Hotwire Coupon $30 off

[iahphx]

Just received my 2005 Entertainment Card book and there's a surprisingly good Hotwire coupon. Spend $95 on any airline ticket, hotel, car rental or package and mail in the rebate coupon for $30 back. No apparent limit on how many times you can do the offer (1 coupon per reservation), but you do need the actual Entertainment Card coupon.

Since Entertainment books typically go for $25 or $30, it's not worth getting the book just for this offer. But if you were thinking of getting a book anyway, this is a useful incentive. Also, in a few months, Entertainment sometimes unloads its remaining books for $10, so it might make sense to pick up a copy (or an extra copy or edition) then. The coupon is good for travel through December 31, 2005, so there's plenty of time.

This website address may have more info: www.hotwire.com/epi.jsp

EDIT by thereuare: ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS are now only $9.99

[iahphx]

BTW, whenever someone tries this, I'd be curious if the $95 threshold is before or after taxes and fees. The offer seems ambiguous.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the info.

If you're going to make a Hotwire reservation anyway... it's like getting the book for free, no?

I'll also remind everyone that BetterBidding is an affiliate of the Entertainment Book

[iahphx]

If you're going to make a Hotwire reservation anyway... it's like getting the book for free, no?

Yeah, you could look at it that way. :)

[bbbb]

Does it need to be one night for $95 or can you book two nights at the same hotel for $49X2?

[iahphx]

It's not 100% explicit, but from the wording I'm 99% certain that the total value of the hotel, car rental, etc. has to add up to $95.

[dave]

OT: Are Entertainment Books worth the purchase merely for theme park admission discounts? Thanks

[iahphx]

OT: Are Entertainment Books worth the purchase merely for theme park admission discounts? Thanks

Generally, no. The really big theme parks (Universal, Disney, Sea World, etc.) usually only offer a few dollars off in coupons in the Entertainment Books. You can get the same discount from numerous other places -- AAA, fast food restauarant coupons, supermarkets, etc.

I have seen some local ediitions have valuable 2-1 coupons for more local "theme park" type attractions -- like Polynesian Village on Oahu, Old Tucson in Arizona, etc. If you want to check whether a specific attraction participates, you can comb each local edition on entertainment.com.

[dave]

Thanks for the information, iahphx. Will look out for coupons the traditional way for my trip next year. :)

[iahphx]

One somewhat unusual place to consider using this coupon is on car rentals -- especially if you're renting few a few days and the cost is slightly above the minimum $95 charge. A 30% discount (on a $100 purchase), for example, would make hotwire the cheapest car rental option in many circumstances.

[skelman]

Has anybody received their $30 credit back yet? If so, how long did it take them to process the rebate?

Also, in the small print the only quantity limitation is "One rebate per Hotwire booking," not per customer. And they do provide a PDF form for download as well, which should be considered an "original." So, may I conclude that it is possible to use this discount more than once as long as you're an Entertainment member?

Thanks!

[dbackerfans]

Also, in the small print the only quantity limitation is "One rebate per Hotwire booking," not per customer. And they do provide a PDF form for download as well, which should be considered an "original." So, may I conclude that it is possible to use this discount more than once as long as you're an Entertainment member?

This is what I get from reading the rules as well. And I printed off several of their "rebate" forms from the e-mail they sent me. Actually, the e-mail they sent me was based on last years Entertainment Book (the one that expires Nov. 1, 2004). I just bought the 2005 Ent. book but I haven't registered it yet so they can't know I have it because I bought it thru an orgnaization, not directly from Ent. This is a smoking deal if we can use it more than once!!!

[iahphx]

And they do provide a PDF form for download as well, which should be considered an "original."

An excellent observation, skelman. I've printed off several copies as well (you never know when they'll pull the pdf file, although copying the book would work much the same).

I would very much like to hear from folks who have successfully received the rebate, especially multiple times using the pdf form. Also, it would be worth knowing whether fees and taxes and be included to meet the $95 threshold.

This does now look like a "top 10" travel deal for the next year, and we have a very long window of time to use it.

[thereuare]

Apparently the purchase needs to be made at a special page for your rebate to be valid, but you can still support an affiliate when using the special Hotwire page:

1) Go to the affiliate you would like to support and click on their HOTWIRE link

2) Close that browser and then go directly to the 'special Hotwire page'

3) Make your purchase as usual

[andye]

For the Entertainment discount, go to:

www.hotwire.com/epi.jsp

You will see the details of the coupon there.

[skelman]

To answer my own question, I got $30 credited back to my American Express exactly three weeks upon mailing the rebate form out. That's a pretty quick turnaround!

[LoneStar]

Thanks for letting us know, skelman. I'm also curious to hear from anyone who has used the hotwire coupon more than once and who only met the $95 threshold through fees and taxes.

[dave]

Have received a reply from Hotwire and can confirm that the $95 qualification amount can include fees and taxes.

[LoneStar]

Have received a reply from Hotwire and can confirm that the $95 qualification amount can include fees and taxes.

Well that's certainly very useful info. So I'm guessing in most cases you can buy travel priced in the low to mid $80s and qualify for the rebate (just check the final price before you buy). That makes the offer even more competitive with priceline.

[dave]

  ...That makes the offer even more competitive with priceline.

That is true provided you use the Entertainment coupons often as some books cost $40!

[bbbb]

Did you have to mail in a coupon from the book? Did you have to supply them with the card number from the book? Whats to stop a person from booking a 7 day rental into two rentals to get back $60?

[dave]

The way I understand it from Hotwire's reply is that only 1 redemption is allowed per Entertainment Book as each book comes with a unique card number and yes, membership card number is required to be submitted.

[Steph58]

Has anyone had more than 1 rebate accepted with the same Entertainment Card? Just curious. Also, I can confirm that yes they will include taxes and fees to reach the $95 level. At first I received an e-mail that said my rebate was denied (didn't specify why), then 2 minutes later was an e-mail stating my rebate had been processed. I paid $88 plus $14.95 taxes & fees.

[curlyjbs]

Entertainment Books go on sale usually at the end of summer for $10

If your trip isnt before than book with hotwire and send the rebate after you get the book.

hth

curly

[epicureangirl]

Have any Canadians out there been able to process this offer?

I could register my Hawaii book under my relatives address, and have them apply for the rebate -- however the booking would be under my name and account. Hmmm.... does anyone know how I could take advantage of this... it seems such a shame to let this coupon go to waste!

Cheers.