frugal travel

The Frugal Travel Guy Predicts 2012 Trends for Frequent Travel Enthusiasts

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Rick Ingersoll suggests key issues for travel fanatics this year.

Rick Ingersoll

January 11, 2012 (Hilton Head, SC) – Like other travel writers this month, Rick Ingersoll, the author of the popular “Frugal Travel Guy” blog, has weighed in on what he believes will be key issues for travel fanatics in 2012.

Ingersoll, who was recently featured on ABC’s “Nightline,” is a member of a growing community of people who use a variety of tips and techniques to amass thousands – even millions – of frequent flier miles and hotel rewards points so that they can travel the globe for free or nearly free. As a blogger on the subject and a former mortgage banker, his particular expertise is in using credit and debit card sign-up bonus and bank offers to amass miles and points quickly.

To that end, Ingersoll says he believes applying for credit cards strictly for their sign-up bonuses will continue to be the primary source of free or inexpensive miles throughout the year.

“As a good result, more people will actually work on improving their credit scores to take advantage of this,” he said. “Without a very good credit score, you can’t apply for cards. And credit card sign-up bonuses are still the best way to amass thousands of miles quickly.”

Ingersoll also thinks 50,000-mile offers will remain the norm and generate a lot of excitement among mile hoarders as credit card issuers’ compete for card accounts will continue.

And on the subject of American Airlines filing for bankruptcy in 2011, he believes its frequent flier program will remain secure and American will survive “as a stronger competitor and will not merge with US Airways.”

On a related subject, Ingersoll predicts both American and US Airways will offer significant sign-up bonus opportunities on their AAdvantage and World Mastercard credit cards, respectively, in an effort to hold onto their market shares.

The Frugal Travel Guy also predicts that US Airways’ Dividend Miles Grand Slam promotion – in which Dividend Miles members can earn up to 110,000 bonus miles — will return with basically the same guidelines and opportunities.

On the retail side of amassing miles, Ingersoll believes Catera Commerce, a provider of card-linked marketing solutions that increase revenue and customer loyalty for merchants, banks, issuers and loyalty programs, “will make another huge shopping mall mistake and lose at least one airline as a customer.” Last year, Catera made an 83,871-mile “system error” mistake on American’s AAdvantage Shopping Mall. Catera apologized but claimed it wasn’t responsible for the miles due to the “Terms and Conditions.”

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and amassing miles and points, visit his blog at www.frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog, which is read around the world and averages 5000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses and other promotions. He posts frugal travel tips deals every day on his blog with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com. The Frugal Travel Guy also maintains an active community on Facebook.

ABC’s Nightline Spotlights Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

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Millions who tuned in discovered “Flying First Class For Free.”

November 29, 2011 — Rick Ingersoll, author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog, received national broadcast coverage last week when he was featured on ABC’s Nightline on November 22 in a segment entitled “Flying First Class For Free.”

Ingersoll is what ABC’s John Donvan called “a frequent flier mile millionaire.” He and others like him go to extreme measures to amass airline miles and hotel rewards points so that they can travel “literally around the world in first class for next to nothing,” anchor Terry Moran said in his introduction to the segment.

Donvan taped the segment with Ingersoll during the Chicago Seminar in late October. Organized by Rick Ingersoll and other veteran “travel hackers,” the seminar teaches participants how to maximize frequent flier miles and rewards points to enjoy free or nearly free travel around the globe. Donvan pointed out that Ingersoll does the same on a daily basis on his blog The Frugal Travel Guy.

Donvan highlighted three of the methods “extreme mileage hoarders” like Ingersoll use: (1) credit card sign-up bonuses, which often offer from 20,000 to 70,000 miles for an approved card after a minimum spend on that card is reached; (2) mileage and “mattress” runs to rack up frequent flier miles or hotel bonuses; and (3) rental car deals that often offer mile deals on rentals.

“Rick wants to teach the rest of us the tricks to becoming miles millionaires, too,” Donvan said.

ABC taped Ingersoll in United Airlines’ First Class Lounge at O’Hare Airport and caught him conducting a workshop at the Seminar. Among other world travels, Ingersoll told Donvan about a 10-day trip to China he and his wife took this year in business class that would have cost around $20,000 but, instead, cost them only $60 each in taxes plus 120,000 miles each.

