Tips for cheap travel abroad

[BugI02]

Have you had any experience buying discounted Business Class to Europe from ticket brokers/

I like some of the prices but it seems to good to be true, and violates my own inclination to deal directly with the company providing the service wherever possible

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Have you had any experience buying discounted Business Class to Europe from ticket brokers/

I like some of the prices but it seems to good to be true, and violates my own inclination to deal directly with the company providing the service wherever possible

No. I don't know enough about that game to play. My understanding is the risks for the buyer are higher. I try to book directly through the airline/hotel or through a known major portal that has good customer service and guarantees. I also don't use any of 'skiplag' or shady milage deals, either.

 

[chipbennett]

Have you had any experience buying discounted Business Class to Europe from ticket brokers/

I like some of the prices but it seems to good to be true, and violates my own inclination to deal directly with the company providing the service wherever possible

No experience with ticket brokers.

If you fly Delta, there's a pretty nice hack that takes advantage of the Delta-Virgin partnership (and made all that much better, if you have AmEx points lying around to transfer). What can cost 300,000 - 400,000 miles directly through Delta for one-way business class to Europe can cost just 50,000 miles on Virgin.

 

[rhamersley]

And now a handy PSA:

'Bet You Wish You Had Listened To The Safety Presentation Now, Eh?' Says Smug Stewardess As Plane Plummets Toward The Ground

U.S. — Black box recordings have confirmed that as United Flight 452 hurtled towards the earth in a giant fireball, flight attendant Alice Turner smugly derided the passengers who had failed to listen to her pre-flight safety presentation.

babylonbee.com

Now back to your travel thread already in progress...

 

[BugI02]

No experience with ticket brokers.

If you fly Delta, there's a pretty nice hack that takes advantage of the Delta-Virgin partnership (and made all that much better, if you have AmEx points lying around to transfer). What can cost 300,000 - 400,000 miles directly through Delta for one-way business class to Europe can cost just 50,000 miles on Virgin.

That sounds quite intriguing, could you point me in the right direction with a link or two? Any additional requirements like Delta branded credit card etc?

I have a couple of hundred K unused AmEx points

 

[BugI02]

No. I don't know enough about that game to play

Same situation I'm in

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I try to book directly through the airline/hotel or through a known major portal that has good customer service and guarantees.

Today was a good example of why this is my usual policy. We took advantage of the milage deal I posted up thread and got tickets to Lisbon for next Spring. My wife has just over 60k miles from signing up for the Barclay's card on our trip to HI. I contacted AA and asked if she booked a ticket using her account and I booked a ticket using my account, could we then combine her ticket on to my itinerary (which I have trouble spelling correctly every single time for some reason) so I could use my Platinum to get her the upgraded seats for free as well. They said yes in the customer service chat, so I booked that way instead of using my miles on my account for both of them.

I then contacted them back and had them combine the itineraries under my account. There was some issue with it and the chat reps couldn't get it done. They told me to go in person to the airport at my convenience to get it done, which didn't seem right.

I called AA customer service, they gave me the direct number for AAdvantage status members (which gets you through faster) then transferred me. The CS rep couldn't have been nicer or more efficient. He reserved my wife's seats for me over the phone for free, each next to the upgraded seat I'd already selected for my ticket. He waited while she logged on and verified the seats showed for her.

Going through a 3rd party means you deal with their customer service instead of directly with AA. I have a feeling it would have been a tougher process with a fly by night understaffed online only sort of brokerage.

 

[chipbennett]

That sounds quite intriguing, could you point me in the right direction with a link or two? Any additional requirements like Delta branded credit card etc?

I have a couple of hundred K unused AmEx points

I haven't tried it yet (don't have enough non-SkyMiles AmEx points for that kind of outlay), but it looks like:

1. Transfer AmEx points to Virgin (as a bonus, partner points transfers seem to be one of the highest-value uses of AmEx points, I think?)
2. Purchase Delta flight on Virgin using Virgin points
3. (Assume you would also want to have your Delta SkyMiles account tied to your Virgin account, as a partner airline. I've only done this with KLM and Air France.)

 

[Remington 90T]

Buy a green screen and start taking picture. change cloths a few times and can have a European vacation album in an afternoon. Just pull out your album next time your blow hard friends start bragging.

 

[bobzilla]

Pretty sure this may have been our cheapest out of country trip to date. I think we spent a total of $160 there. Most of that was tips to wait and server staff and housekeeper. Of course going anywhere with a very recent surgically repaired collarbone unable to really do anything didn't hurt.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

This isn't much of a bargain, and if you aren't careful could be the opposite BUT worth mentioning.

AA currently has a promotion with Stand Up to Cancer: https://standuptocancer.org/american-airlines-donate-25-mile/

If you donate to the charity, you get 25 miles per dollar *BUT* if you use a Citi aadvantage card you get 50. That comes out to 2 cents a mile, and they are bonus miles so they don't count toward status. If you have a specific trip in mind where miles per dollars works out to be equal or better than 2 cpm, you could donate the money to the charity and then use the miles to book vs paying for the ticket. Note many redemptions are at a rate closer to 1.5 to 1.8 cpm, so that's why I say you need a specific trip to make this a bargain. Or if you have miles that are languishing and just need to top off to get a ticket, it's a pretty cheap way to buy them if you have a Citi card.

