Good prices on airfare from Portland to Maui $288. LAX to Honolulu is a good price at $368.

Book: 1/14 – 1/19/2010
Travel: 1/14 – 3/11/2010
Las Vegas – Honolulu     $438*
Los Angeles – Honolulu     $368*
Oakland – Honolulu     $378*
Phoenix – Honolulu     $338*
Portland – Honolulu     $388*
Sacramento – Honolulu     $468*
San Diego – Honolulu     $418*
San Francisco – Honolulu     $358*
San Jose – Honolulu     $358*
Seattle – Honolulu     $422*
Portland – Maui     $288*
Seattle – Maui     $452

http://www.hawaiianair.com/specialoffers/pages/hawaii-secret-season.aspx?hacmp=TS_Razorfish_1×1_2010_National_TravelSearch

Popularity: 4%

One of the best ways to get deals on Hawaii attractions and restaurants is to purchase the Entertainment Book for Hawaii. For Oahu travel, the main coupon in the book is the Buy 1 get 1 free at Polynesian Cultural Center. (up to a $45 value!)  There are many free coupon flyers at the airports, but the discounts aren’t as good as the ones in the Entertainment book.

My favorite coupons in the 2010  Hawaii Entertainment book are the following:

• Polynesian Cultural Center (buy 1 get 1 free)
• Safeway $5 off $50 grocery purchase (restrictions apply)
• Buca Di Beppo $10 off $20 purchase or more
• Kailua Sailboards & Kayaks Inc. Rent 1 kayak, get another free.
• 20% off Borders books coupon (usable anywhere in USA)
• $10 off $40 Radio Shack coupon (usable anywhere in USA)
• 4 Discounted Regal Cinema tickets ($7 supersaver or $8.50 unrestricted)
• Maui: 50% off Boss Frogs weekly snorkel rental
• Many coupons for food/attraction discounts

If you plan to go to the Polynesian Cultural center, this will basically pay off the cost of the book. The Entertainment website sells the book for $35, but there are ways to get it for less. I got my book through eBay for $28 shipped through this vendor. There are some other ones that remove the good coupons and the card from the book and charge less. Make sure you read the description since I’ve seen auctions that say “Polynesian Cultural Center not in book” etc. Also, make sure you get the 2010 edition since the 2009 one expires November 1, 2009.

Popularity: 25%

I recently booked most of my hotel rooms for a Hawaii trip using Priceline. You can get some great deals on the Marriott Kauai resort, Outrigger hotels, and many others. Overall, Priceline offered savings between 30-50% over the hotel’s website.  The secret to bidding on hotels is to

1. Stick to resorts or 4 star hotels. This will offer the greatest amount of savings. You cannot choose the hotel you want to stay in with Priceline, so its best to stick to a hotel class that will offer consistent rooms that aren’t going to be a big disappointment. The caveat is that resorts will require a “resort fee”, which isn’t covered by Priceline. This resort fee covers the usage of the pool, amenities in the room, etc.  In some cases, Priceline bidders get rooms that as designated as “Priceline rooms” which don’t have ocean views, older towers, etc. So, best to aim for the highest room class you can afford.
2. Best time to bid is  either a month in advance or within a week of the reservation. Always book a cancelable reservation at the hotel’s website in case no more rooms are available at the desired price. During slow seasons, you can get some real great deals within the week of the reservation since hotels would prefer to get money vs. an empty room.
3. Don’t bid too high. Two resources that I find useful are biddingfortravel and betterbidding. Better bidding actually is my preferred resource since they seem to have a bigger community for Hawaii hotels. Bidding for Travel is a solid resource, great for many cities. You can also get an idea of what to bid by looking at Hotwire and matching the amenities with the lists on betterbidding.
4. Flexibility. If you need cancelable reservations, then Priceline or Hotwire isn’t the best idea. If you can’t get a winning bid, try breaking a longer period of dates into multiple reservations.

