Monday, August 26, 2019

5 Ways to Cut Travel Costs by $50 to $400 and More

Bags Cheap Days Compare Fares Cheap Airports Add a Stop One More Thing

Think there’s nothing you can do to save on the cost of travel? Wrong. Please look at these 5 ways to cut travel costs by $50 to $400 or more. Maybe they won’t all work for you, but we’re betting you’ll save something.

NOTE: Some airfares may have changed by the time you read this, but the concept remains the same, these are tips that can save you money. The amount will vary depending on where you live, where you go, your route and your ability to be flexible.

1. Save $50 on bags

Some airlines charge from $50 to $60 roundtrip to check a big bag while a carry-on is free. This video shows you how to pack a carry-on so it holds everything you need.

No free bags: Airlines like Frontier and Spirit charge for all bags including carry-ons while European discounters EasyJet and Ryanair have no carry-on fee. Note: These rules change without notice so check them before you fly.
Free bags: Southwest Airlines offers two free checked-bags on domestic and international flights.

2. Save $75+ by flying cheap days

On U.S. flights, the cheapest days to fly are usually Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday; cheaper international flights are usually on midweek dates. For U.S. domestic flights, the most expensive travel days are usually Friday and Sunday.

Example: Round-trip fares for Los Angeles-New York in October, on Alaska Airlines (found on FareCompare). Fly cheaper days and save $107.

Fly Tuesday to Tuesday, $263
Fly Friday to Sunday, $370

3. Save $130+ if you compare fares

Always use an airfare comparison search site when shopping for tickets. If you only visit your favorite airline site (because you “know” it’s always cheapest) you could pay too much. The reason: No airline always has the best deal. Here’s an example for flights from Cleveland to Dallas in the fall; in this case, shopping FareCompare will save $135.

Found on a discount airline’s site: $325
Found on FareCompare: $190

4. Save $200+ by flying from cheap airports

Here’s an example of cheapest available airfares from two airports serving greater Los Angeles: Massive LAX and smaller Burbank. These are round-trip fares for flights in September show you how to save more than $250 per passenger.

Burbank to Cancun, $577
Los Angeles to Cancun, $323

Tip: In many cases, the bigger the airport, the cheaper the airfare.

5. Save $400 (or more) – just add a stop to the flight

Adding a stop to a long flight doesn’t always save on airfare, but it often does and it can be a lot. Here are comparisons of flights from Vancouver to Sydney in September. Fly the connecting route and save more than $600.

Non-stop, $1327
One stop, $703

One More Thing

You may not save $50 or $400 (or more!) but you might. Again, it all depends on several factors including where you fly from, where you’re heading, when you buy tickets, what route you take, and more. Bottom line: Follow these tips and you’ll probably pass less. And as we always say, why pay a penny more than you have to?

