Can you buy the same ticket at a lower price if you buy it from another country?(travel.stackexchange.com)
travel.stackexchange.com
Can you buy the same ticket at a lower price if you buy it from another country?
https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/180321/can-you-buy-the-same-ticket-with-a-lower-price-if-you-buy-it-from-another-countr
342 comments
Another hack is timing. Often I've taken a day off on either Friday or Monday when I'm travelling over the weekend -- the difference in cost can be as much as a day's wage.
This is a lovely benefit of remote working for me - any time I travel, I can shift the days around to significantly save on flight costs, but without losing the day's wage. I can just work from wherever I am without taking any time off.
Usually saves at least €100 each way, every time I travel, and occasionally much more. And as a bonus, it's quite nice to spend a day working from a coworking space in a random city elsewhere and see a little of the local working lifestyle.
A coworking space for a single day in a European city is normally €20 or so, but many places offer free 1 day trials too, and there's also 'work from anywhere' portable coworking subscriptions and 'use any of our locations' benefits from multi-city coworking chains, if you/your company already pay for coworking elsewhere.
Usually saves at least €100 each way, every time I travel, and occasionally much more. And as a bonus, it's quite nice to spend a day working from a coworking space in a random city elsewhere and see a little of the local working lifestyle.
A coworking space for a single day in a European city is normally €20 or so, but many places offer free 1 day trials too, and there's also 'work from anywhere' portable coworking subscriptions and 'use any of our locations' benefits from multi-city coworking chains, if you/your company already pay for coworking elsewhere.
What's the advantage of a coworking space over a library?
Not the op - but I usually feel happier leaving my laptop and stuff when i go grab a coffee/lunch/toilet break in a co-working space, over a public library.
I LOVE public libraries, but not always set up for working comfortably, especially if I need to take a call, or want to do some whiteboarding.
And lastly, paying for something sometimes makes my appreciate it more - I've paid for this space so I WILL WORK.
I LOVE public libraries, but not always set up for working comfortably, especially if I need to take a call, or want to do some whiteboarding.
And lastly, paying for something sometimes makes my appreciate it more - I've paid for this space so I WILL WORK.
Be wary of coworking spaces. I had a brand new MacBook stolen from a private office space I was using at Spaces San Jose. Not only were they unhelpful to the point of being combative, but one of the people in an adjacent office said it happens all the time and carry their laptop to lunch with them.
Anecdotal for sure, but it changed the way I look at coworking spaces.
Anecdotal for sure, but it changed the way I look at coworking spaces.
Man that is rubbish sorry to hear that. I don't use coworker spaces as much now as I used to, will bare in mind.
I do this, it’s generally a great option. Decent internet and quiet - I’m blessed to have few calls, so that’s all I need. Parking is usually easy and it’s not hard to find a chair+desk+power in the same place. (Pro tip - hotel lobbies can be good too, every hotel has a nice seating area that’s unused outside of 6-9am)
Lately though I’ve noticed a trend with libraries becoming… scarier? Even in seemingly wealthy, clean, safe areas, there’s a ~20yo pacing around very… agitated? Drugs, lack of drugs, bad day perhaps - not sure - not my specialty. My conscious brain was saying “it’s fine, you’re in a well-lit public area”
My less conscious brain eventually forced me to move to a spot against a wall, where everything was happening in at-least-peripheral vision.
Lately though I’ve noticed a trend with libraries becoming… scarier? Even in seemingly wealthy, clean, safe areas, there’s a ~20yo pacing around very… agitated? Drugs, lack of drugs, bad day perhaps - not sure - not my specialty. My conscious brain was saying “it’s fine, you’re in a well-lit public area”
My less conscious brain eventually forced me to move to a spot against a wall, where everything was happening in at-least-peripheral vision.
It keeps techies out of comfy libraries.
I like both, but in my experience things like snacks, drinks, whiteboarding, and video calls are easier to pull off in a coworking space. Many times in libraries these are difficult, or at least higher friction
Work document privacy for NDA stuff and capability of doing meetings?
Yep. If you can leave and come back mid-week it's a great way to save money. And now that long haul flights also have wifi, I can often catch up with work both ways.
The booking time as well. Tuesday morning is usually best, Friday night worst from my experience.
Chase Sapphire travel insurance is limited only to evacuation and transport anywhere >100km from home state.
Yup, I have separate travel insurance from a reputable domestic insuracne company that I trust. My credit card also has a travel insurance from a multinational insurance company that I had never heard of before. The bank didn't even bother sending me the insurance policy terms when issuing the card. I would never dare depend on the credit card's travel insurance. Because travel insurance is one of those things that you don't really think about until the moment you need it. And that's usually also the worst possible time to discover that you've been sold snake oil..
Agreed that travel insurance is a must. It is not that expensive.
Be aware of the limitations though. For example, you rent a scooter in Vietnam. Well, you're not covered in an accident because you are only covered if you have a license. The only way to get a license is to live in Vietnam and they don't recognize a US IDP.
Be aware of the limitations though. For example, you rent a scooter in Vietnam. Well, you're not covered in an accident because you are only covered if you have a license. The only way to get a license is to live in Vietnam and they don't recognize a US IDP.
Can you recommend a company? And isn’t the work insurance covering you while traveling internationally?
Do you recommend Kiwi/SkyScanner for their customer support (changing tickets, etc...) or are those just names you sometimes use? I also fly a few times a year and at this point I just want excellent customer service and don't worry about saving a few bucks but haven't found a travel agent that meets my needs. Chase Ultimate Rewards just kind of meh. I do know the value of booking directly with the airline but sometimes the price difference truly is outrageous (double even).
Not OP but Skyscanner just aggregates different sellers and they don’t deal with tickets themselves. It ultimately depends on the seller you choose to buy the ticket from. In my experience as an European, even the crappiest ones were able to help but then if the difference is small it’s better to buy from the company operating the flight as you can then manage the flight stuff from their website instead.
Yeah that's my experience too - the airline itself is ideal because they can also help with upgrades, rebooking more easily without the encumbrance of a different vendor. Flying is still such a pita.
Honestly, I've given up on expecting any kind of customer support from any travel agent at all, even buying tickets directly from the airlines. Customer service in 2023 is a shitshow.
Protip: if customer service phone lines are busy due to some stuff going on, call the English line of some smaller country.
I found it often works with https://ctrip.com (Chinese airline booking service).
Why book through Kiwi or Skyscanner if booking through Chase earns triple rewards points.
Chase (and AmEx) travel sucks to deal with if you have an issue with your flight. Much better to book direct so you can deal with the airlines directly even at the cost of losing 3x. Same deal with points, much better spent by transferring out to an airline or their partner vs using them for 1cpp on one of the cards OTAs.
100% this. I book a decent amount of my leisure flights on Sapphire points only. Rebooking is trivial if you book directly with an airline, you can often do it within the app for that airline itself. Rebooking with Chase is often a 30-60 minute ordeal that can only be done over the phone involving 2-3 transfers. Often this is not even something that is your fault - the airline can rug pull the flight by changing the time or cancelling it, forcing you to undergo this ritual.
The funny (unfortunate) thing is that this used to be the opposite - years ago, Chase's in-house travel service was as close as you'd get to a white glove phone support experience in this day and age.
Then they outsourced it to Expedia, and the hold times went up and the efficiency and sanity of the whole process of dealing with any minor adjustment to your flight or travel plans degraded precipitously.
It seems like in 2021, they bought the company that was providing the backing technology for the in-house version of the service and have ditched Expedia again, so maybe this has gotten better since my last stint of big international travel?
Then they outsourced it to Expedia, and the hold times went up and the efficiency and sanity of the whole process of dealing with any minor adjustment to your flight or travel plans degraded precipitously.
It seems like in 2021, they bought the company that was providing the backing technology for the in-house version of the service and have ditched Expedia again, so maybe this has gotten better since my last stint of big international travel?
For hotels they still outsource to Expedia and the service is abysmal if you have any problems.
If there is a security issue with the airline better that the intermediary has your payment information rather than the airline. When Cathay Pacific got hacked I was glad I had booked with (RIP) Vayama. Of course if this is an airline like Thai Airways that has you present the payment card at check in this might be pointless (and of course Apple Pay has obviated it too)
Can one transfer the points immediately before booking or is that process too slow. This way one could take adventange of fact that reward points do not expire.
Depends on the partner you are transferring to. Some are instant, like Delta, Southwest and United. Some can take a few business days like ANA. Always Google before transferring to determine actual average transfer time and never prospectively transfer points, always transfer with something in mind. Points could be devalued at any time without warning or expire.
Because the rewards points can only be redeemed for flights that are priced 3x as much as the kiwi flights. I've done the math many times, and it never comes out ahead. Just go for the flights with the cheapest price.
Not from what I have seen. Prices are the same. Perhaps it depends on what international flights one is after.
I do understand the strategy of just going after the cheapest flights and I know younger people who swear by it. But these are often the same people who will not pay annual fees for credits cards, so they have never tried these rewards programs.
Also, if a customer has accumulated a large quantity of points, then she may not want to use the points on the "cheapest" options. She might want to choose more expensive ones since she is using points.
I do understand the strategy of just going after the cheapest flights and I know younger people who swear by it. But these are often the same people who will not pay annual fees for credits cards, so they have never tried these rewards programs.
Also, if a customer has accumulated a large quantity of points, then she may not want to use the points on the "cheapest" options. She might want to choose more expensive ones since she is using points.
