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22 October 2009 918 views 2 Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

CHEAP BACKPACKING/CHEAP FLIGHTS:Stick your tongue out at high flight prices

Everyone wants a cheap backpacking experience, and getting a cheap flight is often the most

expensive part of your trip.

I think most people are aware of the discount flight websites like whichbudget.com etc etc, but what most people don’t know is that this should only be a starting point for you.

Back when I was shopping around for flights to Egypt from Australia, I spent hours searching on these discount websites and the cheapest I could find were for AU$2200 return. Most of the sites were the same give or take $100. When I would go to travel agents they would be even more expensive!

And this is where the beauty of introducing competition into the market comes in.

I printed out the cheapest quote from the internet and I took it to a travel agent, told them I had a cheap flight from the web and without telling them how cheap it was, I asked them what their best price would be.

This way, when they know they have competition, they are more likely to give you a lower price than when you first approach them.

If their quote is higher than the website I would show them the website quote and ask them to beat it. They would then do so, and print me out a new quote. I would then take that quote to the next travel agent next door and ask them to beat that new one I just got from the competition.  After they print the quote out, I thank them and tell them I will think about it.

I would then do this for 3 0r 4 travel agents until I was sure they couldn’t go any cheaper.

I would make sure flight centre was the last one on my list because they have a price beat guarantee and you don’t want to use that until you already have the lowest price.

I ended up reducing it from AU$2200 to AU$1700 return.

That was 7 months ago – these days flights are much cheaper and you should be able to use this method to get flights for even less!

More ways to save money whilst travelling

Lewis is an Aussie that got bored with the 9-5 job and has been backpacking cheaply through the Middle East and Europe for since January 2009, and like most aussie backpackers, love a good bargain. Travelling for so long he’s learnt how to stretch his Aussie dollar as far as it’ll go. If you would like more tips on how to enjoy cheap holidays, visit his blog.

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Author: lewis2009 lewis2009 has wrote 4 articles for us. Last 3 posts by lewis2009 The 5 things you must know NOW before travelling - January 31st, 2010 Love and Sex and Backpacking - November 27th, 2009 Top 10 unique tips for a cheap holiday or backpacking experience - November 7th, 2009