New Go Select pass helps travelers save

Skip lines, pay less and get your money back for tickets you bought but didn't use? Not a bad vacation, if you do the research ahead of time. That's the goal of a new line of travel passes called Go Select by Smart Destinations, which takes the traditional city travel pass (pay one price to visit a list of sites for a certain number of days) and lets vacationers pick only the attractions they want.

WHAT YOU GET

Smart Destinations has been selling its unlimited-visit Go City cards in 14 U.S. cities, including Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. This summer, the company added customizable Go Select passes for destinations including New York, Boston, Seattle and Oahu, Hawaii which let consumers choose which attractions they want to see. The top discount is 36 percent off gate price for all entry fees, but you'd have to buy at least a half-dozen attractions to achieve that savings. Typically, the minimum discount is 10 percent for two items.

WORTH IT?

The ability to pick means you'll shell out less overall, and not pay for places you don't want to go. Depending on how many things you cram in, you might or might not spend less on the new custom combination ticket than you would buying an open-access pass.

For example, Smarter Destinations' regular New York City Explorer Pass grants admission to any three attractions from a list of 50 for $69.99.Pass holders don't have to choose in advance what they'd like to see and have up to 30 days to visit all three spots. But if you built a custom Go City pass and selected the Ground Zero Museum, the Harry Potter Exhibit and a twilight bus tour, it would cost $80.88.

In Chicago, it's a different story. A one-day unlimited sightseeing pass to 28 attractions costs $66.99. If you hit the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum and the Brookfield Zoo Go Select pass you'd pay only $54.67 and have 30 days to see them, not one.

Find more details at smartdestinations.com.