WheatMillington(23)
> travel carry-on luggage only
That is impossible if one wishes to carry a pocketknife or handgun at one’s destination. The latter is fairly uncommon, but the former is very common, right?
Not to mention if one is bringing back a bottles of beer, wine or spirits.
That is impossible if one wishes to carry a pocketknife or handgun at one’s destination. The latter is fairly uncommon, but the former is very common, right?
Not to mention if one is bringing back a bottles of beer, wine or spirits.
I can't imagine a place where both:
1) I require a pocketknife and a handgun immediately upon arrival, and
2) I'd also like to pick up some bottles of fine wine while I'm there.
Sounds like a very interesting vacation, though.
1) I require a pocketknife and a handgun immediately upon arrival, and
2) I'd also like to pick up some bottles of fine wine while I'm there.
Sounds like a very interesting vacation, though.
> I require a pocketknife and a handgun immediately upon arrival
I carry a pocketknife every day.
I don’t carry a handgun, but there are plenty of states in the U.S. with CCW reciprocity; someone who carries in one and wishes to fly to another might quite reasonably wish to carry there as well.
‘Immediately’ is a loaded word. It would be weird to mail my hotel a pocketknife for a weekend trip.
> I'd also like to pick up some bottles of fine wine while I'm there.
There are a ton of microbreweries and distilleries in the U.S. whose products are not nationally distributed. I often like to bring things back from my travels. Wine’s not as regional, I think.
It’s an OR, of course, not an AND: some folks want to carry a pocketknife; others a handgun; others wish to fly with more than a few very small bottles of liquid.
I carry a pocketknife every day.
I don’t carry a handgun, but there are plenty of states in the U.S. with CCW reciprocity; someone who carries in one and wishes to fly to another might quite reasonably wish to carry there as well.
‘Immediately’ is a loaded word. It would be weird to mail my hotel a pocketknife for a weekend trip.
> I'd also like to pick up some bottles of fine wine while I'm there.
There are a ton of microbreweries and distilleries in the U.S. whose products are not nationally distributed. I often like to bring things back from my travels. Wine’s not as regional, I think.
It’s an OR, of course, not an AND: some folks want to carry a pocketknife; others a handgun; others wish to fly with more than a few very small bottles of liquid.
You can literally buy a couple of pocket knives for the price of a checked bag if it's that important to you.
>The latter is fairly uncommon, but the former is very common, right?
idk, is it really?
>Not to mention if one is bringing back a bottles of beer, wine or spirits.
Buy that stuff at the destination.
idk, is it really?
>Not to mention if one is bringing back a bottles of beer, wine or spirits.
Buy that stuff at the destination.
eadmund's comment doesn't deserve all the hate. Carrying some sort of sharp object has been common since the stone age, and anyone who can't see the value in this has no imagination or life experience. What do you use to prepare food? If you're going carry-on only, your best bet is a small pair of scissors. 4 inch blade in USA, 2.36 (6 cm) in most of the rest of the world. In EU, pocketknives smaller than 6cm are allowed, and CATSA (Canada) was going to follow but USA said no. Americans hate knives and I have no idea why. Obviously, check the regulations yourself, don't just take my word for it.
If you're trying to reduce airline hassle, you kind of have to skip the handgun, mail it to yourself or get (borrow?) one at your destination. Whether or not you "need" one really depends on the purpose and location of your trip, but those details are too specific for this conversation. Also consider taking the train, since if you're carrying a handgun it's probably a domestic USA trip.
A tip for bringing back un-carryon-able items: Pack a simple and low bulk backpack inside your carry-on suitcase. If you decide to bring forbidden items back, check your carry-on suitcase and bring whatever you need for the plane in your backpack. This way you pay checked bag fees only in one direction and only if you really need to.
If you're trying to reduce airline hassle, you kind of have to skip the handgun, mail it to yourself or get (borrow?) one at your destination. Whether or not you "need" one really depends on the purpose and location of your trip, but those details are too specific for this conversation. Also consider taking the train, since if you're carrying a handgun it's probably a domestic USA trip.
A tip for bringing back un-carryon-able items: Pack a simple and low bulk backpack inside your carry-on suitcase. If you decide to bring forbidden items back, check your carry-on suitcase and bring whatever you need for the plane in your backpack. This way you pay checked bag fees only in one direction and only if you really need to.
I guess if you really need a knife you can pick up a utility knife at your destination for a few dollars.
Why would you want to carry a pocketknife or a handgun ? Is this a satire ?
> Is this a satire ?
No, it’s honestly not. I carry a pocketknife all the time, to open envelopes or packages, cut twine, slice a sausage or cut some cheese, whatever.
As for handguns, it’s not common in other countries, but in many American states it is relatively easy to get a license to carry one, and about 1% of the population do on a daily basis. They are useful for self-defense. Plenty of people like to target shoot, too. It’s easy enough to fly with them in one’s checked baggage (one just has to declare them, and of course they must be unloaded), but they aren’t allowed to be carried aboard (or in the airport, for that matter). If one is already checking one’s firearm, one might as well just check a full bag.
No, it’s honestly not. I carry a pocketknife all the time, to open envelopes or packages, cut twine, slice a sausage or cut some cheese, whatever.
As for handguns, it’s not common in other countries, but in many American states it is relatively easy to get a license to carry one, and about 1% of the population do on a daily basis. They are useful for self-defense. Plenty of people like to target shoot, too. It’s easy enough to fly with them in one’s checked baggage (one just has to declare them, and of course they must be unloaded), but they aren’t allowed to be carried aboard (or in the airport, for that matter). If one is already checking one’s firearm, one might as well just check a full bag.
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If one's flying enough, ideally they have status with an airline to have some baggage allowance.
I hear you, though, I frequently bring back some knickknacks from abroad and will check in a small bag of booze.
I hear you, though, I frequently bring back some knickknacks from abroad and will check in a small bag of booze.
Sounds like one would have to pay extra for the privilege then.
These are money saving tips. In general, if you want to go beyond basic services/privileges, you’re gonna have to pay more.
These are money saving tips. In general, if you want to go beyond basic services/privileges, you’re gonna have to pay more.
ive traveled a bit and never felt the need to bring a knife...
Absolutely. I had a 25% discount offer for the same flight when booking through the American site vs. the European one. Unfortunately, they also asked for an invoice address in the states. So I opted out of that airline altogether.
Just wait for the day when airlines buy hotel booking data and increase your price because you already booked a non-refundable room. Or they look into your messaging service or social network for clues in how determined you are to go (e.g., to a funeral or job interview). Privacy is valuable, indeed. Even in hard cash.
Just wait for the day when airlines buy hotel booking data and increase your price because you already booked a non-refundable room. Or they look into your messaging service or social network for clues in how determined you are to go (e.g., to a funeral or job interview). Privacy is valuable, indeed. Even in hard cash.
>Just wait for the day when airlines buy hotel booking data and increase your price because you already booked a non-refundable room. Or they look into your messaging service or social network for clues in how determined you are to go (e.g., to a funeral or job interview). Privacy is valuable, indeed. Even in hard cash.
Glad someone mentioned it, one of reasons to NOT use any social media. Pretty sure, this is already in the plans for all the big social media companies.
Most people use social media platform, or messenger owned by those companies to communicate between friends and family not realising the side effects. Please, use some kind of E2E app and make sure the people who are running the server doesn't have access to your data and meta data.
Glad someone mentioned it, one of reasons to NOT use any social media. Pretty sure, this is already in the plans for all the big social media companies.
Most people use social media platform, or messenger owned by those companies to communicate between friends and family not realising the side effects. Please, use some kind of E2E app and make sure the people who are running the server doesn't have access to your data and meta data.
Could be due to the added consumer protections and rights you get within the EU - regulations on how the airline should treat you when they cancel flights or when they arrive late etc?
Those apply to every passanger regardless of where they are from - as long as the flight departs from or arrives to an EU country you get full protection as passangers.
That's not true. The EU consumer protection laws apply to you if you bought the tickets from their EU legal entity.
If your flight is cancelled you get it refunded or monetary compensation only if you bought it from the EU website of the airline. If you bought it form another country, then the laws of that country apply. It's simple.
If your flight is cancelled you get it refunded or monetary compensation only if you bought it from the EU website of the airline. If you bought it form another country, then the laws of that country apply. It's simple.
EU air passenger rights apply no matter the airline or where you purchased them from if your flight is from the EU or within the EU. If your flight is to the EU they only apply if it's a EU airline.
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-right...
That's not true either. Full rules are here https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-right...
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Sounds like VAT? We do t have that in the US, so our prices are about 20% lower. You still get taxed, it’s just not rolled into the advertised price.
> buy hotel booking data and increase your price because you already booked a non-refundable room
Actually this is (usually) the opposite
Tickets sold for tourism are usually cheaper than a non-tourism ticket to the same place, so the ticket might be conditioned to being sold together with a hotel booking (travel agents like selling those combos)
Actually this is (usually) the opposite
Tickets sold for tourism are usually cheaper than a non-tourism ticket to the same place, so the ticket might be conditioned to being sold together with a hotel booking (travel agents like selling those combos)
Wouldn't combo be more expensive? As there is increased risks to travel agents. Flight+Hotel is considered a package and you have to provide, replace or refund both if one falls through.
The difference with tourism is that usually they are not refundable or have quite limited refundability and these all thus sold for less.
The difference with tourism is that usually they are not refundable or have quite limited refundability and these all thus sold for less.
Tourists are typically more price sensitive, so airlines look for ways to sell cheaper flights to tourists while still charging everyone else more. Package deals are one way to achieve that
last second trips are already expensive, why would they need to go through your private messages?
