When we travel (and it's more often now that we are retired) I
look for the best deals online. I have found that I can often get
a better hotel or car rental deal by calling the places and
checking on any discounts or specials. If they can't beat the
online prices then I book online.

When it is getting close to our
travel dates I again check the hotel and car prices (and airfare if
we are flying on Southwest) We are heading out in a few weeks and the online
hotel price dropped $10 a night but I also called the hotel and they gave us
a better room at a lower price so now our 3 night stay is $100 less than our
original price. The car rental price has also dropped $25. This doesn't work
every time but probably 80% of the time I can get a better price on one or more
charges. A few minutes online and a few phone calls can mean a nice savings
for us.

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