Back to Basics: Fees, Taxes & the Bottom Line Cost of Travel
February 6, 2008 by Mary Jo Manzanares
Filed under Air Travel, Hotels, Money Saving Tips, Travel Tips
Whether you are buying airline tickets, booking a hotel room or rental car, or choosing the right tour, cost comes into play. As you are comparing features and prices, make sure that you are comparing apples to apples, and not apples to oranges.
It all starts with the base price. But, it very seldom ends there.
When you are quoted a price, you need to ask what is included. Some businesses quote an inclusive price, but not very many. So find out about the additional charges.
Here are a few charges that you may find:
- State and local taxes
- Electric surcharge
- Security surcharge
- Fuel surcharge
- Booking fee
- Resort fee
- Safe fee
- Airport fees
- Generic service charges
- Included gratuities
After you get a full list of all the charges you can stack the price up against what you are getting for the price. Only then can you pick the deal that gets you the most return on your purchase price.
Photo credit: flickr
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