I travel to my home country once a year to visit family, but have it set up so that my origin for the round trip is the home country (ie XYZ-SFO-XYZ rather than SFO-XYZ-SFO). The ticket is generally half the cost, which adds up when you're traveling with family.
I can only do this because I consistently travel to that same place every year, otherwise I wouldn't be able to swap the origin. It also requires you knowing your dates in advance, but generally, even if I have to change the ticket, it's still much cheaper to pay the difference.
I can only do this because I consistently travel to that same place every year, otherwise I wouldn't be able to swap the origin. It also requires you knowing your dates in advance, but generally, even if I have to change the ticket, it's still much cheaper to pay the difference.
I know that the company did this in the past. E.g. employees often flying from Perth to Frankfurt they did the following:
First trip PER-FRA
Then the office in Frankfurt booked FRA-PER-FRA round trips.
Back then the max time between the first and last flight was 12 months. The ticket was on a fare where rebooking was free.
So whenever the next trip was required the return-leg of the trip was changed and a new return trip was booked.
I thought that airlines will block you from buying a flight from a different country. Often this is liked to credit card issuer country. E.g. you can't buy a flight departing from Australia on a foreign website using an Australian credit card.
So whenever the next trip was required the return-leg of the trip was changed and a new return trip was booked.
I thought that airlines will block you from buying a flight from a different country. Often this is liked to credit card issuer country. E.g. you can't buy a flight departing from Australia on a foreign website using an Australian credit card.
I’ve run into this before - last year I was booking flights domestically in Peru paying in soles because it was half the price of booking in USD. I managed to get two of them booked but ended up having to pay the third via a travel agency in USD because the LATAM site simply stopped accepting my USA credit card. I can’t know whether it was some arbitrary security measure or whether their system caught on to me trying to game it and denied me because of it, but they denied both my USA credit card numbers as well as my debit cards.
Please elaborate since this is not clear. Are you actually doing a round trip on SFO-XYZ-SFO but buying two half priced (or lower than half priced) tickets for XYZ-SFO-XYZ (date 1) and XYZ-SFO-XYZ (date 2) and not using one leg on each of those tickets? Long ago I’d read that airlines don’t take this well.
The poster lives in SFO and wants to visit XYZ for a week once a year. Rather than buy SFO->XYZ->SFO tickets (which are packages that consist of “a flight from SFO to XYZ on the 1st of April” and “a flight from XYZ to SFO on the 8th of April”), the poster instead buys XYZ->SFO->XYZ tickets (which are packages that consist of “a flight from XYZ to SFO on the 8th of April” and “a flight from SFO to XYZ on the 1st of April next year”).
Because the poster is repeating this purchase every year, it results in the same long-term flight pattern. However, because they have shifted the airline’s window into those travel patterns by a half step, all of the flights look cheaper to the airline’s pricing algorithm.
Because the poster is repeating this purchase every year, it results in the same long-term flight pattern. However, because they have shifted the airline’s window into those travel patterns by a half step, all of the flights look cheaper to the airline’s pricing algorithm.
The downside of doing this is that, If you have to cancel your delayed flight and it’s been a year since purchase, you will likely forfeit the ticket. If you rebook it immediately, that might not happen.
I had this happen on AA. for legal reasons, I had to book a flight in advance (9 months). had to cancel, but did not immediately rebook. went to rebook 14 months after purchase date and credit has evaporated. (
I had this happen on AA. for legal reasons, I had to book a flight in advance (9 months). had to cancel, but did not immediately rebook. went to rebook 14 months after purchase date and credit has evaporated. (
Couldn’t the price difference be due to booking so far in advance?
Maybe. My experience with booking international flights at various schedules from “tomorrow” to “1 year in advance” is that airlines don’t give a discount for booking far in advance, past about one week out it’s all the same. I haven’t investigated thoroughly, though.
Trade and tariff negotiations between countries comes into play, too. It was a while ago now, but I remember looking at a round trip flight to Sydney from the US. The same two planes, in different order (round to the US from Sydney) was half the price. I hadn't planned a year in advance, so I couldn't pull the trick mentioned above.
Possibly but my flights to SF from Europe are routinely half the price for a round trip the other direction on the same dates/airline.
I'm sure they compared the prices for SFO -> XYZ -> SFO with XYZ -> SFO -> XYZ for the same dates.
This is a common hack with business travel where prices of flights including a Saturday stay are much cheaper (aimed at holidaymakers) than weekday flights (business travel). If you know you will need to travel to XYZ every second week M-F for two months then you buy one two month return SFO-XYZ-SFO and then buy the rest of the flights as 11 day flights back from XYZ Friday to the Monday of the following week (XYZ-SFO-XYZ)
All the tickets include "weekend stays" but you never spend a weekend in XYZ.
The OP may have used a one way ticket or something for the original trip since airlines don't book more than a year out.
All the tickets include "weekend stays" but you never spend a weekend in XYZ.
The OP may have used a one way ticket or something for the original trip since airlines don't book more than a year out.
Used to do this. Weekly round trip tickets from CA to the US and a longer round trip ticket the other direction surrounding them (or 2 one ways? Don't remember) The airline (Air Canada) got really mad at me and claimed there was a T&C violation. Wasn't my idea but the travel office at my company. Ended up missing a flight while they argued about it.
Absolutely! I once had my company offer me to stay the weekend (hotel paid by them) extra, as it would be cheaper.
When I was traveling about once a month for a company, I would just book an extra stop wherever I wanted to visit for the weekend before going home (usually a friend somewhere). I got a free visit to a friend, and the company got a cheaper flight expense because of the Saturday stay. Everybody was happy. I'm even happier now not traveling so much though.
My understanding is that the poster does take all legs of the round trip, but the last leg is a year in the future
Maybe buy a one way ticket once and then round trip in the other direction in the future
Except one way tickets are often exorbitant.
I assumed that this year they buy the XYZ-SFO portion of their trip and the SFO-XYZ portion of next years.
Also curious, since I imagine airlines try to cancel subsequent flights if you didn’t get on the initial flight to ensure someone gets in that seat (at a higher price)
He isn't skipping any flights. He presumably bought a one-way ticket to XYZ years ago, and since then each year he books an XYS->SFO->XYZ roundtrip for a year long "visit" to SFO before returning "home" to XYZ for a little bit before booking another round trip for another year long "visit" back in SFO, and so on.
Yes, except...
> returning "home" to XYZ for a little bit before booking another
More likely, "booking another" actually happens before landing in XYZ, closer to 6 months out (seeking the best price), but otherwise you've got it.
> returning "home" to XYZ for a little bit before booking another
More likely, "booking another" actually happens before landing in XYZ, closer to 6 months out (seeking the best price), but otherwise you've got it.
I used to do the same about 15 years ago.
I was living in DC area but was traveling to Bay Area every week (mon to fri) for work.
I always booked fare in reverse with Friday evening departure (from sfo) and Monday morning ( from DCA) return. A Saturday night “stay” apparently made it a leisure fare which was way cheaper than Monday to Friday fare which was way more expensive. (Like 4x more). [ this was United Airlines btw].
My understanding is that this does not work anymore (at least for US domestic). Airfare are all priced for one way (return fare is just the sum of two legs).
However, difference between what business travelers pay and what leisure travelers pay is huge (see hertz rental prices or Marriott hotel prices for saturday vs Monday).
I was living in DC area but was traveling to Bay Area every week (mon to fri) for work.
I always booked fare in reverse with Friday evening departure (from sfo) and Monday morning ( from DCA) return. A Saturday night “stay” apparently made it a leisure fare which was way cheaper than Monday to Friday fare which was way more expensive. (Like 4x more). [ this was United Airlines btw].
My understanding is that this does not work anymore (at least for US domestic). Airfare are all priced for one way (return fare is just the sum of two legs).
However, difference between what business travelers pay and what leisure travelers pay is huge (see hertz rental prices or Marriott hotel prices for saturday vs Monday).
Still the case long haul
Just looked up economy London-Singapore return, Sunday-Sunday in economy on BA Aug 7 to Aug 13
and there's space in the 'M' bucket with fare MHNC80S7 which is £510 each eay (plus fees and taxes)
That means the extra day in Singapore saves you £1200. (the taxes and fees are the same regardless)
If you travel a lot - especially flexibly - then it is sometimes worth a subscription to expertflyer, which if far faster at seeing rules and availability than traipsing through ITA Matrix.
Just looked up economy London-Singapore return, Sunday-Sunday in economy on BA Aug 7 to Aug 13
and there's space in the 'M' bucket with fare MHNC80S7 which is £510 each eay (plus fees and taxes)
TRAVEL FROM LAST INTERNATIONAL STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO
EARLIER THAN THE FIRST SUN AFTER DEPARTURE OF THE FIRST
INTERNATIONAL SECTOR.
That means the extra day in Singapore saves you £1200. (the taxes and fees are the same regardless)
If you travel a lot - especially flexibly - then it is sometimes worth a subscription to expertflyer, which if far faster at seeing rules and availability than traipsing through ITA Matrix.
