learning the ropes
Oct 1, 2012 | 8:33 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 24
learning the ropes
So i'm learning the ropes and the more I learn the more I get confused
So i'm trying to make it back home to Philly for Christmas but i'm on a major budget. I've looked on ITA and found some in the $3- 400 range. I live in so cal and have looked at all airports in the area ( lax, ont, etc.) can someone share any other tips on finding low fares?
So i'm trying to make it back home to Philly for Christmas but i'm on a major budget. I've looked on ITA and found some in the $3- 400 range. I live in so cal and have looked at all airports in the area ( lax, ont, etc.) can someone share any other tips on finding low fares?
Oct 3, 2012 | 4:43 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: MSP
Programs: DL Gold, DL MM 8/22/16!
Posts: 2,563
Christmas is of course always tough.
You can set up alerts with various sites - Kayak, Expedia, et al. You'll get an email if there is a price drop.
If you are sure you want to go, probably the best thing to do is just nail some fare in the low 300 range and move on. That is good for the time of year.
You could consider bidding on Priceline. Not a great deal of success with airfare in the recent years, but the attempt is free.
If you are iffy about going, you could wait until later and watch for sales. Flying right on Christmas Day sometimes can be relatively inexpensive. And sort of fun, as the people working are also working at having a bit of the spirit.
Romelle
PS - And have your frequent flyer memberships set up ahead of time so you can start collecting miles.
PPS - Probably somebody here will step in and suggest you sign up for some of the credit cards and accumulate enough miles to get your ticket that way. It can work. You can research the process in the Miles Buzz! forum.
You can set up alerts with various sites - Kayak, Expedia, et al. You'll get an email if there is a price drop.
If you are sure you want to go, probably the best thing to do is just nail some fare in the low 300 range and move on. That is good for the time of year.
You could consider bidding on Priceline. Not a great deal of success with airfare in the recent years, but the attempt is free.
If you are iffy about going, you could wait until later and watch for sales. Flying right on Christmas Day sometimes can be relatively inexpensive. And sort of fun, as the people working are also working at having a bit of the spirit.
Romelle
PS - And have your frequent flyer memberships set up ahead of time so you can start collecting miles.
PPS - Probably somebody here will step in and suggest you sign up for some of the credit cards and accumulate enough miles to get your ticket that way. It can work. You can research the process in the Miles Buzz! forum.
Oct 4, 2012 | 10:13 pm
#3
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Bali, Indonesia
Programs: AA, DL, AK, UN, CN
Posts: 1,116
You can check the Philly area airports too. Baltimore, IAD, Allentown. Even NYC.
Xmas is challenging - flexibility is key - hope you are using their flex searches too.
Don't suppose your credit is good enough to sign up for a credit card that gets you a free flight? Or your parents? Signing up for the Southwest card is a great one for two flights.
Xmas is challenging - flexibility is key - hope you are using their flex searches too.
Don't suppose your credit is good enough to sign up for a credit card that gets you a free flight? Or your parents? Signing up for the Southwest card is a great one for two flights.
Oct 5, 2012 | 1:19 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 644
What are the dates that you want to travel on?
UA's award seats are still pretty wide open for Christmas travel
The Chase UA MileagePlus Explorer ( with the 50K offer ) will get you a roundtrip ticket on any UA flight that are still selling seats, even if it is the last seat on the plane ( using a standard award ).
UA's award seats are still pretty wide open for Christmas travel
The Chase UA MileagePlus Explorer ( with the 50K offer ) will get you a roundtrip ticket on any UA flight that are still selling seats, even if it is the last seat on the plane ( using a standard award ).
Oct 5, 2012 | 7:15 pm
#5
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,685
What are the dates that you want to travel on?
UA's award seats are still pretty wide open for Christmas travel
The Chase UA MileagePlus Explorer ( with the 50K offer ) will get you a roundtrip ticket on any UA flight that are still selling seats, even if it is the last seat on the plane ( using a standard award ).
UA's award seats are still pretty wide open for Christmas travel
The Chase UA MileagePlus Explorer ( with the 50K offer ) will get you a roundtrip ticket on any UA flight that are still selling seats, even if it is the last seat on the plane ( using a standard award ).
Sure, if you really, really want to go, but I don't think I'd spend 50K miles (25K if going one way) to save $300.
EmailKid
Oct 6, 2012 | 9:40 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Phoenix area
Programs: AA, SWA, most hotel programs
Posts: 356
With all due respect, that's almost worse. You can go round trip to Europe for 60K miles using̶ s̶t̶a̶n̶d̶a̶r̶d̶ award, er sorry, Saver, what used to be standard award
Sure, if you really, really want to go, but I don't think I'd spend 50K miles (25K if going one way) to save $300.
EmailKid
Sure, if you really, really want to go, but I don't think I'd spend 50K miles (25K if going one way) to save $300.
EmailKid
How about signing up for the Southwest Card--50k miles with first purchase? You could fly RT for $99+10. (The annual fee plus ticketing.) SWA has lots of flights between LAX and Philly in late Dec. for around 40k miles. That's how we're doing our Christmas trip this year.
Last edited by Bohemiana; Oct 6, 2012 at 9:41 am Reason: correction
Oct 6, 2012 | 9:58 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota,USA
Programs: UA, NW
Posts: 3,752
Keep watching the fares.
One year when I lived in Oregon and flew back to see my relatives at Christmas, I kept seeing fares of $550 all through October. Going into November, I decided that I had to bite the bullet, so I went into my travel agent and gave her the dates I wanted to fly.
She typed in my information and said, "That will be $198." Then she did a double take and said, "I just booked some people for $550 yesterday."
Her comment at the end of the session was, "I sometimes think they set fares with a dartboard."
One year when I lived in Oregon and flew back to see my relatives at Christmas, I kept seeing fares of $550 all through October. Going into November, I decided that I had to bite the bullet, so I went into my travel agent and gave her the dates I wanted to fly.
She typed in my information and said, "That will be $198." Then she did a double take and said, "I just booked some people for $550 yesterday."
Her comment at the end of the session was, "I sometimes think they set fares with a dartboard."
Oct 9, 2012 | 3:14 pm
#9
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Chicago ORD
Programs: UA GS Million Miler, Hilton Diamond, Marriott/Starwood Gold
Posts: 143
Keep watching the fares.
... Going into November, I decided that I had to bite the bullet, so I went into my travel agent and gave her the dates I wanted to fly.
She typed in my information and said, "That will be $198." Then she did a double take and said, "I just booked some people for $550 yesterday."
"
... Going into November, I decided that I had to bite the bullet, so I went into my travel agent and gave her the dates I wanted to fly.
She typed in my information and said, "That will be $198." Then she did a double take and said, "I just booked some people for $550 yesterday."
"
Oct 16, 2012 | 2:28 pm
#10
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 193
Really, you have some time to wait and search left. So try to search every few days and if you find a price eventually that you're happy with, grab it.
Obviously, flying around Christmas is always a challenge for the budget-minded. If nothing comes up by the beginning of December that you're happy with, you might want to either re-think your trip or, as someone suggested, bite the bullet.
Obviously, flying around Christmas is always a challenge for the budget-minded. If nothing comes up by the beginning of December that you're happy with, you might want to either re-think your trip or, as someone suggested, bite the bullet.