Understanding Airline Ticket Prices: Why a Seatmate’s Airfare Costs More (or Less) than Yours Price factorsOther fare variablesFinding airfare deals Airline passengers Think you have the cheapest airline ticket? Maybe you do, but maybe the guy sitting next to you paid less. Welcome to the crazy world of airfare pricing, where airlines set prices by gauging demand. Many businesses do; for example, an online retailer may sell a sweater at Christmas for $100, then slash the price to $30 after the holiday. Once you gain a full understanding of airline ticket prices, it’s a lot easier to find the best deals. Price factors for airline tickets A typical domestic flight has about 10 different ticket price points per plane. First or business class tickets are the most expensive price points with economy seats at the low end. Here are six factors that affect the price you pay: 1. When you buy matters: The most expensive fares in business and economy class are typically purchased at the last minute by business travelers, and last-minute fares are almost always very pricy. Leisure or vacation fares are generally cheaper because they’re usually purchased well in advance. 2. Competition: Fares to smaller cities with little airline competition are typically more expensive than fares to big cities with hub airports catering to many different carriers. 3. Distance: Usually, the farther you fly, the more you’ll pay. 4. Demand: Airlines know when people want to fly such as the summer months and major holidays, so they raise prices during these peak travel periods, knowing people will pay. 5. Seat supply: Airlines don’t want empty seats; empty seats don’t make any money. So, airlines have become extremely efficient in calculating when and where we want to fly year-round, so all seats are filled. 6. Fuel: Oil prices have been down in recent years which is good news for passengers; high jet fuel prices can mean expensive surcharges added to ticket prices. Other fare variables There are other fare variables that affect your ticket price. Advance purchase: The cheapest airfare typically requires an advance purchase of at least 14 days before departure; purchase any later than that and you’ll usually see a significant price-hike. Minimum stay: Some airlines require a minimum stay or a Saturday night stay-over to get the best deal; this is less common than it used to be but it is still in force on international routes. Cheap days to fly, expensive days to fly: Often, the cheapest airline tickets are good for travel on the least popular days to fly, usually Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday in the U.S. and Monday to Thursday for international routes. Cheaper times to fly: Sometimes, the best deals require you to fly during unpopular times-of-day such as at dawn, during meal times or overnight “red-eye” flights. Connecting flights vs. non-stops: A connecting flight can be a lot cheaper than a nonstop; not always, but often enough so it’s worth your while to price tickets for non-stops and flights with a stop or two. The price difference could more than make up for the inconvenience. Watch sale expiration dates: Many airfare sales expire after three days; others may last only a day or so. If you see a deal you like, hurry. Blackouts dates: Airline sales typically black-out the most popular days of the year to fly, which includes sought-after dates around Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving and peak-summer dates. Finding airfare deals Ready to shop? Try these simple yet effective tools. Always compare airfares: Go to FareCompare and compare the prices to see which airline has the best deal. Check prices at the Southwest Airlines’ site, too; it’s the only U.S. carrier that doesn’t share airfare data with other sites. Be flexible: The Getaway Map shows shoppers the cheapest available flights within a particular month or season. Set airfare alerts: If you know where you want to go, set a real-time airfare alert and let the deals come to you. If you like what you see, grab that fare quickly; you’re not the only one setting airfare alerts. Now find a deal and have a wonderful trip.

Understanding Airline Ticket Prices: Why a Seatmate’s Airfare Costs More (or Less) than Yours

Price factors Other fare variables Finding airfare deals

Think you have the cheapest airline ticket? Maybe you do, but maybe the guy sitting next to you paid less. Welcome to the crazy world of airfare pricing, where airlines set prices by gauging demand. Many businesses do; for example, an online retailer may sell a sweater at Christmas for $100, then slash the price to $30 after the holiday. Once you gain a full understanding of airline ticket prices, it’s a lot easier to find the best deals.

Price factors for airline tickets

A typical domestic flight has about 10 different ticket price points per plane. First or business class tickets are the most expensive price points with economy seats at the low end. Here are six factors that affect the price you pay:

1. When you buy matters: The most expensive fares in business and economy class are typically purchased at the last minute by business travelers, and last-minute fares are almost always very pricy. Leisure or vacation fares are generally cheaper because they’re usually purchased well in advance.

2. Competition: Fares to smaller cities with little airline competition are typically more expensive than fares to big cities with hub airports catering to many different carriers.

3. Distance: Usually, the farther you fly, the more you’ll pay.

4. Demand: Airlines know when people want to fly such as the summer months and major holidays, so they raise prices during these peak travel periods, knowing people will pay.

5. Seat supply: Airlines don’t want empty seats; empty seats don’t make any money. So, airlines have become extremely efficient in calculating when and where we want to fly year-round, so all seats are filled.

6. Fuel: Oil prices have been down in recent years which is good news for passengers; high jet fuel prices can mean expensive surcharges added to ticket prices.

Other fare variables

There are other fare variables that affect your ticket price.

Advance purchase: The cheapest airfare typically requires an advance purchase of at least 14 days before departure; purchase any later than that and you’ll usually see a significant price-hike.

Minimum stay: Some airlines require a minimum stay or a Saturday night stay-over to get the best deal; this is less common than it used to be but it is still in force on international routes.

Cheap days to fly, expensive days to fly: Often, the cheapest airline tickets are good for travel on the least popular days to fly, usually Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday in the U.S. and Monday to Thursday for international routes.

