Showerthought: My cousin's 'just book the first flight' rule saved me $300

My cousin, who travels a lot for work, told me to stop overthinking flight prices and just book the first decent deal I see for a trip. I was planning a trip to Denver and spent a week checking prices every day, watching them creep up. I finally listened to him and grabbed a round-trip for $220 when I saw it. The next day, the same flight jumped to over $500 and stayed there. He said airlines track your searches and prices can jump fast if they think you're about to buy. I used to think waiting would get me a better price, but now I know to pull the trigger fast on a good rate. Has anyone else had a price spike like that after looking at a route too much?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowank692d ago

Yeah, that tracking thing is real. I read an article a while back that said clearing your cookies or using a private browser can sometimes help, but it's not a sure thing. Once the prices start moving, they can go up fast, especially if the flight is getting full. Your cousin's rule is smart, I've been burned waiting for a better deal that never came.

flores.jana2d ago

Actually, clearing cookies doesn't really work anymore for flight prices. Most big sites use way more than just cookies to track you now, like your account login or even your IP address. The private browser trick is pretty much a myth at this point. You might see a different price once, but it's more about timing and demand than your browser history.