I used to have the same itinerary more recently, and managed to lower the costs on United by 20-40% by booking overlapping itineraries >7 days long, where I'd:
1.Kick off Itinerary 1 on Sunday 1 (To SFO),
2.Kick off Itinerary 2 on Friday 1 (DC return),
3.Kick off Itinerary 3 on Sunday 2 (To SFO),
4.Close Itinerary 1 on Friday 2 (DC return),
5.Close Itinerary 2 on Sunday 3 (To SFO),
6.Close Itinerary 3 on Friday 3 (DC Return)
...ad infinitum
1.Kick off Itinerary 1 on Sunday 1 (To SFO),
2.Kick off Itinerary 2 on Friday 1 (DC return),
3.Kick off Itinerary 3 on Sunday 2 (To SFO),
4.Close Itinerary 1 on Friday 2 (DC return),
5.Close Itinerary 2 on Sunday 3 (To SFO),
6.Close Itinerary 3 on Friday 3 (DC Return)
...ad infinitum
I do the same traveling between US and Europe. I know I will go back every summer and xmas so my trip originates out of Europe with return trip 6 months later, always cheaper than same flights with origin in USA.
In the same situation here.
Yes, it looks like traveling outbound from some major hubs is more expensive than from other places. A round trip SFO-XYZ two week ticket can be substantially more expensive than XYZ-SFO round trip for the same period.
Note that depending on when you travel and for how long, a SFO-XYZ-SFO ticket might be more expensive also because it is a shorter ticket (1 month or 3 month ticket) and it hits a high season period ("tourist season"), whereas the XYZ-SFO-XYZ is a long-term ticket (12 months) that avoids (most of) the high season.
Yes, it looks like traveling outbound from some major hubs is more expensive than from other places. A round trip SFO-XYZ two week ticket can be substantially more expensive than XYZ-SFO round trip for the same period.
Note that depending on when you travel and for how long, a SFO-XYZ-SFO ticket might be more expensive also because it is a shorter ticket (1 month or 3 month ticket) and it hits a high season period ("tourist season"), whereas the XYZ-SFO-XYZ is a long-term ticket (12 months) that avoids (most of) the high season.
It's the same with train tickets in Europe!
I live in Budapest and regularly have to go to Wien. If you buy the ticket from the hungarian railways it costs the half or less than compared to the austrian railways.
Example: next monday
Hungarian BP>Wien https://i.imgur.com/9rZgB8c.png
Austrian BP>Wien https://i.imgur.com/mn95IrV.png
Hungarian Wien>BP https://i.imgur.com/GymMOaW.png
Austrian Wien>BP https://i.imgur.com/zN3VCDv.png
I always tell my friends coming from Germany or Austria to buy tickets from the hungarian railways because it's much cheaper.
I live in Budapest and regularly have to go to Wien. If you buy the ticket from the hungarian railways it costs the half or less than compared to the austrian railways.
Example: next monday
Hungarian BP>Wien https://i.imgur.com/9rZgB8c.png
Austrian BP>Wien https://i.imgur.com/mn95IrV.png
Hungarian Wien>BP https://i.imgur.com/GymMOaW.png
Austrian Wien>BP https://i.imgur.com/zN3VCDv.png
I always tell my friends coming from Germany or Austria to buy tickets from the hungarian railways because it's much cheaper.
It's too bad that the Czech train hack doesn't seem to work any more: There's a train from Berlin to Prague that stops in Dresden. It used to be much cheaper to book the trip Berlin-Dresden with České dráhy, compared to the price you get with DB.
I think you also had to make it an international ticket to make it work, booking the journey from Berlin to the first station after the border. And then just leaving the train early, at your intended destination.
I think you also had to make it an international ticket to make it work, booking the journey from Berlin to the first station after the border. And then just leaving the train early, at your intended destination.
I really appreciate seat61.com when I need to book train travel. The site is full of info as to when and where to book to get the best price, as well as what level of service various trains in various countries provide.
An extreme example of this which applies not just to tickets but a full holiday package is Disney World. If you're based out of the UK you can get a very good 14 day package which includes Disney World tickets, hotel and flights for a significant discount over the US/EU. In theory it should be possible to have someone outside the UK to buy these packages but I haven't tested it.
I do actually track the prices and have built a site that exposes the data[1]. I found a couple of other hacks that are interesting (for example, you can save multiple thousands of £ by just splitting your stay, you'll need to move to a different hotel room but that might be worth it for many).
1 - https://mousetrack.co.uk/
I do actually track the prices and have built a site that exposes the data[1]. I found a couple of other hacks that are interesting (for example, you can save multiple thousands of £ by just splitting your stay, you'll need to move to a different hotel room but that might be worth it for many).
1 - https://mousetrack.co.uk/
Referrers that lower price on travel booking sites are a real thing. One trick I've noticed works sometimes is clicking on ads in online newspapers of your home country.
So if you're in country A, but you're browsing the news website of country B, they might see where you're browsing from and offer up an ad for travel from/to your specific country A. This is meant for expats because the whole site and the ad is in the language of country B.
So if you're in country A, but you're browsing the news website of country B, they might see where you're browsing from and offer up an ad for travel from/to your specific country A. This is meant for expats because the whole site and the ad is in the language of country B.
Can confirm, my workflow for booking hotels now is find something on booking.com/hotels.com/kayak, then google search for the exact same hotel and follow links quoting lower prices to booking.com/hotels.com/kayak.
sounds like a good browser extension - auto-inject different data based on community feedback on which gives the best deals
Recently I paid to book better seats on an Air France flight and since the website was a hot mess (specifically the payment portal) I tried various VPNs to try and get through. To my surprise, prices were significantly different (about ~20% variation) depending on country, and it was most expensive in...France.
This was on a flight that had already been booked from the US long ago.
This was on a flight that had already been booked from the US long ago.
I heard this is a common practice for cars: a french car will be sold at cheaper prices outside France.
Home country adds a premium on car prices because they count on nationals to have a slightly higher willingness to pay for local brands.
Uhm, it's not directly comparable - cars have different specs in each country and it's very rare you can spec them 1:1 exactly. As an example - you'd find that the starting price of cars in Poland is much lower than in say, UK, but if you compare the spec the "base" model in Poland is missing a lot of equipment that's just standard in the UK to keep the cost down as much as possible.
I don't know about Poland specifically, but in some cases the missing equipment could be critical safety devices mandated by law. For example, from working with import, I learned that in India vehicles can be sold without airbags, and even some structural safety features (reinforced firewall and front frame rails) are not installed on Indian-market cars (mostly to remove weight, actually, not cost). Also, some markets require special vehicle features (increased required ride height was the reason that the Tesla Model 3 was not sold in India for some time) that consumers from other nations would find unpalatable. And of course, lighting, bumper height, and signalling may be different across markets. Notably, EU and American vehicles have vastly different headlamp requirements.
Sure. In my example I was comparing some cars like the VW Polo and the basic spec Polish car had an extremely basic dot matrix display for the radio while the UK car had a full colour 7 inch display as standard. The polish car didn't have air con at all, while in UK it was standard. The Polish car was missing cruise control, any infotainment buttons on the wheel and it had a non-split rear seating bench - all standard on UK spec. I don't think it had any safety differences at all.
The legal requirements should be the same in France and Poland, EU is quite big on harmonizing things like that to try and facilitate a single market.
Wineries do that too - often the bottles are cheaper in the liquor store hundreds of miles away than they are at the tasting room.
In my experience national airlines are most expensive when booked from the country itself. Lufthansa in Germany, KLM in the Netherlands, Air France in France, etc. I always assumed because nationals go to those websites first.
Could be taxes making up the difference, 20% sounds suspiciously close to the French V.A.T. rate of... 20% [1].
[1] https://www.vatupdate.com/2021/04/21/vat-rates-in-france/There's no VAT on international flights. Other taxes, perhaps, but that 20% difference is not so easily explained.
This was not a payment for a flight but for some extra "service", is there no V.A.T. on that either?
I'm not a tax accountant so I couldn't say for certain. But if this is an additional payment for a seat reservation on an international flight, I would assume it falls into the same category of "international travel", which I believe is zero-VAT across EU. If it was something not directly related to the travel aspect itself, e.g. pre booking an inflight meal or lounge access, I would expect VAT to apply. Or a domestic flight within France, of course.
[deleted]
Perhaps, though I now recall that one of the options was free. I tried that one too, but I abandoned it first in favor of the others since the checkout and "payment" experience failed in strange and unpredictable ways with that one (the others at least showed me a 'sorry this is broken' style of message).
I just looked at the prices for the cheapest ticket next month from France to Japan, first from the airfrance french website and then from their japanese one.
Cheapest ones in France are around 700-800€ when japanese ones are around 41,000¥ (~300€). This is crazy.
Cheapest ones in France are around 700-800€ when japanese ones are around 41,000¥ (~300€). This is crazy.
Are you sure it's not because the prices on the Japanese website doesn't include taxes and surchages?
Japanese website:
> All amounts are in JPY. Taxes and surcharges are excluded.
French website:
> All amounts are in EUR. Taxes, surcharges and booking fee are included.
Japanese website:
> All amounts are in JPY. Taxes and surcharges are excluded.
French website:
> All amounts are in EUR. Taxes, surcharges and booking fee are included.
Ah. This might be just that.
Does including all taxes amount to the same prices?
Does including all taxes amount to the same prices?
[deleted]
Maybe. According to [0], the price of an airplane ticket sold in France is 60% taxes...
[0]: https://www.lefigaro.fr/voyages/billets-de-train-et-d-avion-...
[0]: https://www.lefigaro.fr/voyages/billets-de-train-et-d-avion-...
It can work, but rarely. The international flight price has been very well globalized.
What used to work very well is to rent a car through a foreign website. I live(d) in the US and was planning a trip in California for a few weeks back in ~2015. By going through a major car rental company's UK website, I literally halved my cost.
I didn't have much luck with this trick last time I travelled though, unfortunately.
