We’re all about traveling as much as possible — without paying high prices, of course. And while one of our main goals is to keep you covered by publishing cheap flight deals around the clock, we’re still in awe of these crafty travelers who have been able to book flights for as little as, well, free! Check out these seven wild stories about people who scored super cheap airline tickets.
Around the world for $418
How much would you expect to pay for an around-the-world trip? $5,000? $10,000? $15,000? If so, traveler Steve Kamb would tell you you’re overestimating by a long shot — after all, he managed to fly 35,000 miles across four continents to the tune of $418. How did he pull off a nine-month itinerary with an airfare budget of less than $500? Frequent flyer miles. Using credit cards to rack up the miles, Kamb was able to afford his around-the-world trip at a mere fraction of the cost.
Around the world for $220
If you thought flying around the world for $418 was a score, you won’t believe how much travel blogger Clayton Cornell of Spartan Traveler paid to fly to 11 countries in 2012. His airfare cost? Less than $220. He racked up more than 500,000 frequent flyer miles by taking advantage of credit card promotions and cashed in for his around-the-world trip, paying less than most do for a one-way domestic flight.
United flights for less than $10
When United Airlines accidentally released a slew of tickets for a whopping $0 last September, passengers snatched up flights to Hawaii, Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. for just the cost of taxes (which still came in at less than $10). The airline called the mistake fare a “filing error” but, in a classy move, decided to honor the $0 tickets.
Round-trip from Newark to Milan for $125
United Airlines isn’t the only airline to have paid the price after accidentally releasing mistake fares. Just ask Travis Sherry of Extra Pack of Peanuts, a blog that shows readers how to travel for free — or close to it. Earlier this year, he posted about scoring a mistake fare that got him from Newark to Milan for just $125 — and yes, that was round trip. Here’s the kicker, though: this wasn’t even Sherry’s first mistake fare find. He was also able to fly from New York to Madrid for just $225.
New York to Copenhagen for $150
Delta Airlines wasn’t immune to the mistake fare bug, either. In February 2011, the airline accidentally priced flights to Europe at less than $200. Brian Kelly, a money-saving travel expert and owner of The Points Guy blog, managed to scoop up three of these cheap fares, flying to Copenhagen and Stockholm for $150 each round-trip flight.
From Austin to Scotland for $167
Mistake fares aren’t the only way to score cheap flights to Europe. A round-trip flight from Austin, Texas to Edinburgh, Scotland will typically set you back more than $1,000, but Charles Zhang managed to score that exact flight for less than one-fifth of the cost, paying a total of $167 to fly to Scotland. His secret? Signing up for credit cards like the United MileagePlus Explorer Card and Business Card, which offered enough miles to get him to Scotland for less than $200.
Across Europe in business class for $60
Ah, business class. For many of us, it’s a dream, one that we only experience for a fleeting moment as we walk past the comfy, oversized business class seats as we shuffle our way back to coach. For “Frugal Travel Guy” author Rick Ingersoll, though, it’s far from a dream — it’s a reality he can make happen for next to nothing. Case in point? The travel expert flew business class to Greece, Croatia and Amsterdam for the incredible price of $60, thanks to his frequent flyer miles.
Have you ever landed a super cheap airline ticket? Tell us the story!
(Main image: JMR_Photography)
