5 TIPS FOR BUYING FLIGHTS ONLINE | Must know in 2024

How to Buy Flight Tickets Online and 5 flight booking tips for 2024

Things have changed and in today's video we will cover what you need to know BEFORE you book a flight online in 2024. We will cover essential mistakes to avoid when booking a flight online and how to find the best flights. Must watch video to find and book an airline ticket in 2024.

How to book a flight in 2024
Where to buy flight ticket in 2024
When should I book my flight
Can I cancel my flight
How to find flights
Booking a flight with Expedia, Priceline, Kayak and Flight Network
Do I have to pay to pick my seat
How to find cheap flights
What is a Basic Economy ticket

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15 Things for can get FREE on the plane

BORDERLESS (Entry requirements for all countries!)

Travel Insurance ($1.43/ day!)

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// ABOUT

Hey there, I'm Megan and I've spent 5+ years living and working from over 50 countries around the world. I'm on a mission to prove that anyone (even you!) can do it too.

Portable Professional is a youtube channel full of actionable tips and guides to travel, live and work from anywhere in the world. Serving seasoned digital nomads and first-time travelers alike, it's the ultimate resource to hack the travel lifestyle.

[PortableProfessional]

Have you ever had to change or cancel a flight?! Who did you book with and how did it go? ✈

[turbocharge]

I had a problem getting a refund from an airline in 2020. After 6 months of no response after the initial request I emailed the Department of Transport who wrote to them and copied me. After that the refund was quick. Thanks DOT.

[chadnichols]

Wise advice. I had a trip/tour to Costa Rica this week. I ended up blind in my left eye one morning and found out I had a detached retina. The docs said no flying with a bubble in your eye. I had to cancel everything. Expedia had nothing to do with me and referred me to American Airlines. They made extremely difficult to cancel...and said 'prove it'. My doctor wrote a beautiful letter for me (barring me frin flying) and even with that, I only got back $405 of the $725 fee. I did have cancellation insurance ($350) with the tour group. This really paid off! I recommend travel insurance anytime and NEVER use Orbitz or Expedia etc. Book directly with the airline.

[starswater]

THANK
First time booking a flight and feeling totally overwhelmed, this is exactly the kind of info I was hoping to learn about.

[wm]

Yes! Ready to travel. Agree with booking flights directly thru airlines vs 3rd party. So frustrating when airline makes changes but I had to deal with the 3rd party. More often than not, I would have to pay more or lose the money paid. So never again will I book through 3rd party.

[christophercullum]

Great advice, especially on the callout with Southwest for everywhere they fly. Great customer service, competitive pricing, and guaranteed to be able to cancel your flight and keep the flight credit to use up to a year from the booking.

I would say for US domestic travel, Google Flights and Southwest Airlines website are your best friends (since Southwest prevents Google and other aggregators from listing their flights and prices on their sites by law).

I've pretty much written off the possibility of international travel until the US lifts the strenuous reentry procedure of testing negative for COVID one day prior to the return flight. The threat of being locked out of home far outweighs the possibility of a fun trip. I'd just be stressed the whole time that I would be covid positive and ineligible to reenter the US

[crisyorke]

I'll be moving to Poland this fall, and will be booking the flight just before I apply for 1 year visa. I'm just going to trut God to prepare for all of the things I need to do.

[markfoley]

Yes. Mexico from March to May and Thailand from July to September. The cost of travel insurance is going up, but my flights were cheep cheap compared to previous trips and included more flexibility than normal. By the way, Southwest is my absolute go-to carried for the US and Mexico. Cheers.

[chrisemblen]

I recently booked tickets directly with Austrian to Thailand, business basic, I felt this was fine because it offered free changes of date. When Thailands entry conditions changed I tried to amend my dates and while Austrian didn't charge to make the change, every new date was double the price of the original ticket. I ended up writing to the Chief Executive, explaining the situation, and eventually one of his team allowed me to cancel with a full refund.
Lesson - Beware the "Only pay the difference in fare" clause.

[gerrywong]

Yes I agree and with Point one I had first hand experience. I could not get a refund from the online site as it claimed it was not a agent and on the reservation of United it said it was booked from an agent. However United was nice to allow me to rebook my flight with payment of lower rate and credit me for full amount in the future. This was a good compromise and I did not loose any money. Since then I have stopped using the online site and I go to United directly. I found out there are more options and in one case cheaper alternative then on the websites.

