how to travel cheap

[daisychain 0]

Hi! I'd just like to share with you all a trick I've learned when I worked for an online travel agency for six months. It actually came in handy when my sister-in-law went to the Philippines and she suddenly decided to extend her stay for another day. The cheapest oneway ticket we could find from Manila to the US (it was peak season.. just after the summer months) was $1,200. But using the trick I've learned, we were able to lower the price of her ticket to $700. (The reason why last minute tickets are so expensive is because (from what I know) when a flight is made available, prices usually start at rock bottom so there is only a specific number of seats for a certain price. Once those seats get filled up, it moves on to the next price and so on and so forth. Of course, gas price is a major factor too. Plus the fact that it was peak season. Moreover, one way tickets tend to be comparatively more expensive than roundtrip tickets. Anyway...)

First, look for oneway tickets and take note of the stopovers. Then instead of searching for one way tickets, try searching for multiple destination tickets. Ie. instead of Manila to LA try Manila to Japan to LA (make sure that there is at least a 3-hour allowance between your arrival time and your departure time from your second destination). Of course, it comes out as two separate tickets.

I remember booking a customer from the US to another asian country. It was a last minute roundtrip ticket purchase and prices were unforgiving. He wanted to have a lengthy stopover in a particular Asian country before proceeding to his final stop cause he had some business to attend to there. He actually had that option with a roundtrip ticket and it was around $3,000. Using that multiple destination trick I've learned, we were able to lower it to $1,000. One thing I wasn't sure about was the luggage - if he'd have to get his luggage and go through security all over again since it's a multiple-destination ticket. But according to my sister in law, her luggage was automatically transferred.

So there. =) I know how insanely high gas prices are these days so hope some of you would find this information useful! =)

Of course, it doesn't always work but sometimes it does. =)