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Home >> Travel Flights >> Discount Last Minute Flights

Discount Last Minute Flights

You can get discount last minute flights in a variety of ways, though you should be careful… sometimes prices continue to rise, even at the very last minute. For example, I once grabbed a flight from San Francisco to Sydney, AU for just over six hundred dollars, round trip. Naturally, I felt I had the travel industry under my thumb…until I tried the same trick from LA to San Francisco and paid over three hundred bucks, one way. Ouch.

Remember and repeat my mantra when it comes to travel: If you have to be somewhere, book it as soon as possible; if you are open to suggestions, shop around for last minute discounts. If you are open to flying to South America rather than South Africa, you will be able to really take advantage of cheap flights. This flexibility is advantageous not only for destinations, but also the date of departure. Airlines offer fares based on the season: peak (the highest prices), trough (the lowest) or shoulder (in the middle). If you can leave a week earlier or later, this may be enough to land you into the shoulder or low seasons, which can save you a bundle.

There are a wide variety of websites available that can help you get a discount on last minute flights. Both Travelocity and Kayak have a section dedicated to last minute flights, and barring them, you can check out the aptly named lastminutetravel.com which offers several specials every day.

Once you think you’ve found a great deal, try and break up the trip into smaller segments with discount providers like Southwest or Jet Blue. For example, instead of booking a Delta flight from San Francisco to London with a layover in Atlanta, try booking Delta for the international portion and Southwest for the domestic. Often you will save even more money; if not, you’re still better off than most.

If you are really interested in discount last minute flights, I suggest you take advantage of these strategies.