Money Rant of the Week: Buying Airline Tickets

 

As someone who loves to travel, I'm willing to put up with some of those less-than-thrilling experiences you must endure to get from point A to point B when you're flying. (Really, I can handle going without peanuts or pretzels or even a pillow, the 3 oz. toiletry rule, and even the frustration that one airport let me through security with my cuticle clippers only to have them confiscated at another airport during my return trip.)

 

 

But what sends me over the edge is the game I have to play every time I go to buy plane tickets. A sampling of what goes through my head:

 

What are the chances that the price will go up if I don't buy RIGHT NOW?

 

Is that really the lowest the price is ever going to be?

 

How is the price for tickets nine months from now that high? I could see nine days, but not nine months!

 

Do I use an online ticket website (like Expedia.com) or order them directly from the airline? Does it ever make sense to buy over the phone? And what about through a travel agent?

 

Should I buy a more expensive ticket if that airline doesn't charge me to check my luggage?

 

Despite all the neurotic thoughts, I have no answers. And with each flight I purchase, these voices in my head get a little louder. (Joking.)

 

I've been obsessively checking prices on Kayak.com (a website that aggregates prices from both airline and clearinghouse sites) trying to get a good deal on tickets for a vacation that the husband and I are taking next month. And unfortunately, I lost the game—the prices jumped $120. Per ticket. So now I'm left mad at myself that I didn't make the purchase sooner. And I'm $240 poorer.

 

I had suck it up and paid the higher fee—for the exact same tickets. I think that's the most infuriating thing, you know? Paying more for the same uncomfortable cardboard seat. And also the fact that there really isn't any logical reason for the price to jump. It's not like the higher price gets me a seat that actually reclines or one that comes with a plastic bottle of wine. (Nope, that still costs an additional $7.) From now on, once I click that "buy now" button, I'm going to register my reservation with Yapta.com. That way, if the price actually goes down before the travel date, I'll receive an email from the site alerting me that I am entitled to a refund for the difference in price.

 

Which maybe I'll use to buy some over-priced snacks at the airport.

 

Are you as frustrated as I am about buying plane tickets? How do you guarantee that you're getting the best deal? Sound off below.