Planning Booking
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Nicole Cord-Cruz
There’s such a thing as booking too early
While the general consensus for booking international flights for the summer is to do it sooner rather than later, doing so too early comes at a price — literally. A 2023 report from CheapAir found that if you choose to book your flights as soon as airlines release tickets or around 212 to 310 days in advance, you stand to lose out on some deals that may come in the future. It’s actually a common flight booking mistake. The silver lining, however, is you have a wealth of options to choose from if you book this early. You have all the options to select your preferred flight time, seats, and more, as opposed to facing the fierce competition and pressure often tied to booking deals among throngs of travelers.
On the flip side, if you choose to book at the earliest possible time for your peace of mind, one way you can save money is to book your flight with a credit card equipped with price-drop protection. With this money-saving feature, you can be reimbursed for the price difference (or at least part of it) should the cost of your flight plunge post-booking. Another option is to secure a refundable flight or one without any cancellation fees. If you find better deals for your chosen flight after you’ve hit book, you can simply cancel the previous flight without taking a serious financial hit and book the new flight at a discount.
If you miss the best booking window, try a travel dupe or ‘second city’
In case you’ve chosen to bide your time and discover down the line that travel deals are slim pickings for your summer 2024 overseas escapades, don’t fret. You can still book a relatively inexpensive trip if you opt for dupe destinations instead. These places have more or less a similar vibe to the top tourist spots, except that you won’t encounter as many crowds. “If you are looking to save money on your next trip, consider an alternate destination,” Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper, told CNBC. “Oftentimes you can save on airfare and hotel rates by picking a destination off the beaten track.” Expedia recommends trading Seoul, Korea, for Taipei, Taiwan; swapping Santorini for Paros, Greece; and opting for Quebec, Canada, instead of Geneva, Switzerland, among a swath of other possibilities.
Alternatively, if your heart is set on being in close proximity to the hottest tourist hubs, consider making your way to what travel expert Rick Steves dubs “second cities.” Speaking with The Seattle Times, he said, “One thing I would remind people of is that, a lot of times, second cities are a good idea … Everybody goes to Lisbon, why not check out Porto? Everybody goes to Madrid, why not check out Cordoba?” These places may not be as hyped, but if you give them a chance, you may find that they’re just as amazing, offering a unique and less-explored charm.
