December 18, 2024 • 15 mins
Flight prices soaring? You’re not alone! In this episode of All Things Travel, Ryan and Julie break down why airline prices are higher than ever and share practical tips to help you find the best value for your travel plans. Whether you’re flying domestically or internationally, these hacks will help you navigate the skies without breaking the bank.
Key Topics Covered:
✈️ Why Are Flights So Expensive?
- Taxes, fees, and surcharges that inflate ticket prices
- The impact of supply and demand on airfare
- How airline staffing and fleet shortages affect costs
💡 Top Tips for Saving on Flights:
- The importance of flexibility with dates and airports
- How to use Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Southwest’s Low Fare Calendar
- Leveraging points and miles to offset costs
- Avoiding hidden fees with budget airlines
📍 Flight Hacks to Maximize Value:
- Why nonstop flights can save more than time
- Setting price alerts and knowing when to book
- Real-life strategies Ryan and Julie use for their own travels
Whether you’re planning a family getaway or a solo adventure, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you take off for less.
Call to Action:
Need help planning your next trip? Let Ryan and Julie craft a stress-free itinerary that fits your budget and travel style. Contact us today to start your journey!
#AirfareTips #TravelHacks #BudgetTravel #AllThingsTravelPodcast #CheapFlights #TravelSavings
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to All Things Travel.
Travel may be on your wish list,but the pricing of it may not be
meeting your wishes.
Flights specifically have beenbusting a lot of my clients
budgets this year, so todaywe're going to dive into what is
going on with flights.
Listen in with travel advisorsand destination experts Ryan and
Julie.
He is your travel professorteaching you everything you need
(00:22):
to know to have a magicalvacation and I am a Disney
loving Maryland mom of three anda specialist in family travel.
Whether we're discussingincredible destinations, Top
vacation tips or sharingpersonal stories.
It's always all things travel.
All right, Ryan.
(00:42):
So I'm sure you've noticed thisas you've been working with
clients over the past year.
Flight prices really put adamper on travel
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (00:50):
Yes.
In fact, it's getting to thepoint where if somebody wants a
package, I will factor in theflight.
So they know the full cost or Iwill have them check flights
before we even really get intolooking at different options.
Because.
in some cases, it's doubling thecost of the vacation.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (01:12):
I was working on a trip recently for a
client to the Dominican, Ibelieve, or maybe Cancun, but
the flights were double theprice of the all inclusive
resort.
in that situation, we're havingto factor in flights so much
more than we used to that isalmost deciding our destination
at this point.
a lot of clients are asking me,why are the prices so high?
(01:34):
what can I do to get to a lowercost?
Here comes this episode wherewe're going to tell you all
those things,
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (01:38):
Yeah.
So the first part of theepisode, we're going to talk
about the why and then thesecond part we're going to give
tips on booking the best,flights possible.
And that's not always thecheapest, but there's definitely
some things that go into thecost of flights and how to think
about that.
But first, I want to remindeverybody, if you did not listen
to last week's episode, we gaveyou three great options for
(02:02):
cruising as an adult couple oradults group.
Also, make sure to check out ournew website,
allthingstravelpodcast.
com.
Julie and I have been workinghard to put up some fun
freebies, provide moreinformation about the podcast,
and really have a landing placefor you to have all things
travel fun.
(02:22):
Information.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (02:22):
so let's kind of start with why your
flight price is so high becausethere's been a lot going on the
past couple years That havecontributed to this I hear all
the time that Last time I flew,it was nothing like this.
sometimes it helps to have anunderstanding.
I know it doesn't change theprice, but it helps to
understand.
one of the biggest contributorsto increased flight prices right
now are airline taxes and fees.
(02:45):
And the taxes and fees, canreally add a lot to the base
fare of your flight.
They can vary a lot depending onwhether it's a domestic flight
or an international flight.
So this is just two really quickexamples that I will give.
