I really want to travel, but it seems like I just can’t afford it with today’s high prices on flights. I’ve asked friends what kinds of deals they get, and it seems like they have no real strategy — it’s just hit and miss. Do you know of any secret sites that offer affordable travel?
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Fly the inexpensive skies
When looking for cheap airfares, there are a few strategies to employ. One of the easiest ways to comparison shop between airlines is to search for fares using an aggregator site that searches multiple airlines at once. That way, you don’t have to go to each individual airline’s site to check prices.
Booking it
A few of my favorite aggregator sites, in no particular order, are:
Some things to keep in mind with aggregator sites: Not all airlines participate in all of them. Both American and Delta have scaled back their involvement with fare aggregator sites. So just because you don’t see them as an option, don’t ignore them or assume their price is too high! I’ve found several AA flights at lower fares than what other airlines offer on the third party booking sites, depending on the route or destination.
Also important to bear in mind, a lot of the “discount” airlines, such as Southwest, don’t participate in any of them. However, Southwest does have Ding!, their very own free desktop and iPhone app, which alerts you to low fares — and which are only available for customers who purchase via the app.
More travel tips
Most importantly, if you see a good low price on a flight you want — book it. Don’t wait to see if it goes down. It probably won’t. And almost more importantly… don’t look at prices after you’ve booked. It doesn’t matter anymore. Just smile and think about your fabulous getaway, and not that you could have saved another $20 if you waited a day.
Safe travels!
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