In the luxury of a first class cabin aboard a parked United jet, Donvan asked him, “So you think this is something ordinary folks can do?”

“Not only can, but should do,” Ingersoll said.

ABC’s “Nightline” is late-night television’s award-winning news program featuring anchors Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Bill Weir. A video of November 22 segment with Rick Ingersoll and a transcript of the show are available at http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/frequent-flyer-secrets-tips-racking-travel-points/story?id=15001634#.TtKMmHG8pEQ.

For more information on The Frugal Travel Guy, visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog, which is read around the world and averages 6000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses and other promotions. He posts frugal travel tips deals every day on his blog with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

The Frugal Travel Guy Welcomes Hotel Group’s New Best Price Guarantee

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Rick Ingersoll suggests how to make the most of the new offer. 

Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

September 21, 2011 (Hilton Head Island, SC) – Rick Ingersoll, the author of the popular blog “The Frugal Travel Guy,” applauds the new Best Price Guarantee recently announced by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

“It’s so refreshing to see a major chain of hotels like IHG step up to the plate with a meaningful best-price guarantee,” he said.

IHG’s portfolio of hotels includes InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

IHG has promised to make sure the best hotel room prices for any IHG property can be found directly on its websites. “If you find a lower price on a competing Web site for the same hotel, type of accommodations and rate restrictions on the same date(s),” the IHG site says, “we’ll not only match that lower price, we’ll give you your first night free. It’s that simple.”

According to Ingersoll, this is very similar to the same guarantee offered years ago by Trip Rewards: If you found a cheaper price for the same exact hotel room with the same rate restrictions on another website, filed your claim within 24 hours, and the claim was approved, your hotel room was free.

“The key to success is to find the cheaper rate before you actually book your room on an approved IHG group website,” he cautioned. “Remember, everything must be exactly the same as far as the room type and room rate restrictions. And if you are going to be in a given town more than one night, look for more than one hotel best price guarantee and hotel hop for more free nights.”

To start the process of getting this best-price guarantee, Ingersoll suggests beginning by looking for a hotel room through Kayak.com or HotelsCombined.com, two hotel aggregator sites that show the room rates from many third-party sites.

“You’re looking for cheaper rates than the rates quoted by the IHG group website,” he stressed.

He also pointed out that refundable rates must be matched against refundable rates, and non-refundable rates must be matched against non-refundable rates.

“The game is actually fun and the results should be automatic since you can call in your claim once you have found a winner,” he said. “You can also fill out an online claim form, but I want to know right now if they are going to honor my claim. I tend to make refundable reservations for hotel rooms just in case my guarantee is not approved.”

Rick Ingersoll is always on the look out for ways to reduce travel expenses dramatically through credit card sign-up bonuses (that offer frequent flier miles), hotel rewards programs, and a variety of other ways. He reports his findings on “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog so that all his 6000-plus daily readers will be able to use them as well. For more information on Ingersoll and to follow his blog, go to www.frugaltravelguy.com.

For more information on IHG’s new rates offer, go to www.ichotelsgroup.com and click on “Best Price Guarantee.”

About Rick Ingersoll, “The Frugal Travel Guy”

Rick Ingersoll is the world’s expert on flying free and author of The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. A retired mortgage banker, he splits his time between Traverse City, Michigan and Hilton Head, SC. Rick’s expertise includes frequent flyer programs, getting the “bump,” customer service requests, and using good credit ratings to take advantage of bank promotions. He has collected over five million frequent flyer miles and has a current “bankroll” of over 1.5 million miles and points. He shares his expertise in his book, The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, on his daily-updated blog at www.frugaltravelguy.com, and through speaking engagements and seminars he presents around the U.S. “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog has been a Best Travel Blog Award winner, presented by Tripbase.com, for the past three years.

The Frugal Travel Guy Shares Travel Tips with DailyWorth.com

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Rick Ingersoll guest posts for community of women.

May 25, 2011 (Hilton Head, SC) –  When DailyWorth.com editor-in-chief M.P.

Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

Dunleavey approached Rick Ingersoll, the author of “The Frugal Travel Guy” blog, about contributing to her website, he welcomed the chance to share some of his tips and techniques with a community of women interested in smart personal finances.

