How I Flew to Italy for 1¢ …
… and 127 other amazing bargains, nifty shortcuts, surprising facts, and cunning tricks I’ve discovered in 24 years of traveling the world dirt cheap.
Dear International Living Reader,
I’ll never forget the look on the fellow’s face sitting next to me when he discovered he had paid $725 more than me for the same ticket. I’m afraid it ruined the poor guy’s flight.
No, that wasn’t on my one-cent flight to Italy … I’ll tell you about that in a minute … but it was a typical airborne conversation I’ve had dozens of times.
I’m a roving international property scout. When you travel as much as I do (17 countries this past year alone) you’d have to be brain-dead not to pick up a few tips on how to do it better … saving a lot of money, time, and aggravation.
Let’s start with money …
Call me a travel nerd if you want … (my wife says I’m a little too obsessed with getting the best deal) but it’s always bugged me that on any given flight some people are paying two, three, and four times more than others. I was on a flight not long ago where seat prices ranged from $719 to $3,218—in the same section of the plane!
I can’t think of another business where you can save so much money with so little . A ticket price can change seven times a day—snagging it on a dip rather than peak is the easiest money you’ll ever make.
I could go on and on about the tricks of the trade and the bargains I’ve snagged in my 24 years of hard-core travel—and that’s just what I do in a new 75-page report just released by my friends at International Living.
I call it simply How To Get The Best Deal Every Time You Travel. And that’s exactly what you get. You’ll see how to get astounding prices on plane tickets, rental cars and hotels, charters, tours, and other ways to travel most people don’t even think about.
It’s not War and Peace but I guarantee it won’t put you to sleep … and it will pay for itself 10 times over every time you travel.
Why I Wrote this Traveler’s Self-Help Guide Now
If all you had to do was go on Travelocity and click on the lowest price that popped up, there would be no need for my new report.
A year or two ago, Travelocity.com outperformed just about everyone in the game. Today, it’s not even in the running. (In fact for international flights Travelocity now gives consistently higher fares and a poor selection of flights.) I recently checked a flight from Ecuador to Argentina and the best Travelocity could do was a fare of $3,218 on American Airlines, while LAN Chile’s website offered the trip for just $719.
The travel business is changing constantly. Many of the little tricks I used just two years ago don’t work anymore. In fact, some of my formerly most reliable strategies now get me higher prices rather than lower.
So if you want to know what’s working now, all you need is my quick-reading special report. It’s got every tip, hint, trick, and time-saver that I know are working for me right now.
Here are just a few of the highlights you won’t want to miss:
• The single most important money-saver for any trip. I recently knocked $2,100 off a flight to Madrid this way. (You’ll find this little gem on page 12 of my report.)
• How to save hundreds on your next trip by going to your local library. Hint: look for a British newspaper (see page 5).
• Still using a travel agent? That’s fine, but make sure you ask these nine simple questions for a much better deal. (Page 7.)
• How you can sometimes get those lower “flexible date” fares without having to change your travel dates. (Page 13.)
• Have two hours to spare and wouldn’t mind pocketing an easy $400? Try these tips to getting voluntarily bumped on an oversold flight. (Page 62.)
• The only one of the eight big travel websites that gives you complete flexibility with your travel dates. (Page 14.)
• Shortcuts to finding the best fare when you’re dealing directly with the airlines. (Page 27.)
• A neat trick to use when flying to South Florida that can save you hundreds of dollars. (Page 16.)
• Why you should always check with the airline’s vacation branch before you book. (See page 6.)
• The critical difference between a web-based travel service and a travel search engine. (Page 11.)
• Want to know how good (or lousy) a seat is before you choose it? This one-of-a-kind website tells you the pros and cons of every seat on every plane in the sky (see page 32).
• How to drag out your stopover to spend a day or two in a city you love without paying for another flight. (Page 60.)
• The last place you want to be when your flight has just been canceled (and where to go immediately instead). You’ll find this on page 63.
• The only travel site that pits all other travel sites head-to-head to get you the lowest fare (page 18).
