Bargain Hunt for Airfares!

When it comes to travel, there is nothing better than looking forward to that holiday away. What can make your holiday even better, is knowing that you’ve got that holiday for a bargain.

Hello, my name is Malcolme Rogers, and I just love going on a trip away that hasn’t cost as much as it could have, if I hadn’t done my homework. Max has asked me to pass on some of my tips for hunting out the best travel bargains. My first bargain hunt is for airfares.

When I've decided on my destination, the first thing I’ll do is to go straight to the online travel agents and also the airlines that fly to the place that I intend to holiday in. (It doesn’t matter how far away my departure date, is although most airlines will only accept bookings 12 months in advance.) Once I have an idea on the average price, I decide on a price acceptable to me, that is lower than the advertised prices, and then I wait. Every time I log onto the computer, the first place I go is to the airlines that I wish to travel with, and see if there are any specials going for my destination. This only takes a few minutes of your time but can save you lots of travel dollars.

Here’s an example for you. Our family is travelling to Canada and the US in January 2014. We’re travelling Sydney to Vancouver, then Vancouver to Los Angeles, and finally Los Angeles to Sydney. The cheapest price that I found when I first looked, was $2,800 per person. As I was booking for 4 adults, that came to a total cost of $11,200 for airfares alone. I decided that I would wait and keep an eye out to see if the airfares come down to about $2,300 each which would give me a total savings of $2,000.

Over a period of time, the prices went down then back up. If you start looking a few months out from your trip, it gives you time to sit and wait and find the best deals. On the day I actually booked the airfares, I’d found a great price of $2,074 (including all taxes and charges) per person. That is a savings of $726.00 per person which equates to a savings of $2,900 for the airfares alone. Just to let you know - these airfares are with Qantas and their partner airlines. I never go for the first price I see, as over time prices usually go down - as you can see from our personal example.

My next blog will be on how I save money on another big ticket item when traveling - accommodation. You don’t have to stay at cheap and nasty hotels to save money on accommodation, you just have to know how and when to book! I’ll also be putting up reviews on airlines that I‘ve flown with, as well as hotels that I’ve stayed in.

Remember - don’t take the price in front of you - spend a few minutes of time, and save thousands of dollars!

* written by guest writer Malcolme Rogers, who spends a lot of time under the ground as a mining technician, but also enjoys flying in the sky to his favourite holiday destinations