Windy City Live | A Fork on the Road: 400 Cities/One Stomach

"There are a variety of discount travel websites that constantly update bargain travel. Subscribe to their mailing lists, enter your cities of interest, and they'll notify YOU when prices drop or a Sale to your City goes down. Bon Voyage!"

AIRFARE:

General Tip: Always try and buy your tickets on a Tuesday. Most airlines begin their sales on Monday evenings, so on Tuesday all the other carriers hurry to match or beat the new deals.

ORBITZ Deal Detector

www.shermanstravel.com/

Mark DeCarlo's Travel Deals

Last Minute Travel. If you can be flexible on when you go, where you go or when you return, this site is THE BEST When you want to fly TOMORROW, check 'em out.

LastMinuteTravel Club - America's first travel price club

Compare hundreds of bargain travel sites at one. Great site!

www.kayak.com/deals

Works best for Last Minute Travelers. Sign up and they'll ping YOU when a great deal surfaces ANYWHERE on the internet.

www.airfarewatchdog.com/

Yapta tracks prices BEFORE you buy, so you get the best price. GET AIRLINE REFUNDS AFTER you Purchase. Yapta tracks the price of your tickets from the moment you buy, until the moment you fly.
www.yapta.com/

CAR RENTAL :

Hotwire many times offers the best published deals on cars by collecting rates from its 7 rental car company, including Budget, Enterprise and Europcar. They also offer “hot deals” from rental companies that won’t be identified until after you’ve paid. With cars, the risk in taking the blind-booking approach is minimal: A minivan is a minivan, no matter which company provides it. (You can also head back to Priceline.com to try bidding for a better bargain on your rental car.)
www.hotwire.com/car/

LODGING :

You can find great last-minute bargains at international hotels. Once you find your deal and before you enter your credit card information, you may click on a link to book by phone -- a smart move to guarantee an eleventh-hour reservation. The site will give you the hotel’s phone number, plus a reference code for the marked-down rate you found online. LateRooms also lists special offers, including “secret room” deals with deeply discounted rates at four- and five-star properties. The rub, as with Priceline, is that you won’t know the exact hotel until after you pay.
www.laterooms.com

Mark DeCarlo's Travel Deals
$10 off when you join their club and get notifications of regional specials. If you like B&B, a great guide.
www.bedandbreakfast.com

HOMEEXCHANGE.com

Pick anyplace on Earth and this site will find you somebody's house to use... while they use your house.

Mark DeCarlo's Travel Deals
Vacation Rental By Owner. Search over 160,000 vacation rentals WORLDWIDE. Great for family vacations, Group events, and big time parties. What more do you need?
www.vrbo.com

Mark DeCarlo's Travel Deals
REALLY on a budget... bunk with the backpack crowd. NOT luxurious... NOT very private, but its cheap.
www.hostelz.com

PACKAGE DEALS :

If you want to buy packages, this site finds the best deals AND the best mix of locations.
www.dealbase.com/

Tired of trying to keep track of ALL your different plans, miles and benefits? Let Webflyer handle it.
www.webflyer.com/