Yet Another Best in Travel Awards Has Debuted. This Time, The Winners Are…

Y et another best in travel awards has debuted this year which is purported to be based on value — “great choices at great value” which is supposedly considered more universal and useful — and this time, it is by Money…

…and the results are in regarding its first Best in Travel Awards — and they are purported to be both timely and handy. “A vacation should feel like a reward, but that doesn’t mean it should break the bank. The trouble is that most travel guides either ignore the expense factor or obsess over it, turning the bargain hunt into the main adventure.” This “ultimate vacation value guide” is “packed with the kind of intel that makes saving money as easy as a walk on the beach.”

Are you ready to see if that claim is substantiated?

Winners

Please click on the subheadings colored blue for links as to the specific reasons why the winners were chosen.

Best Domestic Destinations in the United States

The seven winners of the best domestic destinations are listed below.

1. San Diego
2. New York
3. Memphis
4. Fort Lauderdale
5. Las Vegas
6. Austin
7. Santa Fe

Best International Destinations

The three winners of the best international destinations are listed below.

1. Prague
2. Marrakesh
3. Taipei

Best Hotel Chains

The two winners of the best hotel chains are listed below.

1. Wingate by Wyndham
2. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Best Resorts

The two winners of the best resort properties are listed below.

1. Ikos Oceania in Greece
2. Beloved Playa Mujeres in Mexico

Best Rental Cars

The two winners of the best rental car companies are listed below.

1. Enterprise
2. Alamo

Best Cruise Lines

The two winners of the best cruise ship lines are listed below.

1. Crystal Cruises
2. Princess Cruises

Best Travel Credit Cards

The three winners of the best credit cards are listed below.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Starwood Preferred Guest
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier

Best Airlines

The two winners of the best domestic airlines are listed below…

1. Southwest Airlines
2. Alaska Airlines

…and the winner of the best international airline is Singapore Airlines.

Best Frequent Flier Loyalty Programs

The two winners of the best frequent flier loyalty programs are listed below.

1. JetBlue
2. Alaska

Best Software Application Programs which Save Money on Travel

The five winners of the software application programs which same money on travel are listed below.

1. Skyscanner
2. GasBuddy
3. OpenTable
4. Booking.com
5. Hopper

Summary

Despite what appears to be a tremendous amount of effort and research using dozens of resources — as well as an impressive set of methodologies — in determining the winners, the first Best in Travel Awards by Money seems to be flawed.

The problem with these “awards” is that no matter how much information is used to compile the reasons for their rankings, all it takes is as little as one personal experience to negate the results. My experience with renting a car from Enterprise is one example; and I have avoided renting vehicles from Alamo for years since representatives of that company refused to resolve a customer service issue which I had with the car rental company — specifically, to renege on a deal which was initially offered for no explicable reason.

Regardless of travel award winners — or even recommendations from weblogs such as The Gate — rarely are any of the choices unanimous amongst all travelers, who will use their opinions and preferences to arrive at their own conclusions…

…and it is ultimately only your actual experience which truly matters to you — which is the main reason why we all share information with each other.

Photograph at the top of this article ©2010 by Brian Cohen.