The college football season is winding down and everyone is watching the controversial BCS standings to see which two teams will get a chance to play in Miami for the national championship. Beyond that biggest of the bowls, there are many other contests that will draw thousands of fans--some fiercely partisan, others just along for the ride and looking for a nice road trip at the start of a new year. Start planning now with a look at the top 15 bowl games and some tips for saving money in the host cities. (Logo courtesy BCS National Championship Game)

Seniors will be among the fastest growing segments of the budget traveler population in the next few years. Travel providers are well aware of the buying power in the over-50 crowd, and they offer discounts to get this lucrative business. Joan Rattner Heilman has updated her popular guidebook that details where these deals can be found. Read a a review of the book before you travel.

On a recent journey, I decided to bid for 13 hotel nights using the online travel auction Priceline.com, which gives you the chance to name your price for a room and save money on the standard rate. My rooms were in nine locations across the western U.S., including spectacular Glen Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. Take a look at the overall savings figures and a destination photo gallery that breaks down the savings (or in one case, the loss) by room.

This week, Yapta.com announced it will extend its watch to frequent flier availability on Alaska Airlines, United, Delta, Continental and U.S. Airways. Yapta watches the fares for specific routes and alerts its users to changes. Frequent flier miles are becoming increasingly difficult to redeem. This new feature on Yapta should, in theory, make it easier to find redemption opportunities on the route you wish to book, just as Yapta watches falling airfares on individual routes.