So if you're looking at a oneway nonstop flight from New York
to San Francisco with DeltaAirlines, a main cabin ticket
(03:09):
costs 378 per person.
But the base fare of that ticketis only 337.
So when you're on that mainwebsite you're like, Oh, 337,
not terrible.
But page.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (03:23):
of pages, really where it can
change that.
Can it.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (03:27):
when you break down all these fees,
there's a transportation tax, apassenger facility charge,
Essentially, you're paying 40 intaxes and fees on that ticket,
which is about 12%.
But, compare
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (03:40):
this to an international journey,
because this is also taking abig hit on my client's trips, A
round trip ticket from JFK toLondon on Delta, the main cabin
is 852.
The base fare is 338.
Wow.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (03:57):
is 487 in taxes and fees because of all
these additional things like acustoms user fee, an immigration
user fee, an air passenger dutyfee, I It doubles the cost.
That's a big effect on yourflight price.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_19481 (04:15):
there's a couple other things that
impact the overall cost of aflight that could be carrier
imposed fees.
Usually that has to do with fuelprices, availability of seats.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (04:27):
all those Boeing 737 planes are not
currently in use, which is ahuge drop in the amount of seats
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (04:33):
you're absolutely right.
it's basic supply and demand.
You've got staffing, so there'sbeen changes, there's been
shortages.
We're still, catching up fromCOVID as far as, staffing with
pilots and flight attendantsand, and gate workers and all
those folks.
As there's less staff, asthere's, as the fuel costs are
more, as there is less seats,then the, the price goes up.
(04:58):
So, it, it really isunderstanding what goes into a,
I don't want to wrap thissection up.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (05:05):
What comes into staffing your flight?
I have had clients, and even Imyself have been at a gate
waiting for a flight attendantto show up because maybe they
were coming off of anotherflight that was delayed.
Or maybe the flight attendantthat was supposed to be on your
flight or pilot timed out andthey are waiting for someone to
cover for them.
I feel like I've learned a lotabout schedules of pilots and
(05:29):
flight attendants in the pastcouple of years.
all just comes down to, there'snot as many workers.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (05:34):
in the next part of the episode, we're
going to give you some tips foryes, we know that there's,
there's taxes and fees that gointo, inflating our airline
prices.
So what can we do about it?
But first, Julie, I want to talkabout where in the world is all
things travel.
a new location for us thatpopped up, is Williamsport,
Pennsylvania.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (05:55):
Okay.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (05:56):
So I want to catch a little league
game with our listener andReally get into Americana of
Little League softball andbaseball.
Does that not sound like a funsummer activity?
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (06:07):
that sounds great.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (06:09):
So we are really excited that
Williamsport, Pennsylvania islistening to all things travel
do us a favor listener reach outto us via Facebook our website
email We've got multiple waysbecause I would love to send you
a little thank you gift forbeing featured on the show.
Alright, Julie.
what are some ways that we cantry to save money when it comes
(06:31):
to finding the best value for aflight?
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (06:34):
number one thing to do is to be
flexible with your dates.
And your airports the airlinewebsites and Google flights
really help with checking theflexibility of these things if
you move, you can see more thanone date at a time think about
this, where I live, and I knowit's very similar for you Ryan,
I live with access to probablythree or four different airports
(06:55):
if I really wanted to.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (06:57):
I do too.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (06:58):
being flexible with what airline you
fly out of can really change thecost.
for example, I live close to BWIhub for Southwest.
But Southwest doesn't go toevery destination I want to go
to, which means it would have tobe a connecting flight.
But if I drive to PhiladelphiaAirport, they are a hub for
(07:19):
American Airlines, which goes toa lot more destinations.
especially in the Caribbean.
and even some international witha nonstop flight.
So then I don't have that extraflight cost.
I'm going to list the top 10airports that offer cheaper
flights.
you've got the Fort LauderdaleAirport, FLL, which is an
alternative for Miami flights.
(07:40):
You've got San Jose Airport,which is alternative for San
Francisco.
