Jetstar Domestic Flights from $30, Flights to Australia from $135 @ Beat That Flight

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  Discount Code on 07/12/2023 - 20:53

  Sorry noob question. Genuine questions.

  What's the difference between buying directly from the airline vs beat that flight?

  Also, if something goes wrong with cancellations or if I want to make a change to flights, how easy would it be with beat that flight?

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    Associatedbeatthatflight @ Beat That Flight on 07/12/2023 - 21:12

    +6

    Oh hey. Firstly, Beat That Flight is a search tool for flights. You don't book with it, it just finds the best prices across a bunch of online travel agencies. You click through and book with say, mytrip, trip.com, gotogate or whoever is the cheapest.

    IF the airline is the cheapest, just book with them. Seriously. Just one less level of beaurocracy if say, your flight is cancelled or whatever.

    Now, the trick is the online agencies are often cheaper than booking direct. Considerably. That's when you have to decide. Because typically, they make their money on 'extras' - eg a fee to change name, or flight, or to add insurance. But hey, if you're pretty damn certain on your flights, and they aren't likely to change that can totally be a big cost savings.

    The online agencies also (not always) tend to have a reputation for poor/slow customer support. Because that's not where they make their money, presumably.

    TL;DR - Beat That Flight is a search engine. We index online agencies, who are often much cheaper, but that can come with…hassle if things need fixing.

    Personally I've used mytrip, trip, gotogate and more without issue. Myholidays I had issues during covid, and still have outstanding Qantas credit through them, but they do respond, just … slowly. And aren't charging me to change, so that's good.

    Hope that helps!

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      Discount Code on 07/12/2023 - 21:44

      Thank you, that answers a lot of my questions I've always had and my concerns. I note many of not most display USD. Does that mean:
      1) We need to consider foreign exchange fees?
      2) We don't have any consumer protection as they are based overseas?

      You mention their replies are slow. Have you ever come across a situation or hear of a situation where they don't help? What come backs do we have as NZ consumers?

      Thanks again!

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        Associatedbeatthatflight @ Beat That Flight on 07/12/2023 - 21:51

        +1

        The USD is usually just a display thing, it's usually adjustable on the page somewhere. Let me know which OTA if you can't find it.
        1) This should be covered once you switch above. But read their T&Cs to be sure.
        2) I'm more familiar with Aus travel rules where if you purchase it in Aus (ie if you're in Aus) the Aus govt trading rules 'protect' you, in theory, but in practice it's a foreign company and can be hard to make them come defend themselves. Like buying from Amazon or booking direct with British Airways. But I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on the internet.

        I've definitely seen reviews online where people have had problems with OTAs, so can't say it doesn't happen, but I've personally travelled to 80+ countries now, and done all my own bookings through websites for….I last used a travel agent like Flight Centre in 2008. And so far the only time it's been an issue was because of covid.

        Of course, I might be the exception, I can't speak for those companies, and likewise, can't do anything if they cause problems :(

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          Discount Code on 07/12/2023 - 21:55

          @beatthatflight: Which OTA do you recommend the most?

          And I assume we can select seats etc through the airline directly or does this happen during purchase with the OTA?

          I travel alot but have never used an OTA so a very big noob.

          Keen to see if there are any good business class fares.

          • 

            Associatedbeatthatflight @ Beat That Flight on 07/12/2023 - 22:06

            +1

            @Discount Code: No worries, we all learn. It depends on the ticket, but usually you'll get a PNR (booking reference) from the OTA, and then in their email, an airline PNR (eg with Qantas).

            Then you can log on to Qantas and use that PNR to do the rest.

            Sometimes however they will want to charge a fee to select seats, so they'll control it.

            Edreams are pretty good, and I've had no probs with gotogate. In the event an OTA wants to charge me to select seats, I just don't pay, and then worst case at check in at the airport I request what I want, and most often seem to get lucky if I check in early.

            Can search Business class on beatthatflight as well, but not first class, sorry :P (I wish my data provider gave that, commission might be epic, but oh well)

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  Coolbro on 07/12/2023 - 22:00

  +1

  For domestic flights, I've had no issues using edreams across both jetstar and air nz flights (you'll often find flights that are $10 cheaper via edreams - and avoid a credit card fee)

  For international flights, from what I've read if flights are to schedule there are no issues, but it's when changes occur that problems arise.
  I had a friend who booked connecting flights via skyscanner, one of the connecting flights had a flight change and the whole journey was cancelled (forfeiting any savings from an early booking)

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  Bill on 07/12/2023 - 22:10

  For my reference, could you let me know when is the best time to start booking international flights?

  I'm seeing 6 months in advance which seems a little long to me.

  • 

    Associatedbeatthatflight @ Beat That Flight on 07/12/2023 - 22:18

    It 'depends', which isn't what you want to hear but it is what it is :)

    For example, for Christmas/NY, basically when you know your dates, book, because it's unlikely to get cheaper, generally.

    Similar for school holidays, but depends on routes and destinations, esp kid friendly ones.

    I've done a RTW trip where I was booking each hop as I got to a country for a few days later, and it wasn't overly bad, but it was on routes with a LOT of options, eg Los Angeles to Dubai, so lots of competition.

    I personally would be unlikely to book 12 months out, I'd look for sales, get an idea of prices, and then when I see a drop in price, grab that.

    Except for Christmas.

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      Bill on 09/12/2023 - 01:16

      The problem for me is I don't know when I am going yet, so booking heavily in advance is a bit challenging. I also have no idea what prices are supposed to be and what would be a good price for a ticket.

      I have a general idea that I will be going from Auckland to Milan in around July or August, one way. With at least one checked baggage.

      I'm not sure how these dates affect the prices, but unfortunately, I think I'm flying in the peak season.

      Prices for tickets around that time seem very high to me, more than even the return tickets you have posted previously. I am not sure if I should wait or not as the tickets you posted are for flights only a month away.

      While this may seem like a lot of flexibility, it feels to me more like waiting for the stars to align.

      I'll do some planning soon. I just don't want to leave it too late, but I don't even know how late is too late. And what the consequences will be.

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        hiimpengu on 09/12/2023 - 09:27

        This is non-scientific but four months out feels about right to me, and thats what most people say in a travel FB group im in. Unfortunately theres no way to know, so we just need to accept we'll never get the absolute best price! But if you get your flights early enough there are other savings to be made particularly around accomodation, more time means more choice.

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          Bill on 09/12/2023 - 18:12

          @hiimpengu: 4 months sounds right about perfect. What facebook group are you in?

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            hiimpengu on 10/12/2023 - 15:15

            +1

            @Bill: It's called "Girls LOVE Travel," a pretty large community and resources for women travellers.

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  aih-lun on 08/12/2023 - 13:09

  Hi, thanks for your work!
  It is much appreciated :)

  I am interested in how you run your script to find these deals?
  is your script only compatible with beathatflight website ir can it be used for more search engines?

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    Associatedbeatthatflight @ Beat That Flight on 08/12/2023 - 13:46

    It's a python script, runs against BTF. In theory I could run it against other search engines too with a bit of work, but there's not really that much benefit for me at this stage :/