Whether traveling across the state, across the country, or across the world, it always helps to save a few bucks on your airline ticket. It’s important to follow some basic tips when looking to score the best flight deals.
Today’s world offers tremendous access to its countries. Between an extensive, dizzying network of airplane routes, high-speed trains, and auto roads, getting to the remote reaches of the earth is achievable. Preparation and timing are the names of the game in cheap flights.
Booking Your Flights and Choosing Airlines
Being flexible on exact dates is a must for shaving off hundreds of dollars between your airfare and accommodations.
In addition to these dynamics, there are an array of international and domestic airlines to choose from come time to finally book a ticket. Each airline has its own ups and downs. Long layover? Consider paying for an airline lounge, or getting a premium travel credit card.
Study your airline and flight details carefully before booking. Are bags included? It’s often complimentary on international flights, however, some airlines charge for it, especially domestically. Is waking up at 4 am really worth it to save $50? Pick the best flight for the best experience for the best rate.
Oftentimes the cheapest flights are either at the least desirable hours, contain significant layover time, or have multiple connections. Keep in mind public transportation hours of operation if planning on a bus or train to arrive at or from the airport. Booking early with some flexibility is your best bet for consistently low rates.
How can you find the best travel deals?
We cover the industry’s best strategies for traveling the earth affordably. Find out which airlines operate where and the top places to book your flight tickets.
It’s always best to check a few flight websites over several days, or is it?! With cookies, tracking, geo-targeting, etc., you’re probably not surprised anymore by erratic pricing.
In our experience, allowing enough time, it’s best to book 2 to 3 months out from your trip, or in general, sooner than later. The day of the week doesn’t matter so much, just search around. If booking last minute, every increasing hour or each day (depending on ETD) usually only increases the prices.
Some nomads wing it quite successfully by being “destination flexible”. This means they go wherever the deals are. It’s a lifestyle design and an admirable state of mind to be in.
What are the cheapest ticket sites to book a flight?
When it comes to traveling the globe, choosing what airline and flight have become increasingly easier to do. With a click of a button, you can often get several options to choose from with departure and arrival times, how many layovers, and the total price within seconds.
There are a variety of options for booking a flight from Point A to Point B. Most airlines allow third-party websites, such as Orbitz and Skyscanner to book plane tickets. There are some airlines that you must book directly through. There are benefits to both ways for booking a cheap luxury flight.
Flight Comparison Websites
There are two types of comparison websites. The first type checks the different major airlines participating and lists most of the available routes and pricing. The other types of comparison sites actually scan the aforementioned comparison websites for their best prices and list them.
This adds another middleman, but usually, you can find a rock bottom price, which usually isn’t too much saved. The downside to the latter is the lack of repeat rewards that would’ve built up, as well as ordering on less than credible-looking sites (sometimes your credit card company may decline and offer a fraud alert).
Most of the big-name flight sites have comparable prices across the board. These are Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline, etc. If you’re into brand loyalty then strategically choosing one of these could be the best long-term move. Orbitz offers a rewards program and probably the same prices most of the time as the others.
Then the are website that scans these and the myriad of mysterious flight booking sights around the earth. Kayak is probably the most popular example of that. After speaking with travelers around the world, our favorites, including, SkyScanner and CheapFlights.
Book Direct and Earn Points
Also, always consider checking with the airline directly for tickets. Each region has its own set of domestic and international carriers, such as Southwest, Air Asia, Swiss Airlines, Japan Airlines, United Airlines, Korean Airlines, etc.
Why would you prefer to book direct? Because airlines reward loyalty, it’s often cheaper and easier to change a flight with them, and possibly, versus when booked through a middle-man website, the shadier the worst chance you have.
Join the airlines’ frequent flyer programs and be sure to only use 1 per greater alliance….example – Delta, Korean Air, and Vietnam Airlines are each on Sky Team Alliance, so if you book flights on each of these airlines, you should only give 1 frequent flyer program for any of them, so choose your loyalty carefully.
In this instance, I prefer Korean Air, as the points last for 10 years! Read the fine lines as to how long your rewards points last – typically they will expire at some point.
Is it easy or hard to travel the world?
Depending on your country of residency, along with personal factors, traveling the world can be a relatively flexible and easy-going experience, or a very difficult one, especially in obtaining the correct visas. Regardless, there are always places to go, and always ways to get there.
Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.
Geography and country of origin play a pivotal role in most of the countries people visit. Most Americans are lucky to have gone to Canada or Mexico, just as locals anywhere are lucky to have visited their neighboring countries. It’s a common misconception that international travel has to be expensive and that domestic travel is the only option. The latter often costs more.
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