“My true intent is to teach others how to do the things I do so that they, too, can travel anywhere they want and see the world at prices they can afford,” said Ingersoll, who started “travel hacking” as a hobby after he retired from mortgage banking. As he became good at it, and as he and his wife Katy began traveling all over the world for free or nearly free, he started his blog to share his information with others.

Today, the Frugal Travel Guy blog now receives over 5000 daily views, Ingersoll is a frequent expert resource for travel and consumer media, and he has “banked” 1.5 million frequent flier miles and points. In 2009, The Frugal Travel Guy blog received a Budget Travel Award from Tripbase.com.

Ingersoll’s first step-by-step tip for DailyWorth readers — how to make use Priceline.com’s “name your own price” successfully – is on the website now on the “Saving” page.

DailyWorth.com is “the go-to source about personal finance for smart, ambitious, working women,” the website states. Amanda Steinberg of Philadelphia, PA, founded the site in 2009. It has since garnered over 70,000 subscribers and has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, USA Today and Cosmopolitan. For more information, visit www.dailyworth.com.

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and to stay abreast of his frugal travel tips and techniques, visit http://frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Blog, which is read around the world and averages 5000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. For more information, go to http://frugaltravelguy.com.

The Frugal Travel Guy Shares: How To Earn Elite Status with Airlines and Hotels

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To get all the perks and privileges that non-Elite travelers miss out on. 


May 5, 2011 (Hilton Head Island, SC) – Even the most casual traveler is aware of airlines’ frequent flier mile rewards programs for using their airline, and the fact that the more you miles have, the more free travel you can enjoy. Yet most casual travelers are not aware of the many additional perks that come with accruing enough frequent flier miles to warrant “Elite Status.”

Travel hackers like Rick Ingersoll know all about Elite Status. Ingersoll, better known to frequent travelers and fellow travel hackers as “The Frugal Travel Guy” for the popular blog he authors by the same name, explains how anyone can earn “Elite Status” with airlines and hotels to receive all the privileges and perks non-elite travelers miss out on.

“The frequent flier game began as a way to promote customer loyalty,” he said. “Elite status within an airlines rewards program does the same thing. Each airline is a little different, but the standard rule is that if you fly 25,000 miles in a year, you achieve ‘low level Elite’ with that airline.”

According toIngersoll, there are three levels of Elite Status: silver, gold and platinum. Each level brings with it increasing benefits based on the number of “butt in seat” miles you have with that airline. “And when it comes to frequent flier miles, the more ‘Elite’ you are, the more perks you receive,” he said.

A silver elite member may get 1.25 to 1.5 miles frequent flier miles for every mile flown on his or her preferred carrier. Gold members get two miles for every mile flown, and Platinum members may get as high as 2.25 miles per mile flown in addition to unlimited upgrades to first class. The names of the top tier programs vary according to the airline in question.

“Elite members also receive free upgrades to first class when available or with credits they receive for so many miles flown,” Ingersoll said. “Elite status is really helpful in the event that you miss a connection or have to stay overnight at an intermediate city. The airlines take care of their Elite members.”

Airlines often hold more award seats for Elite members and provide Elite members with better seating on all flights, Ingersoll explained, such as access to the exit row or bulkhead seats.

“If you fly enough to reach Elite status, you appreciate having an exit row with plenty of leg room, especially if you’re flying overseas.”

Elite Status fliers can often make changes to their award tickets without charge and will also receive priority standby status on oversold flight.

If you travel frequently but aren’t an Elite member yet, Ingersoll suggests you make a point to study the Elite program of your favorite carrier.

“Sometimes at year’s end, it is actually worth doing a ‘mileage run’ [a paid airline trip designed solely for gaining maximum frequent flyer miles, points or status] just to get the last few miles you need to achieve Elite status,” he said. “Elite status has made it possible for my wife and me to fly to Europe and get enough frequent flier miles from that one trip for a free, domestic round-trip ticket.”

Hotel Elite

The same rules apply for achieving Elite Status with hotel chains, he noted. “The more often you stay at a hotel that offers Elite Status tiers, the higher you’re status will be. And all hotel chains have awards programs.”

Hilton’s HHonors, for example, offer four levels of Elite status. Members earn and maintain elite tier status based on stays, nights, or points earned in any calendar year. “Sometimes just taking out a credit card with a hotel chain gives you elite status for a year,” Ingersoll said, “such as Hilton’s HHonors American Express Surpass card, Marriott’s Reward Premier Visa, Best Western’s World MasterCard and Hyatt’s Visa.”

