In the past two years, I've done a lot of local and international travel. I went to Australia and spent five months touring the continent. Shortly after, I visited Paris (x2) and London, followed by trips to Washington DC, New York City, Miami, Boston, Minneapolis, Madison, and more. I'm a self-diagnosed travel-a-holic. So how can I afford to feed this addiction? Well, a little site called Student Universe. I have a knack for finding really great fares and frequently, I find them here. Student Universe will verify that you are indeed a student. Not a student? They also offer discounted tickets for youth (18-25).
Tips:
- Search all major airports near you. When I lived in Madison, I always flew from Chicago because the flights were significantly cheaper. For example, when I went to Paris, I spent $450.00 round-trip leaving from Chicago O'Hare and flying into Charles de Gaulle.
- Australia: I booked my flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane. My round-trip fare was about $950.00. I booked two 1-way flights from LA to Minneapolis and saved close to $300.00.
- England: In September, I will spend 6 months in Southampton. I booked my round-trip flight for $600.00. Granted, I am leaving at the end of the high-season and returning in February, it was still a pretty good fare.
- Try to be flexible when choosing your dates. I always turn on the +-3 days choice. Student Universe sets up a grid of all flight prices and you can easily scroll through to find the best fare.
- Don't search on Friday-Sunday. Try Tuesdays-Thursdays.
- We're young. Overnight flights, layovers and early morning flights are annoying, but completely worth the $300 savings.
- Sometimes, booking two 1-way flights is actually cheaper than booking a round trip flight. It never hurts to check.
Other sites to check out:
