How to save on domestic travel package?

[Poundwise]

For the first time in a long time, I'm planning on taking a domestic flight, car rental, and overnight stay next week. But the possibilities are bewildering.

I'm been looking at Kayak and Momondo, and am starting to look at Priceline and Hotwire.

I usually choose flights/car/hotels separately... does one actually get good deals by buying them together? Or would we be better off using, say, points for the car rental and AirBNBing the overnight stay?

[zolotiyeruki]

I've never done a package deal, because my particular set of preferences doesn't fall into the neat packages that are offered.  That, and typically the package deals are more expensive than what I want to spend because they don't offer the least expensive options.

Just treat each booking (flight, accommodations, car) as a separate reservation.  There's no practical reason to package them, unless there's some major discount.

[travel2020]

I generally do individual items as packaged deals often don’t meet all my preference boxes (preferred airline, hotel location, etc.), but have found good packaged deals from time to time. You just have to try different combinations to see what gives you the best value within your parameters e.g. flight+hotel+car vs flight+hotel only vs flight+Car only.

Get an idea of what the individual costs are and then compare with the package deals. Recently, I’ve also noticed that for car rentals, better deals can be had via online portals vs going directly with the same car rental company.

Depending on where you are going, you may also want to check out vacation packages offered by the big 3 airlines. If you are a Costco member, that’s another option to look into. I’ve found some good deals via those from time to time especially for popular destinations.

Your biggest factor in putting together a good deal overall is going to be flexibility in terms of travel dates/days. Sometimes increasing or decreasing the trip by a day or leaving/coming back on a weekday vs weekend or just traveling another weekend can make a huge difference in the overall price. Google flights calendar view or +/- days option in kayak will give you some good comparative data points that you can use to put together the other components.

[Dicey]

When the Bellagio in Vegas was new, we wanted to stay there. We got the very best deal by booking a package through the Southwest Airlines website.  8n all my many travels, if was the only time a package deal beat scrounging for the best prices on each element.

I've had some luck with Costco and AutoSlash for cars.

[Dee18]

autoslash.com is also a good site for car rentals.  Even after you book a rental you can set up a search that will let you know if a lower price is found. Southwest Airlines allows changes up until right before your flight and if the price for the flight drops you can exchange your ticket for one at the lower price.  I use miles which are just deposited back in my account; if you use money you will receive a credit or cash depending on what type of ticket you purchased.  This March I had both my car rental and airline ticket prices drop, from the prices when I booked in November.

[Poundwise]

Thanks for the tips!  Yes, @zolotiyeruki  makes a good point that the packages will probably be more luxurious than I need.

We're not going to a popular vacation destination (just college tours) and we don't have much date flexibility, but I didn't know Costco was in the business so I will keep that in mind when we are thinking about vacations, thank you to @travel2020. Also, thanks for the autoslash recommendation, @Dicey and @Dee18!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Costco typically has a lot of flex (adjust to lower cost car, change room to accommodate number of beds, swap hotels), so I usually go for a room + car rental option from them, but book flights separately. I have too many constraints on flights.

[simonsez]

Aside from outrageous deals with CCs, I put in another vote for Costco travel.  Tons of options and when we were on a recent trip, booking through them took care of the resort fees as well as came with Costco rebates (were delivered about a week after we got home).