Best Practices for Booking Trips

For some prospective travelers, the idea of booking a ticket for a  flight can be stressful.  At MDT we like to help take some of the hassle out of your air travel experience, not just in the terminal, but by offering tips and insights to make planning a trip just a little bit easier!  While these tips cannot be guaranteed to assure you the lowest possible airfare, we do recommend considering them before you book your trip.

•      As soon as you have an idea of where you’d like to travel to begin comparison shopping for airfare.  Check with a travel agent, online booking engines (Hipmunk, Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, etc), and directly on the airline’s website.
•      Do not wait until the last minute or the day of, to book your trip.  You will pay a premium for airfare if you wait too long.  Give yourself at least three to six weeks prior to book airfare, if you can.
•      Shop on a Tuesday.  Fare sales are often rolled out on Mondays and usually by the next day competitive airlines are matching their rates to that of sales.
•      Often airlines will have one-hour specials or short-notice sales that are debuted on social media, such as Facebook or Twitter.  So, if you’re active on these sites, follow the airlines you are considering flying with to keep up with these specials/sales.
•      Sign up for e-alerts for notification of sales/specials from sites like AirfareWatchdog.com.  The alerts are delivered right to your inbox as they’re available.
•      Be flexible, if you can, on your departure date and times, you can often save money on airfare by being willing to fly during the week as opposed to leaving on a weekend.
•      Go where the low-cost carriers fly! 
•      If possible, avoid visiting popular destinations during peak season.  You’re bound to run into limited seat availability and higher fares if you choose to travel to a location during its busiest season(s) of the year!

Did these tips help you book a trip with less hassle?  Tell us about it!  Where did you go and what type of Money, Distance and Time savings did you experience?