Dec 12
5

Linkage Love: Finding Cheap Flights

4 Comments

By Kathryn Magura

Whether you’re traveling for pleasure or work, it seems that we are all looking for ways to travel as inexpensively as possible. I know for me, if I am going to have to pay to check luggage and to eat on my flight (and who knows what else they will decide to charge for) I want to compensate by finding the cheapest flight I can. For this week’s linkage love, I thought I would share some of my (and my Twitter friends’) favorite sites to find plane tickets:

  1. Kayak.com: The first place I usually start when looking for tickets is Kayak.com. Seems I’m not alone, because when I asked my Twitter followers where they look for tickets, the resounding consensus was Kayak. So what does Kayak have to offer? Well, here’s a few benefits:
    • The Kayak website is very easy to use, and allows you to compare flights based on a number of variables
    • Kayak aggregates your search from over 100 other websites to find you the best deals
    • You can login to Kayak via Facebook, so you don’t have to remember yet another username and password
  2. Hotwire.com: Another Twitter user recommended Hotwire because she was able to receive a full refund from their site. Here are some other benefits to Hotwire:
    • Compares purchasing flights/hotels/cars to get you the best deal
    • Also has a very easy to use interface
  3. Vayama.com: One thing I hadn’t really considered was comparing international flights. According to Shawn Brackett, Vayama is the place to find international flights. I plan to check this out the next time I am looking to travel internationally.
  4. Nerd Wallet: A coworker recently told me about the site Nerd Wallet. Apparently it is a new start-up company, and what makes them unique is how they try to factor in all the additional costs of traveling. Checking luggage? Which airline gives you the best rate? Traveling with a pet? Which airlines charge for that? I am intrigued to give Nerd Wallet a shot the next time I travel, because they seem to approach finding flights in a similar manner to how I do: as an individual.
  5. Airline websites: Before using any of these sites to book a flight, check the website for the airline itself to see if you can get the same flights for cheaper. This method has worked for me before.

So what are your thoughts? How do you find flights? Feel free to hit up the comments to add your travel and plane ticket purchasing tips.

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Posted in Links by kmagura 4 Comments

  • laurapasquini

    Sweet. Here’s my travel 101 since I’ve been known to jet set now and then:
    -I’m fan of HipMunk for comparison shopping – http://www.hipmunk.com/
    -Bing took over Farecast – but decent for domestic (US) flight predictions http://www.bing.com/travel/

    FYI: Best time to buy flights = Tues, Wed or Thurs at 11-1 pm CDT (when most business folks are in the market for flights as well).

    • http://twitter.com/Kmagura Kathryn Magura

      Thank you for sharing!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=77201361 Brandi Douglas

    I agree with you about checking airline websites. Sometimes I get a better deal there than on any travel site. At least for me, subscribing to a travel or airline website email list garners some decent deals. Usually the have a time limit and are only certain cities. Hotwire is my favorite because they can continually check prices on flights and hotels to cities you have traveled to or you can set up a trip checker to email you when the price has gone down on flights and hotels.

    • http://twitter.com/Kmagura Kathryn Magura

      Thanks Brandi! I’ve taken advantage of mailing lists for airlines too. Great advice.