Save, Up & Away
Do you ever find yourself just sitting around and looking up plane tickets? You know, instead of doing your work or responding back to emails, you’re online looking up different countries and where you'd like to visit next? Yeah, same. It's interesting though because most people tend to look at plane tickets and get discouraged when they see a high price. Believe me, I understand BUT, you must not fret because I will teach you all the ways to save.
Top tips for finding cheap flights:
First things first, booking in advance is something you should try to do. The earlier the better.
Secondly, knowing what days to book your trip on is another key trick. It makes a difference to book on a Tuesday or a Sunday. I like to use hopper to track my flight prices. They send you notifications when it’s the best time to book.
Pay attention to when your flight departs. If you fly towards the end of the week it's a bit cheaper vs flying out on a Sunday. Sunday's are the BUSIEST AND MOST EXPENSIVE day to fly out.
Summer and Spring are the busiest seasons to fly along with Holidays. Booking in February or June for Fall flights makes a huge difference.
Search different airlines and websites. Don't stick with just one. My favorite's are cheapoair.com and skyscanner.com. Both really good websites!
Big cities like Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Miami & LAX are typically cheaper to fly in and out of since it's so busy.
Make sure you read the fine lines and see if your cheap plane ticket comes with luggage. I can’t tell you how many times I bought a ticket thinking I scored and then checked in at the airport only to find out I didn’t pay for my luggage and had to fork out $100 or more on it.
Get yourself a credit card with travel benefits. I currently have American Express Delta Platinum & Chase Sapphire Preferred. Both offer me GREAT points when traveling abroad and using them at restaurants, grocery stores or even gas. I use my credit cards for everything. Auto pay for bills and even a simple pack of gum. I love getting miles. Refer to “Credit Card Fly” for more on this topic.
If you have miles but not enough to get to your destination, I learned that it helps to book a ticket thats closest your destination where the miles allow you to go, and then pay for a plane ticket from there. For example: My friend had miles but not enough to get her from California to Iceland on her own so she booked a ticket to New York that was basically free (tax not included) & then from New York she bought a ticket to Iceland which was much cheaper since it’s a lot closer.
Open a savings account. You’ll be so happy you did this. I like to do individual saving accounts for each trip so I can see what exactly I have saved for that specific vacation.
I hope these tips help you! I know it can be a lot and nerve wrecking at first but I promise it gets easier as you start to do it more. Save your money, be smart & go explore the world without breaking your bank account!
Image Credit: Business Insider