• Five not-so-obvious ways to get more out of your frequent flyer program (including how your dog and cat can earn you miles!) … and why I book my frequent flier tickets eight months in advance. (Page 46.)
• The world’s best credit card for travelers. If you buy your ticket with this card you get to use airport VIP lounges free. Plus it gives you travel insurance on all your trips for just $9 a month. (See page 51.)
• The travel site that offers a great weekend trip planner. You pick a month and it automatically shows you all the best weekend fares. (Page 14.)
• A handy travel search engine that checks 21 hotel websites at the same time for the best prices. (Page 54.)
I’ve crammed this report with every little trick of the trade I’ve discovered in years of constant travel. Even if you’ve traveled as much as I have, I bet you’ll find a few ideas in this next section that you’ve never tried before …
Advanced Techniques for Black Belt Travelers
Here’s where I reveal 11 street-smart tips for true road warriors. But anyone can use these ingenious money- and time-savers again and again. Here are the sort of moves I’m talking about:
Same flight, different flight number—Different airlines often team up to sell the same flight. The seats are the same but the fares can be night and day. I recently saw a difference of over $400 between Delta and Air France on a flight to Paris, for an economy seat in the same aircraft. There’s only one way to be sure you don’t get snared in this trap, and you’ll see it in How to Get the Best Deal Every Time You Travel.
Break it down—Last year I saved over $300 by booking separate flights on a trip from Miami to Nassau and then on to Los Angeles rather than buying a single ticket ... and both prices were from the same airline. On a trip to Phoenix, I saved almost $400 by taking American Airlines to Los Angeles and then Southwest Airlines to Phoenix, rather than flying American directly to Phoenix.
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The Most Fascinating New Travel Site I’ve Found This Year Nothing is more irritating than buying a ticket, only to have the price drop the next week. This revolutionary free service not only finds low fares but tells you whether they are heading up or down in the future. Developed by a University of Washington computer science professor, its sophisticated algorithms mine enormous data sets of 175 billion airfares to predict future trends. And it’s 85% accurate. |
Try your own “bait and switch”—If you land a bargain fare only to find yourself wishing that you had a more convenient return flight, here’s how to change to a better flight at the overseas end of the trip. I’ve done this even when the flight was “sold out” at my rate in the U.S.
Double round trips—Another angle I’ve used many times is to book one round-trip ticket to the airline’s hub city, and another round-trip to my final destination. For no logical reason, this comes out cheaper and I can usually check my baggage all the way through even though I bought separate itineraries.
Foreign exchange profit—Split ticketing, or paying for the return leg of a foreign trip in that country’s currency, can save you big. It’s a snap to do and works especially well if you’re flying first class or business class. For example, a round-trip business class ticket from New York to London would cost you almost $6,000. But if you buy the one-way flight for $3,000 and the return for £1,190 (equal to $2,332), you’ll be saving $668.
Getting the Most Value When Dealing With Airlines Directly
Here I show you how to zip through the websites of 11 major U.S. and international carriers and zoom in on the best spots and features.
Of all the airline sites, Delta’s has the most comprehensive set of search parameters I’ve seen.
American Airlines has a couple of great features that can save you money. Its “trip within a window” feature lets you specify a range of 31 days to place your trip. If you want to take a one-week trip in November, it will list all the available fares during the month.
Using Air France’s flexible date system I reduced a fare of $1,058 to $466. I’ll also show you how to get the most value from the websites of Continental, Copa, Delta, Iberia, LAN, Mexicana, Southwest, United, and U.S. Airways.
One of these sites gives you different prices depending on which country you say you’re in when you enter the site. I switched countries from Chile to the U.S., and got a $57 discount on a flight from Ecuador to Uruguay. Not the kind of money that’s going to change your life but not a bad payoff for clicking your mouse once or twice. (As far as I can tell, they don’t check your Internet address to see where you really are—and if they do, they don’t stop you from buying the better deal).
When a “Bucket Shop” Is Your Best Bet
Sometimes you can do better by not using the Expedias and Travelocitys of the world.
