22 EXPERT TIPS TO TRAVEL CHEAPER, FASTER AND BETTER

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1 22 EXPERT TIPS TO TRAVEL CHEAPER, FASTER AND BETTER - -

2 #1 MATRIX ITA SOFTWARE This is a very powerful tool powered by Google which allows you to check the cheapest available prices for your destination from several airports at the same time. What I really like about this tool: Multi-airport search - search the airport code on Google and add all your nearby airports with a comma in between each e.g. BRU, CDG, LON Calendar of lowest fares the tool will search prices for a full month and per length of stay Cabin options you can select the cabin type you're looking for (e.g.. Economy, first, business) Stops it allows you to filter depending on the maximum amount of stops you wish to have Ticket conditions once you've powered the search, the tool will display all the fares within the month you've selected and once you click on it, you'll be able to see the ticket conditions. This is particularly interesting as sometimes you are allowed free stopovers in certain hub cities. What you need to know is that you cannot book directly via the tool. What you'll have to do is either go to your travel agent and give them those details or search directly on meta search websites with the dates and airports you've selected.

3 #2 SKYSCANNER Skyscanner's popularity is increasing years after years. It is a meta search website for flights, hotels and car rentals however the flight section is what Skyscanner is famous for as the hotels and car rentals are still fairly new products. What I really like about Skyscanner: Inspiration 'Everywhere' - what is great about Skyscanner is that you can select 'Everywhere' in the 'To' section allowing you to search prices for literally everywhere in the world Multi-city search if you want to make several stops in a country then you can select all the cities you wish to visit and it will search prices for all the segments Dates you can choose a specific date or a whole month which is brilliant as well Rapidity this is such a powerful tool that it only takes a few seconds for your search to complete, breath-taking! Price alerts you can set up price alerts so you're kept up to date of the price fluctuation I've really felt in love with Skyscanner since I've first heard about it many years ago, definitely the travel tool by excellence.

4 #3 ADIOSO Adioso is one of the most flexible flight search website out there so it's always worth checking what it can find if you're looking for the cheapest fare. What I really like about Adioso: Destinations you can select at an airport, city, state and even country level Dates you can search for a specific date, a range date, a whole month or just anytime Trip lengths - you can search for a specific date, a range date, a whole month or just anytime Cabin you can also select the cabin class you're looking for Not as fast as Skyscanner but more flexible in terms of the search functionality.

5 #4 AIR WANDER If you have plenty of time and want to make your money go longer by visiting more cities / countries, then you should check Air Wander. It suggests stopovers on your way to your final destinations to potentially pay less and discover more! What I like about Air Wander: Length of stopover you can select how many days you'd like to stay for your stopover Number of stopover you can add as many stopover as you want Prices it tells you whether a specific stopover will increase or decrease the fare I just really like how easy it is to select suitable stopovers for your journey. I've never personally booked with them though so not sure if the prices offered are really competitive or not.

6 #5 GOOGLE FLIGHTS What I like Google Flights for: Destination you can search a whole continent, a country or a city Trip Length unfortunately you need to select a trip length otherwise it cannot power up Airline Alliance if you're saving up for a reward flight with a specific airline alliance, then you can filter the option this way Stops you can choose for non stop, one stop or two stops I would advise using Google Flights along with the ITA Matrix and Skyscanner. There is one hidden section on Google Flights called 'Explore'. It is still a section the giant is working on so it works best if you're based in the US but it gives you inspiration on where to go based on the trip length, destination and price -

7 #6 OTHER FLIGHT METASEARCH For award rewards flights, check out Award Hacker - To get personalized trip results and maximise your travel rewards, try TripStreak - Kiwi is great for radius search and date flexibility. It features its search result on a map - #7 COOKIES & INCOGNITO It is important to remember than most of the things you do online are tracked by cookies and this can have a serious implication on the price you will pay your flight. If you've been looking for flights to Paris for the past few days, it is possible you will be offered a higher price as airlines are adjusting fares according to the demand. When searching for flights, remember to remove your cookies and search incognito so that you won't be tracked. If you use Google, then click on the 3 dots at the top right hand corner and click on 'new incognito window'.

8 #8 BEST TIME TO BOOK Skyscanner has published a very in depth report with the best time to book for each destination following many years of trends and data. #9 BOOK ON TUESDAYS According to many travel research done over the past few years, Tuesday is the best day to book your flight. If you're looking for last minute flight, the airlines will know by Tuesday afternoon if they're not going to sell for the weekend so they will reduce the prices. If you're looking for a flight ahead of time, most airlines will update their price database during the night of Monday to Tuesday so you have a greater chance of securing a bargain if you're up early on Tuesday.

9 #10 AIRLINES LOVE First sign up to your favourite airlines' loyalty program allowing you to get points for each of your flights which you can then use for upgrade, discounts, extra luggage, etc.. Secondly, also sign up for their newsletters to be kept up to date with seasonal sales and also have exclusive early bird access to some of them. Thirdly, if you're looking to be upgraded one day (like I am!) then you get a better chance if you re part of the family. I've personally chosen to focus on Avios because it is the point system used by British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus so you get a greater choice when booking your rewards flight and a more opportunity to gain points. #11 CHEAP HOTEL BOOKINGS I have already covered this topic on my blog. Check out the article here:

10 #12 COUCHSURFING Couchsurfing is a community of traveller where a host is allowing 'a surfer' to sleep on its couch without any money compensation. This usually implies the host will show the surfer around the area and have a more local and authentic experience. First you will need to create yourself a profile on the site making sure to write as much about you as possible. The host will read your description and will decide whether to host you based on what you write so it is important to be true to yourself. Once you've stayed with your host, it is expected to write a review so that other people can know what to expect. The forum / group section is also particularly interesting as you can find local social groups, source help for a specific matter or just network with people around the world.