Cheaper times to fly: Sometimes, the best deals require you to fly during unpopular times-of-day such as at dawn, during meal times or overnight “red-eye” flights.

Connecting flights vs. non-stops: A connecting flight can be a lot cheaper than a nonstop; not always, but often enough so it’s worth your while to price tickets for non-stops and flights with a stop or two. The price difference could more than make up for the inconvenience.

Watch sale expiration dates: Many airfare sales expire after three days; others may last only a day or so. If you see a deal you like, hurry.

Blackouts dates: Airline sales typically black-out the most popular days of the year to fly, which includes sought-after dates around Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving and peak-summer dates.

Finding airfare deals

Ready to shop? Try these simple yet effective tools.

Always compare airfares: Go to FareCompare and compare the prices to see which airline has the best deal. Check prices at the Southwest Airlines’ site, too; it’s the only U.S. carrier that doesn’t share airfare data with other sites.

Be flexible: The Getaway Map shows shoppers the cheapest available flights within a particular month or season.

Set airfare alerts: If you know where you want to go, set a real-time airfare alert and let the deals come to you. If you like what you see, grab that fare quickly; you’re not the only one setting airfare alerts.

Now find a deal and have a wonderful trip.

Connecting Flights or Nonstops: Which are Cheaper

There's a little-known extra you pay for certain flights. Airfare expert and FareCompare CEO Rick Seaney calls it the "convenience tax." In other words, if you want a hassle-free, convenient flight – like a nonstop – you will usually pay more than a connecting flight to the same destination. Not always, but usually, so always compare fares for both connecting and nonstop flights.

Connecting vs. Nonstop Fares

If you can endure the inconvenience of a longer travel day, you might save a lot of money. These are examples of September fares found in August on FareCompare.

Detroit to Los Angeles

Nonstop $216, one-stop $194. You save $22. Enough to take the connecting flight? Maybe not.

Washington D.C. to Seattle

Nonstop $337, one-stop $274. You save $53. This might be worth the inconvenience, especially for families.

Atlanta to Cancun

Nonstop $492, one-stop $339. You save $153. Totally worth taking a connecting flight.

San Francisco to Madrid

Nonstop $1022, one-stop $673. You save $349. Amazing.

How to find the cheaper flight

Shop an airfare comparison site – such as FareCompare – that shows prices for a variety of routes including nonstops, connecting flights with one-stop or connecting flights with two or more stops (look for the box on the left that indicates stops or nonstop). Only you can say if the savings are worth the inconvenience of a longer travel day.

More benefits of longer routes

Sometimes, a connecting flight can actually be a plus.

Break time for kids. Face it, a long flight can be more stressful for kids than two shorter hops. During a layover, they can run off some energy in one of the many airport play areas (here's a list).
Break time for adults. Today's airports are filled with fun things to do for grown-ups, too, like manicures, massages, and an increasing number of food and drink offerings. Check your airport's website.
Side trips. Layovers can be as long as 24 hours on certain international flights which may allow for a quick tour of a city you might otherwise miss.

The 3 Sites I Use to Find Cheap Flights

I’m known in my circle of friends as the “travel guy”. While I’d much rather be known as the “fitness guy” or “guy who has a bunch of money so he doesn’t have to work and can just go around helping people”, for now I’m the travel guy I guess. One of the questions I get most often is “how do I find cheap flights?” The answer is pretty simple. Let me show you the three sites I use to find cheap flights.

1. The Flight Deal

Most of my travel involves an effort to fly as far as I can for as little money as possible in order to achieve Executive Platinum status with American Airlines (since I’m based in Dallas it makes more sense to have status with American than any other airline). The Flight Deal has played a huge role in not only my international travel but also pointing out domestic destinations that are available for very cheap. The front page of the site features all deals they find but they also have city-specific feeds so you can narrow it down to where you’re from (if they cover your city). They cover some of the biggest airline markets in the USA and their sister site Fare Deal Alert covers many of the rest. You may not be able to use every deal they write about but go ahead and subscribe to their free newsletter, follow them on Facebook, or add them to your RSS feed to make sure you don’t miss one of their awesome deals!