What used to work very well is to rent a car through a foreign website. I live(d) in the US and was planning a trip in California for a few weeks back in ~2015. By going through a major car rental company's UK website, I literally halved my cost.
I didn't have much luck with this trick last time I travelled though, unfortunately.
We visit France every year-ish and French automakers [1][2] vastly undercut long-term rentals from rental agencies by selling you a car with your promise to sell it back to them at nearly the same price (difference is the rental price). You are only ever out the actual rental price. We regularly save 1-2k EUR on a 3+ week rental unless we book the rental literally 6m+ beforehand. Kicker is that $0 deducible CDW is included, and the terms are quite generous.
The only downside is last-minute cancellations will cost a non-trivial fee, but even those can be mitigated through insurance.
[1] https://www.ttcar.com/en/ttcar [2] https://www.autoeurope.com
The only downside is last-minute cancellations will cost a non-trivial fee, but even those can be mitigated through insurance.
[1] https://www.ttcar.com/en/ttcar [2] https://www.autoeurope.com
Do you know if there is anything like this in the US? I've considered 1-3 month "trips" in the US, but the car rental ends up being quite expensive (to the point at which I've considered just buying and reselling the car). I'd be happy to front the full cost of the car if I was able to get some guarantee on the resale value, and didn't have to deal with selling the car itself.
Unfortunately no. I imagine there is some tax/regulatory regime in Europe that incentivizes this kind of offering.
It can also happen to work via the phone if it doesn’t online. I was trying to book a one way rental from Bergen to Oslo a few years ago. Avis Norwegian and USA website showed some insane price, but when I called up Bergen airport Avis they quoted me something less than half the price.
Side note if you ever find yourself up that way it’s hands down the most beautiful drive I’ve ever done in my life and I’ve been driving in Iceland, Switzerland and other parts of Norway several times
Side note if you ever find yourself up that way it’s hands down the most beautiful drive I’ve ever done in my life and I’ve been driving in Iceland, Switzerland and other parts of Norway several times
Virgin Atlantic counter @ LHR.
If you ask very very nicely when it's not too busy, someone may teach you the query terminal and let you have a look at fares across airlines if you happen to be more/less stranded.
If you ask very very nicely when it's not too busy, someone may teach you the query terminal and let you have a look at fares across airlines if you happen to be more/less stranded.
You don't need those. There are online systems that lets you check those details at home (can't remember the name now)
But https://matrix.itasoftware.com/search is a close second, if you know how to play around
But https://matrix.itasoftware.com/search is a close second, if you know how to play around
I have one hotel hack, that works especially well for conferences when rooms are almost fully booked and prices are high. Book a hotel room with no charge for cancellation. Then, the day before arriving (or even the day of arriving if you're still able to cancel), check for rooms again. There's often nicer rooms that become available at the last minute due to others cancelling, at a lower price.
or if you're adventurous, cancel your own room and rebook it immediately...
There is a "lowest price guarantee" on Google flights now, wherein they will reimburse you the difference if the flight goes lower in price than if you buy it at that time (through their platform / booking, at least).
To me, this is a signal that Google has used all of its price history data for flights to say "this is a bottom in price", and given they don't want to lose money hand over fist from mispredictions, they're probably right.
I usually set up a price watch on a specific flight I want, then every time it drops, I check if it got the "low price guarantee" stamp of approval and buy then. Even if I'm wrong, I'll get paid the difference either way!
To me, this is a signal that Google has used all of its price history data for flights to say "this is a bottom in price", and given they don't want to lose money hand over fist from mispredictions, they're probably right.
I usually set up a price watch on a specific flight I want, then every time it drops, I check if it got the "low price guarantee" stamp of approval and buy then. Even if I'm wrong, I'll get paid the difference either way!
More likely it's just a scheme to increase usage and they'll figure out the rest later, once they have more data to work with
Did this years ago with a travel package company. Due to the drop in value of the British Pound, their published prices in the US and the UK that had been near par at the start of the year, had become imbalanced. As these prices were in printed catalogs that were good for a year, I was able to save a significant amount of money by booking through the UK site and using a friend's address in Bath. The company did question it at first, noticing that my passport and credit card were both from the US, but once I said I was visiting a friend in the UK and booked from her computer, they let the transaction go through.
Based on my experience traveling between Europe, Middle East and Asia:
- for return flights I always get different fares based on the origin. At least for the airlines that I travel with it does not matter what my IP is, but where my origin is.
- depending on the airline or the hotel booking service, I get higher fares if I book with an iPhone (including their apps) or a Mac comparing to when I spoof my user agent to Windows. The difference can be substantial.
- for hotel bookings, my IP location used to make a big difference. I guess these days the services just became better at finger printing and detecting VPNs.
- for return flights I always get different fares based on the origin. At least for the airlines that I travel with it does not matter what my IP is, but where my origin is.
- depending on the airline or the hotel booking service, I get higher fares if I book with an iPhone (including their apps) or a Mac comparing to when I spoof my user agent to Windows. The difference can be substantial.
- for hotel bookings, my IP location used to make a big difference. I guess these days the services just became better at finger printing and detecting VPNs.
Somewhat related: If you rent your car via sixt.es instead of sixt.de, you'll get it for a lower price [0] [1]
[0] https://www.sixt.es/betafunnel/#/offerlist?zen_pu_location=7...
[1] https://www.sixt.de/betafunnel/#/offerlist?zen_pu_location=7...
[0] https://www.sixt.es/betafunnel/#/offerlist?zen_pu_location=7...
[1] https://www.sixt.de/betafunnel/#/offerlist?zen_pu_location=7...
I wanted to ask "Is it a VAT thing ?" but Spain actually has higher VAT so no
I'm pretty sure it's illegal in the EU for the same company to give a different price to customer depending on where they live in the union, I assume they get around that by being "not the same company" but sixt spain and sixt germany instead ...
I'm pretty sure it's illegal in the EU for the same company to give a different price to customer depending on where they live in the union, I assume they get around that by being "not the same company" but sixt spain and sixt germany instead ...
It's perfectly legal to offer different products or different prices to different markets. What's not legal is blocking someone from accessing a market just because it's not their "home" market.
Skyscanner has come up in this discussion, and full disclosure: I'm an employee. But this is an entirely personal comment.
Skyscanner has a lot of different market-based websites, for example https://www.skyscanner.de and https://www.skyscanner.fr. We don't geo-block, though: wherever you are, you'll have full access to any Skyscanner website, and we'll happily give you whichever market, locale, and currency triple you ask for. And we pass on the underlying market-based prices that we're given. So if you want to know whether different markets get different selections of flights, or different prices for the same flight, it's relatively easy to look and find examples.
Amazon is the same: you'll get different products and prices on de and uk, but if I'm willing to pay shipping then Amazon is willing to sell me stuff from Germany even though the UK left the EU and it's legal for them to block me or give me different prices. Which was very useful when I needed radiator thermostat adapters a couple of months ago.
Skyscanner has come up in this discussion, and full disclosure: I'm an employee. But this is an entirely personal comment.
Skyscanner has a lot of different market-based websites, for example https://www.skyscanner.de and https://www.skyscanner.fr. We don't geo-block, though: wherever you are, you'll have full access to any Skyscanner website, and we'll happily give you whichever market, locale, and currency triple you ask for. And we pass on the underlying market-based prices that we're given. So if you want to know whether different markets get different selections of flights, or different prices for the same flight, it's relatively easy to look and find examples.
Amazon is the same: you'll get different products and prices on de and uk, but if I'm willing to pay shipping then Amazon is willing to sell me stuff from Germany even though the UK left the EU and it's legal for them to block me or give me different prices. Which was very useful when I needed radiator thermostat adapters a couple of months ago.
Not sure about the rest of Europe but in France, go to LeClerc (the hypermarket) and get one there instead of the rental chains. I assume it's because they target locals, they are a fraction of the price.
I've found that some international flights with a regional domestic connection after landing in the new country are often several $100's cheaper to book one itinerary with the international segment, then a separate itinerary for the regional domestic connection.
I've actually seen the opposite.
* I was recently looking at GVA-EWR-BTV vs just GVA-EWR it was several hundred dollars less to go to BTV.
* I was in Paris three weeks ago, looking at return flights CDG-SFO. It was several hundred dollars cheaper to book FRA-CDG-SFO or GVA-CDG-SFO than CDG-SFO.
* I was recently looking at GVA-EWR-BTV vs just GVA-EWR it was several hundred dollars less to go to BTV.
* I was in Paris three weeks ago, looking at return flights CDG-SFO. It was several hundred dollars cheaper to book FRA-CDG-SFO or GVA-CDG-SFO than CDG-SFO.
It's wild how much pricing variation there can be with different routes to the same or a nearby destination.
It gets worse in our post-covid age. All companies are now openly screwing us over with no repercussions.
Go on a website, be it legit airline site or reputable agency. Book, pay for the flight. After payment, they inform you that the trip you booked (through their website) simply does not exist. Your only choice is to ask for a refund that will take 28 days. Easy, cheap cashflow.
Happened to me 3 times this year, Qatar airways (official site), Fram (official site). Happened to my friends and family, all post covid.
I need to go back to France next month, am 4000 euros down in "pending refunds", reached my cc limit and most importantly, have no idea where to safely book a ticket.
Go on a website, be it legit airline site or reputable agency. Book, pay for the flight. After payment, they inform you that the trip you booked (through their website) simply does not exist. Your only choice is to ask for a refund that will take 28 days. Easy, cheap cashflow.
