How to fly for free: 10 tips
A cheap flight is good, and a free flight is even better. And while it might seem like a free plane ticket - or at least almost A free plane ticket is just a dream, seasoned travelers and air travel connoisseurs know a few secrets to make it a reality.
According to the Bureau of Transport Statistics, the average price for air travel within the United States at the end of last year was $ 363. It turns out that a free flight is a huge savings.
It is possible to get a good discount on your flight, but you need to know a few secrets. In the past decade, a large group of insiders, experts, and air travel watchers have emerged. In order to get a free ticket, you need to be a part of this world - a kind of matrix of air travel.
To do this, you need to read insider blogs, forums, chats and wikis, view airline accounts on social networks, subscribe to loyalty programs and programs for those that fly frequently, as well as monitor prices on various sites and aggregators.
Fortunately, experts are there to share their findings. Below are 10 tips on how to get a free ticket.
1. Find the right sites
Almost no insider is looking for discounts on Expedia, Orbitz or Kayak. The rule of thumb seems to be that the more people know about a site, the less likely it is to offer low prices. The airline's own websites offer lower fares than these search giants.
If you want to search for flights on sites other than airline sites, experts say it's best to do so on lesser-known resources. These are Skyscanner, Momondo, Airfarewatchdog, ITA Matrix. Last on the list - an insider favorite - makes it easy to change dates and routes to find the cheapest options.
Some other good sites include View from The Wing, The Flight Deal, ExpertFlyer, or the FlyerTalk forums.
2. Use bonuses for opening a credit card
“Credit card opening bonuses are the easiest way to accumulate miles quickly,” says Sam Huang, founder of Top Miles. "You can find quite a few promotions for credit card travel." Huang says that card opening promotions are at their historic peak right now.
“Many credit cards offer 50,000 miles or more. How much are these miles worth? For 60,000 miles, you can fly one way from New York to Frankfurt with Singapore Airlines (more like a hotel room than an airplane cabin), ”says Huang.
Sites like GOBankingRates, MileCards, and The Points Guy keep track of the cards that offer bonuses - sometimes so big that you can get a few free flights just by signing in the right place.
But there is one "but": as a rule, you need to have a good or ideal credit history to take advantage of this offer. In addition, these cards may have a service charge. And if you are irresponsible in paying your loan — that is, you don’t pay your monthly bills on time and in full — your interest payments may be greater than the amount saved.
3. Benefit from the compensation for the "withdrawal" from the flight
You need to prepare for this point before the trip - this will increase your chances of saving. Be prepared to be taken off the plane and you can get a truly free flight.
“Getting a free ticket for a cancellation is more common today than it was 5-10 years ago because planes now usually fly full, which is why they have to take passengers off the flight more often,” said Scott Keys, founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights.
Keyes has done this dozens of times and has created a clear 5-step method for getting you removed from your flight and given a free ticket.
- Calculate your odds of withdrawal... Check the seat map before checking in for your flight. If there are only a few or none at all, your chances are good enough.
- Arrive in the gate area ahead of time. Keyes recommends arriving 30-45 minutes before boarding.
- Sit as close to the agency counter as possible. Be carefull. “Many times I got ahead of other potential applicants when I sat closer and got up earlier,” says Keyes.
- Spupull the trigger in time. Airlines typically start their offers at $ 250 and increase them by $ 50 every 5 minutes until they have enough applicants, Keyes said. “As a rule, I pull the trigger at the very beginning - on the first sentence,” he says. However, when landing, he often asks to raise his offer to the level of other interested parties. “Most of the time, they agree,” says Keyes.
- Get more out of your offer. Recent changes in FAA regulations have mandated airlines that remove passengers from flights against their will to compensate such passengers up to $ 1,300. Airlines usually want to avoid these fines, so some requirements can be made - for example, a more direct route or a seat in first class. Please refer to federal government regulations for information on your rights in the event of a cancellation.
4. Sniff out crazy stocks
You can find a free ticket by browsing crazy promotions. Gilbert Ott, founder of God Save the Points, recounted how he once flew a free private jet from Boston to Washington DC after finding a promo code that offered a free flight.