It's still tax deductible, but they consider each mile worth 3 cents, so that reduces the tax deduction to 97% of your donation as the base.

 

[chipbennett]

Sometimes traveling on Thanksgiving weekend sucks because base airline tickets are so expensive (apparently, about twice as expensive as normal). But, I'm speaking at a conference in Amsterdam the following week and really had no choice. Our work policy is that we can only book main cabin, which I did (for over $2,000... ouch). But then Delta upgraded me automatically to Comfort+. I then saw that I could use miles to upgrade to Premium Select (just under 30,000 miles, equivalent to $300), which I did out of pocket. But, that then made me eligible to use one of my Global Upgrade Certs to get cleared into Delta One (business class), which makes a huge difference on an overnight flight.

So, overall, this isn't really about traveling on a budget, but it's similar: how to maximize use of miles.

 

[foszoe]

I came here looking for tips on being a stowaway. I am sorely disappointed

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Got my first ever free upgrade to business class. Just a domestic flight, but I'll take it. I've neve been upgraded beyond premium economy before.

 

[actaeon277]

Got my first ever free upgrade to business class. Just a domestic flight, but I'll take it. I've neve been upgraded beyond premium economy before.

Maybe they follow you on INGO

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Maybe they follow you on INGO

We'll see when I go to check the gun in.

Just a frequent flier status thing. When there are still seats available they will upgrade FF in order of status ranking. I'm in the 3rd tier, so on more popular flights they are usually full before they get to me. I think you have to have paid for the ticket as well, using miles for a seat eliminates you from being eligible on the flight, IIRC.

Oddly, I got upgraded to Premium Economy when we flew home from Lisbon, and I have zero status with TAP. I didn't even buy my ticket directly, I got it through the Capital One portal, but I did pay for it. 3 of us in the group, all upgraded for free. No idea why, other than it must have been nearly empty. The couple next to us got upgraded as well, and said the same. Just pure luck, I think.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Got a free upgrade at the rental car desk as well. Toyota Camry or similar became a 2024 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, which we took full advantage of by doing some Jeep trails around the Yellowstone area.

I think I've mentioned it, but if you rent from Budget and don't sign up for Fast Break you are wasting so much time. Bozeman didn't have a fast break area, but you got your own line. I waited for 1 person to finish as opposed to probably 50+ people. Small, but busy, airport. Very nice, though. Quietest airport I've ever been in.

We had a *very* fun trip to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Craters of the Moon, Caribou-Targhee, (National parks/monuments/forests) as well as Jackson and Cody WY. Stopped by CostCo in Bozeman first thing, which took care of most of our meals for the 9 days. We ate breakfast out twice (split an order of pancakes on the first morning and then I ate at the airport on the last day, wife just wanted coffee), lunch once (burgers in Yellowstone), and light dinner once (potato pizza in Idaho because HTF do you not try potato pizza in Idaho?) Lodging, as expected, was the major expense.

 

[chipbennett]

Got a free upgrade at the rental car desk as well. Toyota Camry or similar became a 2024 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, which we took full advantage of by doing some Jeep trails around the Yellowstone area.

I think I've mentioned it, but if you rent from Budget and don't sign up for Fast Break you are wasting so much time. Bozeman didn't have a fast break area, but you got your own line. I waited for 1 person to finish as opposed to probably 50+ people. Small, but busy, airport. Very nice, though. Quietest airport I've ever been in.

We had a *very* fun trip to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Craters of the Moon, Caribou-Targhee, (National parks/monuments/forests) as well as Jackson and Cody WY. Stopped by CostCo in Bozeman first thing, which took care of most of our meals for the 9 days. We ate breakfast out twice (split an order of pancakes on the first morning and then I ate at the airport on the last day, wife just wanted coffee), lunch once (burgers in Yellowstone), and light dinner once (potato pizza in Idaho because HTF do you not try potato pizza in Idaho?) Lodging, as expected, was the major expense.

Same with Avis for me, and likely true with any of the major companies.

The biggest part of the time-savings is that, even if you have to go to the desk rather than going straight to your car, you only present your driver's license and they give you the keys. You don't have to waste time swiping credit cards or - worse - printing out/signing contract papers.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Same with Avis for me, and likely true with any of the major companies.

The biggest part of the time-savings is that, even if you have to go to the desk rather than going straight to your car, you only present your driver's license and they give you the keys. You don't have to waste time swiping credit cards or - worse - printing out/signing contract papers.

At bigger airports, you don't even go to the counter with Fast Break. Just go to the lot, pick any car in the correct area, and give an envelope to the gate attendant on your way out. Huge time saver.

 

[firecadet613]

At bigger airports, you don't even go to the counter with Fast Break. Just go to the lot, pick any car in the correct area, and give an envelope to the gate attendant on your way out. Huge time saver.

Sounds like the Emerald Aisle with National. They scan your license and the car on your way out. If they are busy and you accidently jump in a car from the Executive Aisle, chances are they let you take it just to keep the line moving...