This video shares five techniques to drastically reduce travel costs, potentially saving up to 50% on airfare. The speaker, based on their experience traveling to over 60 countries, explains practical methods for travel hacking.
ITA Matrix: Use ITA Matrix for advanced flight searches, offering granular control over itineraries, connections, and airline alliances. This tool reveals flights often missed by other search engines like Google Flights or Skyscanner, potentially leading to significant savings (e.g., $4000 savings on a first-class ticket). Note that ITA Matrix doesn't allow direct booking; users can use travel agents, BookWithMatrix.com, or the airline directly.
Blogs and Websites for Deals: Utilize websites like Error Fare Alerts to find deals resulting from airline or hotel pricing errors. These errors, often stemming from human error or software glitches, can lead to incredibly low prices on flights and hotels. Fly4free.com offers a newsletter service for deals from specific departure cities. Premium Flights.com is also mentioned, although the website's design is criticized.
Skiplagged: This technique involves booking a connecting flight where the layover is the intended destination. It can save money but requires caution and should only be used for one-way flights with carry-on luggage to avoid airline bans. The website skiplagged.com specializes in these searches.
Long Layovers: Long layovers (1-3 nights) can significantly reduce ticket prices, offering the chance to explore an unexpected city. Websites like AirWander help identify these opportunities.
Frequent Flyer Programs & Credit Cards: Enroll in airline frequent flyer programs and consider associated credit cards for cashback or mileage accumulation. This generates savings (2-5%) on flights and other expenses. Some cards offer privileged status (e.g., Silver Medallion with Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express). Paying with miles can be cheaper than paying with cash in some cases. It's also sometimes possible to buy miles at a discount through promotions.
