Can I pick my own dates?

For every time I get this question, I’m sure there are 1000 more subscribers wondering the same thing, so I’ll just post my response here. Hi Noah, It’s closer to the latter. I share the 100 to 150 deals a month with my premium subscr…

“No way these fares are real.”

Whether via email, public comments, a personal conversation, or comments on Facebook or my blog, I get the exact same objection multiple times a day. Here is my response to a “No way.  I checked and it’s not on sale.” public comment o…

Don’t look for deals on cruises. Do this instead:

Here is my response whenever I get asked if I have deals on cruises.  Thanks for reaching out.  I solely focus on flights for one reason: You can get a FREE cruise, and it doesn’t much matter if that locks you into specific dates that require you…

“Best $100 I’ve ever spent on travel”

Everyone loves JGOOT.  Doctors, lawyers, firefighters, entrepreneurs, millennials, retirees, teachers… Even travel agents! Here is a testimonial from an attorney who recently upgraded to our premium annual subscription. Want to try our premium tr…

You don’t need my services

I woke up to 9 emails this morning asking what deals I know of to a specific place at a specific time. Unfortunately, I’m not a travel agent and as much as I’d like to get their business, upgrading to my premium trip-alert service would be …

“I’ll have a cheeseburger with no cheese”

“I’ll have a cheeseburger with no cheese.” If you were sitting next to someone who ordered that, wouldn’t you feel COMPELLED to tell them they’re paying too much? Sadly, I have that same feeling several dozen times a week….

Meet Dante – Travel App Expert

Dante in the video below is pretty well-traveled. For years, he’s used the Hopper app, Airfare Watchdog, Travelzoo, Kayak Explorer, Google’s Fare Watcher, etc. When he found out I was at a travel expo in his area, he drove an hour to grill …

Planning a trip to Hawaii

Yesterday, a premium subscriber called with a question about the best way to plan his Hawaii trip. Since it was going to be a long/involved conversation, he agreed to do it on camera so others could “listen in” too. It turned out to be a pr…

As long as teachers are going on strike without pay, so will I

[Note: Already subscribed to my premium trip-alerts?] Donate at least $100 to this fund (or another Go Fund Me that benefits individual Denver Schools), send me a receipt, and I’ll send you the 7-night vacation voucher referenced below.] Denver P…

As long as teachers are going on strike without pay, so will I

[Note: Already subscribed to my premium trip-alerts?] Donate at least $100 to this fund (or another Go Fund Me that benefits individual Denver Schools), send me a receipt, and I’ll send you the 7-night vacation voucher referenced below.] Denver P…

Like the Gideons give Bibles to Hotels

Sean and Janelle of Toward Awakening Travel were kind enough to invite me to talk about the concept of remnant travel at their monthly meetup in Denver. Here is a recording of that interview, and here is a copy of the quick-start guide I gave to attend…

About Croatia (Video)

JGOOT premium subscriber Andrea Warner was kind enough to share pictures, stories, and some other cool travel tips from her recent JGOOT-inspired trip to Croatia. Have further questions? Add your comments below, or participate in the conversation going…

Kids fly free on Frontier!

I love it when this awesome community of JGOOT travelers helps each other out… The Points Guy posted this news, and one of my savviest JGOOT subscribers – Brooke Merkle – shared the details with me so I could get the word out. Thanks …

Exploiting the airline industry’s “Achilles Heel”

Whether dealing with discount airlines, or one of the big three – all airlines use extremely expensive software and algorithms to extract every dollar possible out of every seat on every one of their planes. But much like Achilles’ heel, ev…

First world problems

For the past several days, my wife has been laying out clothes and texting/coordinating with her girlfriends finalizing what they’re going to wear on their annual girl’s trip. (Last year it was Miami. This year… Mexico.) Last night, she spent 2 h…

Book VIP – Scam or legitimate company?

[Disclaimer: The JGOOT Way of travel does not condone timeshare ownership or strategies that Book VIP uses to get vacation discounts. This is simply a review of an alternative method to getting great deals on vacations.] BookVIP.com is a discount vacat…

Seriously???

I’m in a few Facebook travel groups, and one of them in particular is an especially active one. The average post gets over 20 replies, but one in particular got over 100 replies in the first hour, and is up to over 350 comments. The post was &#82…

From one of the greats

Wayne Gretzky is among the greatest hockey players in history. When asked what he attributes to his success he quoted a simple lesson his Dad gave him: “Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it has been.” Want to spend 75% to 90% l…

Ummmmm… Hell no.

[TL;DR? Watch a video at the bottom of this post instead.] I bargained with my sophomore son and told him if he took a free ACT practice test on Friday, he could take a friend snowboarding today. I was going to go boarding today too, but it was NEGATIV…

Your “Travel More” New Year Resolution

Happy New Year!  Have you got 5 minutes? Let’s get you started on your first step toward actually getting to your dream destination affordably this year, shall we? Step 1: Think of a destination that is on your bucket list Step 2: Go to a site ca…

Reach out and touch someone

 . In the late 70’s – long-distance calling was extremely expensive ($.10 to $.25 per minute), rates were very confusing, and most people only called for really special occasions. So AT&T launched a campaign about how their new calling…

This site is not for you if…

Yesterday, I got a text from one of my subscribers, Brooke Merkle, while she was on vacation.  When CBS News profiled her less than a year ago, she had taken her family on 3 JGOOT-inspired trips, and was going on her fourth trip to Hawaii. She’s …

Oops! Sorry about all of the extra posts today.

Today, you will get a bunch of extra/irrelevant emails from old trips out of DEN with a bunch of dead links. Sorry in advance for filling your inbox up with them. All should be back to normal tomorrow. –Joel “Working too late and got sloppy…

Thanksgiving musings

It’s the end of the day on Thanksgiving. Our friends & family have left & the dishes are done. Today, I watched in amazement as my teenage kids were not only engaged in something other than their phones, but were excited and enthused to b…

“I wish I could travel like you”

Every time my wife & I get together with friends, they comment on our most recent Facebook travel pictures saying “I wish I could travel like you.” The funny thing is… if you want to travel like me, all you have to do is… Tr…

The 60 second method to finding amazing travel deals

Remember that scene from Karate Kid where the culmination of all of Daniel’s “karate training” painting fences, waxing cars, and sanding floors comes together? Click on the video clip below and watch Daniel’s face as he instantl…

Nothing like bumping an airline employee from the plane

Every once in a while, I get an email or Facebook message from an irate Airline employee saying they’re in the industry and THERE IS NO WAY the mistake fares I am posting are legit.  (That’s them yelling. Not me.) Ummmm… How do they k…

Traveling affordably (with no math involved)

In case you didn’t know it. I’m a numbers guy. My co-author and I wrote a book about cracking Google’s algorithm with paid advertising (Google AdWords for Dummies), and after that, Google hired us to write two books for them to give t…

Coming to you from the future

Hey. I know this is weird, but this is the future you, and I just got in a time-machine. I’m contacting you from 6 months in the future because I’m (we’re) in a bit of a bind… So our friends John & Sally are going to have to…

Formula for a cheap vacation AND free babysitters

Need a quick getaway without the kids, but don’t have family in town to help watch them? This little trick will take 3 or 4 months of advance planning, but it is sure to: Find a dirt-cheap vacation to a place you didn’t think you could affo…