My Newest (and Best?) Giveaway Yet? Actual Money Courtesy of Bing Travel!

by Gary Leff

Bing travel wants to get your (and my) attention.

I’ll admit, I hadn’t paid them much mind before, I’m used to searching with ITA Software and with Kayak, booking directly through an airline site or with Expedia or Orbitz if need be. I often find that Orbitz is good for putting together complex multi-carrier itienraries, and depending on the carrier they may be updating inventory at a lag from other sites, so Expedia or Orbitz might be cheaper on any given itinerary on occasion.

So I was surprised to find that Bing seemed very much in the tradition of Kayak, the site I’ve recommended most often to non-experts for search for travel. Very good to know!

So how did they get my attention and now yours?

They’ve laid out their summer travel forecast and have quite an offer to promote it.

Here’s what they say about overall air and hotel pricing:

The average airfare to domestic destinations is up 22% from 2009 and 4% higher than 2008 fares, averaging $303 per ticket. But don’t kill the messenger – you can still save big with your hotel stay!

On average, premium hotel rates in domestic destinations are down 10% over 2009, averaging $166 per night. Choosing the right destination this summer could allow you to make up for higher airfares. Some destinations we recommend considering are Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, Honolulu, San Diego, and New York City, where hotel rates are down considerably and can help reduce your overall trip cost.

And they actually provide some reasonable advice on booking summer travel, not the fanciful made up stuff that you get out of most commentators but advice on using alternate airports (and an implication would be add a train or European discounter segment if you need it) and to book the best deal you can now rather than waiting. Nothing new for the expert, but sound nonetheless for general guidance.

So what are they offering exactly? Money. Serioously. Bing-branded prepaid Mastercards. They’ve sent me 100 $15 cards. I’m going to package them as (20) prizes of 5 cards apiece. Which means there will be (20) winners receiving $75 each.

These prepaid Mastercards say “15 Dollars / Bag Fee on Bing.com” but I know many of my readers are elites whose baggage fees are waived. Use the cash for whatever you’d like.

Personally, I love keeping low-dollar prepaid cards around, for (1) free trial signup offers that require a credit card and (2) for testing out bidding on Priceline when I don’t want to play the incorrect security code trick. And I’ve also been known link debit cards to my Paypal account and shoot the balance over to my wife. Or just load up my Starbucks card.

There are (2) ways to enter:

  • Visit Bing’s summer travel forecast and post a comment here on this blog post answering the question where will you go this summer?. 15 winners will be chosen at random from these entries. Only one entry per person.

  • Follow @garyleff and @Fareologist on twitter and tweet
      RT this and follow @garyleff and @fareologist to win actual CA$H http://tinyurl.com/vftw-bing

    5 winners will be chosen at random from these entries. Only one entry per person.

Enter once using either or both methods no later than Tuesday, May 11 at noon Eastern time.

Very generous of the folks at Bing Travel, and as always I pass the goodies on to you!

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. I’m going to Whistler, BC to enjoy the Olympic aftermath and the amazing scenery.

  7. Charleston, SC for Memorial Day & 4th of July.

    A week in the San Francisco/North Bay/Wine Country.

    Still haven’t figured out Labor Day weekend yet.

  8. Thanks Gary! I’m trying to plan a trip to San Francisco or the East Coast for our one year anniversary! We want to go somewhere neither of us have been in the States.

  10. Too hot for Madrid. I’d go to San Francisco for the cold weather. Guess I agree with WHG, but, who doesn’t like San Francisco.

  13. DC in June, Connecticut in Aug., but hoping for something abroad in the fall!

    Thanks for the chance!

  14. Going to Orlando to see the Mouse in June, then DC for the fireworks and concert on July 4.

  16. I’m going to the Colorado Rockies in July, and Hawaii in November (is that still summer)?

    Thanks!

  19. I’m going to Europe in July! First Paris, then London, then Rome. Can’t wait!

  24. I sometimes check bing fare forecast…
    Going to Portugal in June and August.

  27. Cool site. May supplement ITA with this one. We’re going to Denver for a wedding in July, possibly bringing my wife (and kids?) along on a business trip to Korea in July.

  30. Going to Greece…twice! Lets hope the mess has cleared a bit by the summer 😉

  33. I plan to visit Hawaii this summer with my parents. We have never been before.

  34. I’m heading to Indonesia with the girlfriend!

    Thanks for the giveaway Gary and Bing!

  37. I’m going to Chicago this summer to visit a good friend from college whom I haven’t seen in years! It’ll be my first time ever in the Windy City

  43. I’m doing the California coast, from SF down to Santa Barbara, with stops in Monterey, Hearst Castle and SLO. Can’t forget some wine-tasting visits along the way, of cours! 😉

  45. Going to LA and Grand Canyon. Hope to get a good deal.
    Thank you Gary and Bing.

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