Booking Flights: Tricks & Travel Hacks

Everybody has their own method of tips & tricks to finding cheap or more affordable airfare. I admit – I do my due diligence when it comes to airfare since there are such good deals to be be had. Here are some of mine…

• Surf the web in incognito mode (Ctrl shift N) when using Google Chrome. This way your cookies are not saved and search engines cannot see how many times you have checked the price of a trip so the prices don’t go up!
• Check for airfare frequently (daily) and the best time to BUY airfare is Tuesday & Wednesday
• The best days to fly out is generally Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Yes, this means having to fly mid-week.
• Start looking early but do not buy too early but don’t wait until the last minute either.
• Sign up for Kayak.com e-mail alerts
• Sign up for Travelzoo.com
• Travel during the shoulder season (my post about when to travel here) or off-season although generally the weather will not be so fantastic and lots of attractions and stores may be closed so be cautious about that option.
• Months that I like to personally travel: April May, September, October and early November. After the New Year and February is also a good option since it is after the holidays but before spring break. I avoid Thanksgiving and Christmas, spring break, and all three summer months.
• I research the specific destination/country to make sure the country doesn’t have any other holidays or celebrations to avoid (or visit!)
• Sign up for airlines websites. Example: Planning to go to Scandinavia? Sign up at sas.com to get first notice of sales & deals.
• Sign up for twitter and follow all the airlines for deals/sales and special announcements or contests. Example: some will give you a free 1-way ticket in contests like being the first 50 to retweet something they announce.
• Accumulate POINTS: There is a wealth of information about collecting frequent flyer points using certain travel credit cards! I suggest visiting http://millionmilesecrets.com/ and http://thepointsguy.com/ to get started! I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card based off their recommendations and been accumulating points and maximizing their usage ever since. Learn about open-jaw tickets, which credit card is best for you and more.
• A lot of airlines (budget especially) will NOT show up in searches on search engines like Kayak, Expedia, Orbitz, etc. You must go to the airline website specifically and search (Southwest and Icelandair for example).
• If you are flexible about your destination – use GetGoing.com! You pick two destinations that you prefer to go to and the website will pick one for you to travel to
• FLEXIBILITY! If you are flexible about your destination and dates, you will have great deals!

What are some of your own personal tips tricks & travel hacks?