11 #13 AIRBNB Airbnb is a hospitality service where local people offer their vacation rentals, apartment rentals, hostel beds, homestays and even hotel rooms to lease or rent for short term. This has been proving very popular where people want to be more immersed in the life of the destination they visit and have more comfort than staying in a hotel. There are hosts literally all around the world and the website functionalities allow to search by destination, price, number of people, dates, etc... For some accommodation you will be able to book straight away whilst for some you will need to get confirmation from the host first but it never takes long to get a response. Get 15 off your first booking by using this link: AUTHOR NAME HERE

12 #14 CASHBACK WEBSITES Are you struggling to save up for your holiday and buy most of your things online? Then make sure to use cashback websites. Cashback websites work as referral websites if you go on your chosen website via their referral link then you can get some money back on your purchase and trust me this can quickly add up! Topcashback is the best one out there and their travel section alone is huge including the likes of Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Trainline, British Airways, Flybe, etc... So by using this website, you can quickly build yourself a nice travel pot. I've been using it for a few years now and already made over 400! Receive 5 after your first purchase via this link: AUTHOR NAME HERE

13 #15 TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS Using your standard debit card abroad will cost you an absolute fortune. Luckily, there are a range of credit cards you can use to cut the costs down. Below are the ones I use: Lloyds Bank Avios Rewards ( 24 per year) it comes up as a MasterCard and an American Express and allows you collect Avios points when spending. But the most interesting feature is that you will not be charged foreign transaction fees when using it abroad. I've been using it for many years and really love it. Halifax Clarity Card (free) - I mainly use this one for cash withdrawals and there is no fee for using it abroad so it's perfect to take out some cash on arrival. Supercard by Travelex it's worth mentioning this card as I was part of the pilot trial where everything was free but they ve now introduced fees to take cash out which I'm not happy about. However it is a good option if you want to use it for card payment abroad and I like the fact you can link up all your cards via the app so you basically need to only travel with one card. If you would like to sign up and receive 4500 Avios, please me on remi@mytravel-experiences.com and I will send you a referral link.

14 #16 UBER TAXIS Uber is your worldwide taxi company by excellence. I like using Uber abroad as sometimes you can be ripped off by local taxi companies taking advantages of tourists. The advantage with Uber is that it gives you a price range so you get an idea of how much this will cost you. You can also pay by credit card and track your taxi in real time ideal! Receive 5 off your first ride by registering on #17 BLABLACAR Blablacar is a trusted carpooling service. It connects drivers who are travelling and have empty seats in their cars that they would like to fill. For drivers, it allows to finance their journey and also have some company whilst for travellers it's a cheaper way to get to your destination and it means you get to meet new and interesting people along the way.

15 #18 ROME 2 RIO Do you have time to get to your destination? If the answer is yes and you are money conscious, then it's worth having a look at Rome 2 Rio. The website compiles all the available travel information (plane, train, car, bus, ferry) to help you get to your destination and compare the prices for all the mean of transportation. This means you only need to look at one website to find all the information you require! #19 LOCAL DEAL WEBSITES Local deal websites are amazing places to look at if you're looking for a good dining experience, beauty & spa offer or simply for things to do. It allows you to browse through a huge amount of current offers based on location. Before buying an offer, please make sure to check the small print including the terms and conditions of the offer good deal usually means you'll have to use the voucher during certain dates and times.

16 #20 FREE TOURIST CITY CARDS Many European capitals offer tourist city cards which give you access to many tourist attractions in the city, use of public transportation and sometimes discounts on food & drink. What most people don't know is that the tourist board of these cities usually offer free city cards to people working within the tourism / hospitality / events industry. This also works if you host a blog and would agree to write a post about your experience using the card or visiting for a conference / press trip. However, even if you don't fit in the above categories, it is worth ing them and explaining your situation as it might works for you! If you don't try, you don t get. Examples of the European capitals where I received free tourist cards so far: Berlin - Copenhagen - Oslo -

17 #21 HOLIDAY DEAL WEBSITES Are you looking for a cheap travel deal but don't want the hassle to look for hours through hundreds of websites? Then look no further than the holiday deal websites. They have dedicated team searching through travel deals on a daily basis such as: holiday packages accommodation deal flight sales or error fare car rentals I'd advise to follow them on social media to make sure you don't miss their latest articles it could be one for your dream destination!

18 #22 HOLIDAY DEAL WEBSITES UK Based: US Based: Travel hack websites are great to keep in touch with: Loyalty program updates Airlines & hotel group major sales Travel credit cards offers Reviews Maximising your miles

19 The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page ST AUGUSTINE

20 THANK YOU FOR READING Hopefully you enjoyed reading this guide and are excited to try out some of the tips. I enjoyed putting it together and anticipate making improvements over time. REMI FROM MY TRAVEL EXPERIENCE Travel.Experiences Mytravel_experiences