Ratatat

I feel a bit like Davy Crockett or whoever died at the Alamo, fighting for a misbegotten cause. San Antonio has always been high on my list for a trip. And I wanted to see how Expedia worked on packages. I know there are deals in the packages online. But I haven’t a clue how to get them. I went into tonight’s entry easy and loose. I wasn’t tied to a particular destination. Or dates. Or airlines. And when nothing popped out in the packages, I decided to push toward San Antonio. Expedia popped up a fair airfare in January. And thus, my dates were chosen. Saturday January 9 to Wednesday January 13th.

And I tried. Expedia “picked” hotels. And then Trip Advisor hated them (do the movie review voice from In Living Color). So of the choice they offered me, I picked a hotel. It was a fair price. And then I added the car. The car was full-size, smaller than I think I’d really want with the 3 kids.

Total price: $2,238.75

And that seemed OK. But I am committed to shopping for travel.

Price of the exact same items (same airline, same hotel, same car rental) on my own = $2203.11

I am paying $35 MORE to give Expedia a cut?

The trip as I priced it:

United 5799
Sat, Jan 09, 2010 – Milwaukee, WI (MKE) to San Antonio, TX (SAT)
Operated by: United Express/skywest Airlines
Depart: MKE 10:28 AM Arrive: ORD 11:11 AM     Non-stop
67 miles traveled
<<< connecting to >>>
United 7403
Operated by: United Express/gojet Airlines
Depart: ORD 1:01 PM Arrive: SAT 3:57 PM     Non-stop
1,041 miles traveled

United 7422
Operated by: United Express/gojet Airlines
Wed, Jan 13, 2010 – San Antonio, TX (SAT) to Milwaukee, WI (MKE)
Depart: SAT 8:34 AM Arrive: ORD 11:15 AM     Non-stop
1,041 miles traveled
<<< connecting to >>>
United 5811
Operated by: United Express/skywest Airlines
Depart: ORD 3:05 PM Arrive: MKE 3:49 PM     Non-stop
67 miles traveled

$1,144.50
5 passengers

Residence Inn San Antonio Downtown/Alamo Plaza
425 Bonham Street
San Antonio, TX 78205 USA

* Check-in/check-out dates: Saturday, January 9, 2010 – Wednesday, January 13, 2010
* Number of rooms: 1,  Guests per room: 5
* (4 nights) 189.00 Cost per night per room (USD)
* Estimated government taxes and fees: $31.66
* Total for stay (per room):  $882.63

Dollar Rental Car
Pick-up San Antonio International Airport
Sat Jan. 09, 2010 at noon
Return Same as Pick-up
Wed Jan. 13, 2010 at noon
Promo Code:  AX10
CAR & RATE
Car Class: Full-size Dodge Charger (or similar)
Rental Time: 2 Weekend days at $28.77 per day. Unlimited mileage. 2 Extra Days at $42.99 per day.
Discount:  10% (AmEx discount)
Total Base Rate $129.17
Apt Conc Recov Fee  $15.30
County Rental Tax  $7.65
Energy Recovery Fee  $1.80
Tag Recovery Fee  $6.76
Rental Tax  $15.30
Total Est. Mandatory Charges $46.81
Est. Grand Total  $175.98

air: $1,144.50
flight: $882.63
car: $175.98

= $2203.11

I think a trip to the Alamo would still be fun. And Texas in January sounds fabulous. But I am deeply disappointed in the power of the internet to combine and discount.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 9:44 pm and is filed under bon voyage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.