Booking flights

[Rebecca]

Hi everyone,

I'm curious how every goes about booking flights for their trips.

Do you decide to go if there's a sale?
Do you plan your trip then just book whatever flight you need?
Do you have a special credit card with flight perks?
Do you decide to go and then seek out sales?
Do you go through an agent or direct with airline?

[ajp]

In our case (and starting some planning now), we just decide when and book accordingly.  There is a travel agent around Camden that we have used many times and she knows us and knows what we want normally.  I'm happy to go back and see her every time.

[calisota]

I'm kind of in a unique position now of being able to just keep an eye on sales and special deals and travel when the mood takes me.

Before that I really enjoyed the process of figuring it all out. I haven't used a travel agent in a long time. I search through all the sites looking for deals on accommodation and flights, comparing the booking sites to booking direct with the airline or hotel. The key is to take a wholistic approach and look at whether a cheaper hotel will cost more in transfer costs or time wasted getting to and from compared to a more expensive place. Does a cheaper flight land at a different airport...there are two in Bangkok, the newer one will have slightly more expensive flights but you can get into town cheaply and quickly by train whereas the older, cheaper airport has no option but a taxi ride.

I used to have a credit card that earned Qantas points for money spent on it but it had a high yearly fee and I haven't been using it enough to get enough points to justify it. I've changed it to a no-fee card which doesn't earn points and I just have for emergencies. However, my Qantas frequent flyer card has a mastercard debit card built in so I can load money onto it and use it. This gives me all the benefits of not spending more than I've got and getting into debt as well as no fees and lower o'seas atm fees. This is the card I use for booking things.

Greg

[KeithS]

It depends on the situation for me. Firstly, when we decide to go we just book.

But how we book can change. If it is just a single destination (e.g. LA or Hong Kong) then I just book direct through the Qantas website. I'll keep an eye on the rates for a week or two in case there is a sale but in the end, we just book.

If there is more than one destination (eg. Shanghai followed by Tokyo) then we book flights through a travel agent. In our case we use our fellow club member Daniel who works at Hello World Bankstown. The travel agents tend to get access to better multi destination round trip fares than you can get with just Internet hunting. Especially if multiple airlines are involved.

[calisota]

If there is more than one destination (eg. Shanghai followed by Tokyo) then we book flights through a travel agent. 

This can be important. What recourse do you have if you have booked through an agent and one of your flights is late and you miss your next flight on a different airline? If you've done it yourself then the second airline is under no obligation to help.

Greg

[Rebecca]

All this info is interesting and helpful. I always wonder if people have a better way of traveling. In the past we've found a great flight price online and then walked into flight centre and they match it.
I've wondered about credit card/Qantas programs and if I'm missing out on a more savvy way of traveling, e.g airport perks, frequent flyer etc.

[DisneyKaren]

I have a Qantas credit card however I use the points for domestic flights as I get more out of them.  For International it can definitely be an advantage to book all together with a travel agent - also remember that to/from the USA you get 3 checked-in bags however domestic is 1; by booking your first and/or last domestic leg as part of the international leg with the same airline then you get the extra bags on that flight as well (eg our flights with Hawaiian were return LA even though we stopped in Honolulu both ways).  If you're going to Europe then it's pretty 1 bag the whole trip.

I use whichever airline has the price and times I need rather than sticking with Qantas or Virgin.  My sister books crazy flight times for price but when I travel on my own I prefer to pay more for the right times.  Having just come back from a holiday with her, I'd definitely go with the booking times to suit getting sleep and just pay the extra!!!

Depending on your job and lifestyle, it would be great to be able to have an open itinerary and plan the travel around whatever deal comes up.  I'm thinking of keeping that option for my next holiday.

[calisota]

I use whichever airline has the price and times I need rather than sticking with Qantas or Virgin.  My sister books crazy flight times for price but when I travel on my own I prefer to pay more for the right times.  Having just come back from a holiday with her, I'd definitely go with the booking times to suit getting sleep and just pay the extra!!!

I’m researching Shanghai at the moment and the cheap flights arrive at a little after midnight. This puts it into the “how do I get into town and my hotel at this time, can I get into town and my hotel at this time, should I just hang at the airport until the sun comes up…?” area.
 
I have had some success hanging at the airport when I’ve only had a carry-on bag in Singapore and slept in a comfy chair before going through immigration once the train into town started running. However I could tell you a story about security and dozens of rats on a small Caribbean island where it didn’t work.
Greg

[Rebecca]

OMG....rats?!?!?!?!

We're currently looking into a Tokyo trip for late September/early October. We popped into flight centre and one agent said there'll likely be a sale around Easter to book Japan flights. We then went into another flight centre and the agent said, nope, it'll only get more expensive. If a sale comes up we'll book, otherwise we'll put it towards a trip later on.

[calisota]

OMG....rats?!?!?!?!  :shock:

Short story...I had to stand outside the airport terminal for a few hours between when they closed after the last flight landed and when they re-opened for the first flight again, kicking rats away from my bags. 

Long story is here http://www.planettrekker.info/aawww-rats/

Greg

[Mel]

We usually have a time of year in mind and then buy when the cycle is usually at it's lowest/cheapest (we've found early Jan is perfect for Sept/Oct flights).  Or if there is an awesome sale on.  We got our last flights to Japan on a 2 for the price of 1 sale and our trip in 2013 we paid less than $1000 each for our return flights to the US.  Last year we used FF points when Qantas had a half points sale: 250 000 points and $3000 for the five of us into DFW and out of SFO.   We've got a couple of years before our next trip so I'll start monitoring the airfare cycle next year