2. Google Flights

Google Flights is by far the easiest to use flight search tool around. A few years back Google purchased ITA Matrix, another incredibly useful flight search tool, although it has a bit of a learning curve. Google incorporated that technology into Google Flights. Flight prices update quickly and you can even type your originating airport and leave the destination airport blank and look at a map of all potential destinations! One of my favorite aspects of Google Flights is the ability to filter your search not only by airline or price but also by airline alliance, so if I’m searching for a roundtrip to Hong Kong, for example, and I want to make sure my flights are only on Oneworld flights (because I have Oneworld Emerald status and receive some nice benefits), I can do that on Google Flights much easier than with ITA Matrix. There’s an ever so slight learning curve with Google Flights but I’ve found it to be a slick, user-friendly interface. If you know your destination, it’s easy to pull up a calendar and see when nearby dates might be cheaper too. The best part is, once you find your flight, Google provides you a link either directly to the airline or to Orbitzlocitypedia/whatever other site they found the cheapest fare at.

3. Mileage Run Deals Forum at Flyertalk

Flyertalk is a great site if you have the time to learn some of the vocabulary. The Mileage Run Deals forum is where many people share fares they find, including the occasional mistake fare. You don’t need to be a member to peruse the forum, so it’s worth taking a peek every couple of days or so. Just a friendly reminder, many of these people are looking to do mileage runs, so they’ll use terms like “cpm” to denote how many elite-qualifying miles a given fare will earn. If you’re just looking for cheap fares, ignore the cpm part and look past all the people (like me) doing an absurdly long flight in one weekend.

Some guidelines to find cheap flights

Here’s the thing about cheap flights: you don’t know when they’ll pop up and you don’t know for how long they will last. Here are some guidelines about cheap flights:

Nowadays there is not a better day of the week to buy flights.
If your dates are inflexible and locked in there’s not really much you can do but wait and hope the flights drop in price.
Buying a flight as soon as the schedule is released for is usually not the cheapest way to book a flight, airlines know people schedule things like cruises and family vacations a long time in advance and if someone absolutely has to be on a flight enough that they will book it 11 months in advance, they’ll usually pay more for that flight.
All US airlines now have 24-hour refund policies (in most cases, check with the airlines during the booking process for their actual policies). When you find an awesome deal, book it and spend the rest of the day seeing if you can arrange time off work or ensure your partner can go. This way your price is locked in and you don’t miss the deal.

Friday, June 28, 2019

The 3 Sites I Use to Find Cheap Flights

Search For Cheap Airline Tickets

The 3 Sites I Use to Find Cheap Flights

1. The Flight Deal

2. Google Flights

3. Mileage Run Deals Forum at Flyertalk

Some guidelines to find cheap flights

Here’s the thing about cheap flights: you don’t know when they’ll pop up and you don’t know for how long they will last. Here are some guidelines about cheap flights:

Nowadays there is not a better day of the week to buy flights.
If your dates are inflexible and locked in there’s not really much you can do but wait and hope the flights drop in price.
Buying a flight as soon as the schedule is released for is usually not the cheapest way to book a flight, airlines know people schedule things like cruises and family vacations a long time in advance and if someone absolutely has to be on a flight enough that they will book it 11 months in advance, they’ll usually pay more for that flight.
All US airlines now have 24-hour refund policies (in most cases, check with the airlines during the booking process for their actual policies). When you find an awesome deal, book it and spend the rest of the day seeing if you can arrange time off work or ensure your partner can go. This way your price is locked in and you don’t miss the deal.

HOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS TO ANYWHERE

Search For Cheap Airline Tickets

HOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS TO ANYWHERE

We’ve all been there – determined to find cheap flights but somehow ending up just glued to the laptop screen for hours on end. Trawling the latest and greatest comparison websites trying to discover the cheapest flight deals…

Finding cheap flights can be a pain, especially with endless search options, comparison websites and constant fluctuating prices. It can end up being a frustrating process when it should be fun!