“It was intended for people who became members of a very expensive loyalty program, but the application accepted the code and we successfully booked the flight without paying a cent,” he said.
Look for coupons for points for free flights online and follow the major airlines on social media for promotions. If you become a member of any chat or blog listed in this article, you may also receive inside information regarding new promotions. However, experts admit that it is extremely rare to get a free flight this way.
5. Make your miles work for you
Let's make a reservation right away: this method implies purchase ticket for free. But if you are free-spirited, flexible and love to travel, it will be worth it.
Typically, if you are already a part of this air travel matrix, you can track routes that earn double or triple the miles and book cheap flights just to earn miles. Such offers usually appear when airlines open new routes or want to popularize existing ones. In this way, they themselves create opportunities for earning extra miles.
Find the right balance between the cost of the flight and the miles accrued for it, and you will get the same as in the "buy one, get the second free" promotion.
6. Plan your purchases correctly in time.
Knowing how to properly use the miles offered by your credit card requires some knowledge. Jason Moore of Zero To Travel wrote that he once got a free plane ticket simply for opening a new credit card and using it to pay taxes. This combination of bonus miles for the subscription and the number of miles earned from that “purchase” allowed him to receive a free ticket in 15 minutes.
Consider computers, televisions, electrical appliances, or even repairs through a contractor who accepts credit cards. Such large purchases - of course, paid instantly from your checking account - can help you get a free flight immediately.
Obviously, it’s not worth buying what you don’t need. But if your pipe is leaking and the plumber accepts credit cards, the miles earned can ease the discomfort of paying your bill.
7. Buy via airlines
One of Gilbert's favorite ways to find good air travel deals is to shop online at airline shopping portals. It looks like this: you log into your account on the airline's website, go to their shopping portal and earn miles simply by buying from your favorite store.
“It's kind of like a referral program,” says Gilbert. It happens that retailers offer 25 or more miles for every dollar spent. “If you buy a laptop from your favorite online store, that could be enough for a free flight,” he says. "It's so easy and you can get thousands of miles and more than one free flight if you shop online."
As with the previous tip, you will have to spend money to get your ticket. But if you're buying what you need anyway, why not earn miles from it.
8. Take advantage of the "wrong rates"
In a world where even airlines can fall prey to hackers, erroneous fares is the name for fares so low they seem to have been created by mistake. Sometimes it does. In any case, they happen more often than you might think, says Janice Waugh of Solo Traveler.
Waugh and Juan recommend looking at the Secret Flying website, which specializes in finding such fares. As with miles, this method is all about “buy one, get another free,” and it involves taking long-haul flights in second class.
“For example, I have to fly from Taipei to San Jose, which will be about 11 thousand miles in both directions, for $ 165,” says Huang. He noted that 12,500 miles is enough to get a one-way ticket within the United States.
9. Get a ticket without fuel cost
You won't get a free ticket with this trick, but you can get a very cheap one.
A cancellation ticket is a bit tricky. Typically, airlines charge a separate fee for fuel - you will see this portion of the ticket price when you detail your payment. Sometimes this portion of the ticket is the most expensive.
A no-fuel ticket is when airlines remove fuel bills from the price due to some magical combination of flights - for example, adding a third leg to a 2-way ticket, even if you have no intention of flying back. On his God Save the Points website, Gilbert explains this method in more detail. Enter fuel dump airline tickets on Google for more information.
It is in this situation that sites such as FlyerTalk can help you, since this type of ticket is not advertised, and the airlines are allegedly deliberately monitoring people on the Internet who are looking for such fares in order to reduce the overall cost.
10. Open a checking account that earns miles
Some banks charge miles for opening a checking account. For example, Huang says that $ 50,000 in BankDirect earns 60,000 miles a year. You only pay $ 144 ($ 12 per month) for account maintenance.
He believes that this is "a great offer, since 60 thousand miles is at least 2 2 way second class flights to anywhere in the United States."
