Pleasant Holiday vs. Classic Custom vs. On My own
 

In comparing prices and services between Pleasant Holiday and Classic Custom vacations, does anyone have any recommendations or past history which would be of value? Also, I've been told that many times calling the hotels direct will yield the best results...so far I am not finding this to be the case. Am I going about this the wrong way? Note that I will not be needing the reseller's services for air fare as my flights are covered by frequent flyer miles. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Recently I booked through Pleasant Holiday. I too had frequent flyer miles to cover my airfare. I could have tied or beat them by a couple of hundred dollars by using Starwood Preferred free membership plus Expedia.com. However, using them allows me to pay the balance one month before traveling (so I don't have to cough up the money now) and having them handle all the details and mail me a typed itinerary was kind of nice too. Also I was able to purchase insurance through them that will cover any aspect of the trip that I may have to cancel or change.

On 3 occasions including my upcoming Hawaii trip in Dec. Classic Custom has matched & beat Pleasant's prices by $75. You must keep an eye on rates. Certain Hawaii hotels (only a few) will not give consolidator rates to Pleasant & Custom but probably about 90% of the time they are cheaper than calling the hotel direct. You must remember to add in hotel taxes for direct hotel rate quotes. You don't state what hotel class you're interrested in but you may also want to check luxurylink.com packages. Also, the consolidators (Pleasant & Classic) often offer breakfast included rates which also save $$ compared to "hotel only" rooms.

PS, you must tell Classic first what Pleasant's rates are first for them to match & beat the rate if they don't already.

Which way are you getting more value for your dollars?

I would rather spend more money and get a better room at a better hotel than get the cheapest package at a Holiday Inn.

However, saving money may be a priority for you.

Can you book with Classic directly or do you have to go thru a travel agent?

You need a travel agent, & they provide a list of reputable agencies in their website. Also, you'd want to use a virtuoso travel agent, which has agreements with many hotel chains for upgrades upon check in if availible.

Have used them both and like them both. Sometimes one has a certain hotel or condo that the other one doesn't have, but prices are just about the same. With Pleasant, if you want to upgrade to first class with "miles" you have to pay total cost up front. Not so with Classic -- you can pay for just the air up front to get the upgrade. I always go through a TA which, to me, has many advantages. If a problem arises, he's always right there. He always seeks out the best prices for air and accomodations. We go for two or three weeks every year.