Never fear amigos, after almost a decade of travelling the world on a budget, here are all my tips and tricks on the best way to find the cheapest flights to pretty much anywhere in the world!

Table of Contents [show]

1. Always Search in Secret

You’ve been searching for a while now, the price started out ok but you thought you could do better. But now, you’re panicking, the price is increasing. Have you pressed a different button, selected the right day? How can the cheapest airfare suddenly disappear! Well let me tell you, you’re not going insane, you’re being watched.

Ok, so there’s not some weird guy peering through the window at your laptop screen. Instead ‘cookies’ are tracking your searches and feeding the most frequent and popular back to the suppliers. This, in turn, bumps up the once attractive prices. Putting you into panic mode in the hope you will just book the more expensive fare because it’s the ‘last best deal’. So let me tell you how to get around creepy cookies and how to get cheap flight tickets back!

Always search for your cheap flight deals in private with incognito windows. This tool is genius and basically the number one secret to finding the cheapest flights. If you’re not familiar with incognito it works the same as a normal internet page. The only difference, your cookies are reset each time you re-open an incognito window.

So how do you open an incognito window? Really simple, follow these easy steps!

In Google Chrome or Safari, Incognito is enabled by hitting Command (or “Control” if using PC), Shift, “N”.
For Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, hit Command (or “Control” if using a PC), Shift, “P”.
This will open a new browser window where your information is not tracked, thus not inflating prices as you search.
If you’re not up on your keyboard shortcuts, simply open a web browser.
Hit ‘File’, ‘New Incognito Window’ or ‘Private Browsing Window’.

And now you are ready to start searching! If you want to start with a clean slate for each flight search (so your searches aren’t “remembered” in turn losing you the cheap deals), close all your incognito windows. Open a new one, and then perform your flight search again.

2. Use only the Best Flight Search Engines.

Even the most novice travellers can probably name at least five different flight comparison sites. The list of comparison sites seems to get longer every day which makes finding cheap flights even more time consuming and repetitive. Or in other words, super dull when in fact, booking flights should be the most exciting part of your travel planning!

Sadly, there is not a single search engine that constantly offers the cheapest deal – because if there was we would all know it, right? – they simply don’t make money this way. So it pays to check a few, to help you know which few to keep bookmarked check the table below! These flight websites always come up with the greatest flight deals!

Flight Booking Engines
Momondo US Search Flights	Cheapoair - Here's a cheeky Promo Code offering up to $30◊ off with WORLD30.	Kayak
Skyscanner	Expedia	Trip Advisor
Airfare Watchdog	Jetradar	Kiwi.com

Just a quick note amigos, comparison websites are awesome but they do not include most budget airlines. If you know of particular budget airlines operating the route you want, definitely remember to check them out too!

3. Budget Can Sometimes be the Best

Budget airlines can sometimes come up trumps and offer significantly cheaper tickets than the bigger airlines. Choosing to fly budget does mean some sacrifices will have to be made. That space and legroom, free food, drinks and movies you get with the big airlines are not offered on budget airlines. Stock up on snacks – and water – before hopping on the plane. Extra Legroom and movies are sometimes offered, but there are no guarantees and I can promise you, it often won’t be free. But losing these luxuries to get a cheap flight is definitely worth it.

Budget airlines are not always included on comparison websites. So remember to check them individually. Finding the cheapest airlines is all about tactics. Budget airlines offer great prices but they can be sneaky. So amigos please make sure you do the following before handing over your credit card:

ALWAYS read the fine print before booking!
Check where the airport location is and that it’s the right one! (some budget airlines fly to airports further out of town).
Remember to book and pay for any checked luggage. If you can get your bag through the strict restrictions on hand luggage, do it. Don’t chance it, if it doesn’t fit or weighs more you will be charged a FORTUNE at the airport! If in doubt add it on in advance.
Have your ticket ready. Often budget airlines need you to have checked in online, need you confirmation printed or your boarding pass. If you turn up to the airport with just an email, you could be charged. Ryanair, a UK based airline is a classic example. They WILL CHARGE A FEE if you do not print your own ticket or show up with more bags. This is pretty clear in the first paragraph of your confirmation email. In a nutshell, always read and follow instructions! Once again, if you’re not sure, print it anyway!

