Planning a trip on a budget literally takes me hours and hours (and
did I mention HOURS?) of online bargain hunting, cost analyzing, and well,
dreaming. Sure I could plan a trip in
one night, but it wouldn’t be in my budget.
Most people don’t overspend their budget on an airline ticket.
In fact, most people overspend their budget with EVERYTHING else on the
trip. Why? The airline ticket is bought in advance and
is pretty set. If you can’t afford it,
you don’t go on your trip. BUT, once
your tickets are bought, excuses like, “We’ll never go back here” creep into
your vocabulary.
Moral of the story:
Planning a budget conscious trip, isn’t just about finding a good deal
on an airline ticket.
TIP$ to know before you purchase an airline ticket:
* The best time to buy: 6-8 weeks out and on Tuesdays or
Wednesdays. (Even more specifically at 3 pm EST). Except if you are traveling
over the holidays, then purchase as soon as possible. Know that ticket prices change SEVERAL times a day.
* The cheapest day to fly is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday (I prefer Tuesday and Wednesdays – less crowds), and generally the first flight in the morning. Sundays and Fridays are usually the most expensive.
* Not all airlines are on discount websites like Expedia or Travelocity anymore, so check an airline’s actual website to compare prices as well. If the prices match, go with the actual airline's website to avoid service/booking fees.
* Every time you search the internet for a ticket, clear the
cookies on your computer. These are
tracked and will up prices with each website visit or refresh.
* Shop for one passenger first, in order to save on trips with two or more passengers on the same itinerary. Use two different browsers and get both transactions to the credit card page. Then, pay for one immediately after the other. Why? Say there are two seats available for $100 each, 3 seats available for $300 each, and you have 3 people in your group. The website will not allow you to purchase the two seats at $100, because it does not have enough seats to fullfill your ticket request. Instead, it will bump you up to the next higher level. This means that even though 2 of the 3 people in your group could actually fly at a cheaper price, you won't even be given the chance.
* Sign up for a email alert when airline tickets drop in price. For example, Airfarewatchdog.com, Bestfares.com, Farecompare.com, Yapta.com, etc. Or even via Twitter: Farecompare.com/twitter.
* Bing.com/travel has a great price predictor and fare history for the route and dates desired. I'm not sure how acurate it is, but it is still a good resource when ticket hunting.
* European travel: By experience I have learned that London Heathrow has VERY high taxes on
tickets leaving the country (not entering).
Always check the other large airports in Europe for significant
differences in pricing. If it is quite a
bit different, depending on location, consider looking into getting around by
train or a discount air carrier.
* Discount Air Carriers:
Am I a fan? YES! Here is a nice long list of carriers that are
considered “discount.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_low-cost_airlines. My favorite discount carriers include:
Easyjet.com, Ryanair.com, aerlingus.com, Spirit.com and Southwest.com. When booking with a low cost carrier, make
sure to take miscellaneous fees into consideration. THIS is how they make their money. These fees go far beyond simply checking a bag. You can be charged for carry-on bags, extra checked bags, overweight (which
I’ve personally seen starting as low as 41 lbs), carrying on purchases made in
the airport, changing seats, requesting certain seats, booking fees, fees to
print your boarding pass at the airport, all snacks and drinks (including soda),
etc. In summary, discount carriers can
be a GREAT deal, if you print your boarding pass at home, sit where they tell
you, travel with minimal luggage, and don’t order anything on board. Read the fine print and you’ll save money in
the long run
Bon Voyage!
Excellent post.I want to thank you for this informative read, I really appreciate sharing this great post. Keep up your work.
ReplyDeleteDiscount to cathay pacific first class
Does traveling over the Easter holiday count as a holiday you would want to purchase as far in advance as possible?
ReplyDeleteNot as many people travel for Easter as they do Thanksgiving and Christmas. With that said however, Easter coincides with Spring Break. Those two items together, are enough of a reason to start your ticket seach in advance. Happy planning!
ReplyDelete