cheap flights Archives - Mom's Guide To Travel

Dec 15 2015

How to Choose The Best Flight To Save Time And Money

This is one of the things that I wanted to talk to people about. Since I travel a lot because of my job, I know a few tricks of the trade.

Choosing Price or Choosing Time

Most of the time people think that price should be a driving force for choosing flights. I’m here to tell you that this should not necessarily be the driving force for you. Time is money and so you really need to consider the value of your time.

If you can get a direct flight to your destination, then book a direct flight. Why?

It takes less time to get to your destination
You don’t have to worry about potentially missing your flight because of a delay with your first leg. (Been there done that).
Overall, you have less frustrations.
Your time is worth something!

Frustration with connections and too much time in airports are big reasons why people are hesitant to fly.

Be Mindful of Flying From Coast To Coast

If you are flying from the East Coast to the West Coast, you have to strongly consider the return leg of your itinerary. When we fly from the West Coast back to the East Coast, we have to depart really early to arrive at a decent hour or deal with arriving at midnight.

Booking a flight with a connection only makes it worse. This begs the case for why you would strongly consider paying a little extra in order to avoid a connection and spend less time traveling.

Ask Yourself Some Questions

The best way for you to decide if you’d rather spend more money on your flights is to consider some questions for yourself.

What is the value of your time?

Are you all about getting to your destination as quickly as possible?

Think about your hourly rate. If you are spending 10 hours in the airport and your hourly rate is $100 (and you’re not able to get work done), then you’ve just lost out on $1000! Is the ticket price more or less than this. If it’s less, then go with the higher priced ticket because your time is more valuable than the savings difference. (Hopefully that wasn’t too confusing.)

Use your credit card rewards points

You can use your points to:

Get a free roundtrip ticket or
Offset one of the legs of your flight

That’s usually what I consider first. If points are involved, they are the deciding factor in which airline I will choose to fly.

Do you like the airline?

This is pretty simple. If you don’t like the airline, don’t fly it! That’s one easy solution for how to choose the best flight.

Listen, we all have our favorites and we all have our dislikes. Steer clear of the airlines that you don’t like. You don’t care for them for a reason and deciding to fly with them because of price could just ruin your trip before it even starts.

Keep building the relationship with your airline of choice and raking in those rewards points. Sure, the ticket might be more expensive but if you’ve been flying them for a while and are a member of their rewards programs, your flight will just be adding to your points’ bank. It’s better than wasting money on a ticket for an airline where you don’t have any loyalty points (because you hate them and would never sign up for their program).

Think smart about how and where you spend your money – it’s all about getting a return on it. And with rewards programs you get just that: a return.

I like Southwest and American airlines, so most of my domestic points are with them. They are always at the top of my flight search list.

That’s how you should choose over one airline versus another.

Which do you prefer? Would you rather save money on your airline tickets or deal with the trade-offs?

For more money saving travel advice check out my book

Sep 13 2015

How To Get the Best Seat on the Plane

Traveling on a plane can come with a slew of seat-based comfort challenges, whether you’re assigned to a seat that doesn’t recline or located just adjacent to the bathroom. If you want to get the best seat without having to pay extra cash, there are a few simple tips to follow. While you might not feel like you’re lounging in a featherbed in one of the many luxury hotels in Milan, you will optimize your chances of having a travel experience that’s comfortable, pleasant and relaxed.

1. Don’t Pre-Select Seats

Many flyers are tempted to pre-choose seats when they book their plane flights on Hipmunk. However, it’s best to actually let the airline assign you seats when you check in; particularly for full flights. Airlines cannot require you to pay for premium seats if they are the only spots available. If you wait until everyone else on the plane has chosen a seat, there’s a good chance that one of the premium seats will be assigned to you at no cost.

2. Volunteer to Sit in an Emergency Exit

Flight attendants need to fill emergency exit rows with capable passengers who can assist in an emergency. If you feel physically fit, you can volunteer to move to an exit row if flight attendants are looking to fill the seats (or swap someone out who is not qualified). Sitting in an exit row affords you a lot of extra leg room. It’s also often is an emptier row, as airlines usually pre-charge an extra fee to sit there.

3. Fly During the Middle of the Week

Statistics show that the smallest number of travelers fly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. To ensure you have the most room on the plane–and the biggest selection of great seats–fly during the work week.

4. Take Seats Freed by Upgrades

Once you board a plane, some may opt to pay extra for first class or business class seats. Ask if you can take the seats they left empty. Many of these seats will have been occupied by frequent flyers or business travelers, which means that you might earn yourself a premium seat with extra legroom, greater recline or other great features.

No matter whether you’re crossing a few state lines or the Pacific Ocean, having a comfortable seat can ensure you have a restful and pleasant flight. By following a few simple tips, you can find yourself the best seat possible without forking over any extra dough.

This post was posted by TheHipmunk on Hipmunk’s Tailwind blog on September 2nd.

Nov 21 2011

Best Day, Time, & Way to get Cheapest Flights?

The prices of air travel continues to rise with increasing fuel costs, charges for “premium” seats, baggage fees and other erroneous charges by airlines. Passengers are searching for ways to save money any way they can, including purchasing tickets well in advance but also pinpointing the day of the week when prices are at the lowest. So, what’s the best day, time and way to get the cheapest flights? According to CBS travel editor Peter Greenberg (a great source of information by the way) it is:

At 12:01 am Tuesday night/Wednesday morning in the time zone of the place where the airline you are booking on is based.
Via telephone – Contrary to popular belief, call the airline’s reservation line and speak to an agent. The excess inventory (the un-purchased tickets) shows back up in the airlines’ reservation systems FIRST. Now that I think about it, it makes sense that the airlines would have information on their own inventory before any other third-party.

So that’s the nitty-gritty of when, where, and how to get the cheapest airfares. You can stop reading here if you take everything for face value. However, if you’re anything like me and can’t help but do your own extra bit of research, double-check your newly acquired information. How?

Here’s your homework:

Test Peter’s recommendation out. This week. If you have an upcoming trip (hopefully more than 2 weeks out), set your phone’s alarm clock for 11:58 pm Tuesday night. By the time, you get the cold out of your eye, dial the airline’s number and get an agent on the phone, it should be 12:01 am Wednesday morning. If you’re a little early, just stall them until your clock says 12:01 am and then get pricing for your preferred flight. At the same time, check for the same flight from your computer and compare notes. See what you get. Come back and let me know what you find. I’ll be doing the same.