Typically the most expensive part of any trip we book is the flight. And, while we will never fly for ‘free,’ (and neither will you…don’t buy into the hype), we do have a few tips that help us spend as little as possible on airfare.
- Try to fly on Tuesdays. What’s so special about Tuesday? Nothing! That’s the point 🙂 Historically, this is a cheaper day because less people want to fly on Tuesday. Even if it requires someone miss work on a Tuesday, the cost difference may make sense.
- Travel off season. Unpopular opinion: I hate summer. I’d rather be snowed in for a week than ‘sunned in’ for 3 days. Summer brings crowds & heat, both of which I cannot stand. When we used to live at the beach, from mid-June to mid-August every year, I would have to double the time it took to do anything. I know….poor me, living at the beach being inconvenienced lol But, as a person who wasn’t enjoying the beach and just trying to get to work and grocery shop, it was seriously irritating. But, I digress….if at all possible, stay home all summer! Save your money to travel during the middle of fall, or between holidays. Get permission to take the kids out of school for an educational trip (I realize this is easier said than done in some places). Flights can be twice as expensive in the summer (ex: $800pp instead of $400pp, for those of you that hate math 🙂 ). Do you know what you could do with the money you save?? I do! Use it to pay for the rest of your trip!
- Travel somewhere with different holidays. Thanksgiving in the USA is a great time to travel to foreign destinations (especially if you leave the Tuesday before 😉 ). Almost no one overseas knows when or what American Thanksgiving is, and life carries on as usual (aka you can visit attractions when no one else will be there).
- The reverse of #3: Don’t travel during someone else’s holidays. Holy Week is an expensive time in Europe. Mid-September will be more pricy for Mexico. Search “national holidays of [destination]” before booking your flight, to make sure you’re not flying in on their Independence Day or Founder’s Celebration. Try to plan around these dates.
- Is there a country nearby that it’s cheaper to fly to? Typically, from our local airport, it costs less to fly to Paris or London. So, for example, if we’re going to Spain we check Paris and London also to see what the cost difference is. It doesn’t mean we’re going to change our ultimate destination. But, if we can fly to Paris, there is a train from Paris to Barcelona. We could choose to spend 24-48 hours in Paris while we’re at it. Now…it takes a certain personality to pull this off. And sometimes the detour would end up costing even more. But other times the math works out and we get a ‘bonus’ experience. So play around with it and see. It might work for you.
- DO sign up for frequent flyer programs, even if you’re not going to fly frequently. See my other point below, but remember this also: even if this is the only flight you ever intend to take with X airline, there may be perks that they offer to any account holder (ex: Delta lets any Sky Miles member have free wifi). There’s virtually no downside to it, and it only takes 3-4 minutes to sign up.
As a debt free family, the most important point I can share with you: Remember economics 101 while booking. There is no such thing as a free lunch! If any website tells you that you can fly first class to Tahiti for $3 plus points, close the website and don’t dare give them your personal information.
Point 1: any time something is ‘free,’ that means that YOU are the product. Ex: Facebook and Google are free because they are using YOU to sell ads to businesses. If they didn’t have you, they would have no business. They don’t give you your free account out of the goodness of their hearts or to bring about world peace. They’re selling you.
Point 2: Credit card companies are not non-profit organizations. Their only true mission is to make as much money as possible. Again, they do not offer you points as a gesture of goodwill (although, the commercials sure make it sound like they do!). They have paid fortunes to do studies and they know that psychology says if they offer you points, you will spend more. And if you spend more, they make more. Period.
Don’t try to spend a fortune to earn 3% back, or a free introductory X, or waste energy gaming the system. And, for the love of all, don’t pay someone else to “game the system” for you! Life is too short. Please just buy a plane ticket and travel.
