With the holiday quickly coming up, you may be wondering how you’re going to fit gift shopping and travel in your budget. Luckily, there’s a few great ways for you to find the best deals on airline travel without having to step foot outside of your house. Generally, airline tickets are the most expensive aspects of your budget because traveling, especially during this time of the year, costs an arm and a leg. With these quick and simple tips, you should be able to find the best deal for your household without losing hours of sleep and free time. So, rest assured, planning your holiday season out can be fun again thanks to these amazing savings on airline tickets!
1. Know Your Fees
If you’ve ever spent hours looking for the best price and then got a nasty surprise when you hit the book button, then you’ve probably been a victim of the numerous fees that airlines put on their tickets. There’s everything from sales tax to luggage fees added on to the actual price of your ticket, which can take your amazing price right back down to a price that is going to wreak havoc on your budget. A lot of these fees can’t be worked around, such as snacks and beverage fees. Even if you plan on skipping out this part of the flight, you still have to pay for it. Of course, baggage fees can be worked around, especially if you’re a light weight traveler. If you can manage to check in with only a carry-on, then you may be able to talk someone into refunding this price for you. Also, if your plans are solid, then you may want to see if you can waive the refund fee. Some airlines don’t even include this fee, so if you’re worried about the add-ons then book with a flight that doesn’t include it or will happily waive it for you.
2. Master Your Timing
You’ve probably heard it time and again that you have to be careful when you choose to book your flight. Basically, you always want to book at least 42 days in advance, which will help secure a lower price right away. After that, you should also consider the day of the week you want to travel. For instance, those traveling on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday may be privy to the most discounts. Although if you want to save more you should aim for Tuesday or Wednesday, but Saturday does have its fair share of discounts considering most weekend fliers leave Friday and return on Sunday. Another thing to consider is the hours in which you may want to travel. Red eyes are going to save you more money, but you might to play around with timing to see if you can find a more money efficient swing shift.
3. Pack Light
Your baggage can say a whole lot about how much you’re going to spend at the airport. As mentioned before, if you can manage to get away with only packing a carry-on, then you’ll probably save a lot more on your airline than you even thought possible. Of course, this always means you have to make sure your carry-on actually works as a carry on. If you pack a bag that is simply too big, then you may end up having to check it, which means more fees. There are many different packing methods that can help you fit more into your suitcase or bag, which will allow you to skip the luggage aspect of your trip. Carry-ons also mean that you’re less likely to end up with lost luggage when your flight finally lands. Of course, if you know you’re going to be packing a bag then you might want to keep in consideration the size of the bag. Make sure you know how much you can bring along without being charged additional fees. In many cases this is around 50 pounds, but don’t be fooled because the pounds add up, especially if you’re traveling with more than one pair of shoes.
4. Show Up Early
Although showing up early won’t actually save you money, it will allow you to get a bit more comfort for your money. First and foremost, it creates a more relaxed process as you go check in, make your way through security and find where you will be boarding. This is especially true if you have kids or believe you’ll need to take extra time doing each of these activities. Plus, when you check in early, you end up getting a boarding pass that will allow you to take a seat earlier than others. This is especially nice if you like to sit in certain areas of the airplane. Plus, it will also allow you plenty of time to put your carry on away and get settled in the seat before taking off too. As you easily get on board with the flight, you’ll feel like travel will be smoother for the rest of the trip, which will make the hundreds you spend on the ticket seem a bit better. Plus, if you’re in the airport and checked in, you may not get bumped as easily as others.
5. Go In-Direct
A lot of people love a flight that goes from their location to the destination of choice in one big swoop. Sure, this is totally convenient and makes the frustrations of travel diminish slightly. On the other hand, it won’t help you save any money. In fact, it may cost you a lot more than if you chose a more in-direct path. Many airlines will actually offer you the chance to choose tickets with layovers or plane swaps. Some may even switch airlines out, which could mean a lot of hassle but if the savings are worth then it may not seem so bad. Of course, this could always be a great way to hang out in areas that you normally wouldn’t get to go to. For instance, many people love vacationing in Las Vegas, which is where many layovers occur. If you get a few hours to hang out and check out the Las Vegas Strip then it might make the trip seem more worthwhile. Plus, getting off a plane for a few hours is a great way to stretch out your legs and make you feel more comfortable about travel.
6. Clear Your Cookies
If you’ve ever spent a while on the computer looking for the perfect deal and then decide to wait to book the flight, then you’ve probably also noticed that the amazing deal is gone before you get the chance to confirm. This isn’t actually the case though. The deal is most likely still there in all its glory. The true problem is your cookies aren’t allowing you to see the deal anymore. This is a trick used my airline companies as it keeps you coming back looking for deals, while paying the extra money for a price you thing is long gone. Although this may seem like a totally rotten trick, it’s an easy fix. Next time you’re browsing for deals, make sure to clear out your cookies and you should be able to find the deal you’re looking for.
7. Bring Food
Airports are filled with lots of food that smells great. The only problem is, it costs two to three times more than you would spend on the food outside of the airport. Of course, you will probably get hungry during your travels though and most airlines aren’t offering meals anymore. Thus, the only way to frugally deal with the problem is to actually pack your own food. A simple sandwich or a bag of chips shouldn’t be hard to bring along with you in a purse, tote or backpack. You won’t be able to bring beverages past security, but there are ways to frugally enjoy drinks at the airport. Simply pack some tumblers with lids or water bottles. This will allow you to share a drink with family members or fill up your cups or bottles with water from the faucet. Even though it may not feel like you’re saving much from this trick, you may find after traveling without these items that you’re tempted to make more impulse buys.
8. Use Your Points
In this day and age, credit cards are a pretty common item to have. Although this may not help your debt out, it can bring some aid to your travel plans. A lot of credit cards tend to offer you points for the amount of money you spend based on the items you buy. This is a great way to help you earn money towards future flights. In fact, using your credit card on a flight is one of the best way to maximize the amount of points you earn. Thus, when you travel, you should see if your points can pay for miles off of your tickets. If you have a frequent flyer card then this is another great way to get back money on your flight. Before you know it, you should be able to plan a trip that won’t cost you a dime when it comes to transportation.
9. Research Airlines
Most people tend to seek out airline tickets from big name companies that do a lot of advertising. Although there’s nothing wrong with this, especially if you trust a company, you may actually be losing out on money by only searching these companies’ deals. There’s actually a lot of small companies that aren’t just reliable, but can save you a whole lot of money. Of course, many are regional and not able to take you as far, but if you’re looking for shorter trips then you’re in luck. You may want to look around and see if the airline is a good match for you. Simply call up your local airport and ask for a list of companies that are available. Then, simply do a bit of research. You should also check out reviews too, as this will give you a good indication of what you’re looking at in regards to service, prices and reliability. You never know, you may find a new favorite company to fly through.
10. Use an App
You guessed it, there’s an app for anything and everything these day and airlines aren’t an exception. There’s many apps to choose from as far as this industry is concerned, which will make your shopping worlds easier. Simply download an app that looks to fit your needs and you’re off. You can find apps that provide you with the hottest deals as well as those that allow you to find discounts by simply putting in basic information about your flight. Of course, you can’t forget the apps for your actual airline, which will allow you to check in early and keep up to date information on weather and your flight’s status.
Traveling is always filled with stress and financial worry, so try to make the best of it if you can. With these simple tips, you can easily find the best deals on the market so your little adventures can be even more exciting. Plus, no one wants to have to pay a boatload in fees when there’s so much holiday shopping to do.