For their extended honeymoon, Ingersoll and his wife Katy spent one week at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in an oceanfront room for free. How?

“By using the points I accumulated applying for Hilton’s credit card, by staying at a few Hampton Inns, by Walking For The Cure with the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and by generally keeping our eyes open for Hilton Honors Points,” he said. “We also spent four nights at the Rome Cavaleri Hilton on points accumulated instead of the $480 per night we would have paid without them.”

The key to earning Elite status and rewards points with hotel chains, Ingersoll said, is to stay aware of what they’re offering.

“It changes nearly every year, but the rewards are well worth the time it takes to keep your eyes on the prize.”

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and to keep up with all of his travel hacking tips and techniques, visit his blog at http://frugaltravelguy.com.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Blog, which is read around the world and averages 5000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. For more information visit www.frugaltravelguy.com.

Allen Weiss Hired To Create Showcase Video for “The Frugal Travel Guy”

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Director/photographer Allen Weiss
Director/photographer Allen Weiss

April 29, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – Rick Ingersoll, the author of The Frugal Travel Guy blog and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, has commissioned director/photographer Allen Weiss of Raleigh, NC, to create a showcase video of his presentation on travel hacking for use by meeting and conference planners.

Rick Ingersoll is an internationally recognized expert at amassing frequent flier miles, getting airline and hotel vouchers, and a host of other “travel hacking” methods that have allowed him and his wife to travel the globe for free, or nearly free, for years.

A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll started The Frugal Travel Guy blog to further his desire to teach others how to do what he does so that they, too, can enjoy traveling for the rest of their lives. He’s especially interested in reaching people who think they can’t afford to travel.

Ingersoll’s blog averages over 5000 views a day by readers throughout the United States and around the world, but he’s interested in taking his message directly to the public through speaking engagements and seminars. Weiss’s video will demonstrate Ingersoll’s interaction with live audiences and his relaxed, off-the-cuff manner of speaking.

Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

“The Frugal Travel Guy” recently gave a travel-hacking presentation at the Capital City Club in downtown Raleigh for Chix in Business, an organization for women in business in the Raleigh area. Weiss was on hand to capture key moments for the video.

Allen Weiss is an accomplished filmmaker/videographer with many public service announcements (PSAs) and short films to his credit. Among other works on film and video, he created an AIDS-related PSA that won Best in Show at the Addy Awards, a major fundraising short film for the Methodist Home for Children, a PSA for the NC Holocaust Memorial, the KidsVotingNC PSA before the 2008 election, and a promo piece for the North Carolina Symphony.

For more information on Allen Weiss, visit www.allen-weiss.com and the Allen Weiss: Works on Film & Paper Facebook page.

For more information on Rick Ingersoll and travel hacking, visit http://frugaltravelguy.com.

About Allen Weiss

After 15 years as a professional photographer in Raleigh and New York, Allen Weiss turned his attention towards short films, public service announcements and television commercials, both regionally and internationally. Recently, he launched Allen Weiss: Works on Film & Paper to offer still photography of all varieties, film and video (director, DP, cameraman), and freelance writing/branding. For more information visit www.allen-weiss.com.

The Frugal Travel Guy Shares: How To Make Priceline.com Work For You

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Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

Rick Ingersoll explains the process of succeeding with Priceline’s discount travel options.

March 24, 2011 (Hilton Head, SC) — Rick Ingersoll, better known to frequent travelers and travel hackers as “The Frugal Travel Guy” for his popular blog by the same name, is on a mission to teach others how to do the things he does so that they, too, can travel anywhere they want for free or nearly free. He teaches them how to accrue frequent flier miles through rewards programs and travel vouchers through such methods as “the bump” (intentionally getting “bumped” from your flight).

He sat down recently to share how he makes the most of Priceline.com, the website that helps users obtain discount rates for travel-related services including airline tickets, hotels and rental cars. Priceline is not a direct supplier of these services. Instead, it facilitates its suppliers’ services to Priceline customers.

“Priceline offers two basic services,” Ingersoll explained: “One is fixed-price travel service just like any other travel agency. The other is the ‘Name Your Own Price’ feature.”

