For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
Hey Laurie.....I have great success flying Norwegian from NYC.....check if you can get to New York on a regional airline like southwest or JetBlue from somewhere near you. Flying to Paris from there for $230 and return on TAP all the way to my home in Florida for $267 (from Lisbon) for my sept 2020 caminoFirst of all, let me echo the other Happy New Year’s wishes I’ve seen scattered around the forum. There’s something refreshing and energizing about starting a New Year. And many, though not all, would also say we are starting a new decade! But I don’t want to get into that debate right now. (Is it possible that the US news media can find a way to hurl insults to each other about when the new decade starts?????)
For years now, I start peeking at airfares and schedules on New Years Day. I don’t have many choices, since my only airline is AA from my tiny Illinois town. But rarely have I been as shocked as I was today to see that the lowest fare I could get for home to Alicante, with a return to home from Madrid, was over $3,000. I am assuming there is a glitch here (since Premium Economy was $1000 less than regular economy), but for those of you who get these amazing RT fares, just think of us poor peregrinos here in the boonies who are captives to the only game in town.
Buen camino, Laurie
Happy New Year @peregrina2000 ! I play the New Years Day flight search game too...lol I use Hipmunk flight tracker to find my perfect flights. Last year I did use AA miles, but it was a never ending journey to get where I was going. In past years I've booked directly after receiving good fares from the flight watch. Others I've walked with from smaller towns have done the search in sections...that is, plan to pay for a shorter flight to a major hub that AA will get you to ( Boston? Chicago? JFK?) and look for your international flights from there using a multi city search. Iberia by far has the better prices to Spain...I've booked Boston to Pamplona, Santiago to Boston...round trips in July 2020 $613 ! I'm good with thatFirst of all, let me echo the other Happy New Year’s wishes I’ve seen scattered around the forum. There’s something refreshing and energizing about starting a New Year. And many, though not all, would also say we are starting a new decade! But I don’t want to get into that debate right now. (Is it possible that the US news media can find a way to hurl insults to each other about when the new decade starts?????)
For years now, I start peeking at airfares and schedules on New Years Day. I don’t have many choices, since my only airline is AA from my tiny Illinois town. But rarely have I been as shocked as I was today to see that the lowest fare I could get for home to Alicante, with a return to home from Madrid, was over $3,000. I am assuming there is a glitch here (since Premium Economy was $1000 less than regular economy), but for those of you who get these amazing RT fares, just think of us poor peregrinos here in the boonies who are captives to the only game in town.
Buen camino, Laurie
AA has a $99 MasterCard with minimum purchase that has a 60,000 miles reward. That's how we went last year "$99". I apologize for this commercial, I'm trying to help.First of all, let me echo the other Happy New Year’s wishes I’ve seen scattered around the forum. There’s something refreshing and energizing about starting a New Year. And many, though not all, would also say we are starting a new decade! But I don’t want to get into that debate right now. (Is it possible that the US news media can find a way to hurl insults to each other about when the new decade starts?????)
For years now, I start peeking at airfares and schedules on New Years Day. I don’t have many choices, since my only airline is AA from my tiny Illinois town. But rarely have I been as shocked as I was today to see that the lowest fare I could get for home to Alicante, with a return to home from Madrid, was over $3,000. I am assuming there is a glitch here (since Premium Economy was $1000 less than regular economy), but for those of you who get these amazing RT fares, just think of us poor peregrinos here in the boonies who are captives to the only game in town.
Buen camino, Laurie
We use thus card for everything so the miles pile up fast. I’ve flown for just the taxes the last 3 summers to Spain and Portugal. This summer I’m flying to Prague 1st then on to Madrid and then Lisbon. I fly back from Madrid and total ticket was about $30. I did book my flight out as soon as thAA has a $99 MasterCard with minimum purchase that has a 60,000 miles reward. That's how we went last year "$99". I apologize for this commercial, I'm trying to help.
Thank you for the Google advice. Perfect for my planning for September - October. I hope that I am reading it correctly but I can get a RT from my home town of San Diego to SdC for just over $1300 with no more than 2 stops and on regular air lines.I've found Google Flights » https://www.google.com/flights » to be one of the better research tools. It offers easier reseach to different cities to fly in and out of, and to see if there are cheaper nearby dates. The system allows checking prices for one way, return flights, and multiple cities, so one can be creative.
If I might make a couple more suggestions » Be mindful of the day you are flying - Flights on weekends cost more, for example, as are flights any time approaching holidays. Often changing a departure date by a day or two days can save you hundreds.
Also flights to certain cities are much higher than others. In my research for flights to the region, for example, I've found that flying into Lisbon, Madrid, and Paris are cheaper than the other major airports nearby. YMMV depending on which airline you fly on.
I plan to walk the Frances, so when I look at prices, I also take into account costs of getting from those airports to my chosen departure, in my case SJPdP. Something else to consider perhaps.
In my case, after realizing my planned departure date was near the start of Easter (Semana Santa 2020 » 5 de Abril » 13 de Abril) I realized the reason prices for everything were higher that week.
Hope some of this helps.
YMMV
Robert
What is AA? Do you mean it is $99 for the annual fee? Thank you for this information.AA has a $99 MasterCard with minimum purchase that has a 60,000 miles reward. That's how we went last year "$99". I apologize for this commercial, I'm trying to help.
I’m pretty sure this stands for American Airlines.What is AA? Do you mean it is $99 for the annual fee? Thank you for this information.
When flying using separate tickets you need to make sure to leave a lot of time between flights in case of delays and/or schedule changes, or else you can find yourself having to purchase a new ticket at walk up rates. Sometimes this means an overnight stay, which can add in a lot of extra costs.Hey Laurie.....I have great success flying Norwegian from NYC.....check if you can get to New York on a regional airline like southwest or JetBlue from somewhere near you. Flying to Paris from there for $230 and return on TAP all the way to my home in Florida for $267 (from Lisbon) for my sept 2020 camino
Thank you. I haven't flown in a long time and planning my first Camino. Would like to collect miles and never knew how that worked! I'm just gathering info on what credit card to get to start the process.I’m pretty sure this stands for American Airlines.
Level offers very low fares, by excluding bags and meals. It is Iberia Airlines cheap fare. If you are ok with a carry on size bag ( which I am), then the price is realistic. I think that I will eat in the airport( better food anyway, with more choice as well) and bring some snacks.Peg and I once got a cheap roundtrip fare between Detroit and Amsterdam making it worth the flights between Boston and Detroit. That is starting the trip by flying in the opposite direction.
Another weirdness is that I saw a Level airlines Boston/Barcelona flight for last month where the premium fare was significantly less than the economy fare.
Determine which airline operates the routes that you are likely to travel most frequently, and get their credit card. Or you can get a credit card like Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Capital One card which let you transfer points to airlines. They all have some sort of sign up bonus that will earn you around 50,000 points if you spend a specified amount of $$$ within the first few months.Thank you. I haven't flown in a long time and planning my first Camino. Would like to collect miles and never knew how that worked! I'm just gathering info on what credit card to get to start the process.
That's called a multi city search, and you can search that way on Google Flights or ita matrix, which will link you to the airline to book. You can book multi airline itineraries this way without using a third party. I don't like booking through third parties because you put an unnecessary layer between yourself and the airline. Any changes have to be done through the third party who will charge their own additional fees.Have you ever tried cheapoair.com? I've had a lot of luck with that website. They check for flights from different carriers and airports so you may leave from one airport and arrive at a different one
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?