Think you can't afford to travel? Think again!
Today travel is so much more accessible than it ever used to be. We have access to so many resources and so much information online that no longer does getting out of town require a travel agency or a ton of money. In fact, budget travel is on the boom, making seeing the world accessible to everyone.
You may have felt like you would never be able to travel because it's too expensive. I know that when I was broke I felt the same way. But the more I travel and research about travel, the more I realize that I was missing out that whole time! I didn't need to have a ton of money to travel, I just needed the right information. This realization is why I have been working to help make your dream of travel cost next to nothing. So far, I have already given your resources for accommodations and transportation. This time, it's all about the flight.
Flights
Flying is the most expensive part of traveling. Looking at the costs of plane tickets can feel shocking! However, if you know what to do, you can fly so much cheaper, even free!
AIRLINE POINTS CREDIT CARDS:
If you are responsible with credit cards, meaning you pay them in full every month, you should be using a credit card that gives you rewards. Credit cards have been competing with each other to offer enticing rewards. There are all kinds of plans out there. Many give you around 40,000 airline points just for signing up and spending about $2,000-$3,000 in the first 2-3 month. If you put all of your bills and expenses on that card, that goal becomes very doable for many people. If that seems to high for you, there are many cards with much lower spending minimums.
Different airlines use different point systems, but you would be surprised at how far 40,000 miles could take you. It costs me 50,000 points to get one round trip ticket from Seattle to London on economy. If you were to continue to use the card up until your trip, you could have stocked up even more miles, lowering your flight cost.
Also, if you are flying with a companion, find out if your plan offers a free or reduced companion flight. We didn't realize our Alaskan Airlines card had companion flights until this year, so it went wasted for years! On Alaskan, you get one companion flight per year at $100. We used one when for a round trip ticket to Las Vegas for our Grand Canyon trip this spring, and we plan to use our next one this winter when we go to Costa Rica. One almost free flight is always a great deal!
-If you want to try an airline points credit card, here's what you should do: Set a goal and choose your card carefully. If you have a specific destination that you want to visit, see which airlines fly there, how many points it will take. Then research to decide which card will give you the most bang for your buck. Milez.biz is a great website that calculates the points you need for any flight using any airline point system. Let's look at my sample search to Honolulu comparing Alaskan and British Airways points:
Note: Most rewards cards have an annual fee, so make sure you consider that in your costs. Also, start wracking up points as early as possible, so you have plenty of time to earn all of the points you need to book your flight at the lowest cost possible. Ideally for free!
If "travel hacking" with airline credit cards sounds interesting, and you want to dig more in to this popular topic, some of my favorite experts are Extra Pack of Peanuts and The Points Guy.
BUDGET AIRLINES:
If flying free with points is not an option for you for whatever reason, don’t feel left out! Maybe you know you won’t be responsible with a credit card, you won’t be able to spend enough in the first couple months, you don’t want to pay the annual fee, or your credit score won’t get you a card. If any of these scenarios sound like you, budget airlines and flight deals are for you. You'll have to save up to buy a ticket, so you need to shop around to get the best possible deal.
-If you want to try a budget airline, here’s what you should do: Research to find out which airlines go where you want to go. Budget Travel is a good place to start your research.
Next, go explore the websites of the airlines you are most interested in to see what some current prices look like well ahead of when you actually want to go. Here is an extensive list of budget airlines. Many of these airlines are not in common flight search engine sites, but are usually found on Skyscanner.
If you have more questions about budget airlines, check out this interview I did with a Jet Blue flight attendant, Erica Worden.
BE FLEXIBLE:
This one is important. If you are flexible about where you go and when you fly, you can save so much money! Choose your date and destination wisely. Flying at peak season will cost you sometimes double what it would cost to fly in a low or shoulder season. As a teacher who is limited to traveling during the summer, I have learned this the hard way... If you have a specific destination that you really want to go to, do some research to figure out the best time to go. This will lower not only your flight costs, but all other costs as well.
If you are open to where you go, I find these two websites really helpful. Google’s Explore Flights. In this article, I listed Google Flights as a favorite website of mine. I love that there are two ways to search. If you are flexible with your destination but not dates, use the map view. If you are flexible with your dates, but not destination, use the graphs.
If you want to choose a destination based on costs when you arrive, Numbeo is fantastic website to compare the cost of living around the world. This color coded map will give you a good indication of average prices of food and other expenses for once you arrive at your destination. The darker the green, the lower the costs in that city. Click on a city you are interested in, change the currency to what you are used to, and browse average costs for a list of items. I love this tool!
Travel costs really all come down to three factors:
Destination, Date, and Determination.
If you skip all three of these factors then yes, travel can be expensive. But if you can incorporate even one, you will see your costs lowered significantly. Just imagine how much money you can save if you get all three factors locked in! Any budget is possible!
To save even more buckaroos, you should read my accommodation and transportation guides.
