I saved $917 on my vacation to Alaska even before it began; $815 from full price on a first class flight and $102 on a rental car booking just for checking the price again three months before departure and booking cancellable rates. While not as impressive as the $953 win from a Manhattan hotel earlier this year, it was still an accomplishment.
While I booked the outbound flight with points, the return flight was only available with a cash fare. I wanted to fly United First on the red-eye flight, but the full price was $2,009. So, I bought the flight as an economy flex ticket through Air Canada for $903 and paid $707 for an instant upgrade to first class, adding up to $1,610, saving me almost $400 for the same flight.
Over the next three months, I checked all the prices of my trips monthly to see if I could get a better rate. A little over six weeks before departure, I found that the price of my flight had dropped to $1,194 via Air Canada. So, I cancelled my original ticket for an AC Wallet refund less $137 in cancellation fees. I got $1,473 back.
After spending $1,194 on the same flight in a new booking, I had $279 left for a future trip. I suspect the discount for booking on Air Canada’s website had something to do with its upcoming pilot strike.
For the same trip, I’ve also pruned my car rental reservation. It originally cost $267 for two days, but a rebooking quoted me a price of just $165. The move saved me another $102 for the same car class for the same dates and duration.
