January 31, 2008
American Express "Going Once" sale
If you want some extra excitement and complication (as if booking your own travel wasn't complicated enough), American Express has a vacation package promotion for card holders on their Going Once website.
The promotion lasts from February 4 to 14 and works like this. Each day a different package goes on sale at noon. Every twenty minutes until 8:00 pm (or until the package sells out) the price drops.
So the longer you wait, the cheaper you get the vacation. However, the package could sell out before 8:00 if enough people want the package. There are also fixed-price packages.
So start thinking (assuming you have an American Express card) about how much you're willing to pay for each package. I'm also assuming that you have more money than I do.
Croatia (starts at $13,570 which is the retail price)
Tuscany ($9,000)
Alaska ($12,480)
Cabo San Lucas ($15,000)
Tanzania safari ($18,590)
Polynesia ($18,790)
Greece & Turkey
Buenos Aires
Hawaii
According to American Express, last year Going Once package purchasers saved an average of 32 percent off of retail prices. It's a significant discount, but personally I'd wait a bit longer and risk having the package sell out. They do show you the number of packages available (it says 10 for each right now).
