dailynewsnblog
We’ve all heard the myths about booking on a Tuesday at midnight or deleting the “cookies” from your browser to score lower prices. But those old legends are simply not true.
How about booking right when the airline or hotel schedule opens to save money? Also, not generally true. That’s a hard lesson I’ve had to learn personally.
We are here to help, though. There are plenty of ways to save money and travel better. Read on as we do some myth-busting and tell you how to really save money.
Myth 1: You have to book on specific days and at specific times
This is an old legend that has been around since the dawn of deregulation, and it’s a question we get asked constantly. However, there is no truth to the idea of the perfect day of the week or time of day to book. The truth is that airline (and hotel) prices are in constant flux. It’s very hard to predict, especially in the days of dynamic pricing.
If you really want to save money, try traveling on certain days of the week. Generally, it’s cheaper to fly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays when there is less competition from business travelers. That’s also when you’ll find it’s less crowded, too.
Related: Best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare
Myth 2: Deleting your cookies or going ‘incognito’ on your browser helps
This is another myth that there is simply no evidence to support. Airlines are not tracking your browsing history and raising prices if they think you are looking at booking — even though it can sometimes seem that way. The truth is that airlines constantly change prices, but not in response to individual behavior. Could AI tools someday change that? Of course, but we are not there yet.
Meanwhile, there are a host of new AI tools that can help you beat the airlines at their own game. Once you’ve booked (as long as you didn’t book basic economy), you can get a trip credit if the price drops before your flight. This is a little-known hack that I’ve written about for TPG, and one that has saved me literally hundreds of dollars.
Related: These new tools will track your flights and get you refunds if the price drops
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Myth 3: Booking early is always best
Airlines release their schedules about a year in advance, and hotels a little more. Generally, you are not getting a better deal by booking that far out, though. In fact, you may pay much more. TPG advises travelers to book one or two months ahead of time for domestic flights and three to five months ahead of time for international flights.
Of course, with jet fuel prices soaring, we are now advising people to book way in advance to get ahead of further price increases. You can always get a trip credit if the price drops, as we mentioned above.
Myth 4: Budget airlines are always cheaper
It may seem, at first blush, that low-cost carriers will be the cheapest. But do the math carefully. Compare the costs of added fees for bags, seat assignments, early boarding and even ticket printing versus the costs of a mainline carrier. You can sometimes get a cheaper ticket by booking basic economy on a major airline (especially if you have a cobranded credit card that comes with some perks).
Myth 5: It’s always best to use your points or miles
This is where a TPG reader can really come out ahead. We have a handy calculator that gives you an idea of your points value. It can be an easy way to get a gut check. There are also tools like Points Path that sit on top of your browser and show you if you should use points or cash on a particular flight. You’ll always want to try to get at least 1 cent per point for your miles, though I’m more likely to aim for 2 or 3 cents.
Myth 6: Hotel prices only go up
Just as airfare has become increasingly dynamic, hotel pricing has become similar. This is true for both cash and points: Prices fluctuate constantly. But, as long as you book a refundable rate, you can reprice your hotel room if the price drops. This is a mistake I used to make all the time. I used to book a room and forget about it, but that probably cost me a lot of money.
These days, I keep a close eye on hotels (and flights) I’ve already booked, and if I see a drop, I cancel and rebook or get a trip credit. You can track your own flights (and now hotels) with Google Flights.
Myth 7: Airport lounges are only for frequent flyers
Do you look longingly at the folks heading into the bank or airline lounge and think that will never be you? Wrong!
All of us can get into airline lounges with the right cards. If you are flying Delta, you’ll need a Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or an American Express Platinum Card®, for example. Some American Airlines cards come with an Admirals Club membership or even some lounge passes. But that Amex Platinum card will also get you into a worldwide lounge network of more than 1,500 lounges.
Related: 5 ways to ensure you have lounge access before your next flight
Myth 8: You need status to get an upgrade
Once upon a time, upgrades went only to the most frequent flyers or those who could afford to buy first class outright.
No longer.
Most major airlines now sell upgrades, and the prices can be very low. In fact, flyers with elite status are getting fewer and fewer free upgrades. Instead, non-elites are being sold those seats at a discount.
I’ve seen transcontinental tickets on Alaska for sale for as low as $200, with a buy-up to first class. On American, I’ve purchased a business-class seat for just $291 several times.
Related: How much to pay for an upgrade
At TPG, we recommend paying no more than $50 per hour on domestic routes. So a five-hour flight should be around $250 to be worth it. For international, we say $100 is a fair per-hour price (especially on an overnight flight with lie-flat seats).
Bottom line
There are many travel legends that persist year after year, no matter how hard we try to combat them. While you won’t score a deal by booking on a random day at a random time or clearing your browsing history before you book, there are plenty of ways to save. In addition to the methods listed above, try booking vacation packages with airlines like American. The carrier’s vacation booking portal has saved me up to 40% on business-class flights when I combined those tickets with hotels.
Related: Key travel tips you need to know — whether you’re a first-time or frequent traveler
I also like using Google Flights Explore to search for cheap destinations when I have some flexibility. I wrote a guide to using the service.
There are plenty more ways to save and travel better, but hopefully we’ve helped debunk some of the ones that don’t work.
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