When I first started traveling (and was very broke) I would spend hours, sometimes even days, searching websites for the best deals on tickets. Over time I learned a few tricks. I talked to other travelers and travel professionals about how they found cheap flights. After a while I came up with a formula for finding the good prices on plane tickets — especially after accounting for taxes. Now I spend on average 2-4 hours searching for a ticket, but I pretty much always a deal that’s significantly cheaper that’s what most people pay. Not long ago I booked a ticket from San Francisco to Taipei for $516 during at time of year when the vast majority of websites produced tickets that cost from $700 – $1000 or more. That’s about 25 – 50% cheaper than an average ticket–and that’s a pretty good example of the price that I usually pay compared to the norm. These are seven simple things that you can do to keep your flight costs as low as possible without wasting too much time searching for tickets.

1) Fly Tuesday – Thursday

Ticket prices are set according to demand, so the cheapest tickets can be found on the days with the least demand. Most people, especially business people, fly on Mondays and Fridays, so those days tend to be the most expensive, while midweek flights are usually cheaper. I’ve had the best luck flying on Wednesdays (and occasionally Sundays), but it’s always good to check flights on several different days before purchasing a ticket.

2) Be Flexible About Flight Dates

If your flight dates are flexible, you may be able to find a much better price checking prices in a range of around three or four weeks. The prices of flights can vary dramatically from one week to the next. Waiting an extra seven days has saved me hundreds of dollars on a single flight before.

3) Be Flexible About Airports

If you are in or near a large center, check schedules that leave from all of the nearby airports. Small budget airlines often don’t fly to major airports, but to nearby secondary ones. Those budget airlines are often much cheaper than the bigger ones.

4) Check Prices Early on Wednesday Mornings

This tip is not my own, but I believe its effective. According to Nora Dunn, a certified budget travel expert, airline companies usually set prices on Tuesdays around midnight, and that they sometimes post special temporary seat sales at this time.

5) Check Local Budget Airlines

Most regions of the world are served by budget airlines that don’t show up in big search engines. Which budget is a search engine that will tell you which budget airlines fly the route that you are looking for. Check those airlines websites for normal and special fares. They often have amazing deals. I have flown from Taipei to Manila round-trip for less than $50 on a local budget carrier before (mind you, the flight landed at Clark International Airport near Angeles City, rather than Manila International Airport, as I mentioned in tip #3).

6)  Check All Possible Booking Options

Different flight booking websites usually charge different prices for the same flight. To save time, I use price meta-search engines, like Booking Wiz and Fare Compare, that compare several booking websites at the same time.  After I have found a few flights that look promising, I check the airlines’ websites to see if they offer a better price for the flight or have any special deals. Sometimes the airline website is cheaper. Sometimes the booking engine is. Airlines also have different websites to serve different countries. If you’ve found a flight that you’re interested in buying directly through the airline’s website, try logging into a the same airline’s website for a different country (Canada, or the UK for example). Sometimes in the rounding up or down or prices and the exchange of currency you’ll find an even better deal.

7) Track the Flight’s Price

Yapta is a flight search engine that allows you to track changes in ticket prices over time. Just search for your desired route, then find the tickets you’re interested, and click on “Track Price Drops”. You will have to enter your name and email address. After that, Yapta will send you an email every time the price of one of your selected tickets changes. That way, if the airline drops the price for some reason (it happens regularly) you can snap up the ticket right away. Alternatively, if you have already purchased your ticket you can still track the price and request the airline to refund you the difference if one day you see the price drop below what you paid.

When I first started traveling (and was very broke) I would spend hours, sometimes even days, searching websites for the best deals on tickets. Over time I learned a few tricks. I talked to other travelers and travel professionals about how they found cheap flights. After a while I came up with a formula for finding the good prices on plane tickets. Now I spend on average 2-4 hours searching for a ticket, but I pretty much always a deal that’s significantly cheaper that’s what most people pay. Not long ago I booked a ticket from San Francisco to Taipei for $516 during at time of year when the vast majority of websites produced tickets that cost from $700 – $1000 or more. That’s about 25 – 50% cheaper than an average ticket–and that’s a pretty good example of the price that I usually pay compared to the norm. These are seven simple things that you can do to keep your flight costs as low as possible without wasting too much time searching for tickets.

1) Fly Tuesday – Thursday

Ticket prices are set according to demand, so the cheapest tickets can be found on the days with the least demand. Most people, especially business people, fly on Mondays and Fridays, so those days tend to be the most expensive, while midweek flights are usually cheaper. I’ve had the best luck flying on Wednesdays (and occasionally Sundays), but it’s always good to check flights on several different days before purchasing a ticket.

2) Be Flexible About Flight Dates

If your flight dates are flexible, you may be able to find a much better price checking prices in a range of around three or four weeks. The prices of flights can vary dramatically from one week to the next. Waiting an extra seven days has saved me hundreds of dollars on a single flight before.

3) Be Flexible About Airports

If you are in or near a large center, check schedules that leave from all of the nearby airports. Small budget airlines often don’t fly to major airports, but to nearby secondary ones. Those budget airlines are often much cheaper than the bigger ones.

4) Check Prices Early on Wednesday Mornings

This tip is not my own, but I believe its effective. According to Nora Dunn, a certified budget travel expert, airline companies usually set prices on Tuesdays around midnight, and that they sometimes post special temporary seat sales at this time.

