Steal These Deals: Travel Sleuth
He scours the web for packages and last-minute deals.
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Hylton’s favorite travel Web site is Travelocity, where he’s found package deals for less than the cost of the flight alone. For example, in January, he found a flight from New York City, where he lives, to Washington, D.C., for a pricey $429. But he was able to book a bundled trip he found on the site that included a round-trip flight and three-day car rental for just $199.
E-mails from various sites help Hylton watch for the best bargains. Last year, an alert from Kayak.com let him know that the fare for an American Airlines flight to Los Angeles that he had booked on Travelocity for $429 had dropped to $289. After a call to Travelocity, he was refunded the difference. He also receives weekly e-mails with deals from TravelZoo.com, which bagged him a $99-a-night stay, including two 60-minute massages, at a resort in Vermont.
Top Tips
Package a flight with a car rental or hotel stay for the best vacation bargains. Set up alerts at Kayak.com and other travel sites. Check Craigslist for cheap weekend apartment rentals.

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