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Disclaimer: this is a work in progress. Please be patient.  Feel free to comment or email me to let me know if you too have any advice or think that mine needs help!

My Aunt emailed me the other day to ask for travel advice and I thought, maybe I should put this on my blog so anyone can use it if they want. So here are some tips from me to you to use as you want.

A quick rundown of what information is below:
(1) Flights
(2) Hotels
(3) Cars
(4) Frequent Flyer Program Information
(5) Misc

(1) FLIGHTS:

- The best all around site: http://www.orbitz.com/ This one you can get everything - hotel, car and flight. I use it for flights mostly. It will compare all airlines for you. (and car companies etc).

- Always pick seats in the front row or exit row if you can. They have more leg room.

- If you have to have a layover, try to stick with the same company for both flights. Otherwise you may have a very long walk at the airport, and sometimes even a bus transfer in airports like Houston.

- If a flight gets canceled, it helps to have the 1-800 number of the airline handy. Sometimes you can reach a person on the phone faster than in real life and it may get you a new flight before everyone who is waiting in line.

- For domestic travel, you should also try Southwest Airlines, Jet Blue and Virgin America for cheap flights. Most of these are a better deal if you book 14 days or more in advance. They often have $39, $59 and $99 dollar one way fares (sometimes across the country!) They also have frequent flyer programs, so if you use them a lot (or even a little) you should sign up.

(2) HOTELS:

- www.hotels.com is another one for cheap hotels, but Orbitz should give you everything you need. If you travel the way I usually do, Hostelz (backpacker accommodation) is a great site for hostels.

- You can also look on specific hotel websites. Here are a few:
Holiday Inn,
Motel 6,
Best Western,
Marriott (Residence Inn, Courtyard),
Starwood (Sheraton, Westin),
Hilton (Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites)

(3) CARS:

- For cars also you can use priceline.com. I usually go on orbitz first to see what the cheapest price per day is. Then you go to priceline and bid half of whatever the cheapest daily rate was. They may counter offer. The only thing with that is you don't get to pick the company but if you don't care it is great. You can usually get about half price (10-15 dollars a day) for a compact car. Note: You can still enter your FF# later.

- The only tip I have for priceline is to put your arrival time (flight) a little early or else you will have to wait until the time you entered online to get the car. Better early than late.

- You can also book through the actual company website after finding out on orbitz which one is the cheapest. Here are a few of the bigger companies.
National
Hertz
Avis

(4) FREQUENT FLYER INFO:

- As a general rule, I suggest signing up for the frequent flyer/points programs for everything, even if you barely use them. They can add up in the end and sometimes the companies also give discounts/deals for members. It never hurts to be one! 

- The three main air companies are Delta, United and American Airlines. If you sign up for these three frequent flyer programs, you can get points no matter what. All of the other airlines (even international ones) are partners with one of these top three (US Air for example is partners with United,  LAN is partners with American and Air France is partner with Delta).

United Partners (Star Alliance): Air Canada, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Air New Zealand, Air China, TAP Portugal, Egypt Air, Thai Air, Asiana, SAS, Austrian Air, Singapore Air, US Air, BMI, South African Air, Turkish Airlines, Spanair, Continental (this is not a complete list: go to the website for more info)

Delta Partners (Skyteam): KLM, Avianca, Air France, Korean Air, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Alitalia, Czech Air, Aeroflot, China Southern (this is not a complete list: go to the website for more info)

American Airlines Partners (Oneworld): Aer Lingus, British Air, Quantas, Alaskan Air, LAN, Japan Airlines, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Mexicana (this is not a complete list: go to the website for more info)

- Hotel Websites:
Holiday Inn,
Motel 6,
Best Western,
Marriott (Residence Inn, Courtyard),
Starwood (Sheraton, Westin),
Hilton (Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites)

- Car Company Websites:
 National
Hertz
Avis

(5) MISC: 

In Progress...

Please email me if you have a travel tip you would like to share!!! 

You can also see some of the places I've been on my Around The World page.