Do You Really Need a Travel Agent!? | Travel Planning Tips
- Nicole Watts
- Jun 16, 2017
- 5 min read
Essay ensues.....
For the last few overseas holidays I have been on I have literally only used a travel agency for the cheap flights/package deals they've offered. Even then, I didn't need to have engaged in face-to-face conversation with the travel agent if I didn't want to (thanks to the wonders of "online shopping"). Never-the-less we did and since our last encounter with an agent it got me thinking about how I genuinely think I do a better job than they do!
I'm not here to bag on travel agents. I know it takes a lot of organisation to plan someone else's holiday and for some people it's less about the money and more about the time aspect. Most people don't have time to go trolling through the world wide web looking for flights that are a mere $5 cheaper than what the last page was offering. For us though, it's all about saving money!
For our last holiday, entitled our Epic Asian Adventure, I had found cheap return flights to Bangkok ex. Auckland for $850 odd. Jumping on the chance, we emailed the travel agency straight away to request a formal quote and asked if it was best to book online then or through them directly? Rebecca* replied promptly and said "book through me!" so we sent off our details and payment information and heard nothing back. The next morning I emailed again (we were in Australia throughout this ordeal) and didn't hear back from her until that afternoon when she said "I have just gone to book your flights now and they have increased today to $1400". A wave of emotions hit me at that point but my immediate thought was "I could have booked them myself last night!". After telling Rebecca we weren't interested anymore she emailed a few days later offering return flights to Singapore for a reasonable price - an offer we ended up accepting.
Over the following months of organising our holiday I found Rebecca to be of really no value to our trip planning. We would ask questions about travel visa's and she would respond with "I'm not sure"; and, when she would send us pricing on activities and excursions a quick google search (sometimes just of the activity providers website itself) would bring up much cheaper options. I ended up planning our entire holiday myself from accomodation, inter-Asia flights, activities, visa's, the list goes on.
I'm aware that this experience may have just been a one-off, or maybe it isn't and others have had similar experiences, but what I do know is that since planning that holiday myself I have stumbled upon some go-to sites and apps for travel. With these resources I really don't think we will ever be turning to a travel agent again. Here's just my top five tips....
This is the bible of flights. It's database expands to over 600 airlines worldwide, including all of the major airlines that are most commonly used.
You can search for domestic flights within a country or you can search for international flights.
You can search by a specific date or you can search by month which gives you the option to see which days are cheaper for flying.
If you're like me and you know you want to fly somewhere, don't know where, but know it must be cheap you can select your departure city and select "everywhere" for your arrival city. This gives a complete cheap-to-expensive breakdown of flights to almost every country in the world. A similar feature allows you to select your arrival city as an entire country (e.g. Australia instead of Melbourne). It will then list the cheapest hub city to fly into down to the most expensive.
You can compare the length of flights in terms of their price. We found flights to Hawaii once for $769 but it was a 23 hour journey. For only $34 extra we could fly direct - 8 hours.
Make sure you have this website set to your local currency!
Tip 2. Cross Check
I don't just rely on Skyscanner to find me the cheapest flights, I ALWAYS cross check! When Skyscanner tells me that the cheapest flight from AKL to LAX on April 14 with Air New Zealand is $450, I literally go to Air NZ directly and cross check. I will then go to a couple of the other major airlines that often fly between the two destinations to cross check them as well. My last check usually involves going to STA Travel's website (another multi airline database).
Tip 3. Book Direct
If possible, it is always better to book directly through the airline you are flying with. This makes it easier if problems occur with the booking or plans change. Third party sites are great for scoping the cheapest flights but nothing is more trustworthy and reliable than the airline itself.
Tip 4. Airpoints
Signing up for an Airpoints scheme with any airline you fly with is the best way to help get flights cheaper, or even free. Air New Zealand's Airpoints scheme gives me points for flying with them and for scanning my loyalty card at participating stores (petrol stations, supermarkets and other home depot stores). On top of that Air NZ are partnered with my bank so I signed up for an Airpoints Debit Card. For a tiny fee each year, I cash in on Airpoints every single time I swipe my card! In the last six months I have accrued almost $200 in Airpoints just from my everyday spending.........and.......here's something mind blowing! When I shop at a participating store with my Debit Card and then scan my loyalty card I am getting double points!
Tip 5. Expedia
I'm a massive lover of Expedia. I have an account with them and earn status points every time I book a room. There is a a different levels that members can work their way up and with each level comes more discounts and more dollars off the cost of accomodation. On our trip to Asia our dedication to the site paid off we were able to book two nights in a 5-star hotel (RRP $200 per night) for a measly $50 total! Now we could have spent our credit more wisely but why not splurge on fancy things every once in a while?
I love Expedia for it's massive database of accomodation options and also for it's database of real-reviews from certified members! Reviews on the motels/hotels can only be made by people who have booked and stayed in the room.
Bonus points: when you book through their app, as opposed to their website, you get double points!
Recently, I also have started playing around with Expedia's flights+hotel function and have been pleasantly surprised! On the few holiday options I have tested out it has worked out to be significantly cheaper than booking flights (after searching on Skyscanner and cross checking) and accomodation separately.
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