How to get there
Today I am writing you from seat 31E on TAP air Portugal, and I’m going to tell you all about how I got my $270 roundtrip ticket from Chicago to Spain. Finding cheap flights has become a quite expensive hobby, ironically. Finding these dirt cheap tickets takes some dedication. You must be willing to add ‘checking flight prices’ to part of your daily routine. I usually have a list every year of five different destinations where I would be willing to go. I check on flights to these cities everyday, if not twice a day, and just watch. I start this process as early as 9 months before departure. A good rule of thumb I used to go by was booking an International ticket 2 months before I wanted to depart. However, the world and the travel industry have changed drastically since the covid-19 pandemic, and now you really can book whenever. If you only take one piece of information from this blog let it be this, BOOK ON THE AIRLINE WEBSITE. A lot of people check flight prices on travel agency websites like booking.com, but if you book on these you run the risk of no flexibility or money back if something happens with the booking. For example, if the airline changes the flight time by less than 2 hours and the change does not work with your existing plans, the airlines will sometimes refuse to change you to another flight. If they do put you on another flight sometimes they charge a fare difference fee, and this can be quite a lot especially if you booked one of their cheapest tickets.
I’ve actually traveled more frequently this year than I ever have. In total I have gone to Europe and back 3 times this year and will be going for a 4th in December to celebrate Christmas with my family. In total these 4 trip ticket total price was 1,400USD (A price many pay to fly to Europe just once). You often might have heard that getting an airline credit card to gain points when you fly is the way to do it. Unless you are in the professional world flying frequently to the same places, the credit card probably won’t save you any money in the long run. Let’s break this down. Say I want to travel 4 times a year to Europe on Delta. Since this is one of the top airlines worldwide, their prices are generally more expensive. Also, if I book with Delta every time, I’m limited to the prices they offer. That’s not to say Delta is always expensive, I have flown a few times with them going abroad. If you’re really trying to catch a deal you need to be willing to fly any airline, and be a little flexible on your dates. Coming from Missouri, what I fly out changes from American, United, or Delta. Then once I get to the bigger airports what I fly changes every time; this trip is actually my first time flying TAP internationally. So far so good.
When monitoring these flight prices you need to be prepared to act fast once the price drops. Usually the good price is gone within 48 hours, and then it will go up a ridiculous amount. As for finding these prices, I usually just check Google flights and other websites. If you’re interested in more information about how to get abroad inexpensively, subscribe to the blog and I will be releasing more content about tips and tricks for flying and traveling. And as always if you need help traveling or planning a trip email me!
‘til the next trip, cheers!
leez
