For the last 4 years my friend Marc Leder has been successfully running a blog which seeks to help people save money on their travel plans. Marc is the king of hacks and shortcuts which have helped to save a huge number of people a great amount of money. One area where Marc specializes in is flights, having worked for an airline in the past and now committing himself to helping others save money too. I wanted to talk a little today about how you can save money on your next flight, and Marc was instrumental in putting this piece together, let’s take a look.
Early Bird
There is a common myth about last minute flights being cheaper than buying earlier but this just isn’t true. For a while back in the 90s this would have been the case as airlines looked to fill up their empty seats, but after pressure from those who had bought earlier ( at a higher price ) the practice stopped. These days the best time to get low rates is the day that the flights are released, sign up to airlines so that you get the news of a flight being released straight into your email inbox.
Consider Connecting
Connecting flights can save you a big chunk of change on your flight prices and the overall travel time isn’t always much longer. Last year I flew from Mexico City to London via New York, my layover in the Big Apple was just 2 hours, and the tall cost was $510. In contrast that direct flight would have cost me $895, and the difference in travel time was just 3 hours. That is a huge saving for the sake of 3 extra hours of travel, and it isn’t exactly difficult to get off one plane and then jump on another, especially not for what you will save.
Leverage Credit Cards
Almost all credit cards offer you a reward scheme but many will offer rewards like Avios points which can then contribute towards your future flights. This is a great way of saving money as you can make enough points to significantly reduce the cost of your flights. I use my credit card almost daily so that I can get as many points as possible, and then I simply clear it at the end of the month. If your credit card isn’t giving you the benefits that you want, you need to get one which will help you to reduce the cost of flying.
Follow Tipsters
There are many accounts across social media which share information about cheap flights and amazing deals. They scour the internet to find pricing errors and fresh opportunities which you could use to bring down the cost of your flights. Simply follow as many of these as you can and what for a killer deal to present itself, and then take advantage of it.
Be smart and save big on your flights.