Here's the latest list of 10 travel deals for this week. Many of these links lead to offers with a very limited shelf life, so if you're interested, act quickly. But don't act so quickly that you miss the fine print. Winter Travel Deals aren't quite so fleeting, and are also worth a look. Among this week's deals: discounts on trips to Mexico and the Caribbean, an airfare sale between New York and Delhi, and senior discounts from Rail Europe.

Deals for the Week of Jan. 23 originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 at 00:08:37.

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Face it: some places are just less expensive to visit than others.

That doesn't mean the expensive places aren't worth seeing. But why not build some economy into your itinerary by choosing destinations where meals, hotels, admission fees and transportation will cost less? The minute you commit to a visit, you're already ahead of the budget travel game.

So, let's consider a few cheap destinations that stretch your travel budget. There are plenty of affordable places that aren't on this list, but perhaps it will inspire a budget travel adventure in 2012.

Destinations that Stretch Your Travel Budget originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 at 00:05:28.

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It's time once again for you to have a say in the annual About.com Readers' Choice Awards. In 2012, three budget travel categories will appear for a second consecutive year.

Nomination submissions will be accepted immediately after midnight ET on Wednesday, Jan. 18. From then until Feb. 15, you can submit nominations in three categories: favorite U.S. budget airline, favorite international budget airline and favorite frequent-flier program.

After that nomination period closes, finalists will be posted in each of these categories. Then we'll vote for one winner in each category. Last year, about 8,000 votes and scores of thought-provoking comments were posted about what makes a budget airline or frequent-flier program a "favorite." There's no prize for the winners -- just the bragging rights that come with getting recognized by the readers of one of the biggest networks on the web.

Read more about the categories, the awards timeline and find online nomination forms.

If you're not already a subscriber to the About.com Budget Travel newsletter, sign up for free and receive timely information about the finalists and eventual winners. You can also check out the three winners in 2011.

Beyond budget travel, there are hundreds of other Readers' Choice Awards categories you'll want to browse across the About.com network of channels. Submit your nominations beginning Wednesday, Jan. 18.

2012 Readers' Choice Awards: Nominations Please originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 16:59:21.

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Here's the latest list of 10 travel deals for this week. Many of these links lead to offers with a very limited shelf life, so if you're interested, act quickly. But don't act so quickly that you miss the fine print. Winter Travel Deals aren't quite so fleeting, and are also worth a look. Among this week's deals: a discount on Go Boston cards for use in 2012, an airfare sale on ski destinations, and a budget adventure tour of Southeast Asia.

Deals for the Week of Jan. 16 originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 16:25:46.

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Six major hotel chains want you to book rooms on their websites rather than through online travel agencies. Witness the birth of Roomkey.com.

The website, which went live this week, reveals search results for whatever these chains offer in a given city, then links you directly to the appropriate individual site for booking. A nice feature: Roomkey.com shows you the room rate and estimated taxes/fees with the initial search results. Bravo! It does not include customer reviews.

The founding chains are Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, Inc. and Wyndham Hotel Group. Best Western became the first commercial partner. CEO John F. Davis told HotelNewsNow.com that the groups represent at least 23,000 hotels, with a goal of reaching 80,000 properties by the end of 2012.

As with airlines, hotel executives want you to book products from their sites whenever possible. In theory, Roomkey.com greatly increases the odds of that desired scenario for these chains. But it has some obvious drawbacks for travelers. You won't find independent hotel properties listed here, only rooms in participating chain hotels. That's a big disadvantage in some destinations, especially for budget travelers on vacation.

There are estimates that the hotel industry pays online travel agencies billions of dollars each year to market rooms. If those marketing rates are lowered, will we as travelers pay smaller hotel bills?

It's a question worth pondering, and Roomkey.com is a website worth watching. You can be certain the online travel agencies will keep a close eye on this in the months to come.

Read More:

Avoid Extra Hotel Charges
Value Hotel Selections
Overview: Accommodations on a Budget

Hotel Chains Launch Roomkey.com originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 16:11:40.

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Let's face it: some countries are more discount-friendly than others.

No one could prepare an accurate list of governments or destinations where the discounts are always among the best. But there are places where attractive offers abound, especially for senior travelers.

In no particular order of attractiveness, take a look at some countries where you're likely to find a senior discount and read a sampling of the opportunities that could be available to travelers age 60 and older.

Countries Where You're Likely to Find Senior Discounts originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 8th, 2012 at 21:36:52.

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Here's the latest list of 10 travel deals for this week. Many of these links lead to offers with a very limited shelf life, so if you're interested, act quickly. But don't act so quickly that you miss the fine print. Winter Travel Deals aren't quite so fleeting, and are also worth a look. Among this week's deals are a Travelocity cruise sale and discounts on Paris Pass and Colorado ski rentals.

Deals for the Week of Jan. 9 originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 8th, 2012 at 15:21:31.

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Every time you pay a baggage fee to an airline, you are giving up money that could have been spent for better travel experiences. Is it a huge error? Probably not, but there are lots of things for which travelers pay too much -- maybe a hotel room or airfare, for example -- that can add up into expensive mistakes. And what about more subtle (often hidden) errors that prove common and costly. Can you catch them before it's too late?

Consider a list of common budget travel errors. See how many you've committed and how many you can cross off your list of travel habits prior to your next departure.

Costly Travel Errors originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 8th, 2012 at 15:09:41.

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Ever see a truly irresistible airfare?

You know the one. It's less than half what you would have expected to pay. It's so good that even though you had no plans to visit that destination, your bags are half-packed already. It appears to be a once-in-a-lifetime airfare, until you start moving through the buying process.

By the time taxes and fees are added, the original quote has been doubled. It's annoying. And in a few weeks, it could be illegal in the United States.

New U.S.D.O.T. rules scheduled to take effect Jan. 24 would require airfares to be advertised as the sum of airfare+fees, rather than with the airfare split from taxes by an asterisk and fine print.

That all-too-common fine print tactic has been legal up to now, but the U.S. government fined airlines 21 times last year for violations.

Spirit Airlines, Allegiant and Southwest are seeking to block the change on grounds it would violate free speech rights.

If it goes through, will those $9 airfare ads from Spirit become collectors' items?

Read More: How to Find Low Airfares

Misleading Airfare Ads on Borrowed Time? originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 22:35:17.

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There are moments when even the most dedicated budget traveler wants to find an upscale place to spend the night. Perhaps it's a special occasion. Or maybe you've scrimped and saved enough on a given trip to afford at least one night at hotel that doesn't qualify as a budget inn.

The splurge can add value to your trip. But there is a great difference between overpriced and expensive. Only splurge at places providing great value in return. Here are a few value hotel selections that are worth considering if you're in the neighborhood.

Value Hotel Selections originally appeared on About.com Budget Travel on Sunday, January 1st, 2012 at 00:03:21.

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