You can score deep discounts on every airfare you buy—more than 50% at times—by dealing with charters, tour operators, bucket shops, and other consolidators. It is just as easy to deal with these agents as with your neighborhood travel agent or online service.
When you can’t get a good price on a flight these alternatives can really shine. Consolidators buy large quantities of tickets before the flight, for a fixed price. They are not bound by advance fare rules and restrictions, so if they want to slash prices, they can. A consolidator could still be selling cheap seats even when they’re no longer available from the airlines themselves.
In How To Get The Best Deal Every Time You Travel, I’ll show you six consolidators that offer great online service.
Don’t Dismiss Charters
Charter operators arrange flights and hotels on heavily traveled routes. Because they move such large numbers of travelers, they get huge discounts.
Charters and tours look especially good when you’re booking the whole package. You want to book a vacation package to a specific and popular place, this may be the best deal you can find. On page 36 you’ll see my five favorite air charter and tour providers.
Cheap Tickets for Seniors, Students, and Kids
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While these discounts have pretty much gone the way of the dodo bird in the U.S., it’s a different matter overseas. Many foreign air carriers still offer senior discounts, and I’ve seen them go as high as 50% off the best price you’d get otherwise.
I’ve found one airline that not only offers seniors half-price tickets, but also gives discounts to handicapped people and Native Americans! (You’ll find this generous carrier on page 38 of How To Get The Best Deal Every Time You Travel.)
Did you know that travelers up to age 25 can apply for youth discounts, whether they are students are not? You’ll get my five favorite online resources in How To Get The Best Deal for digging up deep discounts for younger travelers.
I’ll also show you a neat little trick if you ever travel with a child under 12. The youngster’s ticket can be 25% to 50% off if you’re paying full fare.
Traveling with a Pass
The most convenient way to travel extensively in a specific country or region is with a travel pass. Plus it can cost half as much as you’d pay if you bought each fare individually. For example, you can get three weeks of unlimited travel through India for just $895.
I run down all the major travel passes now available … the best pass to visit all of Europe … the best for the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) … the best for New Zealand and Australia … India … the Pacific Islands … everywhere and anywhere you might want to go.
You’ll also see when to consider an around-the-world ticket. It might not see logical, but an around-the-world airfare is often cheaper than a round-trip. You’ll find three respected operators specializing in such tickets in How To Get The Best Deal.
Car Rental Tips
One thing I’ve learned after spending more hours than I care to recall waiting at the car-rental counters around the world is this: Don’t believe online car-rental prices.
There’s a little-known marketing practice among rental car companies that causes the cheapest online search result to appear the most expensive … and can cause the most expensive search result to end up costing the least! On page 55, I’ll show you how to avoid this unethical trap.
Also, always re-check your rental booking before departure if you haven’t prepaid. I recently saved over $100 on a 10-day car rental by rechecking the price and finding it lower than when I’d reserved it. I simply booked the new one and canceled the old.
If this Report Doesn’t Save You Big Bucks, It’s Free
I close out my “traveler’s Bible” with a look at all the pros and cons and little quirks of Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and Priceline that you probably would never discover on your own. One I especially like will give you a $50 travel coupon if you can beat their price.
Finally, you get a handy list of 800-numbers and website addresses for 13 of the biggest U.S. domestic carriers and 43 major international carriers. These cover 99% of the flights you’ll ever take.
My publisher is selling How To Get The Best Deal Every Time You Travel for $19.95. In my humble opinion, that’s less than the value of any one of the 127 tips you’ll find in its pages. But my opinion is irrelevant, because if you don’t like it, they’ll rush you back your 20 bucks.
Bottom line: If you get on a plane, rent a car, or spend a night in a hotel anytime in the next 12 months, you should arm yourself first with How To Get The Best Deal Every Time You Travel.
Finally, about that one-cent fare to Italy. Yes, it’s for real … (and yes, there is a small catch) … and I tell all about it on page 9 of How To Get The Best Deal Every Time You Travel.
Why not order your guaranteed copy today?
Yours in smarter—and cheaper—travel,
Lee Harrison
Author
How To Get The Best Deal Every Time You Travel