Airline Travel

Smart travelers don’t sit in a travel agents office to plan their vacations anymore, they go to travel websites to find discount airfare deals and book their own cheap flights. Airline carriers are at war and smart consumers who know the secrets to finding great online travel deals, can take advantage of this instability and save hundreds on their plane tickets.

Despite what you may have heard, tickets on flights are not sold at a fixed rate. Most airlines have a complex grading system in place for ticket prices. They have a set number of seats they must fill for a certain price and a second block of seats they will let go for a slightly cheaper ticket price and third set of seats for a another discounted ticket price. So, at any given time when you try to buy online airline tickets, you could come up with a number of different prices.

The secret to dirt cheap airfare, is knowing exactly when, where and how to buy the tickets. Timing is everything when it comes to finding cheap airfare. Should you buy your tickets one, two or six months before your desired departure date? Will you save more by purchasing round trip tickets or one way flights? Should you travel on or off season, and exactly when are the popular flight travel seasons? And finally, should you buy your plane tickets through a discount travel site, or through a popular travel search directory like Expedia or Travelocity?

Your first tip to find cheap airfare is to check out several travel directories that offer price results for all the major airlines so that you can compare ticket prices at a glance. My favorites are Expedia.com for their consistently low flight price quotes and easy two click price checks, Cheaptickets,com for their large inventory of cheap airfare selections and sidestep.com for their huge selection of customized flight results. As a traveler you need to log on to these websites and get a feel for how often the prices change and bookmark them for future use.

Airlines and travel websites offer bigger discounts and cheaper airfare prices to people who book online because it saves them the overhead costs of printing and handling a paper ticket. So be sure to use the e-ticket option when purchasing your plane tickets online. Don’t wait till the last minute though, the best cheap airfare prices are found about 21 days before your departure date.

The highest plane ticket prices are found 14 days or less before departure, so don’t wait till the last minute to buy your ticket if you’re hoping to find discount airfare. But keep in mind that many airlines give away dirt cheap plane tickets about half an hour before liftoff.

Be sure to purchase round trip tickets rather than one way, the best cheap airfare deals are usually offered to round trip travelers.

Cheap flights during the holidays can be hard to find, the secret is to fly the day of the holiday not the day before or after when flights are jam packed.

You can save even more money on airfare if your plan your vacation during the off season. Travel professionals say that the best time to book a cheap flight online is mid-January to end February, April through May, and in the fall from mid-September to mid-December.

The time of day that you book online plane tickets is important too. If you checked plane ticket prices at 6 am and then again at 6 pm on the same travel website, you’d be shocked to find that you just lost 20 or 30 bucks by waiting too long or not long enough. Another variable that is imperative to finding dirt cheap flights is, the day of the week you make your online ticket purchase. Most traveler’s purchase their tickets on a Saturday or Sunday, but is that the smartest day to get dirt cheap airfare?

There are many different benefits of being a Travel Agent. First off being a Travel Agent means that you are now in the industry, which means you automatically qualify to receive travel and vacation benefits. There is a great way you can get these benefits and much more that I will be discussing below without having to get a license or qualifications or anything of such. But the question is, how can you benefit from being a travel agent. And yes you do need a license to be a Certified Travel Agent, but I’m going to honestly show you a way where you can become a travel agent without having a license and still receive all the benefits I’m going to share with you.

Lets talk about the benefits of being a travel agent.

cruise lines offer travel industry rates for bona fide travel agents. The rates can vary from $35.00 – $50.00 per person per day. The travel professional is allowed to bring one companion at the same rate.

Hotels and car rental firms offer discounts to travel industry personnel. The discounts can vary from 10% up to 50% off normal rates. These discounts are subject to availability and offered at the discretion of the supplier.

Many escorted tour companies will offer substantial discounts on their tours. These discounts will also vary but are typically 10% – 50% off the retail price.

One of the most appealing benefits to travel agents is the opportunities to go on a FAM Trip! FAM is short for familiarization. Special trips are organized specifically with the travel professional in mind.

They are offered by tour companies, hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, airlines and cruise lines. The purpose of these trips are to familiarize the agent with the products as being a benefit for being in the industry. The great thing about these FAM trips or sometimes called member trips is that they are so easy to use. Once you become a agent you are able to take one of these FAM trips immediately. These trips are extremely discounted, and can save you up to 1,500 per vacation, which is well worth it. Here are some examples of some of the member trips that you can take advantage of.

1.) 4Day Jamaica Vacation for only $234.00
2.) 4Day Cozumel, Mexico only $181.00
3.) 4Day Cancun Mexico Vacation only $230.00
4.) 6 Day Caribbean Cruise for only $285.00
5.) Myrtle Beach golf vacation for 3 nights for only $359.00
6.) Disney World 3 Day/ 4 Nights Only $335.00- oh the kids will love this one…
And there are dozens of others that you can take advantage of as well. These are not single trips these are family vacations.

Other benefits include commissions from booked travel from 70% to 90%, and enhanced commissions, educational programs and events, Corporate and leisure hotel programs, travel insurance vendors, blocked cruise space & exclusive vendor deals, professional familiarization (FAM) rates on luxury cruises, resorts and tours. Travel agent discount on hotels and rental cars, show and theme park discounts and free admission to popular attractions, Take advantage of huge tax breaks available for home-based businesses. You also can do all of this from home because you get your very own customized website ready to go set up just like expedia, orbitz or any other major travel website where your friends and family can book and you can receive your commissions. And you can set your own hours.

Have you ever noticed that most people travel in with other people? Perhaps you yourself wouldn’t consider traveling alone, choosing to travel only if accompanied by another person. This is due in part to people being afraid that they will be bored if they travel alone, when in fact the reverse may be true.

There are a lot of benefits to traveling alone. One good reason is that your schedule is your own. When you travel with other people, their interests may differ from yours. This causes you to have to try to fit everyone else’s activities and sight seeing preferences in with your own. This could cause you to miss out on things that you really wanted to see and do. Who knows when you will have the chance to go on vacation again, so you should be able to see and do whatever you want. Since you don’t have anyone traveling with you, you can do just that.

One of the fun things about traveling is not only getting to see new places, but also making new friends. When you travel with other people, you tend to stay within that group and you don’t get to meet the other interesting folk that are around you. When you travel alone, you have the opportunity to get to know people that you probably wouldn’t have gotten a chance to if you were traveling with others. This can be really nice if you’re single and hoping to meet someone special.

If you’re worried about taking a cruise or vacation and being surrounded by couples or groups of people, take heart. There are many vacations that are designed with singles in mind. You can take a cruise or go to an exotic destination where other single people just like you will surround you. This can open up a whole new world of acquaintances and you won’t feel so alone on your trip.

Having the opportunity to try different activities while on vacation is another great reason to travel alone. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to climb a mountain but your traveling companion was afraid of heights. Or, maybe you wanted to go white water rafting but someone in the group was afraid of water. By traveling alone, you can explore your adventurous spirit. By the same token, you may just want to get away for peace and relaxation and choose to spend your time lying around the beach or the pool. Your traveling companions may want to go sightseeing and do other things that you are not in the mood for.

The important thing to remember when traveling alone is to stay safe. Keep all of your documents in a safe place, as well as any jewelry or personal items. If you stay in a hotel, use the safe that they often provide guests. The next time you plan a vacation, consider going it alone. You may be surprised at the great time you have.