Remember, if you want to book the cheapest flight possible (not worlds best airline), it helps to be adaptable, do your research, and know the conditions of the ticket.

How to find budget flights – start by finding cheap airlines. There are hundreds of budget airlines out there, but to help you guys out I’ve put together a table of my favourites. Get familiar with these budget airlines. Typically Air Asia, Jetstar, Tiger Air and Ryanair who often offer the cheapest way to fly. Keep an eye on their Facebook, Twitter and sign up to email alerts so you don’t miss out on promotions.

Budget Airlines
Canada	United States	Australia
Porter	JetBlue	JetStar
Air Transat	Porter	Tiger Air
	Southwest
	Allegiant Air
	Frontier
	Spirit Airlines
New Zealand	Asia	Europe
Air New Zealand	Air Asia	Ryanair
JetStar	Tiger Air	Easyjet
	Jetstar	Norwegian Air
	Scoot	Aer Lingus
	Dragon Air	Wizz Air
	Spice Jet	Wow Air
	Vietnam Airlines
	Nok Air

For more budget airlines check out Wikipedia. You’ll find a huge list of low-cost airlines down to specific countries here. If you’re going to a specific country, it’s worth checking so you know all your options.

4. Book Your Own Flights

Let your imagination run wild when you search for flights. That city you have to hang around in for a few hours, why not step out the airport and spend some proper time there? The best way to find affordable flights is to be flexible and break up the journey. For example, if you’re flying to Vietnam via Bangkok, it may be cheaper to book a ticket to Bangkok and a separate ticket onwards to Vietnam.

This is possibly the best trick to finding cheap flights. Just a note though amigos, typically if you break up and book your flights separately you may have different airlines. So do not book layovers that are hours apart as delays could mean you miss your flight on the other end. Especially as you will likely have to recheck your bags again!

I have found that Skyscanner and Kayak are the best flight comparison websites to use when playing around with flights. But why do it yourself? Well, for one it’s pretty fun, you will be inspired to visit other places on your trip you may not have thought of and you’ll have a great idea of the prices out there. Also, if you pop into a Travel Agent it’s unlikely the agent will be happy to play around with flight routes for hours…

So to help you find the cheapest flights yourself, here are three tips to get you started:

Do your research: Are there budget airlines that could be used for your route?
Play around with routes: Why fly from the UK if Europe is significantly cheaper? Especially when you can score budget flights for as little as €10 to Europe. Maybe for some reason, Phuket is cheaper to fly into than Bangkok so change your destination. Search by country – Skyscanner is great for this – it will show you the cheapest place to fly in and out of each destination.
Add in your own multi-day layovers: If the flight naturally stops there for a layover, would it be cheaper if I actually spent a day there instead of just a few hours.

If you want the cheapest flights, doing at least one of these three options could not only save you hundreds. But you’ll also get to tick another country off your bucket list at the same time!

5. Mark the Cheapest Day to Fly

Have you heard the rumour that Tuesdays are the cheapest day to fly? Universally of course, no specific destination, just them all. Amigos, I hate to burst your bubble but this is no longer true – if it even ever was – all routes are different, some airlines are different and basically, it changes all the time. So when are flights the cheapest? While Tuesday may not be the cheapest day to travel – all the time – travelling midweek is more likely to be cheaper than flying on the weekends.

So how do you find the day cheap flights are departing? Searching every comparison site at least seven times each would take ages! Never fear, Skyscanner – yep again, I like these guys, have you noticed? – has a tool to help you.

Your best strategy is to get a quick visual of prices for a whole month to see what days are cheapest for your specific route. Here’s how:

Get on Skyscanner website or download the app
Enter where you want to depart and arrive
Click on the box where you would normally pop a date in and instead, select ‘Whole Month’. If you know what month you want to travel, select it. If you’re flexible select ‘Cheapest Month’.
Hit ‘search’ and watch as the magic unfolds. The search will show you what date is cheapest to fly out and what date to fly back. Those with the mini magnifying glasses have no prices – also means they are likely to be more expensive – just click on them to find out the price.

