Bargains sure aren't a bargain anymore!
Are you sick of getting nickled and dimed on extra fees for every little thing you buy or do these days? I sure am! Take airfare, for instance. DMan and I have been looking into taking a trip to Las Vegas in the spring as our Christmas present to each other. Being the thrifty shopper he is, DMan has been tracking airfares on Allegiant and saw this weekend that we could get tickets for $75 per person, each way, down $30 from several weeks ago. $150 apiece to fly to Vegas, Baby? "Let's book it," I said.
Not so quick, Allegiant said. They had a zillion pop-up questions before we could book the trip, and each one had a fee attached:
** Carry-on bag? That'll be $32 each. (I said, "Screw a carry-on bag, you can't fit anything much in that stupid overhead compartment anyway!")
** Checked bag? Cough up $50 each. (Had to say "Yes" to that. A gal can't wear the same outfit for three days in Vegas, now can she?)
** Want to sit together on the plane? Pay Allegiant $38 each. (This wasn't even really a choice, as DMan had already picked out the least-likely-to-die-if-we-crash seats with extra leg room since he's 6'5" and I am terrified to fly since I haven't been on a plane since 1983. I figure this was worth the money because if I'm going to puke on someone, it might as well be DMan. Don't want to piss off some stranger sitting next to me in case I have to use them as a body pillow if we crash. Plus, we already agreed to pay to take luggage, so he will have a change of clothes.)
** Want trip-flex insurance in case your plans change? Cha-ching, $37 more per person please. (I said, "Hell no." DMan said, "But, honey, what if . . . ?" DMan was paying the bill, so he won.)
** Want priority boarding like a rock star? Only $10 each. (These are dinky planes, people, not freaking jumbo jets, and the less time I'm on that thing, the better! I'll take my chances on boarding behind some slow poke and be a rock star in my own mind for free.)
Allegiant was SO GENEROUS to let us stow one bag under the seat in front of us for FREE. The examples they gave were a purse or laptop case. So I'm going to bring the biggest purse I own, and DMan is going to bring a laptop case. With no computer in it. I asked him why, and he said, "Because it's free, so I'm going to bring it." Take that Allegiant!
We got through the pop-ups, then came all the "hidden fees" in the total bill: Federal Excise Tax $13.36, Segment Fees $16, PFC $18 (WTF is PFC?!), September 11 Security Fee $22.40, and Carrier Usage Charge $52. Then, believe it or not, Allegiant tried to charge another $32 just to pay for the whopper of a bill with a credit card!! DMan put his foot down at that and hauled out the debit card he never EVER uses. So our $150 bargain airfare now came to $335.88 each! And I'll bet they don't even serve free liquor on that flight to settle my nerves and help me forget about how much putting my life in danger just to get to Vegas was costing us!!
Probably not a good move on our part, but later that day we got online to order tickets to see the Ozark Mountain Daredevils at the Gillioz Theater's New Year's Eve bash. Again, DMan was being a smart shopper and had found us two seats directly behind the $100/person seats for only $64 each. Coolies, we're gonna have a New Year's Eve date night! But uh huh, you guessed it. The charges started adding up. Not only was there a $6 each ticket fee -- you only sell TICKETS, right Gillioz? Now you're going to charge us a fee for the actual tickets? UGH! -- but they also charged $2 each for a "delivery fee" regardless of whether you printed your own emailed tickets, did will call, or had them mailed. I told DMan, "Let them mail the damn tickets to us. At least we'll get 49 cents worth of the delivery fee for the stamp." I am sticking it to you, Gillioz, and it feels good!
Are you sick of getting nickled and dimed on extra fees for every little thing you buy or do these days? I sure am! Take airfare, for instance. DMan and I have been looking into taking a trip to Las Vegas in the spring as our Christmas present to each other. Being the thrifty shopper he is, DMan has been tracking airfares on Allegiant and saw this weekend that we could get tickets for $75 per person, each way, down $30 from several weeks ago. $150 apiece to fly to Vegas, Baby? "Let's book it," I said.
Not so quick, Allegiant said. They had a zillion pop-up questions before we could book the trip, and each one had a fee attached:
** Carry-on bag? That'll be $32 each. (I said, "Screw a carry-on bag, you can't fit anything much in that stupid overhead compartment anyway!")
** Checked bag? Cough up $50 each. (Had to say "Yes" to that. A gal can't wear the same outfit for three days in Vegas, now can she?)
** Want to sit together on the plane? Pay Allegiant $38 each. (This wasn't even really a choice, as DMan had already picked out the least-likely-to-die-if-we-crash seats with extra leg room since he's 6'5" and I am terrified to fly since I haven't been on a plane since 1983. I figure this was worth the money because if I'm going to puke on someone, it might as well be DMan. Don't want to piss off some stranger sitting next to me in case I have to use them as a body pillow if we crash. Plus, we already agreed to pay to take luggage, so he will have a change of clothes.)
** Want trip-flex insurance in case your plans change? Cha-ching, $37 more per person please. (I said, "Hell no." DMan said, "But, honey, what if . . . ?" DMan was paying the bill, so he won.)
** Want priority boarding like a rock star? Only $10 each. (These are dinky planes, people, not freaking jumbo jets, and the less time I'm on that thing, the better! I'll take my chances on boarding behind some slow poke and be a rock star in my own mind for free.)
Allegiant was SO GENEROUS to let us stow one bag under the seat in front of us for FREE. The examples they gave were a purse or laptop case. So I'm going to bring the biggest purse I own, and DMan is going to bring a laptop case. With no computer in it. I asked him why, and he said, "Because it's free, so I'm going to bring it." Take that Allegiant!
We got through the pop-ups, then came all the "hidden fees" in the total bill: Federal Excise Tax $13.36, Segment Fees $16, PFC $18 (WTF is PFC?!), September 11 Security Fee $22.40, and Carrier Usage Charge $52. Then, believe it or not, Allegiant tried to charge another $32 just to pay for the whopper of a bill with a credit card!! DMan put his foot down at that and hauled out the debit card he never EVER uses. So our $150 bargain airfare now came to $335.88 each! And I'll bet they don't even serve free liquor on that flight to settle my nerves and help me forget about how much putting my life in danger just to get to Vegas was costing us!!
Probably not a good move on our part, but later that day we got online to order tickets to see the Ozark Mountain Daredevils at the Gillioz Theater's New Year's Eve bash. Again, DMan was being a smart shopper and had found us two seats directly behind the $100/person seats for only $64 each. Coolies, we're gonna have a New Year's Eve date night! But uh huh, you guessed it. The charges started adding up. Not only was there a $6 each ticket fee -- you only sell TICKETS, right Gillioz? Now you're going to charge us a fee for the actual tickets? UGH! -- but they also charged $2 each for a "delivery fee" regardless of whether you printed your own emailed tickets, did will call, or had them mailed. I told DMan, "Let them mail the damn tickets to us. At least we'll get 49 cents worth of the delivery fee for the stamp." I am sticking it to you, Gillioz, and it feels good!