Sacramento InternationalAirport.
San Antonio International.
Ontario International, which isnot in Canada.
It's an alternative for LAX.
Philadelphia, OrlandoInternational, which just added
on Terminal C, so that's whythat makes this list.
(08:01):
Harry Reid, which is LAS, whichis Vegas.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (08:05):
want to put in an honorable mention
for number 11, which is often myhome airport, Indianapolis
International Airport.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (08:12):
But just being aware of what's around you
and, checking those otherthings.
That's something I have foundmyself doing a lot for clients.
I'm working on a trip right nowthat's going to, Spain and
Italy, and we're pricing okay.
But if you fly at a BWI, it'sthis price.
But if you go up to Philly, youcan get nonstop both ways and
it's a little bit cheaper.
So something to really be awareof.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_19481 (08:32):
another thing that can impact flight
costs, for folks that like touse their miles or points, you
can avoid paying some of thegovernment, taxes when you
redeem those.
for instance, the JFK to SanFrancisco flight that Julie
talked about earlier in theshow, would cost about 20, 500
(08:52):
Delta SkyMiles plus just 5.
60 to cover the September 11thtax.
This cuts the other 34.
83 in taxes out of that, flight.
That's an interesting thing tothink about when you have those
credits and miles, to maximizethose and save some money.
j_1_11-24-2024_1948 (09:12):
Definitely.
so I mentioned Google Flightsearlier, and there's a couple
points here that I want todefinitely talk about If you
don't know what it is, GoogleFlights is a way to price out
flights from multiple airlinesat one time.
It's pretty reliable, and Iactually use it pretty
frequently.
But there's a couple of keyfeatures that they have.
to help you find the bestflights at the best cost one of
(09:35):
the first things you can do isif you don't know where exactly
you want to go But like, youknow, you want to go to
caribbean island You can enteryour airport that you're
departing from Or if you don'tknow exactly which one of that
you could even just type inbaltimore for myself And then
it's going to give me multipleoptions nearby baltimore then
you just click on the anywherefeature and it's going to give
(09:56):
you flight costs from yourdesired departure port All over
the place and you can pick fromthere where you want to go based
on the price of your flight
ryan_2_11-24-2024_19481 (10:05):
another thing that I like about Google
flights is the date grid andprice graph and some of the
other sites like Skyscannerwhere it basically shows you how
prices change as you make slightadjustments to your departure or
return dates.
for instance, if you depart on aThursday instead of a Friday, it
will show you how the pricechanges.
(10:26):
And you can scroll side to sideto see what today's prices look
like for the trip.
It's a really good way toresearch how to maximize that
cost of your flight.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (10:37):
southwest has a similar option you can go
to their low fare calendar Andas long as you're flexible with
the timing of your flight Youcan also pick your days based
off of what has the lowest faregoogle flights also has a couple
insight features they will giveyou with all the data that they
collect what the history of thatroute is so it will be able to
(10:59):
tell you if this is a good timeto buy.
It'll say, hey, prices right noware typically low for this
flight or prices right now arehigh than they typically are for
this flight.
And that will maybe give you anidea of if you should wait or
not wait
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (11:12):
with this site, you can also set
price alerts so you can decidehow much you want to pay, or how
much you're willing to pay andit will alert you when that may
be an option.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (11:23):
The very last thing to mention, and Ryan
alluded to this earlier, thecheapest flight is not always
the best flight for you.
when you think about budgetairlines, like, Spirit, and
Frontier, Their base fare isvery low and it's going to seem
really enticing until you get tothat checkout page Where you
have to add your luggage in andit is like 75 a bag and things
(11:46):
like that So just consider Ifyou're going international
chances are you're going to havemore than one bag to bring so
maybe it's better to pay Thatbetter price up front or that
could be a way that you are alsobudgeting it You're saying i'm
gonna pay the lower amount nowand then i'm gonna pay Basically
like a second payment later,whichever being aware of baggage
(12:07):
fees and the other things thatyou're gonna have to pay is
really important when you'relooking at these flights
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (12:12):
Great suggestions, Julie.
