Airfare Secrets

With the way that fares have been fluctuating and airlines have been struggling, I don't think anyone, anywhere has the "secret" to getting good fares. I suspect that whatever information is in that book could be found just as easily here or on any other travel forum. Save your money for your trip.

Save your money. While I haven't seen the book itself, I'm always questioning books that are touted on the internet yet not available in any bookstore or even through Amazon. All the reviews I saw were questionable.

My suggestion would be go search the web for articles and tips on saving money on airfares.

Also, go over to the flyertalk board. Mostly Frequent Fliers on those boards with lots of helpful hints on many subjects related to travel.

My first reaction is always scepticism. I just wondered if there were any new tips at all to justify the expense. I took my family to Disney last January and bought a similar book that cost about $20 and ended up saving me about $200 in tickets. Like you, I don't usually buy anything not sold in stores but that one worked out. I guess it's just that after so many years of flying and checking all kinds of message boards, etc. and seeing the same tips,you get to the point that you wonder if there is anything new or different out there. Back to plugging away the "old-fashioned" Internet way! It's worth checking the website out just for entertainment value, though. This guy ought to be on a corner in Hyde Park!

I don't think there are many secrets in finding airfares, just a lot of research to find the best fare for your trip.

If there are any secrets, the airline industry is changing so fast they probably won't apply long enough to publish in a book.

I have traveled alot to europe in the last 20 yrs. Now more than ever there are less secrets and maybe none just guidelines.
It takes time, research and perserverance to land vg fares. If that does not work for you best use a consolidator to buy your air ticket.

Never heard of him or his book, but I can't imagine that it would have any real, useful "secrets" that you couldn't uncover elsewhere for free.

I have not read the book, and would imagine that any "airfare secret" out there would have been mentioned by one of the posters. Save the $25 and enjoy a nice meal on your trip.

It was just a lucky break for us, but when my Husband, myself and our 2 teenage daughters were checking in at the airport, we ended up having a great conversation with the Woman behind the check-in counter about our bags. They were RS bags and we needed to have them weighed, but were carrying them on board with us. She was so impressed with the bags (and our packing tricks, thanks everyone) that I got out a pen and paper and wrote down the RickSteves website.

Just before boarding, I was called to the gate where they told me there was a change, and they gave me new boarding passes. It wasn't till we were in the plane that I realized we had been upgraded to Business Class !!

I am pretty certain it had alot to do with the woman at the check-in counter.

I know an acquaintance that swears by this trick. He always wears a nice suit when he flies and then gets in the first class check-in line "by mistake". Says he gets upgraded all the time. Seems the airlines would rather have dressy, single people up there in first class, then the people flying with babies, kids, etc. Sounds too easy, doesn't it?

Jo....that's one of the secrets few want to tell. If you dress as if you look like you belong in first-class, you have a much better chance of getting an upgrade.

Most travelers want to dress comfortably for the flight. That's understandable. But those "up front" are treated differently than those in cattle class. Afterall, they either paid more or earned it through mileage. And anyone they put up there they want to blend in.

Anyone dressed in business casual or better will have better odds of being upgraded than someone in sweats. Assuming the person in sweats doesn't use miles to upgrade or elite status. (Don't start getting mad at me. I'm not telling anyone how to dress. I'm just passing along what I was told by gate agents.)

But, with so many people trying to use miles to upgrade, the likelihood of complimentary upgrade is getting slimmer and slimmer.

On the United Airlines website there is often an ad offering thousands of free frequent-flyer miles just for signing up for their credit card and using it once. You usually can get 19,000-25,000 "free" miles that way. By using their credit card and getting these deals, and adding miles for flying United, I've been able to fly "free" several times to Europe. Other airlines have similar deals for signing up for their credit cards. Currently it takes 50,000 FF miles to fly United to Europe.

I have the united card,and so does my husband. We use our miles for summer travel. The interest rate is high, but we put everything we can on our cards all month, then pay them off when the bill comes. We also pay for any other airline tickets (at cheaper times of year) and travel expenses with those cards. And we start early looking for the miles flights. Usually works.