Nothing gets in the way of an amazing vacation like exorbitant prices on airfare. Who wants to blow 60 percent of their holiday budget just for transportation to their destination of choice? To make things even worse, we all know that practically every seat on the plane is sold at a different price. The passenger next to you might have paid a couple hundred bucks less for his seat, which to reasonable people makes no sense at all. But instead of fighting this unusual fee structure, you can use it to your advantage to get the cheapest airline tickets possible when you fly. Here are a few tips on how to do just that.
According to conventional wisdom, you won’t find the best prices by booking directly from the airlines themselves. While this may have been true a decade ago, that’s not always the case anymore. On many occasions, you can find the cheapest airline tickets right on the carrier’s own website — especially for international flights or those originating from outside the United States. So in your search for the lowest airfares, don’t neglect the carriers themselves just because that’s what you were taught to do a long time ago.
Of course, there are also a lot of discount travel sites now that have a searchable database of the cheapest airline tickets available, so you should also focus on these places. But it’s important to note that increasing competition and higher prices overall mean that the discounts aren’t as deep as they used to be. So if you’re expecting dirt-cheap fares at Expedia or Travelocity, you will probably be disappointed. Yes, the prices will probably be lower than at regular travel agencies, but they won’t be a steal.
Another popular option for purchasing the cheapest airline tickets possible is to use a so-called reverse auction site. This is where consumers place a bid for a ticket based on the maximum amount of money they’re willing to pay. Priceline is an example of this type of reverse auction site. Though some people report success with this method, there are a few drawbacks. For instance, you can only make one bid per route, so you have to be smart about the price you submit. In addition, if the carrier agrees to release a seat at your price, your credit card will be charged instantly, meaning there’s no going back from that point without having to pay cancellation fees. In essence, you’re stuck waiting to see if your bid will be accepted before you can pursue a ticket elsewhere.
There are other techniques you can use to find the cheapest airline tickets. Many experts recommend searching for fares on Wednesday or booking as close to your departure date as possible. Little things like that in combination with diligent monitoring of the discount travel websites mentioned above can yield the savings you’re looking for. Bon voyage!