Are you planning for your next vacation? It’s important to take some time and look at the prices before deciding to travel. If you’ve traveled before, you know how expensive things can be if you don’t plan adequately.
Traveling with your loved ones makes it even more important to plan things well in advance. You should not be scared by the price of flights. There are lots of ways to save while traveling. All you need to do is create a great strategy.
1. Getting the best Airfare price
To demonstrate how much, you can save by getting the best deal, here is an example. John wants to get away for the weekend to surf and enjoy the sunset on the beach.
He will be checking prices for a flight from Chicago to Miami. He is eager to start his vacation. Therefore, he will be looking at flights a few weeks from today. What should he consider before traveling?
2. Day to travel
According to Edugeeksclub, the day you choose to travel will have a big impact on the price you are going to pay. A research conducted by CheapAir.com found out that Tuesday and Wednesday are the best days to travel because they are budget-friendly. Sunday is the most expensive day.
On average, someone who is flying on Sunday will pay $76 more than the person flying on Tuesday or Wednesday. If you will be traveling with family and friends, the differences will add up pretty fast.
Returning to our example, if John decides to travel on Friday and return on Sunday, he will have the perfect weekend getaway but it will hurt his wallet. John needs to be flexible with his travel days if he wants to get travel discounts.
This means he should skip the weekend getaway and go for the midweek flights. If he traveled from Chicago to Miami on Thursday and returned on Saturday, he would get very high travel discounts. Changing your travel day can mean so much to your wallet. Therefore, when you want to travel, always look at your travel date and find a flexible date that will increase your travel discounts.
3. Fee Awareness
People across the world pay billions in airline fees on an annual basis. Therefore, if you are searching for the lowest travel price, you need to be aware of the fees.
For instance, most airlines charge anywhere between thirty to sixty dollars’ foe checked bags. You might also get charged for seats with adequate legroom or for selecting seats.
Being aware of these small fees can help you save a lot of money in the long run. You can avoid some of these fees by choosing not to use them. For instance, you can carry a bag instead of checking it. Some airlines will offer you discounts by paying your fees and charges in advance or making an upgrade. Before doing any changes you have to do your homework.
4. Shop around
As your travel day approaches, you might be tempted to shop on the airline of your choice directly. However, you will not get discounts by looking at the specified airline only. In fact, using the airline’s website makes it much more difficult for you to compare prices.
To avoid paying a lot of money, use travel search sites to check what different airlines have to offer. Currently, the best sites are Kayak and Google Flights.
Searching for multiple airlines at the same time will help you discover cheaper dates to fly and even calculate for you all the fees you’ll be required to pay. Further, these sites offer great advice on how to get travel discounts.
Going back to our example, if John decided to search for flights from Chicago to Miami using Google Flights, he would get American Airlines for only $268. This is a hell of a discount compared to traveling without checking out different sites. You have to be flexible with your travel dates and shop around if you want discounts.
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5. Book early enough
The last-minute rush does no one no good. You need to book ahead of time if you want to get travel discounts. Plus, you’ll have peace of mind. Airline prices fluctuate from time to time however, you need to book at least four weeks in advance especially if you are going for a vacation. Booking too early or too late will lead to more expenses.
The rapid advancement of technology has made most aspects of our lives easier, including booking a flight. With the Hopper app, you’ll be able to monitor flight prices and discover the best time to book your flight.
Buying earlier than two months or later than four weeks means you’ll be spending more than required. The best time to travel depends on when you want to travel. Holiday seasons are usually more expensive than ordinary days. Therefore, it’s importanttoknow the best time to book your flight and travel.
Conclusion
Going for a vacation is one of the things we all look forward to. It’s important to make plans early enough to avoid inconveniences. As the popular saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. Do your research and use the resources we’ve discussed in this article.
Getting travel discounts is not as difficult as most people think. It all revolves in choosing your travel day carefully, being aware of your expenses and booking early enough to avoid the last-minute rush. Happy traveling!