5) Check Local Budget Airlines

Most regions of the world are served by budget airlines that don’t show up in big search engines. Which budget is a search engine that will tell you which budget airlines fly the route that you are looking for. Check those airlines websites for normal and special fares. They often have amazing deals. I have flown from Taipei to Manila round-trip for less than $50 on a local budget carrier before (mind you, the flight landed at Clark International Airport near Angeles City, rather than Manila International Airport, as I mentioned in tip #3).

6)  Check All Possible Booking Options

Different flight booking websites usually charge different prices for the same flight. To save time, I use price meta-search engines, like Booking Wiz and Fare Compare, that compare several booking websites at the same time.  After I have found a few flights that look promising, I check the airlines’ websites to see if they offer a better price for the flight or have any special deals. Sometimes the airline website is cheaper. Sometimes the booking engine is. Airlines also have different websites to serve different countries. If you’ve found a flight that you’re interested in buying directly through the airline’s website, try logging into a the same airline’s website for a different country (Canada, or the UK for example). Sometimes in the rounding up or down or prices and the exchange of currency you’ll find an even better deal.

8) Try Different Locations

Airlines and booking engines often charge different prices in different locations. So, using a VPN to check prices from different countries can help you find lower prices. Buying flights in certain countries can also help you save on taxes added to the ticket.

Conclusion

I’m not the most talented travel hacker out there, but I don’t aspire to be. I don’t care to spend more than a few hours finding cheap airfare. After that I prefer to spend my time doing fun things, rather than trying to whittle an extra $30 off my ticket.  If you’re like me, then this guide should be all you need to save a bit of money without wasting too much of your valuable time.

The post How to Find Cheaper Airline Tickets appeared first on XpatMatt.

Pretty much everyone has a credit card. Most people know that they can collect air miles using their credit card, but don’t really pay much attention to it except when they are checking to see if they can afford a free flight. A few people are air miles experts, constantly checking out new cards and special deals to make sure that they get the most possible miles for their money.

I’m not big on spending my days hunting for the super air miles deals. I have better things to do. However, there are a few things that I (and you can) do to significantly increase air miles earnings. Mostly they revolve around choosing a credit card that will give you the most awards and then using it well.

Different credit cards have different rewards systems. Some of them offer ‘points’ rather than ‘miles’. For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to refer to them all as miles.

When first shopping for a credit card most of us will look for the cards with the lowest annual fees or the lowest interest rates.  These things may save you money if you’re only goal is to keep your credit card costs as low as possible but, if you’re goal is to collect as many miles as possible, you need to look at a different set of criteria when choosing a credit card.

There is no single best card for collecting miles because different offers suit different lifestyles and buying habits. Read on to learn how to choose and use the card that will get you the most miles for your money.

Check the Sign Up Bonus

Most credit cards will offer a large one-time sign up bonus. These bonuses are often around 25,000 to 30,000 miles. Some cards that are associated with specific airlines and hotels have even offered up to 100,000 miles just for signing up.

Credit cards will occasionally run special sign-up bonuses that are even bigger, so make sure that you look at all the options when you are choosing a card. Some cards might offer significantly larger bonuses than others.

Watch the Fees

Credit card fees vary. Annual fees usually range from around $50 – $100. I don’t concern myself too much with these fees because they are only paid once a year. Overseas transactions and currency exchange fees differ greatly from card to card. If your card charges a lot for these services and you are using it frequently overseas these charges can add up.

I think its worth it to pay a bit extra on the annual fee for a card that will accrue a lot of miles but, if you’re spending a lot of time overseas, you should watch your currency and transaction charges. Its important to make sure your card is suited to your travel style.

 Check Out The Affiliated Shops

A few credit cards will only give you miles at specific stores or shops. These tend to be brand-affiliated cards. I don’t like these cards because I’m not on-the-ball enough to remember to use the right cards at the right shops.

I prefer a card that will give me miles no matter where I use it. Most cards have online stores and affiliate partners who will give you extra rewards for shopping with them. Find out what stores are affiliated with the card that you are considering. Look for a card that is affiliated with brands and stores you already shop at. This makes you more likely to receive bonus miles without changing your shopping habits at all.

Special Cards for Small Business Owners

Some small business credit cards have their own airmails programs that will enable you to collect miles while buying business-related products. This is a fantastic way to rack up charges and miles and is definitely something small business owners should look into.

Get the Newsletter

Credit cards are constantly offering extra miles for buying certain products or shopping at certain affiliate stores. These deals are usually listed in the credit card’s email newsletter. Sign up for it and read it religiously. Last month my card was offering ten times the normal points for items purchased from Ebay and Apple. I picked up a coupled of camera lenses that I’d had my eye on from Ebay. If I’d been in the market for a new laptop I would have earned about half of a domestic flight with just one purchase!

Keep Track of Your Earnings

As with any project you undertake, it’s always smart to keep track of your progress so that you can see when you are doing things right and recognize when you re falling short of your goals.  Collecting air miles is no different. Fortunately, the Internet has seen fit to offer a tool for making this complicated task easer. It’s called Award Wallet. Award Wallet is a website that enables you to keep track of multiple rewards programs all in one place.

Keep Learning

If you are interested in learning how to really squeeze the most out of air miles reward systems, visit http://frequentflier.com/ and http://www.smartertravel.com/frequent-flyer/ to find the news about deals and bonuses.

Lead image by LotusHead

The post Maximize Your Frequent-Flier Miles With a Good Credit Card appeared first on XpatMatt.