Meet Kari & Kelly, Kari got a $1500 Mexico lodging voucher through JGOOT, and she and her friend Kelly booked a girls’ trip over a holiday weekend. They booked their flights on the same day… They’re flying on the same plane, to th…
Amazon Prime day – Great day to shop for new luggage
My wife has been wanting to update our 10-year-old luggage, but I’m a notorious cheapskate and have been resisting. Since Amazon is knocking as much as 60% off for Prime day, she finally convinced my cheap-a$$ to agree. If you’re shopping f…
“Sorry, this just seems like a scam”
For every one “Thank You” email I get from a paid subscriber, I probably get ten from free subscribers who simply don’t believe the prices I say are possible when traveling (even when I send them actual trips they can book themselves …
The best way to save big on lodging (that is overlooked 90% of the time.)
Today’s blog post was inspired by a question I get asked almost as often as “can you beat the price I found for flights to _______“? (And for the record; No – I don’t do price quotes – even if it’s for a $25,00…
The more often you look – The luckier you get
I’m flying my family of four across the country for only slightly more than what most people would pay for one passenger and just had to share… I was about to admit defeat and pay more than I’ve paid for a flight in over 2 years: $222…
Traveling during a busy holiday week? Try these 3 strategies (in this order)
Although my awesome support team do our best to individually answer most questions we get, it’s impossible to stay on top of them all. Sometimes, however, we get questions I know a lot of people have – that haven’t yet been covered on…
Divorce lawyers, Taco-Tuesdays & vacationing with reckless abandon
It was 2012 and I was in the middle of a brutal divorce. Although the kids’ Mom and I were doing a decent job of shielding our kids from our disagreements, our lawyers were duking it out like the final fight scene of Rocky IV. All of my assets we…
Are these prices real, and who is this Joel guy? (Video)
“Is this site real?” “Are YOU real?” “What’s the catch?” I get asked those questions all the time and I’d be an idiot if I didn’t think you’ve wondered the same. It’s really simple. The …
A rarely known hack that can pay for a vacation (or three) per year
As you (hopefully) know from reading my blog, I’m a big advocate of using frequent flyer points any time you have to go somewhere that is going to cost more than the prices I share on Just Get Out Of Town. I’ve used frequent flyer points to…
Mother & son fly to Belize for $320 to get SCUBA certified
I recently got this video from a Mother about a recent trip to Belize. She and her son flew there for $320 round-trip to celebrate their birthdays and got SCUBA certified. In the spirit of Mother’s day, I thought it would be appropriate that I sh…
Mother & son fly to Belize for $320 to get SCUBA certified
I recently got this video from a Mother about a recent trip to Belize. She and her son flew there for $320 round-trip to celebrate their birthdays and got SCUBA certified. In the spirit of Mother’s day, I thought it would be appropriate that I sh…
Meet Brooke – Our Senior Support Rep
Hi There, I’m Brooke and I’m the newest member of the Just Get Out Of Town team (abbreviated JGOOT)! I help Joel keep on top of correspondence with his blog subscribers, so if you reply to an email from us, it will probably be me who will be hel…
Players, Spotters, Whales & winnings they make movies about
In the blackjack world, there are 3 types of people at the tables: Players, Spotters & Whales. Players Players make up 99% of the people at the tables. Some win a few hundred bucks, some lose and console in the fact that at least they got free drin…
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 …
Jerry West’s trick to getting business class flights for 1/2 to 1/3 of what people paid for their coach seat
Jerry West is a master negotiator, seasoned Europe traveler, and JGOOT premium subscriber. In this video, we chat about how he put a combination of his JGOOT subscription and his negotiation skills to work to score two different business class flights …
“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…
Tonight’s Oscars, “A Star Is Born”, and an unexpected reaction
Last night, in hopes of cramming one last Oscar nominated movie in before tonight’s award ceremony, my lovely wife Michelle rented “A Star Is Born” for us to watch. After a long day skiing (and a 4 hour drive back due to a 2-hour road…
JGOOT Subscriber story: “Flights so cheap we got to bring the grandparents!”
Nikki Sandschaper and her husband are both school teachers – which might seem great for vacations, but considering the only time teachers can travel is during peak seasons, that can get pricey quick. In this interview we talked about one of their…
“It’s five minutes of dreaming and fun” – Robert Horvick
Below is a recording of a conversation I had with JGOOT premium subscriber Robert Horvick after he left these kind words on our Facebook page. Robert & his wife live in Raleigh, NC. Since joining my trip-alert service, they’ve only travelled …
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 R…
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…
The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working.
“The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working.” – Ernest Newman, Born Nov. 30, 1868. One of the best copywriters I am proud to know (Colin Theriot) wrote an article using t…
An epic Vegas bachelor party… On a budget.
The post An epic Vegas bachelor party… On a budget. appeared first on Just Get Out Of Town.