Travel Hacks – Make Travel Easier and Save Money

Planning and Booking Your Flight:

• Find the going rate and misery index on Hipmunk.
• Search other flight sites. After you find your best fare, set up a flexible airfare calendar on the ITA Matrix. (search on different search engines: google flights, google, bing, firefox, safari, etc.)
• Apply for fare alerts on these sites that will tell you when and if the fare goes down.
• Choose 2 to 3 airports to fly from and to if possible.
• Breaking up your flight with different airlines will sometimes save you money. Regional aircraft on short flights are usually cheaper (especially Internationally).
• Use one credit card for all miles. Claunch uses Capital One.
• Apply for a few different frequent flyer miles accounts. i.e. Capital One, Delta, Alaska Airlines, etc. Combine miles from partner airlines if possible.
  • Claunch calls 3 airlines that he has miles with and asks the booking agent for help.
• Once you book, you have 22 hours to change your flight, so continue to watch your Fare Alerts.
• Sign up for TSA Pre-Check to make going through security easier.
• Sign up for Global Entry to forego immigration on International trips.
• Book your car rental and hotels at the same time to save money when you add them.
• GET TRIP INSURANCE

At the Airport:

• At check-in, choose to purchase extra miles. Basically this is a sale on frequent flier miles.
• At the counter, be ultra pleasant and ask for the “Congeniality Upgrade.”
• Flying with a bow is easy. Just check it with TSA. Your case needs TSA approved locks.
• If you are flying with a firearm, go to TSA, and check it in. They will have a form for you to fill out and your case has to have TSA approved locks on it.
• Pack light and efficiently. Ask your outfitter for a gear list. Don’t add to that list and try to keep everything under 50 lbs. Try to avoid checking luggage if possible.
• If your outfitter has gear that they can provide on your trip, take advantage of that so you don’t have to pack it.
• Dress fairly nicely. Helps with upgrades. However, where your boots so they don’t weigh so much in your luggage.
• At the counter apologetically ask to gate check your carry-on.
• Always check the “change your seats” and other options.
• First Class Lounges are often worth the money when you do the math on a day pass. Install the Lounge Buddy App on your phone.
• Sign up for things at the Airport Shopping Portals if you are planning on signing up for them anyway (for free miles).
• Drink lots of water and avoid sugar or carbs. Try to eat high fat.
• Wear compression socks on long flights.
• Listen to Ben Greenfield’s podcast on the best time to travel based on your Chronotype.

Upon Arrival:

• If you didn’t book your rental car at the same time as your flight, learn how to use Priceline.com.
• Use Priceline or Hotel Tonight to book a last minute hotel.

Common Travel Myths:

• Booking your flights on Tuesday DOES NOT save you money.
• Booking your flight during “busy season” doesn’t always mean that it is going to cost more.
• Booking early doesn’t always get you the best fair. (As long as you at least two weeks prior to your trip.)
• Where you search for fares from doesn’t matter. Neither does the device you use.

Links from this Episode:

• www.hipmunk.com – Hipmunk will give you a good baseline to start your research and determine basic prices, dates and determine your “misery index”.
• www.airfarewatchdog.com – Set up Fare Alerts to find deals as they become available based on different flight dates and/or airports.
• www.theflightdeal.com
• www.travelpirates.com
• TSA pre-check
• Global Entry
• Lounge Buddy App
• Sky Scanner
• Momondo
• Google Flights