I really like some tips that yougave here today having to do
with flights.
So as we wrap up, what is yourflight hack that you use
personally or with your familyfor finding that sweet spot when
it comes to price and value?
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (12:29):
I literally check my personal
flights every day to see ifthey've changed in price
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (12:35):
I will tell you when Julie and I are
flying to the same meetings, shewill text and be like, I just
saved 12 on Southwest.
Get on and look at your flightsagain.
nine times out of 10, she savesme some money.
So there you
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (12:48):
Yeah, Southwest is one that it's
really easy to change.
we've talked about it beforethat after you book your
Southwest flight, if the pricechanges, you can just modify it
and get that money back as acredit, which the credits no
longer expire.
So you can use them at any time.
if I'm getting 12 back perperson, that's not no money at
all.
That's a pretty good chunk ofchange.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (13:08):
it's always worth taking the two
minutes to go in and check.
Absolutely.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (13:12):
the first thing is always going back and
checking my prices on myflights.
The second thing is that I'malways trying to be flexible
with, does it make more sense tostay an extra day?
Does it make more sense to flyhome to a different airport?
Does it make more sense toswitch my time a little bit?
So I think being flexible is thething that I use the most.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (13:32):
So mine's going to sound a little
counterintuitive.
But for me One of the ways thatI find the best price for the
money and value is I look for anon stop flight whenever I can,
especially when I'm going fromIndianapolis to Orlando, because
that's a pretty common trip forme, because I know it's going to
(13:53):
save me time.
Often, it's usually not.
That much more money if at alland it decreases the variables
of anything happening withlayovers with Changes at the
airport you never know what'sgonna happen and the more that I
can decrease those variables I'mgonna save myself a lot of
(14:13):
stress.
money and time
j_1_11-24-2024_1948 (14:16):
absolutely.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (14:18):
You want to plan a trip to an
amazing destination but youdon't know how to get started?
As your travel advisor, we workwith you to create a customized
itinerary for your vacation andtake the stress of planning away
so you can focus on the fun andcreating memories.
You can reach me at ryan atcreatingmagicvacations.
com
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (14:38):
And you can reach me at Julie at
CreatingMagicVacations.
com or go to our new website,AllThingsTravelPodcast.
com.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (14:47):
We look forward to talking to you
next week on All Things Travelwhen Julie discusses some great
tips and advice for familytravel to Costa Rica.
Hello and welcome to All Things Travel.
Travel may be on your wish list,but the pricing of it may not be
meeting your wishes.
Flights specifically have beenbusting a lot of my clients
budgets this year, so todaywe're going to dive into what is
going on with flights.
Listen in with travel advisorsand destination experts Ryan and
Julie.
He is your travel professorteaching you everything you need
(00:22):
to know to have a magicalvacation and I am a Disney
loving Maryland mom of three anda specialist in family travel.
Whether we're discussingincredible destinations, Top
vacation tips or sharingpersonal stories.
It's always all things travel.
All right, Ryan.
(00:42):
So I'm sure you've noticed thisas you've been working with
clients over the past year.
Flight prices really put adamper on travel
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (00:50):
Yes.
In fact, it's getting to thepoint where if somebody wants a
package, I will factor in theflight.
So they know the full cost or Iwill have them check flights
before we even really get intolooking at different options.
Because.
in some cases, it's doubling thecost of the vacation.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (01:12):
I was working on a trip recently for a
client to the Dominican, Ibelieve, or maybe Cancun, but
the flights were double theprice of the all inclusive
resort.
in that situation, we're havingto factor in flights so much
more than we used to that isalmost deciding our destination
at this point.
a lot of clients are asking me,why are the prices so high?
(01:34):
what can I do to get to a lowercost?
