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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Good Deals
Cheap Charlie · November 3, 1999

Every so often, I feel I should pass along good bargains that readers can take advantage of. Here are two of the best I found this past week, plus a tip for AOL users.

Let me start out with a coupon bargain. I love coupons, especially coupons worth hundreds of dollars. That is what you get from Northwest Airlines if you can take advantage of their program. Northwest has long been a proponent of airline coupons. This is the first Internet coupon I have ever seen for an airline.

The Northwest offer is available through www.coolsaving.com. The coolsavings.com site is a fascinating collection of bargains. You can find savings or everything from toys to office supplies to rental cars and airline tickets. It is worth a look for every bargain hunter. On the site they have a straightforward explanation for downloading their coupon clipper that is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems.

Coast-to-coast flights can come in at only $248! But, that's for U.S. to Canada flights such as a Miami or Boston to Vancouver flight. If you are planning a flight between Boston and Los Angeles or D.C. and Seattle the cost will be $328. Flights within zones (which would include flights between Boston and Dallas for example) are only $208. These are very good deals! The coupon expires the last day of October 1999. A Saturday night stay is required. There are some blackout dates. And travel must be completed within 30 days of initial departure or by February 29, 2000.

Once you download your coupon, go to the Northwest site and follow the steps they outline which mainly requires that you fill in the coupon number from your Internet coupon. There is a coupon program which insures that customers can only download one coupon. Once the coupon is ordered, it disappears from the selection available to that user.

Another excellent bargain for flyers is the two-for-one deal offered by Virgin Atlantic for anyone purchasing tickets with a MasterCard. Normally these bargains are only in effect for full-fare tickets or business class. However, this offer is limited to 21-day advance purchase fares. This deal is only available until October 31, 1999. Travel must take place from 10/1/99 through 2/28/00 outbound and return by 3/25/00. Make sure to ask for the MasterCard offer, code MCOFFER. You can find details at the MasterCard site.

Travel can be from New York (JFK or Newark), Boston, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, Washington (Dulles), Los Angeles, or San Francisco. This deal is only available for 21-day advance purchase fares and you'll have to pay taxes of approximately $88 and fees. Saturday night stay is required and upgrades are not allowed among other restrictions.

Now, here is a great section of the Travel Channel for AOL members looking for the lowest Internet fares from a town near them. Click on the Travel Channel, then click on Bargains, then look for the Internet Specials button. You'll find a linked Web page with an up-to-date searchable database for every available Internet airline special. It makes very easy for anyone searching for bargain Internet fares.

Good bargain shopping.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at cheapch@aol.com or access his Web site.