Where Dreams Die Or Pocketbooks Cry

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“Got any deals to _______ leaving on ______ and returning on______?”

If you’re reading this, it’s because you’re asking that question right now – and it’s too late.

For every call/text I get from friends (both new and old)…

we get 10 posts in our Facebook group…

and for every 10 posts in our Facebook group, we get 100 private requests via email.

And it’s too late to help a single one of them.

Expecting the airlines to have an exceptional deal at the exact time you decide to book a trip is like a surfer expecting the tides to change so he can sleep in.

If you’re looking for a trip to a specific place at a specific time with any less than 60 days notice, you really only have two options:

  1. Pay a lot more than you wanted to pay for that trip (or you wouldn’t be asking.)
  2. Don’t go at all.

Even if you find a “good” deal after countless hours of hunting – it is guaranteed to be two or three times as expensive as the exceptional deal an ounce of prevention could have gotten you.

While you’re licking your wounds (or convincing yourself that the redeye flight you settled on is a good deal) – use that as your inspiration to put a simple plan in place so you NEVER have to settle for anything less than an exceptional travel deal again.

  1. Forget about a travel agenda and look for exceptional deals every day (whether planning a trip or not). Don’t waste your time with “good deals”. But when you get inspired by an exceptional deal that is 1/10th of what you’d normally expect to pay – find dates that work for you and go there. (Even if your bucket-list includes a strict list of Bali, Hawaii, Iceland, and the 7 wonders of the world – simply being open to doing them in a different order will save you thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars. And let’s face it – most of us would settle for anywhere with bottomless umbrella drinks, white-sand beaches, and an infinity pool for our Instagram photos. )
  2. Build a stash of points for the times when you need to go somewhere and don’t have the luxury of going where the deals are. Instead of begrudgingly booking a redeye flight to get the flight you were hoping to pay $200 for – for under $600 – you can use points and pay less than fifty bucks.)

Don’t wait until you get back from your trip either. Start on both #1 and #2 today. Otherwise, you’ll be facing the exact same problem with the next trip after that.

Don’t have points? Watch the video below.  I promise – It’s way less of a hassle than what you put yourself through every time you need to go somewhere specific at a specific time, and can’t find a good deal.

 

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Don’t have the time to search 30 minutes a day for the best travel deals?  Subscribe to our trip-alert service and do it in 30 seconds a day.
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Can you keep an eye out for a specific destination for me?

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My response:

Hi Katie,

Yes – If you were to upgrade your subscription, you could alter your account so you only received Hawaii updates when we found them, BUT…

As much as I’d like to earn your business as a premium subscriber – if all you want is an alert when cheap trip to a single place pops up, our services aren’t necessary.  Here is a 2-minute video about a free service that will do that for you. (Better yet – read this free quick start guide and get there for even less!)

With that said… If you want to be INSPIRED by having someone alert you of round-trip flights
  • to any of the 50 states where you might visit friends/family for $29 to $120 (or have them visit you)…
  • to any of the 5000+ islands with white-sand beaches in Mexico/Caribbean for between $100 and $400…
  • to any of the beautiful countries in Europe or South America for $200 to $600…
  • to Asia or many other exotic Pacific islands for $300 to $700…
  • to Africa or Australia when flights are $400 to $1000 (vs the normal $1200 to $4000)…
…our premium service is literally 20 times more likely to help you find something than your current free subscription, and we’d love to help you out. Click here to upgrade.
But again – You have no need for our service if all you want to do is wait for a good price to one or two destinations. This video will show you how to do that on your own for free.
Happy travels!
–Joel

BOOKVIP Vacation Vouchers

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If you’re reading this, it’s because you’re concerned about the validity of the Book VIP vouchers you received as a bonus for giving our premium trip-alert service a try.

Image courtesy of BookVIP.com

Book VIP has two aspects to their business:

  1. Bargain all-inclusive vacations that require a timeshare presentation. (A lot of people are concerned about their 130 complaints on BBB, but that’s out of tens of thousands of transactions. Despite over 130 registered complaints over the course of 5 years, they still have an A+ rating with the BBB. Here is my personal opinion on why.)
  2. “Empty Allotment” vouchers that do not require a timeshare presentation. (These are the vouchers I’ve given you, and they’ve already made money by selling the voucher to me, so unlike all destinations on BookVIP.com, timeshare presentations are NOT required.

I am not affiliated with BookVIP, but my wife, friends, and I have been to several resorts available through their empty allotment voucher program. Here are a few more notes that might help with your decision.

  • NO timeshare presentations are required to redeem any of those vouchers.
  • You have to pre-pay taxes of about $19 per day, and it can be used for 18 months after that (subject to availability).
  • The value of the various resorts they give away vary in actual value depending on season, but they’re certainly a lot more valuable than the taxes you pay to activate them.
  • The most important thing to remember with these vouchers is that they are “subject to availability”. The more flexibility you have on dates you can go, the more likely you’ll find available dates you can redeem these vouchers. (If they don’t have availability on the dates you wish to travel – you can also ask to exchange your destination for any other destinations they serve.)
  • Here’s the rub: Although they will offer incentives like free meals, or free excursions to attend a timeshare presentation, know that it is NOT required for the lodging voucher. If you agree to attend one, make sure you get a big incentive for it!

Just as with any hotel you book – I always recommend reviewing the resort offered on TripAdvisor.  (Especially in this case. That way, you can avoid the painful discussion with the barely-english-speaking call center by just activating online. Their reservations department is far more educated and helpful, and they’re the ones who can actually answer questions about dates/destinations. The activation department’s job is solely to painfully fumble through their script designed to collect your pre-paid taxes.)

Happy travels!

–Joel

PS – Please don’t forget that this voucher is a bonus for trying our trip-alert service, but has nothing to do with The JGOOT Way of travel. If you decide you don’t like their terms of service – don’t worry. Once you learn the 3 simple rules of “The JGOOT Way” of travel, there will be PLENTY of ways to get even better travel deals.

If you give “The JGOOT Way” of travel a fair chance for a couple weeks and decide you won’t be able to give a testimonial like those I’ve included below, simply email us at “cancel@justgetoutoftown.com” within the first 30 days, and ask for your money back. We’ll issue a refund, AND give a parting gift just for giving us a try.