For Bri, and all you young twenty-somethings who dream of seeing the world... For my son, my tiny travel buddy, who hardly had time to dream before he got his first passport stamp at age 1.5...
And for my twins, for whom I gladly put my travel dreams (temporarily?) on hold. ;)
Once upon a time we were poor newlyweds. In fact, I remember around that time hearing the term "poverty level" thrown around in the news and decided to look up its technical definition... I found based on income, we were shockingly close! Yet we were cheap and kept our rent, expenses, and spending minimal enough to save money (small town cost of living, oh yeah). We believed in skimping and saving money wherever we could so we could spend it on things that mattered more to us!
One of those things was travel. I had family out of state, and a few college friends in other countries. One of my first big dream trips that seemed almost too unattainable to even consider was visiting a friend in Ireland and flying with her to another friend's wedding in Germany (ask me later about our crazy budget airline flight from Ireland to Germany and back). But somehow my husband didn't think I was too crazy, so I set out on the next step: doing hours of Google research on how to get the best airline prices to make the trip possible. I found lots of interesting tips and facts based on market data and price trends but most of what I learned boiled down to a few general rules I still follow today. I've used them several times to fly from Los Angeles to Ireland, Ecuador, Washington D.C., and Texas and Minnesota a few times, and while I wont promise you're getting the absolute cheapest deal ever every single time, I've always found them reliably cheap or reasonable.
Happy travels!!
1. Keep your dates flexible.
In a perfect situation, you could research in advance to see the cheapest seasons or months to visit your desired destination (just make sure there aren't any deal breakers to that season, like horrible weather or points of interest being closed), but that much flexibility might not be an option for you.
In any case, you should try as much as possible to keep your departure and return flight dates flexible at least within a couple days, and here is why:
I'm a sucker for charts and visuals. As you can see from this one, the days of the week you choose to fly can make a pretty significant impact on the price you pay. In this case, leaving on the 11th and returning on the 16th will cost you about $350, while leaving on the 10th can cost you 200 or less. Here is a similar chart between L.A. and London (heathrow).
$999 vs $631! See what I mean?
Some people will say that certain days like Tuesdays or Thursdays or Saturdays are always the cheapest travel days, which CAN be true, but it varies. To know for sure, I like to use a price graph or calendar like the one above. Some other sites or search engines show them too, like maybe Google flights, or even some airline websites like southwest, but kayak.com is my favorite. It also allows me other filters like other airports in the area, layover number and length, time of day to fly, and whether to include or exclude certain airlines (like spirit or other budget ones that are cheap but charge for a carry on. Yes, really.).
One final note on the price chart, before you get too excited about a price you see, be sure to click on it or scroll down and make sure it doesn't have any deal breakers for you, such as: budget airlines, red eye flights, long or multiple layovers, or even switching airports or using two different airlines. I'm not saying to never try those things, but weigh the pros and cons first.
Now If you're still a little surprised that you could get from Los Angeles to London for under 700, there are other things in play: major (popular/large) airports, off season (October, summer is over) and rule number two.
2. Purchase your tickets exactly 7-8 weeks in advance.
Yes, I too have a father in law who might get a rash if he doesn't plan his vacations several months in advance. Last time we traveled together, I still beat his ticket prices by a little even though he bought his during a good sale (and I should admit he did get southwest, one of the few domestic airlines that still doesn't charge for your first checked bag).
You may doubt me, but the first few times I tried it (and sometimes still) I checked the prices the weeks before and after, and sure enough, my 7-8 week window was better.
Yes, this even works for international trips (that surprises me too).
Exception: holiday travel. I don't have any rules for you if you're traveling during Christmas or another major holiday. I'm not sure there are any ;) except to stay as far from those magic dates as possible.
And the last one, which always seemed very true except lately:
3. Buy your ticket on a Tuesday, mid day or afternoon (second choice Monday or Wednesday, prices tend to rise on weekends).
The theory is that airlines put out deals on Mondays, and their competitors try to match them by Tuesday. I used to swear by this, and would kick myself if I accidentally waited too long and watched those prices rise in days (even hours) right before my eyes. My last Minnesota trip, though, I was surprised to find my Tuesday price on a weekend again, and the price charts above were taken on a Saturday night. Perhaps my third rule doesn't matter as much anymore, or perhaps it depends how in-demand your dates and destinations are as to how quick the tickets get snatched up, or perhaps oil prices and such lately are just making for some really great tickets (I will say our summer Minnesota trip was cheaper than I remember paying in years past... So maybe you should travel NOW while that lasts)!!
Best of luck folks. Hit me up if you have any questions, and hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. My list of rules is really never as complicated as it seems like it should be!
Final money-saving travel tips:
Stay (and eat) cheap: our other biggest secret! Our trips would probably have nearly doubled in cost if we had always used hotels, but we stay with friends or relatives when possible or use sites like AirBnB. You can check out hostels too, but whatever you choose, be sure you feel safe. We loved air b'n'b because it was easy to book online like a hotel, but so much cheaper (depending on area) and with the possible added benefits of friendly locals who will give you insider tips, or even give you breakfast or let you share the kitchen if you're lucky. Even if not, we like to stop at local grocery stores to put together our own lunch or dinner sometimes, it's a fun "adventure" and a great way to save. I brought plenty of snacks from home too, but that was mostly the four trips I took while pregnant ;)
travel light. If you're going domestic, fit it all in a carry on. Use the "capsule wardrobe" idea with multi-use items or roll-up vacuum shrink travel bags (like ziploc space bags but no vacuum necessary). If international, packing a little lighter will still serve you well and free you up. It's not natural for me, and my husband still beats me, but I've learned and I like it.
Use public transport, not car rentals. This was a tough choice on our Ireland trip, as sometimes there are places that you just need a car to see. But in the end we were glad to avoid learning to drive on the wrong side of those narrow roads, and I think we were too young to rent a car then anyway. In many cities, though, walking and public transport (or uber/lyft if necessary) will get you just about everywhere you need to go... And no parking hassles or foreign driving stress either.
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