Above image courtesy of Kevin Dooley

Know what’s better than finding cheap airfare? It’s getting a refund on airline tickets when the price drops! If you didn’t know this, don’t feel bad; fine prints not really my strong suit either.  Most flyers have the wrong assumption that only premium refundable airline tickets have special privileges, and by clicking the purchase button you’re locked in to that price.   Believe it or not, that’s not entirely true; all U.S Airlines, and even some foreign Airlines, have a Guaranteed Airfare Policy that protects consumers when airfare drops or if you happen to find the same flight cheaper elsewhere.

But before you get refund happy, and start blasting the customer service line each time the price drops a few cents, there are restrictions depending on the airlines.

Airlines are able to stipulate their own qualifying limits, with some being more draconian than others. The limit you must hit also serves as their “re-booking” fee to reissue a new ticket (I know, I’m rolling my eyes too) that applies once you hit that limit. So for instance, lets say your original Hawaiian Airlines airfare of $300 is now $150. Hawaiian Airlines has a limit of $100, so you would “pay” the re-booking fee of $100 and they would refund you the difference in the form of a voucher or credit in the amount of $50. I know…$150 sounds a lot better, but hey, I’m surprised we get anything back at all.

Here are the limits that need to be reached before refunds on airline tickets kick in:

What if I find the flight cheaper elsewhere?

If you’re lucky enough to come across the same flight cheaper on a 3^rd party booking site, most airlines do have a low price guarantee. It’s rare but it does happen. Depending on the airline the process can range from super easy (Alaska Airlines) to what-the-hell (Delta). If you’re willing to jump through the hoops and plead your case, it is possible to get some money back. Go here to see Airfarewatchdog’s nifty chart and how they explain the low price guarantee policies.

So how do we get our refund on Airline tickets?

You need to act fast. The window for refunds closes quickly. Realistically, most of us want to just pay and forget. Constantly tracking daily fluctuations of airfare is no ones idea of a good time and between work and life who has time to hit refresh every 10 minutes until take-off? Best thing to do is to setup refund alerts using Yapta (free) or Tripit Pro ($49 US/Year).

Yapta goes a step further and provides some pretty spot on instructions on how to also negotiate refunds, from who to contact and what to say. Unfortunately, they don’t cover all airlines, and some companies, like Southwest, keep their data pretty close to the chest. For them, you’ll have to go to their website.

Once you discover a price drop, or a lower price elsewhere, get on the phone, submit the online request, take screenshots, and get some money back.

What if I purchased the Flight from Priceline or Orbitz?

If you book through 3^rd party sites like Orbitz or Cheaptickets, Yapta can track the price drop, but won’t automatically alert you to a refund. You’ll have to call the site you purchased from directly to work it out.

Hopefully this travel hack helps keep more money in your pocket. It’s not incredibly intuitive and does require a bit of work, but the policies do exist. For the budget conscious, every little bit helps.

The post Travel Hack Friday: How to get a Refund on Airline Tickets appeared first on Blaze Your Adventure.

Welcome to Another Travel Hacks Friday. As part of a new series, every Friday, we will be introducing new travel hacks for outdoor and urban adventures. We will scour the web for the best and most practical hacks, as well as dig into our reserves and share our own awesome moments of ingenuity!

We all know the cost of airfare is ridiculous, often eating up a huge chunk of our travel budget. For the uninitiated, there’s little rhyme or reason to how the pricing is established; oil price goes down, yet airfare goes up. Could it be market forces? Sure. But what about the never ending nickel-and-diming: “luggage? That will be 35 bucks. Oh…you want peanuts too? You’ll need to purchase more legroom first”.  The competitive spirit is also gone. Aggregation booking sites like Priceline and Orbitz tend to spit out the same ole results. We could call it an oligopoly, but that’s a subject for another post…

So, who can blame us for trying every known trick to find cheap flights, from clearing your cookies, buying on specific days, private browsing, to clicking your heels three times (careful with this one, it’s known to have unpredictable results). The truth is though, some work and some don’t. And as the Airline industries become more sophisticated the battle for low fares will continue to get more intense.

Enter hidden city ticketing! Because airfare is determined by market forces (so the rumor goes), distance traveled doesn’t determine cost and you’ll find yourself routed all over the map in order to get to where you want to go. This neat little trick leverages that loophole in order to get you the lowest fare.

The idea is simple: Buy a ticket going from point A to point C, and get off at point B. For instance, lets say you want to go to Rome. Instead of buying a direct flight to Rome for $1900, you would purchase a flight to Milan with Rome as a stopover for $1000, and then disembark at the Eternal City.

It’s not particularly new, as the trick has been around for a while. But sites like Skiplagged has figured a way to make hidden city fares more accessible to people like you and me.

Here’s a test I did for April 15 2015 using Skiplagged:

Using Google Flights – San Diego to Rome

Using Skiplagged – San Diego to Rome to Milan:

Using Google Flights – San Diego to Rome to Milan:

So this is how you find cheap flights:

Notably, there are some bugs in the system, such as flight routes and price changes not being available at all. So make sure to do your due diligence as you would booking standard flights. Additionally, here are some other things to be aware of:

The travel hack isn’t fool proof; it doesn’t always find the cheapest flights; and results are not always up to date.  And although it’s not illegal, airlines and big booking sites may eventually mobilize their combined weight to put the kibosh on the practice. But until then free market reigns and, for the brave and stalwart, this is just one more tool to help win the war!

Got a hack to find cheap flights or have experience with hidden city ticketing?  Please do share!

The post Travel Hacks Friday: Find Cheap Flights Like a Ninja appeared first on Blaze Your Adventure.