/us/eFares.do
The best deal of the week, though, by my estimation, comes from IcelandAir, which is touting its summer fare sale out of Minneapolis. Travel to several major cities in Europe — Amsterdam, Paris, London, Glasgow, Stockholm, Copenhagen — is being advertised starting at $469 round trip.
As is always the case with IcelandAir, these trips require a layover in Iceland that could last upwards of a day. But even that’s not a bad thing: IcelandAir can help you pass the time there with several types of daytrips and tours of the Arctic island.
Fair warning: The last time I checked this was an extended sale, which means that the prices could disappear at any moment — maybe even by the time you read this. But don’t worry too much if you can’t find a deal.
Be patient and you’ll very likely see some low fares from this very reputable dealmaker again. They have yet to let me down.
Travelzoo just keeps the hits coming.
The online aggregator of Internet deals continues to feature specials for the Twin Cities — this week declaring Hawaii as its destination of the week.
The Travelzoo site, at http://www.travelzoo.com/destinations/hawaii, features links and all sorts of information on getting to the islands, but that’s not really what caught my eye.
What caught my eye was their Top 20 deal of the week: Roundtrip airfares to Honolulu from Minneapolis for $366, via Orbitz.
Granted, that’s still a chunk of change (and Orbitz isn’t always necessarily my first choice for travel deals), but it’s rare to see an airfare to the islands in that ballpark.
(Keep in mind, of course, that fare is only to Honolulu. If you want to island hop once you’re out there, there will be additional airfare expense).
And, of course, there is some fine print. Taxes and fees of about $70 are not included in the final price, and the airfare is available only over select travel dates, Sept. 6-Nov. 18.
That’s not the only deal for the Twin Cities.
United Airlines this week is also featuring some last-minute airfare to a number of cities including Springfield, Ill. ($150), Greenville, SC ($246) and Ottwa, Ontario ($350).
That info can be found here:
http://travel.united.com/ube/efares/us/eFares.do
And U.S. Airways is offering deals to Mazatlan for $292.
Details of that deal can be found here:
http://www.usairways.com/awa/faresale/eSaverIntl.aspx?c=00437_txt_link
The best deal this week, by far, though, comes from local Sun Country.
The hometown airline is offering some remarkable fares out of Minneapolis to major destinations.
One-way flights to Dallas, New York, Phenix and Tampa are going for just $59. The deal? Purchase by Friday.
Details on that sale can be found here:
If you’re looking to just stick close to home, by the way, Travelzoo is also touting discounts on the new ‘Bodies’ exhibit at the Mall of America: Two tickets for $22.
Details on that promotion can be found here:
http://entertainment.travelzoo.com/entertainment/630754?utm_source=top20_us&utm_medium=email_top20
Kerri Westenberg, Elizabeth Larsen and Troy Melhus offer up a global discourse ranging from great finds close to home to adventures far afield.
Share your road wisdom, rave about great finds and rant about roadblocks that get in the way of a great trip.
Troy Melhus has heli-skied on glaciers, dived alongside Monk seals and raced for 24 hours on a mountain bike. All this, and he rarely spends more than $500 on a trip.Learn more about RSS
Kerri Westenberg has globe-trotted for National Geographic and other magazines. Now she zips around the region, on the lookout for travel news you can use.
Elizabeth Larsen lived in Salzburg, Austria, and has traveled throughout Europe and the Americas. She can say "diaper," "bottle" and "crib" in four languages.