Before you book your dream getaway , there are plenty of hacks you should know to make booking that much easier (and cheaper!). Here are our 12 tips to make planning your trip a breeze.
Know When To Book
While they explain that prices are impossible to predict, it is almost always true that if you wait too long to book, you’re going to get stuck paying more.
Don’t Be Opposed To Booking With Layovers
And with Away‘s high-tech carry-on, you don’t have to search for an outlet to re-charge while you wait.
Check One-Person Flights First
Pick A Credit Card That Rewards With Flier Miles
According to Life Hacker, you should check and see what cards fit your spending habits first and foremost, as you should do with any credit card you sign up for. But you should also check where you’re accumulating points. For example, it won’t do you any good if you’re accumulating points for Virgin if you typically fly American.
Check Every Site
Sites like Air Fare Watch Dog also provide good search tools, comparing different flights with different carriers right on your screen. Once again, it’s always good to double check through the flight provider itself before booking, but having numbers to work with is a great start.
Find Off-Peak Flights (If You Can)
Set Up Price Alerts
In Hopper’s case, you can mark your travel dates and get the app’s prediction about when your flight will be the cheapest. If they say “wait,” Hopper will keep an eye on your trip and send you notifications when they see the price on your flight has dropped. Now that’s handy.
Check One-Way Tickets First
Booking round trip is a breeze, but it might be worth checking the one-way prices before simply purchasing the easiest route. You’d be surprised to see that it’s sometimes cheaper to book two one-way tickets over one round trip.Clear Your Cookies
There’s a theory that says the more times you visit an airline’s website, the more likely it is that your ticket price will increase based on the cookies the site uses to track your searches and history. People have been saying for the longest time that clearing your browser’s cookies—or searching for flights in an incognito window—will save you money.Although that system is nearly impossible to prove, as The Huffington Post explains, it doesn’t hurt to give this method a try.
Dress Nicely For A (Potential) Upgrade
“Presentation is always important if you’re hoping for an upgrade,” Joe Brancatelli, who founded the website JoeSentMe.com, tells The New York Post. “It does not happen often, but dressing better does work on flights where the coach is full or oversold and the airline needs to bump people up after all the elites have been accommodated. I know a woman who got an upgrade to business class on British Airways after she agreed to put on the heels she had in her carry-on bag.”
You Can Cancel Flight Within 24 Hours
“Hidden City” Ticketing Is A (Risky) Move
That seems easy, right? Well, as the Huffington Post points out, it’s not foolproof. If you get re-routed and don’t actually stop at point B, then you’re stuck booking a one-way from C back to B. And if you get caught using the “hidden city” ticketing method, you’ll likely lose all your frequent flier privileges. Like we said—it is possible—but the risk may not be worth the reward.