This is honestly my favourite tool to finding cheap flights. Not only that but it helps me choose where to travel to next and when! There are other websites which offer similar services but honestly, Skyscanner has been the most reliable and best way to book flights.

6. Find the Cheapest Place to Fly

So you’ve caught the travel bug but you’re not sure where to fly. The only limitation you have is budget, you have the time but not really the money. Instead of searching any and every place that springs tonight, trawling for the cheapest date and spending days trying to find the best deal, hop onto kayak. Here you can search cheap flights anywhere!

Kayak have an awesome interactive map showing you the cheapest places to travel on the time you have off work! All you have to do is hop onto the Kayak website and follow these steps.

Click ‘Explore’ punch in the departure airport – you can even click ‘include airports nearby’ for more options – set your budget, time frame and watch the world light up with cheap flight deals!
Once you find the best flight deal, just click on it and follow through to book! Easy as pie!

Kayak is not the only website that has this nifty feature, Skyscanner has this option too!

Type in the country or city you want to depart from.
In the destination field just search ‘Anywhere’.
Enter the dates you have free, or the month, or even ‘the cheapest month’ and search.
BOOM. Skyscanner will now give you a list, from cheap to pricey of all the destinations you could go to organised by country.
Find the cheap country deal, click on it and find out the cheapest airport to enter!

You don’t get a pretty interactive map on Skyscanner but you’ll be given a list of countries with some very persuading prices.

Warning! playing around on these tools will spark insane wanderlust and will feed your travel addiction further. Use at your own risk and enjoy!

7. Travel Agents Are Not The Enemy

Contrary to popular belief, travel agents are not (always) money hungry and out to rip you off. In fact, many travel agencies have deals with airlines which will be cheaper than anything you will be able to find online yourself. This however, doesn’t mean you should walk into a travel agent without having done your own research first. If you have a rough idea of the cheapest route, date and destination, this will save a lot of time and searching. You’ll also know how cheap you can get it, meaning you’re less likely to get ripped off. Most travel agents will Price Match if the cheap flight you found is cheaper than the flight they have.

Travel agents not only have better deals (sometimes) but often if you book through a travel agent, you’re protected slightly better if something goes wrong or at least, don’t have to deal with it yourself.

8. It Doesn’t Pay to Wait

If you know where you want to go and when you want to go. You’ve searched and found the cheapest flights but wait, someone has told you if you wait and book at the last minute the flights will be cheaper. Don’t do it, it’s a myth amigos!

Very rarely do flights get cheaper closer to the departure date, if anything, they are likely to get more expensive. This is basically the same for ALL modes of transport. If you have found the cheapest deal and you are not flexible, book it, now! Booking ahead is likely to always be cheaper than booking last minute.

9. Check Foreign Currencies

Before you book that flight, have you checked if it’s cheaper to book it in another currency. Or the currency of the destination you are departing/heading for. Budget airlines typically make you pay in the currency of the country you are departing from but not always. Most airlines will have an option on the page to change the currency. Before you do this, make sure you are incognito and the location setting on your device is off or you have a VPN activated. Booking a flight and paying in a different currency could save you a small fortune but only if you’re using a credit card free of foreign-transaction fees! Otherwise your attempts to save money doing this will be lost!

10. Grab Error Fares Fast

Error fares are what I like to think of as gifts from god. Error fares are basically the airline, company or third party advertising and selling a fare at the wrong price because someone mistyped the fare into the system. BINGO! Every traveller dreams of stumbling across these bad boys. If you’re in the know-how on where to find airline error fares, you can save yourself some serious bucks on a ticket!

So how do you find budget flights and error fares? By visiting these two sites (Airfare Watchdog and Secret Flights), signing up to the alerts via email and by making sure you always have a credit card on hand.

Act fast when you stumble upon cheap flights, they wont be around for long, especially error fares. Airlines, as you can imagine, are never too pleased when glitches like this happen and will fix it quickly. You just have to be faster than them. Good luck!