Popularity: 12%

On FlyerTalk, there was an excellent post with a comprehensive listing of good credit card promotions for travel/airline miles. American Express HHonors and American Express SPG seems to have the best deal at the moment.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milesbuzz/973934-consolidated-best-rewards-credit-card-discussion-hugely-comprehensive.html

The author’s blog features lots of travel promotions as well. Really good info about the travel industry
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/

Popularity: 100%

Interested to see if theres trends on airfare from year to year? FareCompare has a useful tool to see when to buy airplane tickets, up to 2 years back.

http://history.farecompare.com/

Popularity: 25%

Here’s a few good sites for airline reviews:
http://www.airlinequality.com

Seating Reviews:
http://www.seatguru.com/

Airline food reviews:
http://www.airlinemeals.net/indexMeals.html

Popularity: 8%

Orbitz coupon code for 6+ night airline & hotel packages for 2009 and 7+ nights in 2010. I’ve been able to price vacation packages (air/hotel) for around $550+ per person after coupon.

1. Go to www.orbitz.com
2. Click on vacation packages
3. Enter Hawaii as the destination (HNL for Oahu)
4. Choose a travel dates for 2009 and 2010
   2009 – must be at least 6 nights
   2010 – must be at least 7 nights
5. The promotional code is:  200ENTERTAIN

Popularity: 7%

UPDATE: Deal has expired 8/31. I suggest looking at the Orbitz deal with the $200 off a 6+ night stay on a vacation package.

There’s a great deal on Expedia right now for solo travellers! $200 off Holiday Inn vacation packages (air+hotel) for 3 days or more. Usually, you need to travel with double occupancy to take advantage of travel deals.  Double occupancy travellers can take advantage of this by booking separately (6 days minimum for both travellers) by using the “I only need hotel for part of the stay” option. To find the hotel, enter “holiday inn” in the hotel name section. This also works for many hotels across the USA too.

How to redeem: Sign in to your Expedia.com user account. After selecting a qualifying vacation package, on the vacation package billing and delivery page you will see the link “I have a coupon”. Click on this link and enter the code 200IHG

http://www.expedia.com/daily/promos/terms/coupon-terms-IHG200/default.asp

Holiday Inn Waikiki
Sample rates:
$564 after discount for airfare and hotel from LAX to HNL for 3 nights in September
Includes flight, hotel, taxes.

Terms and Conditions

Offer: Receive an instant $200 savings on a qualifying vacation package booking that includes least one (1) non-refundable, roundtrip plane ticket, together with a hotel booking of at least three (3) consecutive nights at the same participating hotel.

How to redeem: Sign in to your Expedia.com user account. After selecting a qualifying vacation package, on the vacation package billing and delivery page you will see the link “I have a coupon”. Click on this link and enter the code 200IHG. Instant coupons cannot be applied to guest registration bookings. If you do not have an Expedia.com user account, please create one prior to making your qualifying vacation package booking.

Restrictions: Coupon must be used on Expedia.com by 11:59 PM (Pacific Time) on 8/31/09, for travel between 7/20/09 and 9/30/09. Travel must be completed by 9/30/09. One (1) day advanced purchase required. The cost of the qualifying booking must be at least $200 before taxes and fees. Limit one (1) coupon per package booking. This offer is from Expedia.com® and is available to Expedia.com U.S. customers only. Bookings are subject to availability and to all applicable terms, conditions, taxes and fees. Coupon is not transferable and may not be combined with other coupons, promotions, or special offers. Coupon cannot be applied against taxes, supplier-charged fees, cancellation or change penalties, prepaid bookings, administrative fees or other miscellaneous charges. A coupon will be deemed fully used once a qualifying booking has been made and may not be reused, even in the event that you change or cancel your booking. Terms and conditions of this coupon are as written and cannot be changed by any representation of any unauthorized person, including employees of Expedia, Inc. Coupon is not transferable and is not redeemable for cash. Coupon cash value 1/100¢. Void where prohibited by law.

Popularity: 18%