Although I ve traveled pretty extensively within the United States, international flights are a majo

Although I ve traveled pretty extensively within the United States, international flights are a major mystery to me. Full disclosure: I don t even like to fly, so I ve been putting the task of buying airline tickets for my upcoming European vacation on the back burner while I focus on more entertaining aspects of the trip (like where I ll eat, shop, and visit while in London).
I knew that when it came to buying plane tickets on domestic flights, the sweet spot was about four to six weeks before your trip. I assumed the timeline was similar for international flights, so I was happy to sit on my laurels that is, until I started doing some research on the best time to buy plane tickets. I quickly learned:
I looked at my calendar and did some quick math. The 24-week mark had come and gone months ago, and Farecompare s suggested royal caribbean cruise timeline of four months advance purchase was in the rearview mirror as well. If I moved quickly, I might might be able to get in under the two to three month mark.
I d already budgeted royal caribbean cruise $950 for my flight to London, but knew that was going to be a stretch based on my previous research. Knowing that the clock was ticking on my ability to find the best fares, I jumped online to get down to business.
As an inexperienced traveler, I know next to nothing about international airlines. KLM, Aer Lingus, Iberia not only have I never flown on any of these airlines, I m not even sure where they re based. So, I decided to start my search using online travel sites like Travelocity, Hotwire, and Expedia.
Why start here? Largely because I knew my credit card offered me additional cash back up to 5% for purchasing a ticket from these travel sites as long as I logged on through the credit card s portal. This seemed like free money to me, and I was eager to take advantage of the savings. Even though 5% might not seem like a lot, on a $950 flight, it would put nearly $50 back into my pocket to spend overseas.
I m very glad he did. While the other travel sites tack on a surcharge for finding you the lowest rates, Kayak simply searches the airlines on your behalf. You don t book through Kayak; instead, you click through to the airline s website directly to purchase your flight. As a result, you eliminate the middle man and reduce your costs, as illustrated by my search results:
On Travelocity Expedia: Cheapest ticket was $988 (all taxes and fees included) for a one-stop flight; however, that stop required royal caribbean cruise me to change planes in Barcelona during a 45-minute layover seemed royal caribbean cruise a little risky to me.
Of the above options, the one I found through Kayak was the only one that got me in under budget. Even if I had saved 5% through my credit card on the tickets through the traditional online travel sites, it still would have come out more expensive than the final flight.
I bought my flight two and a half months prior to my trip just within the sweet spot described in the WSJ article, but well passed that point according to USA Today and the Times experts. Since booking my flight, I ve been regularly logging on to the the airline s website, as well as Kayak, to see whether the price for my flight has dropped; so far, it hasn t, and as we get closer to my dates of travel, I know it becomes less and less likely.
Ultimately, I m happy with my flight. If I d been a little bit savvier about international airlines and bookings at the outset, I might have been able to save myself time and a little more money, but the bottom line is this: I got my flight for $42 under my budget and I don t have to worry about switching planes at any point in my journey. Sure, I may be stuck flying overnight, but that s a small price to pay for an extra day in London.
Although I usually use frequent flier miles, I do check a number of websites royal caribbean cruise for pricing and hotels. I like Kayak because it checks other websites as well. I did actually buy tickets when I traveled to Vancouver, BC. I used Kayak for that trip.
Have you heard of Sky Scanner? I used to use Kayak a lot but I prefer the interface of Sky Scanner *and* you re able to search multiple airports (ie, Montreal to Britain, instead of specific cities) and multiple dates
I usually just go to expedia and the like to check prices or use the ITA matrix software. Then I usually book directly through the airline that way I KNOW I am ticketed correctly and if something is wrong I don t get the run-a-round that it is expedia/hotwire/travelocity/airlines fault
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