THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE AIR
September 17th, 2008
With all the extra fees these days — food, pillows, blankets, and now suitcases! — you probably think it’s impossible to get a decent, cheap airline tickets. While it is harder than it used to be, if you have a little time, a little patience, and a little flexibility you can save money – anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred, and find some last minute travel deals.
Strategy
I have my own method, but I’m sure there are variations that work just as well. First I set a fare that I’m willing to accept. That keeps me from spending hours and hours online trying to shave another nickel off the fare.
Then the work begins. My first stop is Travelocity because, for most flights, they allow you to search for the best fare on a flight over a wide timeframe. In other words, tell them where you want to go, they’ll tell you the best fare. If you’re lucky, you can actually find that fare and go at that time.
After finding a fare on Travelocity, I check similar dates on Expedia, Kayak and ITA Software (for ITA just click on the ’Log In As A Guest’ link). Then I double check my choices on the individual airlines website. I’ll check some alternate dates as well, but if I’ve met or come close to my acceptable fare, then I book it.
Location, Location, Location
Do you have another airport nearby that you can depart from? Try searching for fares from there. For example, I live in Vancouver but I also can fly out of Seattle (airport shuttles connect the two cities). Some fares are cheaper in Vancouver. Many are cheaper out of Seattle. For example: Seattle (SEA) to Belize (BZE) in Central America is about $1000 out of Vancouver. Often you can get a return fight from Seattle for under $500, and the difference in the dollar exchange these days is almost negligible.
Points
Did you know that many airline rewards programs allow you to do a stopover? Say a return fare from Seattle to New York is 25,000 points. But you also want to visit your family in Minneapolis. That’s another 25,000 points, right? Not if you do a stopover! Book that flight to NYC via Minneapolis and then fly NYC back to Seattle. Cost? 25,000! And the 25,000 points you save can be used to go somewhere else. And you can do another stopover! It’s like getting two rewards flights for the price of one.
[DCM]
What’s the best travel deal you ever received? Tell us about it. Comments below.