Happened to me 3 times this year, Qatar airways (official site), Fram (official site). Happened to my friends and family, all post covid.
I need to go back to France next month, am 4000 euros down in "pending refunds", reached my cc limit and most importantly, have no idea where to safely book a ticket.
I wish there was a site would just charge the fare price +15% and do away with all the dark patterns and scams.
You select the flight and enter your name and pay.
You select the flight and enter your name and pay.
I've bought a round trip ticket for 1/3 the price of the one way ticket. I literally couldn't afford the one way... It was 3000 and I had just graduated and was moving back to the states. The round trip was 800
[deleted]
My experience is that the only thing that matters is the origin of your roundtrip. Trips from Europe cost half the trips from the us. With same paths or even same flights.
The effect of this (and the example given in the top SO answer) is significantly magnified when flying to and from Undeveloped countries.
When I was in Africa I flew out of, and then back into Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Booking the tickets to do so while sitting in those countries was up to half the price of booking it from the Developed country I was flying into.
I was just using kayak.com in Incognito and the price differences were staggering.
When I was in Africa I flew out of, and then back into Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Booking the tickets to do so while sitting in those countries was up to half the price of booking it from the Developed country I was flying into.
I was just using kayak.com in Incognito and the price differences were staggering.
about 10 years ago, you could buy a a flight lima-cuzco like a local by simply making the reservation online on the correct carrier (lanperu i believe), getting a voucher, then stopping by the main supermarket, presenting the voucher and paying for it in cash.
This decreased the cost of the ticket by approximately 50%
It was important to book on the right local carrier of Lan to do this, as well as entering certain info for the voucher itself
No Peru passport or driver's license required.
This decreased the cost of the ticket by approximately 50%
It was important to book on the right local carrier of Lan to do this, as well as entering certain info for the voucher itself
No Peru passport or driver's license required.
Absolutely. To fly direct from Atlanta to Tokyo is about $3000 round trip.
To fly to Tokyo from Costa Rica round trip via Atlanta layover is about $1500.
You don't even need a VPN to see the price difference. It's the same airlines, the same exact planes.
It's priced by demand not by costs and it is absurd imo, especially from a climate perspective. Should I take a Costa Rica vacation I don't need just to save money?
It has me evaluating
To fly to Tokyo from Costa Rica round trip via Atlanta layover is about $1500.
You don't even need a VPN to see the price difference. It's the same airlines, the same exact planes.
It's priced by demand not by costs and it is absurd imo, especially from a climate perspective. Should I take a Costa Rica vacation I don't need just to save money?
It has me evaluating
Indeed. And not if that layover is overnight and you ask to take your bags off Atlanta airport whilst you sleep at the hotel nearby, scrapping that ATL>Costa Rica leg the next day as no show.
That’s another trick I haven’t seen mentioned around: the extra ‘dummy’ leg at the end sometimes make a huuuge difference.
I had to rebook more expensive flights due to a cancellation. My wife has it open on her phone for £500 less than the same flights on my phone.
lemme guess: your phone is an iphone whereas your wife's phone is an android phone?
Both iPhone, but did make me wonder at the time
Somewhat related: Over the counter medicine is significantly cheaper to buy from Thailand, Indonesia and India [1].
Medicines in the US cost 50 times their cost in Thailand.
[1] https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/imgsize-23456,msid-72197131,...
Medicines in the US cost 50 times their cost in Thailand.
[1] https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/imgsize-23456,msid-72197131,...
Indian pharmaceuticals are not well regulated and if you can afford it, it's better to look for products from other countries with stronger oversight.
Yes. Many years ago I was working on the Isle of Man. I initially travelled from England on Monday morning, returning on Friday evening. I then started buying tickets for the same aircraft flying to England on Friday evening and returning to the Isle of Man on Monday morning, which was around 25% cheaper despite all journeys taking place on the same aircraft.
[deleted]
> As a result of this demand, the airline may choose to increase the price of flights for Australians (who are more likely to pay them as they are headed to summer!) and keep the price the same for Americans who would not be willing to pay the higher charges.
But why keep the price the same for Americans? Wouldn’t it be more profitable to increase the price overall?
But why keep the price the same for Americans? Wouldn’t it be more profitable to increase the price overall?
Thats the fundamental question of pricing - x people will buy at $y and your margin will be $z, but i people will buy at $j and your margin will be $k. Now decide what x, y, i and j are, then find whether z>k.
It's called price discrimination in economics. There's even a section on how it is used within the travel industry on Wikipedia[0].
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination#Travel_in...
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination#Travel_in...
Years ago I bought an RTW ticket from One World, where the pricing varied based on what country your flights started in. I think the lowest price I found was from Morocco, and the USA was among the highest - something like $3000 vs $5000.
VPN was added in the HN title but is not present in the actual question title. The act of simply "using" a "VPN" does not make prices cheaper. Let's not abuse the term. It's about purchase location.
If someone asked whether you can drive a nail into a board more easily if you use a hammer, I would say yes, even though the act of simply "using" a "hammer" does not instantly make nearby nails go into boards.
It doesn't seem like an abuse of terms, just not fully explaining what a VPN is or how you should use it in the short title.
It doesn't seem like an abuse of terms, just not fully explaining what a VPN is or how you should use it in the short title.
Most VPNs I use on a daily basis don't provide access to outside themselves, and don't, in fact, have any routers usable as a default gateway, and as such are unusable for the purpose described in the article.
[deleted]
Do travel agents have some benefit when travelling internationally or something? I have not heard about travel agents since the 90s. Maybe I'm missing some incredible deals? I kinda expected them to not exist any more
Travel Agents are still a thing, although there are quite a lot fewer of them than there were in the 90's.
If you know where you are going, where you are staying, when, how, etc then you can pretty much do all that yourself online, no need for an agent [1].
But if you want advice, then agents can be useful. Say for example I want to visit Barcelona, a place I've never been. An agent can help me plan that (when to go, where to stay, what can/should I do etc.) They're like an intelligent Google. They'll also likely know some hacks to make it cheaper if I'm flexible enough. They can do a lot more than just purchase tickets for me.
[1] I needed an agent once. I was flying from the UK to USA on United. I live (and my CC is based in a country United doesn't fly to directly.) United _requires_ me to use the "web site of the country matching my credit card". Except they don't fly to my country, so no web site. I could book online, but no way to complete the purchase. I ended up using a travel agent in London (which is where I _was_) to make the booking for me...
If you know where you are going, where you are staying, when, how, etc then you can pretty much do all that yourself online, no need for an agent [1].
But if you want advice, then agents can be useful. Say for example I want to visit Barcelona, a place I've never been. An agent can help me plan that (when to go, where to stay, what can/should I do etc.) They're like an intelligent Google. They'll also likely know some hacks to make it cheaper if I'm flexible enough. They can do a lot more than just purchase tickets for me.
[1] I needed an agent once. I was flying from the UK to USA on United. I live (and my CC is based in a country United doesn't fly to directly.) United _requires_ me to use the "web site of the country matching my credit card". Except they don't fly to my country, so no web site. I could book online, but no way to complete the purchase. I ended up using a travel agent in London (which is where I _was_) to make the booking for me...
For complex things they are well worth the added cost. For example if you need to book a complex chain of flights with different airlines, then you might be looking at 4-5 different sites, maybe an airport hotel booking etc. Add some time zones into the mix and it's several hours of work.
If you do it yourself these are all individual bookings, and you run the risk that when you completed half the steps, something goes wrong and the next step is no longer available but it's too late to switch to plan B which was through another city.
A travel agent can basically set up a complex chain of things and then book it all in one go. They'll also handle the fallback scenario if something goes wrong. And if you are on your destination and it turns out the complex chain of flights back home is no longer available, then they'll sort out a whole new itinerary. For 90% of trips it's probably not all that useful, e.g if you fly just 1-2 legs or stay in just 1 hotel.
A travel agent can basically set up a complex chain of things and then book it all in one go. They'll also handle the fallback scenario if something goes wrong. And if you are on your destination and it turns out the complex chain of flights back home is no longer available, then they'll sort out a whole new itinerary. For 90% of trips it's probably not all that useful, e.g if you fly just 1-2 legs or stay in just 1 hotel.
> I have not heard about travel agents since the 90s
Right, because "travel agents" were a front for a network of Cold War Russian spies with an incredibly high skill at impersonating a typical American family -- no accents, real kids, very middle-class. It all fell apart after an FBI agent moved in next door to one of them. I heard one of the female spies was a dead ringer for the actress who played Felicity on television.
Right, because "travel agents" were a front for a network of Cold War Russian spies with an incredibly high skill at impersonating a typical American family -- no accents, real kids, very middle-class. It all fell apart after an FBI agent moved in next door to one of them. I heard one of the female spies was a dead ringer for the actress who played Felicity on television.
I think they're still around, and they probably have the "on-the-ground" knowledge that's useful, maybe from feedback of their customers, or network of local friends (some small agencies focus on particular destinations, probably because they travelled there once and liked it so much they became an expert of the region, and big agencies just have partners in popular destinations). Compare that to if you check out a hotel on booking.com, the ratings are all exaggerated, even if you rate everything as crap, their scoring system will make your final rating about a 6.0 (don't quote me on that). Not to mention review-buying or faking.
As for flights, the last few times I tried booking from a booking como5any through Skyscanner where the price was 20% lower, I got all the way to entering my CC number and clicking "Buy now" only for the page to tell me, "Oops, tickets for this price are no longer available, do you want to buy for [price advertised on the airline website]?"... Hell fuck no!
