Our Favorite Booking Sites
Google Flights: Start with Google Flights to see when the cheapest days are. Google Flights will highlight fares and how they change throughout the month.
Skyscanner: After we have dates, we will compare Google Flights with ‘Skyscanner’. Skyscanner compares fares across a number of websites and also allows you to select multiple airports.
Change Your Country of Origin with a VPN
Many people don’t know that airlines price their tickets differently for citizens for different countries. They do this, as they know that they can squeeze more money from affluent citizens, but need to make tickets more affordable for developing country nationals. Often websites will have this feature within their platform, but it will not change the price of the ticket; merely it will give quick customizations for language and currency.
To work around this, use a VPN or ‘virtual private network’. A VPN will let you browse the internet from another country. Whereas this doesn’t always have cheaper fares, occasionally it does and I have often shaved a hundred dollars off a ticket by booking this way. Simply install your VPN (We use express VPN) and play around with the country of origin. I also find that fares are generally cheaper to book on a Wednesday or Tuesday versus the weekend.
Utilizing Travel Rewards Credit Cards
A couple of years ago, we opened up a ‘Chase Sapphire Reserve‘ credit card which gives us 3 points per dollar spent on all travel-related expenses and restaurants. It changed our life. Just last week, I booked $3,000 worth of tickets for Christmas and $1,200 worth of tickets for spring break which netted us 12,600 points which are then transferrable to airline and hotel partners.
The card also gives a $300 annual travel credit and Priority Pass Access for 1000 airline lounges around the world, so it’s saved us a ton of money!
The real guru of this is ‘The Points Guy‘ but through him and following others, we’ve been able to utilize lucrative signup bonuses, and get beautiful (and free) hotel stays in Seoul, Rome, Palm Springs, and Singapore just in the last 2 years.
Check it out!
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