Do any other tour companies give 'Alumni' discounts?

Hi Barnstormer,

Odysseys Unlimited gives repeat customers tour discounts. $100 per person off your second and third trip and $200 per person after your third trip. After your tenth trip, it's $300 per person. We are taking our third trip with Odysseys this summer. They are small group tours and do an excellent job. They are a bit pricey but you get what you pay for. Odysseys does tours to Asia. I should also add that the tour does not include the tip for the guide so you will be out of pocket for that which will wipe out the discount and then some.

If you like active trips with some hiking and/or cycling, check our REI Adventures and Mountain Travel Sobek. Both have loyalty programs, and both offer a variety of trips in Asia.

It's a common practice in the cruise world.

Two companies that go to places Rick Steves tours do not (with loyalty programs) are:
www.tauck.com
www.smithsonianjourneys.com

Barnstormer, it's like anything else, though? A discount is not bargain if the itinerary is not something that suits you, and/or the price is still much greater than you could do at another reputable company without the discount or on your own.

Tourist passes work the same way; they're only of value if you do the math against your time and interests, whatever bargain they promise you.

Dumb question: What is an "Alumni", and why should one of them (whatever they are) get a discount?
It is not a word I have heard of in the English language.

Without consulting a dictionary, alumni, alumnus in US English refers to graduates of academic programs in particular and in a more general usage as a prior attendee of just about any program or activity. The discount is a reward for coming back for another program. Like a frequent flyer program.

OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) gives a "frequent traveler credit," stating on their website: "Every time you travel with O.A.T. and Grand Circle, you'll receive a Frequent Traveler Credit worth 5% of the advertised cost of your trip (less any discounts), applicable toward your next O.A.T. or Grand Circle trip you take within one year. Once you've completed your 5th trip with us, your the maximum value of your Frequent Traveler Credit will increase to 6% (beginning with 2016 departures)."

You can also earn credits by referring other (new) travelers, and get a discount if you pay in cash in advance (the further in advance, the more discount you get). The details are all on their website. OAT goes all over the world and I've heard good things from my friends who have gone with them. I will try them for the first time next December (Burma and Laos).

Global Volunteers, an organization that arranges volunteer trips in about 16 countries, also offers a $200 discount for "alumni" as well as credits when an alum refers a new participant. This is a completely different way of traveling that I've found quite satisfying, traveling with them a total of nine times in China, Poland, Cuba and Greece.

(Regarding the questions about the word "alumni": This word is really Latin but is commonly used in English meaning that a person has attended a particular school. Most colleges/universities have "alumni associations" that support the school. Sometimes other organizations (Rick Steves) use the term to mean someone who has participated in the past. Technically, alumni is the male plural, alumnus is the male singular, alumnae is the female plural, alumna is the female singular.)

Tauck Tours regularly offers to pay for a hotel night for past guests who choose to fly in a day early, but there is typically an enroll-by date by which we must commit to get that generous offer. They also have some attractive airfare offers from time to time, but I'm not sure if those would be available also to first-timers.

National Geographic provides a discount after one's third expedition.

Odysseys Unlimited:
After your first tour with us, you will save $100 per person off the published brochure price of your next Odysseys Unlimited tour; $200 per person after your third tour; and $300 per person after 10 tours. You may use this frequent traveler credit as many times as you would like.
NOTE: Their tours include airfare, but there is the option to buy land-only.

All of the above offer trips to Asia.

I do not focus on discounts, i focus on the itinerary and the price quoted.
Frankly, imo some of the companies that give discounts are very pricey.
Look at your itin and daily rate if that is ok with u then I say book it. Assuming of course u have done your research on whatrecent travelers have experienced. It is quite competitive out there, and there are lotsa choices. Research wisely and do not worry about the discount.

I would venture to say that the majority (if not all) tour companies offer some kind of reward (discounts or other perks) for past tour attendees, just like all cruise companies offer discounts or perks to prior cruisers.

I agree with the previous poster who said it's not so much about how much discount a company offers to someone who has traveled with them in the past, it's more about does the company have good reviews, does it offer the itinerary you want at a price you feel is worth paying.

Mrs EB, since I went to an all-girls high school, I use "alumnae" as my default spelling. Luckily, that school didn't offer Latin, so I didn't have to study it, as my brothers did.

Wilderness Travel offers discounts for frequent fliers/alumni.

I think all tour groups and also cruise lines give repeat customers a discount and sometimes other privileges as well.