DALLAS — Recent headlines about full flights, full fares, and an (almost) post-pandemic travel crush might be enough to kill your vacation fantasies. But don’t totally despair.
Scott’s Cheap Flights has a page full of advice that can really help you if you’re finding fares that don’t seem fair at all:
Tickets for multiple people
If you are booking for multiple people, and you aren't finding prices that fit your budget, you may want to consider buying the tickets one or two at a time, instead of four tickets at once, for example.
Overseas travel
If you want to travel overseas, the site says your first order of business should be to check other U.S. cities to see if they have cheaper flights that get you across the ocean, and then check flights from your nearby airport to that cheaper U.S. city.
This can be significantly less expensive than booking straight from where you live to your international destination. I have done that before and saved a ton.
Snatch the good deal
The site also advises that if you see a great fare, snatch it. Then quickly beg for time off, because all airlines are required to refund you if you cancel within 24 hours. Hopefully by then you have an answer from your boss about that rush-order vacay request.
I have done this one too and saved a lot (with many thanks to my employers who quickly approved my expedited vacation requests).
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We may get into hotels more in-depth another time. But for now, there are some valuable nuggets of hotel-booking wisdom from Airfare Watchdog (yes, the watchdog who tracks airfares also keeps an eye on accommodations once you land).