Tips to save money for your class flight/hotels.etc.

[Timber]

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/09/18/get-away-with-cheap-fall-travel-deals-savings-experiment/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-sb-nb%7Cdl5%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D207927

The key to airfare savings is knowing when to book. Yes, believe it or not, there is an optimal day of the week to book flights. What is this magic day and time? Tuesday afternoon. The reason is that many airlines launch their sales late on Monday. Then, competing airlines respond by lowering their prices, leaving you with a great deal.

Hotel savings work a bit differently. While it's common practice to book far in advance for the best bargain, the early bird does not catch the worm in this case. According to Travelocity, the longer you wait to book, the cheaper your hotel rates will be. In fact, you can find the best rates one week before your travel dates. It seems counterintuitive, but it's true.

If you have other insights please add to this post.

[edkemper]

Pretty cool information. You never know what one can learn on this site.

[mco65]

Flying into Vegas is a bit of a heartache.. i fly free so thats a great savings for me but the problem is I fly standby which often is not available on busy days like FRIDAY evening.. so I would have to fly in on a Wed, spend two days in a hotel which offsets the airline savings.. :(

Wish there were more classes on a Wed/Thur or something other than Sat/Sun...

[mediaman]

Thought this contribution to the post would help someone out there.

If you would like to get a "good deal" on this trip or any trip :

onetravel.com
cheapflights.com
cheapoair.com

[jasonfromutah]

kayak dot com is what I use to book my travel.

However, spending $20 extra bucks on tickets, if you get the "better" airline....

[DanS]

Thought this contribution to the post would help someone out there.

If you would like to get a "good deal" on this trip or any trip :

onetravel.com
cheapflights.com
cheapoair.com

The question is really what constitutes a "good deal." Airlines are indeed offering different tickets based on where they are purchased, and this trend will continue in the future. They are still selling a ticket from point A to B, but generally have wildly different privileges, and ancillary fees associated with them. Purchasing your ticket from an aggregator (travelocity, cheapoair, kayak, etc...) will possibly get you a lower price, but make sure you know what you are really purchasing. Generally not a problem if you are travelling light, and during good weather. You will see the difference between the tickets if you have a missed connection, major delay, need to change the booking, or anything out of the ordinary.

Not that any of that is a bad thing, but it's a good idea to make sure your eyes are open to what you are actually buying.

Dan

[mediaman]

You will see the difference between the tickets if you have a missed connection, major delay, need to change the booking, or anything out of the ordinary.

Not that any of that is a bad thing, but it's a good idea to make sure your eyes are open to what you are actually buying.

Dan

DAN THE MAN !!! These tips being offered are under the assumption that everything is going to run smoothly. And obviously if it is NOT YOUR FAULT that you missed your flight for any reason at all.
You have to take some responsibility. When they tell you to be somewhere at a certain time and place, you need to be there. AND, ABOVE ALL, do NOT make any commitments that you know (or have any doubt) that you cannot follow through with.

You can find great deals if you do your homework.

[DanS]

DAN THE MAN !!! These tips being offered are under the assumption that everything is going to run smoothly.

That is a fantastically awful assumption to make when it comes to airlines. ;)


And obviously if it is NOT YOUR FAULT that you missed your flight for any reason at all.
You have to take some responsibility. When they tell you to be somewhere at a certain time and place, you need to be there. AND, ABOVE ALL, do NOT make any commitments that you know (or have any doubt) that you cannot follow through with.

The first sentence not so much, the second absolutely. Take some responsibility for the tickets you purchase, because there are very real differences between airline reliability, overbooking, and irregular operation capacity at the end of the day. Some airlines are significantly better than others, and if you need to cut it at all close, you owe it to yourself to make sure you know what you are buying. The time to find out that your airline doesn't have the ability to push you to another airline if something happens isn't as you stand in line with 138 other passengers at a ticket counter.


You can find great deals if you do your homework.

Absolutely. The key is the homework. And because of the timing of LHBA classes, many people will choose to fly in without much time to spare. My point is simply that aggregator sites are very effective at finding the cheapest fare, but generally lacking at providing the tools to do the homework that a couple hundred bucks would normally elicit from a consumer.

I can't provide an easy answer as to which airline, or aggregator site might offer the best deal, because it varies considerably based upon the circumstances of each person who intends to travel, based on where they are traveling from, their timeline, their tolerance for disruption, likely weather patterns, and about a thousand other factors. The important thing is to do that homework, and know what you are really buying when you purchase a ticket.

Dan

[Timber]

on hotels..it says you can save booking last minute/i would do a test on that before you trust that info ..call and get a price or check it online first to see if its correct.
waiting last minute can get you sleeping in your car

i know car rentals are higher on weekdays because business are mostly mon-fri so they have more available during the weekends

[Drummerboy]

For flights, WEDNESDAY AFTER MIDNIGHT, and CALL the airline directly, according to the CNN expert travel reporter. As for hotels, read online reviews and star ratings, ask the reservationist if the room has any issues, unless you want to wake up next to the dumpster site.

[Timber]

one mans trash is anothers treasure:D

[Timber]

For flights, WEDNESDAY AFTER MIDNIGHT, and CALL the airline directly, according to the CNN expert travel reporter. As for hotels, read online reviews and star ratings, ask the reservationist if the room has any issues, unless you want to wake up next to the dumpster site.

thanks drummer