Here comes this episode wherewe're going to tell you all
those things,
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (01:38):
Yeah.
So the first part of theepisode, we're going to talk
about the why and then thesecond part we're going to give
tips on booking the best,flights possible.
And that's not always thecheapest, but there's definitely
some things that go into thecost of flights and how to think
about that.
But first, I want to remindeverybody, if you did not listen
to last week's episode, we gaveyou three great options for
(02:02):
cruising as an adult couple oradults group.
Also, make sure to check out ournew website,
allthingstravelpodcast.
com.
Julie and I have been workinghard to put up some fun
freebies, provide moreinformation about the podcast,
and really have a landing placefor you to have all things
travel fun.
(02:22):
Information.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (02:22):
so let's kind of start with why your
flight price is so high becausethere's been a lot going on the
past couple years That havecontributed to this I hear all
the time that Last time I flew,it was nothing like this.
sometimes it helps to have anunderstanding.
I know it doesn't change theprice, but it helps to
understand.
one of the biggest contributorsto increased flight prices right
now are airline taxes and fees.
(02:45):
And the taxes and fees, canreally add a lot to the base
fare of your flight.
They can vary a lot depending onwhether it's a domestic flight
or an international flight.
So this is just two really quickexamples that I will give.
So if you're looking at a oneway nonstop flight from New York
to San Francisco with DeltaAirlines, a main cabin ticket
(03:09):
costs 378 per person.
But the base fare of that ticketis only 337.
So when you're on that mainwebsite you're like, Oh, 337,
not terrible.
But page.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (03:23):
of pages, really where it can
change that.
Can it.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (03:27):
when you break down all these fees,
there's a transportation tax, apassenger facility charge,
Essentially, you're paying 40 intaxes and fees on that ticket,
which is about 12%.
But, compare
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (03:40):
this to an international journey,
because this is also taking abig hit on my client's trips, A
round trip ticket from JFK toLondon on Delta, the main cabin
is 852.
The base fare is 338.
Wow.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (03:57):
is 487 in taxes and fees because of all
these additional things like acustoms user fee, an immigration
user fee, an air passenger dutyfee, I It doubles the cost.
That's a big effect on yourflight price.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_19481 (04:15):
there's a couple other things that
impact the overall cost of aflight that could be carrier
imposed fees.
Usually that has to do with fuelprices, availability of seats.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (04:27):
all those Boeing 737 planes are not
currently in use, which is ahuge drop in the amount of seats
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (04:33):
you're absolutely right.
it's basic supply and demand.
You've got staffing, so there'sbeen changes, there's been
shortages.
We're still, catching up fromCOVID as far as, staffing with
pilots and flight attendantsand, and gate workers and all
those folks.
As there's less staff, asthere's, as the fuel costs are
more, as there is less seats,then the, the price goes up.
(04:58):
So, it, it really isunderstanding what goes into a,
I don't want to wrap thissection up.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (05:05):
What comes into staffing your flight?
I have had clients, and even Imyself have been at a gate
waiting for a flight attendantto show up because maybe they
were coming off of anotherflight that was delayed.
Or maybe the flight attendantthat was supposed to be on your
flight or pilot timed out andthey are waiting for someone to
cover for them.
I feel like I've learned a lotabout schedules of pilots and
(05:29):
flight attendants in the pastcouple of years.
all just comes down to, there'snot as many workers.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (05:34):
in the next part of the episode, we're
going to give you some tips foryes, we know that there's,
there's taxes and fees that gointo, inflating our airline
prices.
So what can we do about it?
But first, Julie, I want to talkabout where in the world is all
things travel.
a new location for us thatpopped up, is Williamsport,
Pennsylvania.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (05:55):
Okay.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (05:56):
So I want to catch a little league
game with our listener andReally get into Americana of
Little League softball andbaseball.
Does that not sound like a funsummer activity?