According to Ingersoll, Priceline’s fixed-price service offers nothing special in terms of pricing, unless Priceline happens to posts a mistake rate that users can jump on if they act quickly. But that’s rare. However, the “Name Your Own Price” feature “can save you up to 60 percent on travel expenses if you know how to use it,” he said.

To make the most of Priceline, Ingersoll said you have to start by becoming familiar with four other sites: BiddingForTravel.com, BetterBidding.com, TravelBuddy.com, and TripAdvisor.com.

“BiddingForTravel, TravelBuddy, and BetterBidding are sites that list successful previous Priceline bids for airfares, hotels and car rentals around the world,” he said. “Along with TripAdvisor, they also list reviews for the hotels in any given city, and by region, and by star rating, Five Star is the best, One Star is really bad. I bid for Four Star and Three Star hotels and, if the reviews are OK, Two and a Half Star hotels in a region where I want to stay.”

To go through the steps, he used a trip he took to visit his son a few years ago, who lived in Boston at the time.

“First, I went to Priceline.com and the Name Your Own Price hotels and found the various regions listed for the Boston market as well as the top hotel ratings in that zone.

“Then I opened another window and headed to BiddingForTravel.com,” he continued. “On that site, I went to ‘hotels,’ then ‘Mass,’ then ‘Boston’ I checked previous accepted prices in the various regions of Boston, got reviews of the hotels on TripAdvisor, then decided what star level I was comfortable with.

“For me the Downtown, Copley, and the Back Bay regions were too expensive,” he said. “The airport region was best for me and within my frugal budget, especially since it came with shuttle service to the subway stop (“T”) to go downtown and then back to the hotel. On other trips to Boston, I’ve typically won the Hyatt Harborside Hotel at Boston Logan Airport for $42 per night. It’s a beautiful hotel that costs $129 a night on a typical weekend. And I always ask for a waterside room.”

The key to being successful at BiddingForTravel, he stressed, is to read carefully the section on bidding and rebidding.

“Suppose you want ‘Zone Airport’ and a Four-Star hotel. From previous bidders, you see that $42 has been won in the past, so your first bid should be: Zone Airport, 4 stars, $35. If you don’t win that one, then add another zone that only has lower star levels available, and this time bid $37. If there are five zones without a hotel over three stars, you get five free rebids until you get the best price.”

According to Ingersoll, rebidding allows you to start low and move your price higher without changing your parameters. But again, he cautions, “Read these sections of BiddingForTravel before going to Priceline.com where you will actually place your bids. You should even practice this technique with several imaginary cities without hitting the ‘Buy My Hotel’ button. Once you’ve booked on Priceline, there are no refunds.”

Ingersoll has stayed in Priceline rooms in over 30 U.S. cities, as well as in London, Dublin, Paris and Rome “and I’ve never been disappointed,” he said. “The key is to do your research on BiddingForTravel or BetterBidding  first, then double-check the reviews at TripAdvisor.com.

“It’s also important to remember to bid one star level higher in Europe for accurate comparisons to U.S. hotels,” he added. “One bad hotel in a given zone and at a given star rating should force you to bid at a higher level or different zone for that city.”

Ingersol has also discovered a new blog, TheBiddingTraveler (www.biddingtraveler.com), that provides Priceline bidding help tools. He recommends checking it out.

Bottomline: By using these five main sites in conjunction – Priceline, TripAdvisor, BiddingForTravel, BetterBidding and TravelBuddy – Ingersoll insists that you can save 50 percent on your travel expenses for the rest of your travel life.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

 

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Blog, which is read around the world and averages 5000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe. For more information, visit http://frugaltravelguy.blogspot.com.

The Frugal Travel Guy Shares: “How I Book Hotel Rooms”

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Rick Ingersoll gives his step-by-step method for getting the best deal

Rick Ingersoll, The Frugal Travel Guy

March 17, 2011 (Hilton Head, SC) – Rick Ingersoll, better known to frequent travelers and travel hackers as “The Frugal Travel Guy” who writes a popular blog by the same name, is on a mission to teach others how to do the things he does so that they, too, can travel anywhere they want for free or nearly free. He teaches them how to accrue frequent flier miles through rewards programs and travel vouchers through such methods as “the bump” (intentionally getting “bumped” from your flight).

