Finding a cheap airfare is all about searching in the right place, at the right time and ending up with the best price. Here are 5 quick tips and suggestions to ease the pressure on your travel budget and finding the right budget flight for you…
Do the basics
You don’t want to waste a week searching for flights, but there is a quick and simple method you can employ to get yourself the best deal in a speedy manner. First, have a quick glance around price comparison sites for the average price you would normally expect to pay. Then decide when you want to go – if it’s a last minute holiday, then you should wait as long as your nerves can hold out! Planning in advance will also get you a bargain – those airlines want to make sure their flights are full early and will tempt you with some great deals.
Be Realistic
Don’t get conned into thinking the advertised price is what you will pay. Despite pressure from consumer groups, airlines still hide many of their charges for extra baggage and insurance, for example, and by the time you check out, you can expect perhaps another 25% increase in cost. A great way to beat these tactics is to use a service such as Buzz, from Kayak.com, which lets you know exactly how much other people have paid recently – not the advertised price. Simply enter your details and arm yourself with the knowledge of the best deal you can expect.
Check Airline Sites For Deals
That’s not to say that you can’t find a good deal on airline-specific websites. You will generally find that airlines advertise marked-down seats that are close to their departure, so their websites are often the best places to look if you are wanting to find a last minute bargain. If you decide that you want to get a deal here, it’s best to either be prepared to go anywhere, or plan for several days that you could possibly leave on.
Get A Credit Card With Air Miles
There are plenty of credit cards on the market that offer air miles for using them and it’s easy to rack them up. Think about all the necessary items you buy each month without fail, whether it’s your food shopping, clothes or paying for travel. Just use your credit card each time you buy something, but make sure you pay off the balance in full with the money you would have spent from your bank account each month – these sorts of credit cards are often high-interest, so it’s very important. So long as you keep the balance at zero every month, you will soon have yourself a considerable wedge to spend on flights, effectively for free!
Use Flight Auction Sites
Flight auction sites such as priceline.com are a bit of a gamble, but it is possible to get some amazing deals – so long as you aren’t fussy about how you travel. You bid for a specific day to travel, but times are withheld until you have bought them and it’s important to note that they are non-refundable. Also, you will have no idea what airline you are flying with until the auction has finished. With this in mind, it’s best to have a strict budget to get to a particular place, and be ready for a potentially early start.