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (06:07):
that sounds great.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (06:09):
So we are really excited that
Williamsport, Pennsylvania islistening to all things travel
do us a favor listener reach outto us via Facebook our website
email We've got multiple waysbecause I would love to send you
a little thank you gift forbeing featured on the show.
Alright, Julie.
what are some ways that we cantry to save money when it comes
(06:31):
to finding the best value for aflight?
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (06:34):
number one thing to do is to be
flexible with your dates.
And your airports the airlinewebsites and Google flights
really help with checking theflexibility of these things if
you move, you can see more thanone date at a time think about
this, where I live, and I knowit's very similar for you Ryan,
I live with access to probablythree or four different airports
(06:55):
if I really wanted to.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (06:57):
I do too.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (06:58):
being flexible with what airline you
fly out of can really change thecost.
for example, I live close to BWIhub for Southwest.
But Southwest doesn't go toevery destination I want to go
to, which means it would have tobe a connecting flight.
But if I drive to PhiladelphiaAirport, they are a hub for
(07:19):
American Airlines, which goes toa lot more destinations.
especially in the Caribbean.
and even some international witha nonstop flight.
So then I don't have that extraflight cost.
I'm going to list the top 10airports that offer cheaper
flights.
you've got the Fort LauderdaleAirport, FLL, which is an
alternative for Miami flights.
(07:40):
You've got San Jose Airport,which is alternative for San
Francisco.
Sacramento InternationalAirport.
San Antonio International.
Ontario International, which isnot in Canada.
It's an alternative for LAX.
Philadelphia, OrlandoInternational, which just added
on Terminal C, so that's whythat makes this list.
(08:01):
Harry Reid, which is LAS, whichis Vegas.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (08:05):
want to put in an honorable mention
for number 11, which is often myhome airport, Indianapolis
International Airport.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (08:12):
But just being aware of what's around you
and, checking those otherthings.
That's something I have foundmyself doing a lot for clients.
I'm working on a trip right nowthat's going to, Spain and
Italy, and we're pricing okay.
But if you fly at a BWI, it'sthis price.
But if you go up to Philly, youcan get nonstop both ways and
it's a little bit cheaper.
So something to really be awareof.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_19481 (08:32):
another thing that can impact flight
costs, for folks that like touse their miles or points, you
can avoid paying some of thegovernment, taxes when you
redeem those.
for instance, the JFK to SanFrancisco flight that Julie
talked about earlier in theshow, would cost about 20, 500
(08:52):
Delta SkyMiles plus just 5.
60 to cover the September 11thtax.
This cuts the other 34.
83 in taxes out of that, flight.
That's an interesting thing tothink about when you have those
credits and miles, to maximizethose and save some money.
j_1_11-24-2024_1948 (09:12):
Definitely.
so I mentioned Google Flightsearlier, and there's a couple
points here that I want todefinitely talk about If you
don't know what it is, GoogleFlights is a way to price out
flights from multiple airlinesat one time.
It's pretty reliable, and Iactually use it pretty
frequently.
But there's a couple of keyfeatures that they have.
to help you find the bestflights at the best cost one of
(09:35):
the first things you can do isif you don't know where exactly
you want to go But like, youknow, you want to go to
caribbean island You can enteryour airport that you're
departing from Or if you don'tknow exactly which one of that
you could even just type inbaltimore for myself And then
it's going to give me multipleoptions nearby baltimore then
you just click on the anywherefeature and it's going to give
(09:56):
you flight costs from yourdesired departure port All over
the place and you can pick fromthere where you want to go based
on the price of your flight
ryan_2_11-24-2024_19481 (10:05):
another thing that I like about Google
flights is the date grid andprice graph and some of the
other sites like Skyscannerwhere it basically shows you how
prices change as you make slightadjustments to your departure or
return dates.
for instance, if you depart on aThursday instead of a Friday, it
will show you how the pricechanges.
(10:26):
And you can scroll side to sideto see what today's prices look
like for the trip.