Recently, he sat down to share his particular method for getting the best deals at good hotels.

“We all have our own method,” he said, referring to other frequent travel hackers like him. “I’ll describe mine step by step as I try a phantom booking in Indianapolis, Indiana, the night of April 13, 2011.”

He chose Indianapolis, he said, because he’s never been there, hasn’t done any prior research, and because he wanted to see how long the process would take (35 minutes, as it turned out). His hotel location would be determined by the availability of public transportation and the cost.

“My phantom meeting is downtown the next morning, with an evening departure that night. I’ll describe my methodology as I go. And remember,” he stresses, “I am a three-star kind of guy. No Econo Lodges for me.”

He starts at his computer by opening some browser windows:

“Step One is the airport website and ground transportation,” he says. “I hate renting a car in a strange city for one meeting downtown, and I’ve found that I can get an Express Bus for $7 each way. This information not only helps me get downtown, but it also opens up airport hotels and their shuttle buses back to the airport to catch the Express Bus downtown. Airport hotels are quite often cheaper than downtown hotels. I have that covered. Now it’s time to check out some prices.”

So he heads over to Kayak (www.kayak.com/hotels) where he can compare hundreds of travel sites at once. Kayak shows him that the least expensive, well-known, three-star chain hotel in downtown Indianapolis is the Sheraton at $129 per night. The airport search shows rates of $87, $90, $93, and $119 for hotels with shuttles.

“I now have retail prices so let’s find the deal,” he says.
He heads over to BiddingForTravel.com where page one shows accepted bids of $48 and $49 for higher-rated downtown hotels and $39 for a Radisson airport hotel.

“I may just stay downtown if it’s only $10 more, go the night I arrive, and be downtown already in the morning for my phantom meeting.”
Now he has more work to do. “I’d better do a TripAdvisor search on those three hotels to see if any of them are lemons,” he says. “Since I’m a month out, I have plenty of time to bid on Priceline in the range of accepted bids, but I’d better have a back-up plan.”

The next step: PriorityClub.com.

”I’m looking for Priority Club Points Breaks hotels for 5000 rewards points per night.” He finds one:  The Crowne Plaza airport location is a Points Break hotel for that night.

“My search may be over,” he says. “I could also check Hilton Point Stretchers and the Marriott’s discounted awards as well, but I find that the Priority Club Points Break is usually the best deal in town.”

He decides on the Priority Club hotel where he redeems 5000 points (which costs him $30 to obtain). Remember: the lowest retail price he found was $87. The airport has a 24-hour shuttle to and from the airport and TripAdvisor gives the hotel a solid thumbs-up.

“I think I’m done and happy,” he says.

What if he hadn’t found the Points Break hotel?

“I could have gone with the Expedia Best Price match guarantee to take $50 off the retail rate of another hotel. The lowest retail rate was $87 for an airport hotel, so I could have gotten in for $87 minus $50 or $37. Or I could have bid in the high $30s to low $40s for a room downtown or at the airport on Priceline [Priceline.com]. And if those ideas hadn’t found results, I would have checked SPG.com for a cash-and-points or all-points redemption with Starwood. It’s tough to beat that Points Break deal, though, when you can find it.”
Ingersoll posted information on his blog (www.frugaltravelguy.blogspot.com) about Expedia Best Price Guarantee (October 15, 2010) and Priceline/ BiddingForTravel.com (October 27, 2007). A search on the blog will reveal those two posts.

Rick Ingersoll will be a featured speaker at the Spring 2011 Frequent Traveler University session in Flushing, New York, on April 30. For more information on the FTU, go to www.ftuniversity.com.

For more information on Rick Ingersoll, visit The Frugal Travel Guy blog. He also maintains a Facebook page.

About The Frugal Travel Guy:

Rick Ingersoll is the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Blog, which is read around the world and averages 5000 views per day, and The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook. He is constantly on the lookout for the best credit card and debit card sign-up bonuses. He posts travel tips daily on debit and credit card deals and on other interesting promotions with the goal of reducing his readers’ travel costs today and for the rest of their lives. He is also available for seminars and speaking engagements. A retired mortgage banker, Ingersoll and his wife live in Hilton Head Island, SC, and Traverse City, MI, when they’re not traveling the globe.