Saturday, January 28, 2012

How to country hop without breaking the bank

Original Source Unknown


When to buy
Tuesday between 2 and 4 P.M. Eastern time. Why? I have no idea. I first heard this tip from a professor that's been traveling the country and the world for years, put her wisdom into action and what do you know!

My ticket from Orlando to Boston on Expedia was $210 on Tuesday.
And shot up to $290 for the exact same ticket on the exact same flight.

When to fly
This part gets a little more specific and can be split into 2 parts. The cheapest days to be in the air are 

1) Wednesday
2) Tuesday
3) Saturday 

While the most expensive days to fly are Friday and Sunday. So the best way to get the most bang for your plane ticket buck is to plan your trip around these days. 

So now that you've decided to fly from Wednesday to Saturday or Wednesday to Tuesday the next step is what time to fly! Almost without fail the cheapest time for taking off is first thing in the morning. Yes, no one wants to be bright eyed and bushy tailed in an airport at 4 A.M. 

But it sometimes can cut $50-$70 off your total ticket price just by leaving before 10 A.M!!

Student prices and airline specials
One of my favorite airfare websites is StudentUniverse. If you are a student, teacher or under the age of 26 you qualify for certain airline discounts that are all grouped into one neat little website!

But. Don't try and cheat the website. If you enter a birthday over the age of 26 upon purchasing the ticket they will make you provide proof that you are faculty or currently taking classes. 

Clear those cookies
If you're like me, you probably compulsively check flight prices 2, 3 and even 4 times a day to see what happens to the price. Make sure to clear your history, cookies and cache periodically when doing this because occasionally, old search results can prevent you from seeing newer and possibly cheaper ticket prices.

FLEXIBILITY!!!
Hands down the most important thing to remember is flexibility. When searching, be sure to click the boxes for flexible travel dates and to search nearby airports. When I went to Italy we flew out of Orlando and into Florence, then out of Rome and into Tampa. Mildly confusing? Yes. Saved almost $200? Also yes.

Good luck fellow explorers!

2 comments:

Something Infinitely Interesting said...

great advise.. and that is soo true!

Halley said...

Favorite post ever!