The best last minute travel deals on the planet? Lastminute.com

So if you didn't notice from the lack of an Armchair post, I needed to take an unexpected trip last weekend for family reasons. While this type of trip is not ideal, lastminute.com kept it reasonable for me from a financial perspective. I got a plane ticket and a car rental for several days for around $400. The process was easy and the trip came off without a hitch once I booked it.

Lastminute.com is probably not for everyone -- it does have some drawbacks. The tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable. The "packages" which include car rentals or hotels tend to be better deals than one item alone. The inventory is limited. For instance I wanted to fly into one particular city and by the time I decided to book the ticket (after about 20 minutes of deliberations) the original flight itinerary was no longer available. Instead I had to fly to another city about 45 minutes away from my ideal destination. It was a minor inconvenience, but in the grand scheme of things it was worth it to pay $400 for what otherwise might have cost me $1500.

Do you know any other websites that offer great last minute deals (or deals generally)? If so, be sure to share them in the comments.

Bereavement Fares: Better than Full Fare, but Using Miles Might be a Better Alternative

It will happen to you at some point (as it did to me recently); you'll get that call you have been dreading for a while to let you know that a loved one who was terminally ill passed away. While shopping around is the last thing you will want to do at a time like this, remember you have two options for that last minute airfare: the bereavement fare or using miles.

To get the bereavement fare you will need to call the airline and have the name of your loved one, the name and address of the funeral home, and the contact information for the funeral home. With all of this handy, the airline will likely give you 50% off full fare, but this can still be quite expensive as full fare tends to be a lot (in my case about $1000 per ticket).

If your bereavement fare seems steep, another option that might make a lot of sense is using frequent flier miles. While some airlines (like United) charge a small additional fee for "close-in" booking, miles still are probably going to be your most cost-effective option and one you might forget to think of during a time of grief. Don't forget about them!