Simple Tips for Finding Better Travel Deals

It is possible to find better travel deals by better understanding the complex airline industry. Airlines sell tens of thousands of tickets online every day of course. They study the buying habits of their customers, to figure out how to get the maximum price while remaining competitive. The competition created by online travel sites is to our advantage, but we should understand how they operate.

The airlines adjust their ticket prices from one day to the next and even over the course of hours in a day. You are more likely to find the best travel deals when the airline is particularly motivated to grab that purchase. They want to make sure their planes are full, and the sooner they can do that the better. There is motivation to reduce the risk of partially empty planes.

Buying tickets with as much advance notice as possible, many days or weeks before the day of travel for example, reduces the risk to the airline and they will tend to reward you with lower prices. If you are looking online at a time of day when many others are also searching, the companies may be less motivated to put out a great travel deal, since they are busily filling up planes with all the online business. Why put out the best prices when people are buying anyway? The prime time to avoid would be from say 8 to 6 during the daytime.

On the one hand, booking early can save money, as discussed above. However, last-minute reservations occasionally can find turn up a great deal. Go ahead and make the early purchase, since it is important to actually get the desired flight. Then shortly before the day of travel, check back with the airline on those flights. If they report lower last-minute travel deals, give them a call. It may be possible to obtain at least some of the difference between the current price and what you paid before.

As part of the online search process, first look for travel deals at the major third-party websites like Priceline or Expedia. As a rule, they will offer very similar pricing for the same ticket on the same day. The key is whether one website or the other can find specials and clever combinations of flights to offer a better price. By the way, Kayak is good because it permits the visitor to quickly compare several sites quickly. Once you know what the travel websites can offer, move over to the airline website for the flight of interest and make sure there is not a better price offered.

Don’t give up on using a travel agent for some trips. They likely will not provide the cheapest price for a simple trip. However, they often can find great travel deals that non-professionals can’t dig up. This can be especially useful on a multi-leg vacation with numerous flights and hotels. The same can be true with international travel. In checking with a travel agent, make sure they know that finding the best possible pricing is a big part of the reason you are using them; put a little bit of pressure on them to earn their fee. They can be very helpful in working out the details of a complex trip and can find money saving travel deals at the same time.

Finally, here are two simple observations that might be helpful. Realize the difference between a direct flight (where there is no change of plane, but there could be intermediate stops before the final destination) and a nonstop flight. Also, whenever possible try and stay over a Saturday night; this is pretty well-known wisdom but it still applies.

J. Michael Key writes on a variety of topics, with an emphasis on travel and vacation opportunities.

Travel Deals
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