10 theft hacks to save you money
Many people have to fly to their cruise ship, so we wanted to share 10 easy flight tips to save you money on your airfare in 2022.
Every dollar you save on your flight is a dollar you can spend on your cruise, shore excursion, or WiFi.
Hopefully one or more of these tips will save you money on your flight!
The best times to book your flight
First, you’ll want to know the sweet spot when it comes to booking your flight in advance to secure that lowest airfare.
If you’re traveling in the winter, you’ll want to book your flight 110 days in advance to get the lowest fare, especially if the month includes Christmas or New Years.
For spring trips, 76 days in advance is the best time to book and be aware of any month. This includes spring break travel dates, especially Florida as a destination you’ll want to book as far in advance as possible.
For the summer, it’s 42 days in advance, which gives you a bit more flexibility.
And for fall, 77 days ahead is the most ideal time to save, with many of us having the annual Thanksgiving travel destinations in mind.
And if you come back to see your family, just set calendar reminders.
For international travel, 8-10 months in advance is ideal. Use the Google flight tool to check multiple departure points for the same destination.
layover trick
It is important to note that this trick only works if you plan to bring hand luggage. You cannot check baggage under the plane with this trick. This can only work for one-way flights, as airlines will cancel all remaining flights on your itinerary. And please do this following hack at your own risk.
Did you know that it is sometimes cheaper to book a connecting flight to your final destination and simply get off the plane than to book a flight directly?
What most people don’t know is that if you look for alternative destinations for a flight that stops in the city you want to get off and you just get off the plane, you can save a lot of money. silver.
For example, let’s say you live in Austin, Texas and want to visit family in Chicago. A direct flight from Austin to Chicago with American Airlines costs $216 for a direct flight.
What most people don’t know is that if you research alternative destinations for a flight that stops in Chicago and get off the plane, you can save a lot of money.
Let’s use the same dates, times and airline for a flight from Austin, TX to Kansas City with a stopover in Chicago. You’ll notice this flight from Austin with American Airlines which has a stopover in Chicago, landing at exactly the same time as the direct flight I just showed you which would otherwise continue to Kansas City, the perfect time to you get off the plane, grab your bags and lock in a discounted flight for $143.
The best days of the week to book a flight
A great free app to help you focus more on the cheapest days of the week to book with a color-coded calendar is an app called Hopper. This will help you determine the optimal time frame and the day of the week that you should book specifically.
Many people think that the first flight of the day will be the most expensive, but that’s not the case. The first flight of the day is the one that usually departs at 6:00 a.m., 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. is most likely to have an on-time departure since it is the first flight of the day.
The most expensive flights of the day are those between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. mainly for round-trip business travel.
Use incognito mode to book your flights
Use an incognito browser or a VPN to show you the best offers and promotions.
If you are using a VPN, sometimes making it look like you are from Europe will sometimes result in additional offers and promotions, where sometimes airlines try to entice international travelers to book on their site website.
Another important tip is that if you’re using a search engine to reveal the lowest airfare, you usually want to scroll down just to see if the southwest is included as a destination. Southwest Airlines often tries to hide its flight data from third-party sites so they can take advantage of your booking directly.
The Southwest website is unfortunately an additional resource you might want to check out, as they don’t always show up in standard search results.
Mix and match your airlines
Sometimes it can be cheaper to do a leg of your journey with United and your return flight with Delta. And if you rely solely on an airline’s website, you won’t always see these facts and figures.
Kiwi.com is another great resource for finding blended flight options.
You can also easily search and book multiple airlines through Priceline or Expedia. And for both of these websites, if you’re considering a hotel or car rental with your reservation, the amount of money you could save is all astronomical.
How to unlock the same rates as a travel agent
For any type of international trip or a complicated trip, I always rely on both the rates and the expertise of a good travel agent. But did you know that Kayak.com is one of the only websites that gives you access to travel agency rates, unlocking additional promotional prices that the average traveler won’t see.
Another fantastic resource is scottscheapflights.com, which strives to help you find the best deals specifically from your local airport.
Price alerts
Instead of spending all your free time waiting for prices to drop, whether it’s Google flights or a website like Skyscanner, which will notify you by email when flight prices for your designated trip include a price drop.
Discounted airline gift cards at warehouse clubs
Costco, for example, is a warehouse club where you’ll frequently find discounted gift cards for many of your favorite airlines.
Many of these gift cards do not expire, and you can use up to five at a time per member.
Enjoyed five times by you or multiple family members, you can save hundreds with this gift card delivered to you the same day via email.
Sign up for that airline credit card on the plane
How many times have you been sitting where your flight attendants eagerly pass a brochure urging you to register on the spot?
Many of these credit card applications that may be presented to you are incentivized with all sorts of bonuses. You will have access to an exclusive bonus offered for this specific flight, and these bonus points could be used in magnificent ways.
It’s also worth noting that you can purchase your status for multiple of your airlines, giving you access to the club and tons of extra perks.
Find the airline you’re most likely to travel with and consider a credit card.
Use Google Flights to plan your next vacation
This is an untapped tab that many people don’t know how to use on Google Flights.
Let’s say you’re departing from DC and planning to travel by July 4th. Click on the explore tab, and from DC I’m immediately presented with incredibly low direct airfare options for as little as $74 to Orlando.
Google also factors in some great hotel deals, if you want them, but you can really figure out if you’re going weekdays, daytime, weekends, how long you want to stay.
Bonus hack: how to maximize your airplane seat
If you’ve never used Seat Guru, it exposes valuable information related to your seat and its physical location on the plane when booking through your airline gives you a seat map that shows the basics.
This website reveals the differences between legroom partitions. The best and worst seats to book in this free resource is heaven for long-haul travel.