As for flights, the last few times I tried booking from a booking como5any through Skyscanner where the price was 20% lower, I got all the way to entering my CC number and clicking "Buy now" only for the page to tell me, "Oops, tickets for this price are no longer available, do you want to buy for [price advertised on the airline website]?"... Hell fuck no!
They're useful when traveling for work. Not because they can find you better deals (they rarely do), but because they can save you time. You can book a flight, train, hotel and even tickets to the game/show you want to take a customer to with a single call and get all costs on a single invoice sent in the correct format, to the correct address with the correct fields filled in for the invoicing system. There is also a single 24 hour phone number to call if things go wrong where you can instantly talk to someone who can sort out whatever the problem is.
But as I said, none of this involves actually saving money
But as I said, none of this involves actually saving money
They can use Sabre to look this stuff up. Funnily enough I was in a TA just yesterday trying to book a 4 week multi-city flight.
Her banging away magical codes in Sabre was a lot easier than me trying to use the shambles which is currently Qantas’ website.
But yeah, first time I’ve been in a TA in perhaps 20 years.
Her banging away magical codes in Sabre was a lot easier than me trying to use the shambles which is currently Qantas’ website.
But yeah, first time I’ve been in a TA in perhaps 20 years.
A friend of mine works in the public sector, and using an agent saves on the bureaucracy.
They need to find three separate providers/offers, and then choose cheapest option... so they call an agency, tell them where they want to go and when, what hotel, and that they need two more expensive options too,... so an agency calls other friendly agencies, tell them what (higher) price they need, and the public sector worker gets what they need with minimal work.
They need to find three separate providers/offers, and then choose cheapest option... so they call an agency, tell them where they want to go and when, what hotel, and that they need two more expensive options too,... so an agency calls other friendly agencies, tell them what (higher) price they need, and the public sector worker gets what they need with minimal work.
Huh, couldn't that be construed as
a price-fixing conspiracy?
i think they're still popular for disney since there are a ton of options for packages and i think they can also provide better deals than booking elsewhere
In the past I have written a script for skyscanner that goes through a list of countries and searches for the lowest price.
Usually price difference isn't that big, but you can save a few bucks this way.
I was in Vietnam once and buying a flight between Dalat and Da Nang.
First searched on there .com and it was $3-400 AUD. Searched again on the Vietnamese domain - $75 AUD. Wild.
If you buy the ticket from another country, it's no longer the same ticket because the origin is (assumed to be) different
Hotels have a different online pricing depending on where you are buying it. It is always cheaper locally.
Example? I have never seen this using a major hotel brand website.
Had friends save enough money flying to Europe from Montreal, it was worth the drive from Illinois.
Can I get a pay rise if I use a VPN?
Amusingly enough, maybe? I was staying in a coliving house, and one of my friends there was working a US only job from Europe using a VPN they setup back in the US. None of their coworkers knew, and it paid better than EU options they could find.
If you can teach your VPN to ask for a raise, you definitely deserve to get it.
People say this and it always sounds a bit like a myth, so here's a concrete search. Tokyo to Seattle, May 18th to June 8th. first link ([0]) with the sales city set to Seattle, the other time set to Tokyo ([1]).
Most of the airlines price the flight roughly the same (writing up the differences in pricing to currency conversions, like ~1%) but Singapore Airlines is offering the same flight at 3x the cost!
I feel like I've read in the past about how flight tickets are priced based on many rules, that are shared between various companies that sell tickets. My inference is thus that these rules might be dynamic, but they aren't like.... "price will change minute to minute based on all of the cookies in your browser" dynamic. Which then leads me to wondering: what sort of pricing rules are kicking in for these pricing differences? Because it feels to me a lot more like "lack of a discounting mechanism" rather than "rule that triples singapore airline flights out of Tokyo for Tokyo-based pruchases"
[0]: https://matrix.itasoftware.com/flights?search=eyJ0eXBlIjoicm...
[1]: https://matrix.itasoftware.com/flights?search=eyJ0eXBlIjoicm...
Most of the airlines price the flight roughly the same (writing up the differences in pricing to currency conversions, like ~1%) but Singapore Airlines is offering the same flight at 3x the cost!
I feel like I've read in the past about how flight tickets are priced based on many rules, that are shared between various companies that sell tickets. My inference is thus that these rules might be dynamic, but they aren't like.... "price will change minute to minute based on all of the cookies in your browser" dynamic. Which then leads me to wondering: what sort of pricing rules are kicking in for these pricing differences? Because it feels to me a lot more like "lack of a discounting mechanism" rather than "rule that triples singapore airline flights out of Tokyo for Tokyo-based pruchases"
[0]: https://matrix.itasoftware.com/flights?search=eyJ0eXBlIjoicm...
[1]: https://matrix.itasoftware.com/flights?search=eyJ0eXBlIjoicm...
The theory of Price Discrimination, simple stuff, for anyone who isn't up on the econs 101 jargon, looks like it's here:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price_discrimination.as...
Everyone including you will do it whenever you can when selling. The logical place surveillance capitalism is going isn't pretty. Will regulation protect consumers or will Goog, FB, Apple etc capture a good amount of everyone's consumer surplus? Would mass consumer outrage influence regulators more than lobbying cash?
I don't have any answers, if don't think much of the questions it'd be interesting to know why you think that way.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price_discrimination.as...
Everyone including you will do it whenever you can when selling. The logical place surveillance capitalism is going isn't pretty. Will regulation protect consumers or will Goog, FB, Apple etc capture a good amount of everyone's consumer surplus? Would mass consumer outrage influence regulators more than lobbying cash?
I don't have any answers, if don't think much of the questions it'd be interesting to know why you think that way.
You're wrong that everyone would do it. I wouldn't. Lots of people find the practice to be dangerous and abhorrent, but you're right that corporations are salivating at the thought of the profits they could pull in by further exploiting our personal data and you're right that once they start only regulations will stop them.
This is absolutely one of those situations where we should really start thinking about what kind of world we want to live in and where we are actually headed.
This is absolutely one of those situations where we should really start thinking about what kind of world we want to live in and where we are actually headed.
This type of price discrimination isn't powered by surveillance capitalism. Using the example in the first answer on the stackexchange, this is nothing more than selling the same ticket at a different price to someone walking up to a United counter in USA compared to someone walking up to a United counter in AU.
Surveillance capitalism powering price discrimination sounds scary, but there seems to be few examples of ML powered price discrimination. Currently we are paying massive amounts for simple price discrimination. You can save a ton of money (for things in general) by searching for discounts, booking ahead of time, accepting slower shipment, waiting for off-season/off-peak, buying in bulk, haggling, etc.
Surveillance capitalism powering price discrimination sounds scary, but there seems to be few examples of ML powered price discrimination. Currently we are paying massive amounts for simple price discrimination. You can save a ton of money (for things in general) by searching for discounts, booking ahead of time, accepting slower shipment, waiting for off-season/off-peak, buying in bulk, haggling, etc.
> This type of price discrimination isn't powered by surveillance capitalism.
Yes it is. That's why people who book flights using an Apple computer will pay more (https://www.imore.com/mac-users-might-be-paying-more-pc-user...) they're pricing based on their best assumptions about your income level.
Their dream is that they'll be able to just use facial recognition, or grab your ID from your cell phone, or force you to sign up for an account with them so they have all the info they need to pull up your credit history, yearly income, the size of your household, a list of your recent purchases, and whatever else they can get from data brokers all just to make better guesses about your wealth and how much money they can squeeze out of you rather than just using your IP address or your useragent, and that's in the works (https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2017/11/17/a-special-p...) but until they can shift public perception away from viewing that sort of thing as being discriminatory and exploitative, or until everyone in an industry is doing it too (airlines and hotels) it's still seen as too risky. see https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41272-019-00224-3
Yes it is. That's why people who book flights using an Apple computer will pay more (https://www.imore.com/mac-users-might-be-paying-more-pc-user...) they're pricing based on their best assumptions about your income level.
Their dream is that they'll be able to just use facial recognition, or grab your ID from your cell phone, or force you to sign up for an account with them so they have all the info they need to pull up your credit history, yearly income, the size of your household, a list of your recent purchases, and whatever else they can get from data brokers all just to make better guesses about your wealth and how much money they can squeeze out of you rather than just using your IP address or your useragent, and that's in the works (https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2017/11/17/a-special-p...) but until they can shift public perception away from viewing that sort of thing as being discriminatory and exploitative, or until everyone in an industry is doing it too (airlines and hotels) it's still seen as too risky. see https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41272-019-00224-3
>Yes it is. That's why people who book flights using an Apple computer will pay more they're pricing based on their best assumptions about your income level.
There is no claim of this on the article you linked and no proof of it. It says “could be”, which is unsubstantiated.
There is no claim of this on the article you linked and no proof of it. It says “could be”, which is unsubstantiated.
That's fair I guess, try this one: https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/mac-users-pa...
That is from 10+ years ago, and it was a travel agent (Orbitz.com) charging more for hotel nights (increasing their cut).
The hotel itself never charged Mac users more, and I have never seen or heard of Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton/etc websites charging based on which operating system they think the query is coming from.
I have yet to see proof that airlines or hotels or car rental companies directly put out different prices to customers based on the device being used, or even anything else.
What they do do to price discriminate is sell via opaque pricing, e.g.
https://www.opaquetravel.com/
Or discounted volume pricing for travel agents who promise to pay a minimum and then the travel agent is on the hook for organizing a group of travelers.