[nathanjw]

If you are flying spirit, frontier or allegiant and live near the airport go to the gate and order your ticket. Learn how to pack light. I can easily book a weekend getaway for under $40 round trip. Pack light and from what I have learned getting the ticket at the kiosk can get you the best seats without paying because checking in online they start in the middle seats in the back and work their way up.

[whitebutterflypri]

I went to the US in February and when it was time to come back to Brazil I tested positive for covid, I had to change the flights and it was really hard and expensive! Book flexible flights whenever you can!

[labtechsuperstar]

Great video! If I have learned anything from this plague, it's to spend the extra and get refundable/flex. And I have also learned that when it comes to airfare, NEVER to use these 3rd party places. I once dealt with Flight Hub (IIRC). They are terrible. They do bait and switch. Advertise a great price and then all of a sudden when you're ready to pay, the price is quite a bit more. Never again. I will only deal with the airlines direct.

[lisabaker]

Yes! Traveling overseas for the first time in September to Greece! We are using a travel agent and bought travel insurance that does include COVID coverage, just in case. Thank you for the tips!

[SinceUasked]

Never again will I go third party. I booked Delta Vacations because it had a great deal on flight +hotel room. My Friend decided to go with me and just booked flight on Delta. We had to change our plans because of a Covid scare. You can’t compare the experience to get this changes.. Her change was one phone call to Delta, maybe 1 1/2 hours on hold. She ended up with flight credit….Mine required multiple calls over several days, several hours on hold. Call backs to correct two huge errors I was lucky to catch. The change costs me $200. At one point I had a email confirmed flight but the flight number was never assigned so I did not have flight booked at all!

[crimsontidegal]

The problem I have had the last couple years is the airlines cancelling or changing my flights. Delta, American and Southwest is notorious for it. Last year I had enough points to fly to Aruba on my Southwest account and they cancelled my flight and rebooked on the day before I was supposed to arrive. I had no reservations in Aruba for that night. I had them cancel a flight and I then had to find another airline at a much higher price. I have a trip booked next October on Delta to Los Angeles and Delta has already changed that flight two times on me. American has also changed my flights. You cannot trust them anymore. The only thing good is when they do change it on you you can then get them to book you on a flight that previously had been over your budget at no additional cost. I leave in 4 weeks to Aruba again using my points and I am praying they do not cancel on me again.

[truckn]

Yes I did travel already in 2022 and contrary to what you said about flights being Cheap, that was not my experience. Long story short. I went from my home in Canada to Thailand Feb 2nd 2022 until March 4th. This was my 5th time to Thailand and the most expensive flight by close top 3 times what I paid the previous 4 times. I did book the first 4 times via an online provider but because in 2020 my return flight was cancelled and the battle was on from BudgetAir for a refund of the return portion, Which this April will be 2 years later, I still haven't seen that refund. My last trip I booked directly through the airline and received exceptional service but paid dearly for it. But I also paid for peace of mind, in the event the flight was cancelled for any reason I Wouldn't receive a refund but they said my ticket would then be able to be used to fly anywhere they fly, with NO expiration date, PLUS I could even transfer it to another name if I wanted which would've been perfect in my case because if I couldn't get to Thailand maybe I could get my wife to Canada once she got her Visa (which by the way is any day now.) There where so many restriction and hoops to jump through to get into Thailand I feared I would potentially not get there so I was thankful to have an airline that would give me options even more then I mentioned here. The only thing would be extra fees if I needed to make changes. Turns out the trip was uneventful and awesome. Great video thanks.

[kvom]

I'd been following your videos back in the pre-covid Danang days, but for some reason YT stopped feeding yours since then before today. Who knows why. I'm an experienced traveler so these recommendations are second hand to me, but I'm sure that for many they're invaluable. I also find it fascinating how many outfits and expressions you find for your video's thumbnails. Keep smiling.

[Rosary]

I only fly Southwest due to their policies. Oh, and free bags.

[maf]

I still have not got my refund ( Covid related airline cancelled flight) from Travelgenio and Opodo ( Feb 2021)
Never book with a 3rd party site and never book with Travelgenio or Opodo