It's a really good way toresearch how to maximize that
cost of your flight.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (10:37):
southwest has a similar option you can go
to their low fare calendar Andas long as you're flexible with
the timing of your flight Youcan also pick your days based
off of what has the lowest faregoogle flights also has a couple
insight features they will giveyou with all the data that they
collect what the history of thatroute is so it will be able to
(10:59):
tell you if this is a good timeto buy.
It'll say, hey, prices right noware typically low for this
flight or prices right now arehigh than they typically are for
this flight.
And that will maybe give you anidea of if you should wait or
not wait
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (11:12):
with this site, you can also set
price alerts so you can decidehow much you want to pay, or how
much you're willing to pay andit will alert you when that may
be an option.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (11:23):
The very last thing to mention, and Ryan
alluded to this earlier, thecheapest flight is not always
the best flight for you.
when you think about budgetairlines, like, Spirit, and
Frontier, Their base fare isvery low and it's going to seem
really enticing until you get tothat checkout page Where you
have to add your luggage in andit is like 75 a bag and things
(11:46):
like that So just consider Ifyou're going international
chances are you're going to havemore than one bag to bring so
maybe it's better to pay Thatbetter price up front or that
could be a way that you are alsobudgeting it You're saying i'm
gonna pay the lower amount nowand then i'm gonna pay Basically
like a second payment later,whichever being aware of baggage
(12:07):
fees and the other things thatyou're gonna have to pay is
really important when you'relooking at these flights
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (12:12):
Great suggestions, Julie.
I really like some tips that yougave here today having to do
with flights.
So as we wrap up, what is yourflight hack that you use
personally or with your familyfor finding that sweet spot when
it comes to price and value?
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (12:29):
I literally check my personal
flights every day to see ifthey've changed in price
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (12:35):
I will tell you when Julie and I are
flying to the same meetings, shewill text and be like, I just
saved 12 on Southwest.
Get on and look at your flightsagain.
nine times out of 10, she savesme some money.
So there you
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (12:48):
Yeah, Southwest is one that it's
really easy to change.
we've talked about it beforethat after you book your
Southwest flight, if the pricechanges, you can just modify it
and get that money back as acredit, which the credits no
longer expire.
So you can use them at any time.
if I'm getting 12 back perperson, that's not no money at
all.
That's a pretty good chunk ofchange.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (13:08):
it's always worth taking the two
minutes to go in and check.
Absolutely.
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (13:12):
the first thing is always going back and
checking my prices on myflights.
The second thing is that I'malways trying to be flexible
with, does it make more sense tostay an extra day?
Does it make more sense to flyhome to a different airport?
Does it make more sense toswitch my time a little bit?
So I think being flexible is thething that I use the most.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (13:32):
So mine's going to sound a little
counterintuitive.
But for me One of the ways thatI find the best price for the
money and value is I look for anon stop flight whenever I can,
especially when I'm going fromIndianapolis to Orlando, because
that's a pretty common trip forme, because I know it's going to
(13:53):
save me time.
Often, it's usually not.
That much more money if at alland it decreases the variables
of anything happening withlayovers with Changes at the
airport you never know what'sgonna happen and the more that I
can decrease those variables I'mgonna save myself a lot of
(14:13):
stress.
money and time
j_1_11-24-2024_1948 (14:16):
absolutely.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (14:18):
You want to plan a trip to an
amazing destination but youdon't know how to get started?
As your travel advisor, we workwith you to create a customized
itinerary for your vacation andtake the stress of planning away
so you can focus on the fun andcreating memories.
You can reach me at ryan atcreatingmagicvacations.
com
j_1_11-24-2024_194811 (14:38):
And you can reach me at Julie at
CreatingMagicVacations.
com or go to our new website,AllThingsTravelPodcast.
com.
ryan_2_11-24-2024_194810 (14:47):
We look forward to talking to you
next week on All Things Travelwhen Julie discusses some great
tips and advice for familytravel to Costa Rica.
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