This month: Daily travel deals
The U.S. Travel Association and American Express have teamed up with almost 50 travel destinations and brands to offer a month of daily travel deals, called Discover America Daily Getaways.
Every weekday at 10 a.m. until June 4, a set of discounts—on everything from hotel stays and car rentals to attractions and travel packages—will go live at dailygetaways.com, offering up to 50 percent off the price of selected getaways from that day's travel partner. Among the companies represented are Marriott, Hertz, and Universal Studios.
One great thing about the site is that it shows how many of each getaway is for sale and highlights exactly how much you're saving. For example, Friday's partner, Carlson, is offering one night at any Country Inns & Suites hotel in the U.S. for $50, a savings of $35 (517 are available), and one night at any U.S. Radisson hotel or resort for $80, cutting a third off the normal price of $120 (50 are available).
Another perk: If you find a deal you like, just click "View Details" and it tells you exactly what you're getting and how long you have to use it (most deals are valid at least through the end of the year). You can set up an e-mail alert to remind you when a certain offer goes live, or sign up for daily e-mails to keep track of all the getaways.
The Daily Getaways promotion also features an auction component that allows American Express cardholders to bid on once-in-a-lifetime packages to cities across the country (similar to what you'd get if you took one of Budget Travel's Dream Trips for 2010 domestically). Starting bids range from $300 for the two-night Grand Canyon Experience package to $5,500 for the four-night Celebrity Las Vegas, which includes tickets to four shows, a $2,500 shopping spree, and a celebrity makeover, among other perks. A new auction goes live each weekday at 10 a.m., with bids accepted until 10 p.m.
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