Lots of people are skipping the summer vacations they’d have to fly to this year and opting for a vacation closer to home instead. Of course, driving ain’t as cheap as it used to be, either, with the high price of gas these days. To help you still have a vacation without spending your life savings on gas, Expedia has a deal going right now that gets you $50 worth of gas when you book a hotel through them.

The original deal was only good for Memorial Day travel, but Expedia has decided to extend the $50 gas card offer through the end of June. All you need to do is book a three-night stay (or longer) in a hotel listed on Expedia, and you’ll get a prepaid $50 MasterCard. (Which you can technically spend on anything you want, but when you see how much it costs to fill up the minivan for the long drive to the beach hotel, you’ll probably want to use it right there.)

To take advantage of this offer and claim your $50 gas card, here’s what you need to know:

• Hotel stay must be booked no later than June 30, 2008.
• Travel must be completed by September 30, 2008.
• The $50 prepaid MasterCard expires after August 31, 2008.

The LA Times, where we found this deal, points out that the gas card offer isn’t actually easy to locate even once you’re on the Expedia site. Not all hotels listed on Expedia are actually part of this $50 gas card deal, either, so you’ve got to pay attention.

To find the $50 gas card deal, first go to this page listing cities included in this promotion. The city names aren’t links you can click on, but the prices in the first column to the right of the cities (under the title “hotels”) are – click on the price listed by the city you’re traveling to, and you’ll get to a new page displaying the hotel deals. Scan the list for a blue flag just underneath each hotel’s picture and brief description – the flag says, “Expedia Extra” and next to that it says “Includes a $50 gas card!” Those are the hotels you want to look for if you want to get the prepaid MasterCard!