But those are both different than price discriminating based on Windows/Mac.
The hotel itself never charged Mac users more, and I have never seen or heard of Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton/etc websites charging based on which operating system they think the query is coming from.
I have yet to see proof that airlines or hotels or car rental companies directly put out different prices to customers based on the device being used, or even anything else.
What they do do to price discriminate is sell via opaque pricing, e.g.
https://www.opaquetravel.com/
Or discounted volume pricing for travel agents who promise to pay a minimum and then the travel agent is on the hook for organizing a group of travelers.
But those are both different than price discriminating based on Windows/Mac.
> I have yet to see proof that airlines or hotels or car rental companies directly put out different prices to customers based on the device being used, or even anything else.
That's much less fair, but try this which explicitly states that airlines in the US set prices according to a customer’s personal information.
https://catalaconsulting.co.uk/why-hotel-personalized-pricin...
and note this source in particular:
https://www.duettocloud.com/press-releases/duetto-gamechange...
Companies are already prepared to sell this to hotels as a service: https://blog.guestcentric.com/personalized-prices-the-next-s...
That's much less fair, but try this which explicitly states that airlines in the US set prices according to a customer’s personal information.
https://catalaconsulting.co.uk/why-hotel-personalized-pricin...
and note this source in particular:
https://www.duettocloud.com/press-releases/duetto-gamechange...
Companies are already prepared to sell this to hotels as a service: https://blog.guestcentric.com/personalized-prices-the-next-s...
> That's much less fair, but try this which explicitly states that airlines in the US set prices according to a customer’s personal information.
No, it does not. Your catala consulting link is about what hotels could do, and it is nothing more than what you learn about price segmentation in microeconomics 101.
>https://www.duettocloud.com/press-releases/duetto-gamechange...
This is a valid link, but still not about hotels in the sense that most people use for tourism/visits friends/family and work.
It is about casinos using technology to automate how to entice their whales, which they already did using “comped” rooms and upgrades and whatnot in exchange for gambling.
I have yet to see evidence that an airline website presents different prices to customers based on the device they are using (the original claim), nor do mainstream hotels like Hiltons/Marriotts/IHG/Wyndham/Choice/Accor/etc.
They very well might in the future. And in some broad sense, currently do via benefits for frequent customers via rewards programs, but as of now, there is no automated pricing system that drills down to the individual level.
No, it does not. Your catala consulting link is about what hotels could do, and it is nothing more than what you learn about price segmentation in microeconomics 101.
>https://www.duettocloud.com/press-releases/duetto-gamechange...
This is a valid link, but still not about hotels in the sense that most people use for tourism/visits friends/family and work.
It is about casinos using technology to automate how to entice their whales, which they already did using “comped” rooms and upgrades and whatnot in exchange for gambling.
I have yet to see evidence that an airline website presents different prices to customers based on the device they are using (the original claim), nor do mainstream hotels like Hiltons/Marriotts/IHG/Wyndham/Choice/Accor/etc.
They very well might in the future. And in some broad sense, currently do via benefits for frequent customers via rewards programs, but as of now, there is no automated pricing system that drills down to the individual level.
> This type of price discrimination isn't powered by surveillance capitalism
Ok in this particular example of price discrimination it isn't. Yet. Sure.
Now imagine you wan't to power it buy surveillance capitalism to get more of that surplus and current laws and norms are no object. What would that look like? How close do you think we will get to that? How fast? [1] Think vendors will keep much of that captured surplus in the face of Goog, FB, Apple, whatever market power?
[1] I'd just refuse to buy any ticket unless your country of birth and residency of your family was known, which holidays you celebrate. By which I mean make dis counts readily available on that basis (with exclusions) to really slug anyone going home for high holidays, for example. Frame it as a discount, whatever.
So that's one way it might go. Can you think of how this is going to work for insurance? Health insurance? What else would really supercharge revenue using techniques like this?
Ok in this particular example of price discrimination it isn't. Yet. Sure.
Now imagine you wan't to power it buy surveillance capitalism to get more of that surplus and current laws and norms are no object. What would that look like? How close do you think we will get to that? How fast? [1] Think vendors will keep much of that captured surplus in the face of Goog, FB, Apple, whatever market power?
[1] I'd just refuse to buy any ticket unless your country of birth and residency of your family was known, which holidays you celebrate. By which I mean make dis counts readily available on that basis (with exclusions) to really slug anyone going home for high holidays, for example. Frame it as a discount, whatever.
So that's one way it might go. Can you think of how this is going to work for insurance? Health insurance? What else would really supercharge revenue using techniques like this?
I am not a lawyer, and I am unsure, but I am under the impression there are limits on which variables health insurance companies can vary their prices on. I think health insurance is another example of classic price discrimination costing normal people money. Hospitals will charge different amounts of money for the same medical procedure and the same level of car depending on which insurance is getting billed, or if no insurance is billed. This is caused by thousands of accountants negotiating in advanced.
I am actually not worried about Surveillance Capitalism powered Price Discrimination in it's current state. It is probably happening already, but not to a wide degree. A few things would make me worry, and they are also mostly things that are opportunities for price discrimination.
* There is no cash option. There is no resell option. There are no advertised prices.
* I must disclose personal information to do business, before the prices are revealed. You can link your travel agent website with social media, but you can also guest checkout from a public library.
* Comparative shopping is hard/impossible. Ideally the information age actually empowers consumers on this one. This doesn't stop companies from varying prices based on individuals, but it does put downward pressure on prices. Cartels and price collusion can negate this.
I am actually not worried about Surveillance Capitalism powered Price Discrimination in it's current state. It is probably happening already, but not to a wide degree. A few things would make me worry, and they are also mostly things that are opportunities for price discrimination.
* There is no cash option. There is no resell option. There are no advertised prices.
* I must disclose personal information to do business, before the prices are revealed. You can link your travel agent website with social media, but you can also guest checkout from a public library.
* Comparative shopping is hard/impossible. Ideally the information age actually empowers consumers on this one. This doesn't stop companies from varying prices based on individuals, but it does put downward pressure on prices. Cartels and price collusion can negate this.
> if don't think much of the questions it'd be interesting to know why you think that way.
Mostly because you don't have to buy any of this. If it's that unfair, figure a better/cheaper way to do it yourself, otherwise quit complaining that the poor ppl have it so much better
Mostly because you don't have to buy any of this. If it's that unfair, figure a better/cheaper way to do it yourself, otherwise quit complaining that the poor ppl have it so much better
> Mostly because you don't have to buy any of this.
Maybe nobody has to buy an airline ticket, but I'm not convinced that's true. Worse, is that while you can look at the places where we know this pricing model is being used right now and think it won't impact you, the goal for many years has been to push this to everything you buy everywhere.
The only thing holding them back is that most consumers feel that this is abusive and discriminatory. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41272-019-00224-3
Still, it's being tested all the time, including in grocery stores. They want to use your personal income level, your personal buying habits, all of the information they can get about you, and use it to set a different price for you than the next person, but also to offer some goods and services only for certain people, hold certain policies only for certain people etc.
Right now, you might be able to dismiss this when it comes to airline tickets or hotel bookings, but what we're heading toward is a caste system, several really, where "you don't have to buy any of this" will need to apply to food and toilet paper and "your kind aren't allowed to buy this" is right around the corner.
Maybe nobody has to buy an airline ticket, but I'm not convinced that's true. Worse, is that while you can look at the places where we know this pricing model is being used right now and think it won't impact you, the goal for many years has been to push this to everything you buy everywhere.
The only thing holding them back is that most consumers feel that this is abusive and discriminatory. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41272-019-00224-3
Still, it's being tested all the time, including in grocery stores. They want to use your personal income level, your personal buying habits, all of the information they can get about you, and use it to set a different price for you than the next person, but also to offer some goods and services only for certain people, hold certain policies only for certain people etc.
Right now, you might be able to dismiss this when it comes to airline tickets or hotel bookings, but what we're heading toward is a caste system, several really, where "you don't have to buy any of this" will need to apply to food and toilet paper and "your kind aren't allowed to buy this" is right around the corner.
It ain't the poor, it's those who have the biggest barrier to going anywhere else who will get slugged, and slugged hard. That segment of the market will pay loads. Flights from New Zealand to the Pacific Islands for Christmas are legendary. Pacific islanders in NZ do not constitute the rich. You don't care whether you go to the Solomon Islands for christmas or just after? Much cheaper. But what if there are empty seats on the plane you could have sold to regular holiday makers at regular prices? Airline ticketing is one example of this - we can take the principle to so many places! Uber can do it! Anywhere the vendor has market power against a market segment they (yes me and you as vendors) want to exploit it.
When the vendor know what's in your hand, your "I could walk" bluff is called and you get smashed. Every business including yours and mine wants to charge every single customer as much as they will possibly pay. Capture consumer surplus. Surveillance capitalism can help here.
When the vendor know what's in your hand, your "I could walk" bluff is called and you get smashed. Every business including yours and mine wants to charge every single customer as much as they will possibly pay. Capture consumer surplus. Surveillance capitalism can help here.
In the end, I've realized that my time is better spent not chasing these elusive deals. I can spend all day searching for the cheapest flight somewhere, or I can just book the cheapest thing on Kiwi or SkyScanner in 10 minutes and spend the rest of my day writing code for a project that is paying me far more money than I would have saved searching for flight deals.
The best hacks to save money on plane tickets: travel carry-on luggage only, fly economy, and book with a credit card that provides travel insurance and accumulates rewards. Chase Sapphire cards are pretty much the standard for travelers.