It’s not too late to grab some Cyber Monday travel deals. Here are some deals you might want to grab for someone special or just for yourself.
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
Quick Primer on Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday is the online version of Black Friday and is held every Monday following Black Friday, it is exclusively for online deals while Black Friday is traditionally focused on brick and mortar retail.
For those outside the US, America celebrates Thanksgiving, a national holiday held the fourth Thursday of November where families often get together and almost every business in the country is shut. It is, perhaps, the only such holiday where almost everything is closed down. The Friday that follows (the fourth Friday of every November) is called Black Friday many years ago because it was when retail businesses that operated in the red (loss) all year would finally turn a profit (into the black) in the run-up to Christmas (December 25th.)
Once an industry term, Black Friday is now very much a public event as retailers advertise the most aggressive sales of the year to expedite shifting into profitability and capturing as much of the wallet-share of consumers as possible. Online retailers weren’t content to be excluded from the party, they created Cyber Monday sales to concentrate business on the day as well.
Travel Electronics
Amazon Fire Stick – Cheap, easy, and small streaming device that plugs into any hotel TV for streaming. It makes the road feel a little more like home.
August Smart Home Lock – You have no idea how many times I used to answer “Are you sure you locked the door?” (sometimes yes, sometimes no.) I don’t have to answer any more and I bought this at double the price on Prime day. This is a great deal at $55.
Ring Doorbell 35% off – On the topic of home security, it’s also nice to be able to see who’s at the front door when away from home and deter package adoption by nefarious characters.
Battery Pack – Still flying Southwest/US Airways legacy aircraft with no power on long flights? Meet your new best friend.
Power Strip – This lightweight power strip helps where many hotels don’t. It also frees up power ports with USB outlets.
Travel Accessories
Packing Cubes – I prefer this set (4-pack on sale for $18) because the cubes are all the same size and easier to fit into a suitcase.
Luggage – This two-piece set from Samonsite is half price for Cyber Monday.
Cord Organizer – This is so incredibly helpful. Before I had one of these I used to put cords in different compartments of my backpack instead of going to one place.
Miles, Points and other Deals
All of the hotel chains and airlines sell their miles and points at a discount on Cyber Monday. They are generally the best prices of the year but my advice is always the same: if you have a specific redemption and only need a few thousand points, these sales can be a good idea – otherwise, pass.
The one exception to my rule for the advance purchase of miles is Avianca LifeMiles because the bonus is so high and the price is reasonable. It can be a good idea to pick some up for Star Alliance flights.
What are you picking up today? Post in the comments what catches your eye? What did I miss? Any other good deals out there?
Does the Fire Stick require use of the hotel’s wifi? This is a problem that I have with the Chromecast.
You can use either the hotel WiFi or your tethering. Even with a internet barrier screen (room, last name, etc) it has always worked for me. Primarily Hyatt and Hilton but can’t remember a place where it didn’t.
I’d love for it to store media (no reason why storage couldn’t be added) but maybe you could also tether to it and run stored media (through screen sharing) from your stored media device. You’d use less bandwidth because the media would already be downloaded.