How to save money on plane tickets.

in travel •  7 years ago  (edited)

Most asked questions is how to save money on booking plane tickets online, many want to go travel but flights are too expensive!

HOW-TO-BOOK-1.jpg
image source

No need to worry today I'm going to teach you how to save money on your next flight.

Flights are expensive for many reasons.Bankruptcy forced airlines to make more profit, can’t reduce fares as much, and limited competition gives them less reason to do so. Additionally, since airlines have slashed routes and capacity, most of them are flying full planes. Fuller planes also mean less incentive to reduce fares.Now with low oil prices, airlines still aren’t going to lower tickets rates, because for a long time, now they are making money and they don’t want to stop!

But that doesn’t make it impossible to book cheap airfare. Almost every day, most airlines have amazing promo deals.Even mistakenly published cheap fares or slashed prices to compete with another airline. Cheap fares are out there if you know how to find them.

These are 7 tricks to help get cheap airplane tickets

Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates
If you are not flexible with the dates you want to fly, you will never be able to find a cheap flight. The difference of a day can mean hundreds of dollars in savings.Airlines can change rates even just for a minute, look away and after you look back it's already more expensive.

Airline ticket prices are mostly high at upcoming holidays, such as Christmas, New Year's Eve, Thanksgiving, or the Fourth of July. August is a big month for traveling around Europe so airline tickets tend to be higher that month.

Weekends are more expensive compared to the middle of the week, because most of the bookings are on weekends so airlines hike their prices as a result. Early-morning or late-night flights are also cheaper because fewer people want to travel then.

Be Flexible with Your Destinations
Fly to places with cheap airfares. Go to Kayak.com and look for the "Explore" tool, which allows you to put in your airport and see which routes have the cheapest fares. If you are flexible with your destination, this is a great way to start researching where to go. Also, use "Google Flights" it can also help you compare prices.

Fly Budget Airlines
Years ago, we are were mostly stuck with traditional expensive airlines. Today that’s no longer true. Norwegian Airlines allows you to fly to Europe and from Bangkok for about $250 each way. WOW air is introducing cheap fares to Iceland and London from the United States. Air Asia offers crazy-cheap deals around Asia and Australia for as little as $100 each way. Indian and Middle Eastern airlines offer cheap flights throughout the subcontinent and Africa.

If possible you must book at budget airlines it's a good alternative to big major airlines. It may not have the same luxury, but you can save a lot in ticket costs.Budget airlines are a good deal to use them for short-haul (i.e., non-overnight) flights.

Remember, Not All Search Engines Are Equal
The best search engines are the ones that only make their money via advertising, not bookings. You need to search as many flights out there, search many websites as you can in order to ensure you are getting the best rates and never miss a deal! All websites have blind spots.

Take Advantage of Student Discounts
Students have many discounts available. Check out "STA Travel" and its search engine. You can find flexible student tickets on its website and their agency stores.Another good company for Australians and New Zealanders is Flight Centre, which is also great for students. For Canadians check out "Travel Cuts" for great deals.

Sign Up for a Frequent Flier Program
Most airlines have reward programs that are great ways to get free flights, free upgrades, and free companion tickets. It doesn't matter how often you fly, you should be registered for the airline's reward program so you can grow your balance over time. If you are from the USA go for a US based airline since they are in all the major alliances, so you can earn miles on their partner flights.For example: If you fly Singapore Airlines, you can earn United Airlines miles because they are partners.This way you can always earn miles when you fly. (If you're not from the USA simply use an airline from your home country that is part of these alliances.)

Other ways to earn miles even if you aren't jet-setting around the world all the time:

1)Shop at member stores - All airlines have special offers for large consumer companies such as Gap, Apple, Best Buy, or Target. Shopping at these preferred stores will earn you 2-4 miles per dollar spent, though sometimes there are deals for up to 10 miles per dollar spent. If you spend $1,000 a month, you can earn up to 3,000 miles just by going through their websites. The products don't cost extra, so you only win. Simply shopping through these airline partners can earn you extra miles. Use the site Evreward to see which program is offering the biggest bonuses so you know where to shop.

2)Watch for special offers - Sign up for newsletters because they often feature offers not found on an airline's website. This could be triple miles on a selected route or something as simple as Starwood's recent promotion. American Airlines once gave away 1,000 points for installing a shopping toolbar into your web browser. These bonuses don't go into the high tens of thousands, but you can get a lot over a long period of time by doing virtually nothing.

3)Put everything on the card - Pay nothing in cash.Just put everything on your travel credit card — from Starbucks to phone bills.

Know When to Book
3 to 4 months before your flight is your best booking window. Don't play the waiting game. When people missed the "best price" they panic and they end up paying more for their flight. When you know, book your flight.

source: Nomadic matt

I hope this post helped you.
thanks.jpg

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Great tips... Will put these to good use...

thank you @kuinchi 😊

Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-tips/how-to-find-a-cheap-flight/

Sneaky Ninja Attack! You have been defended with a 1.09% vote... I was summoned by @sheilamae! I have done their bidding and now I will vanish...Whoosh