How to spend way less cash on your next vacay.
Saw this online article by Brooke Nelson and found it to be informative.
Start early (but not too early)
Rates can shoot up in the blink of an eye, so it’s best to start researching your trip well in advance. The sooner, the better, but don’t get overzealous. CheapAir.com recommends booking domestic flights an average of 47 days (and for international flights, 60 days) in advance for the best rates. Outside of those date ranges, airline companies probably won’t be advertising a competitive price.
Check fares often
Become a regular visitor to your favorite travel booking sites; it could give you the best bet of snagging a good deal. According to CheapAir.com CEO Jeff Klee, airlines usually have 10-15 different price points for any flight, so their rates could fluctuate in a matter of hours.
Logging on in advance will give you a good idea of the expected rates; that way you’ll recognize a deal when it comes along. Once you do, be prepared to pounce. “While everyone wants to get a good deal, you can’t obsess about finding rock-bottom prices,” Klee told U.S. News. “Once you see a good deal, grab it. If you see a good deal during the day, there’s a very good chance that it will change by evening.”
Read the fine print
If you’re not careful, the bucks you saved when booking could start slipping out of your pocket the minute you arrive at the airport. Sometimes online book companies will hit you with unexpected fees for extra services.
Airline companies could charge you to print a boarding pass if you didn’t do it at home; others could hide additional taxes or fees for hotel rooms or extra luggage. Luckily, those fees are avoidable; just make sure to do your homework on the company and read the fine print before you press the “purchase” button.
Befriend the experts
Although travel itineraries and emergency contacts are important for a safe trip, a travel agent can be your most trusted getaway companion. If something goes wrong before or during your trip, they will be your primary advocate and have your back in sticky situations, especially when traveling abroad.
Travel agents also book directly with the travel companies, so you won’t get stuck working through a third-party service, which could cause you to lose your ticket or get you b umped from a wait list.
If you prefer to go about it alone, Klee said, make sure that you are using online services that provide reliable customer support. “That way, if you’re in a bind, you can get help more easily,” he told U.S. News. No one likes to be left on their own when things go sideways.
Set a realistic budget
Don’t freeze the minute you see big dollar signs. If you’re traveling around peak times, like Christmas or Thanksgiving, you should expect to pay more for your ticket. Budgeting for the escalated costs of holiday travel will give you a safety net for spending.
“Holiday flights are more expensive than everyday flights,” Klee told U.S. News. “Don’t get sticker shock and wait longer to book in hopes that the price will drop, since you could end up paying more.” You can pounce on great deals by researching flights and hotel rates several months in advance, but settling on a realistic cost will be your best bet at success.
Don’t assume you’re too late
Even if you’re behind on your scheduling, don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith and wait it out. “If a fare was way too high for your pocketbook, you should jump back into the pool a few weeks before,” Klee said.
Sometimes airlines lower the cost of unsold seats in order to fill a plane. You can usually find the best bargains during inconvenient departure times or overnight flights, so try to keep an open mind with your travel plans.
Know when to spend money
Even though it’s nice to save a few bucks once in awhile, there are times when cutting corners can go a little overboard. Opting for an eight-hour overnight layover just because it was $10 or $20 cheaper probably isn’t worth it.
Pay close attention to the listed travel dates and time, and avoid skimping where it’s not necessary, no matter how enticing the travel companies might make it seem.
Clear your cookies regularly
Travel booking websites are sneakier than you think. If you’ve already visited a travel site, browsed their rates, and then left (but plan to return to book), watch out…the site could remember you, and when you return, it could jack up its price.
“There is growing anecdotal evidence that suggests airlines are tracking your behavior online, and potentially even tracking IP addresses, and prices could go up for flights that are searched frequently,” Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS News, wrote on Linkedin.
When you see the inflated rates, you may get anxious and feel the need to book it right then. Avoid the temptation; you will be paying more than you should for your ticket. Instead, you can stealthily avoid the tracking websites by clearing your browser history after you visit the site.
Be flexible with dates
Saving a few bucks could be as simple as adding a day to your trip. A survey conducted by CheapAir.com shows that travelers saved an average of $249 per airline ticket simply by shifting their Thanksgiving travel dates to depart the Monday before the holiday and return the Tuesday after.
This applies to hotel rates, too. Sometimes, a longer stay could actually be cheaper. “Always check for a three-night stay because lots of hotels give much better rates when booking three or more nights, rather than a one or two-night stay,” Hotels.com cofounder Bob Diener told U.S. News.
Keep your currency local
Booking international flights in the local currency could save you big bucks, since flights at converted rates are almost always more expensive. Avoiding the conversion costs isn’t hard; just select the native country as your location in the upper right-hand corner of the airline website.
Know your tools
Tons of powerful money-saving sites are out there on the world wide web, so take advantage. For example, certain services like Hopper will notify you as soon as a price drop happens.
Another site, ITA Flight Matrix, collects flight information from every service provider, and allows you to sort results by location, cost per mile, date ranges, and more.
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