Scott Keyes is a two time Millennial Travel Podcast guest and needs no introduction as the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights. Today, he comes back to chat about his new book Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Cheaper, and Travel the World.
In case you don’t know Scott…
Scott Keyes is the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, a travel platform with over two million members around the world. It’s been called “the travel world’s best-kept secret” by Thrillist and received praise in The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others. Prior to becoming a leading expert on cheap flights, Scott graduated from Stanford University and worked for years as a journalist, with bylines in The Washington Post , The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Nation, and elsewhere. When he's not on a plane, he lives in Portland, Oregon.
If you haven’t heard on our first podcast together, I highly recommend listening to Episode 15 of The Millennial Travel Podcast with Scott from Scott’s Cheap Flights.
For more on this topic check out our guide: Travel Hacking: Saving Money and Finding Cheap Flights.
In this episode of The Millennial Travel Podcast I discuss with Scott Keyes:
- Scott’s experience getting the COVID-19 vaccine and what the vaccine means for travel.
- When Scott’s book Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Cheaper, and Travel the World is coming out.
- How does Scott follow travel news regarding flights?
- What are vaccine passports and are vaccine passports needed for international travel?
- Is your vaccination certificate allow you to travel internationally?
- Do I need a yellow vaccination certificate from the WHO to travel internationally?
- Will domestic travel within the United States require vaccination?
- What are the entrance requirements for COVID-19 tests and vaccinations for Hawaii?
- What airlines have empty middle seats? What are airline capacities like post-pandemic?
- When is New York City opening?
- Are there flights where everyone takes a COVID-19 test?
- How to stay on top of entrance requirements and testing requirements for travel?
- Are there COVID-19 rapid tests at airports in the United States?
- How much are rapid tests for COVID-19?
- Some hotels are providing free tests for guests to return to the United States.
- How Scott started Scott’s Cheap flights.
- How Scott encourages his readers to “take happier trips.”
- Why it’s so important to have a trip to look forward to.
- Why it’s better to take a few trips per year rather than just one big trip… and how to find cheap flights!
- What were Scott’s 2020 travel plans that got cancelled and what do Scott’s 2021 travel plans look like?
The Millennial Travel Podcast Rapid Fire Questions I ask Scott Keyes:
- Does using an incognito window save your money on flights?
- What is the best day to book flights? Is Tuesday a good day to book flights?
- How to find cheap business class flights?
Resources from Scott Keyes & Matt Wilson:
- Nice feed of positive travel news from Skift
- Over the counter COVID-19 Rapid Antigen tests to be sold at Walgreens from BinaxNow from $10
- The At Home COVID-19 Test for around $130
- Signup for Scott’s Cheap Flights Newsletter
- Scott’s new book: Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Cheaper, and Travel the World
Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Spotify, or Youtube.
You can find all the links and past show notes on millennialtravelpodcast.com
Direct support for The Millennial Travel Podcast comes from The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life.
Looking for more great content? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Solo Travel.
Auto generated transcript of this Millennial Travel Podcast interview between Matt Wilson and Scott Keyes of Scott's Cheap Flights:
00:00:00 You are now listening to the millennial travel podcast with Matt Wilson.
00:00:06 What's a podcast listeners? It's Matt coming to you with another episode of the podcast. In today, I'm here with Scott from Scott's cheap flights. I'm really excited, but I need to breakfast. We are so pumped about the reopening of travel International travel. The news this record recorded, April 29th, 2021, and I want to breakfast everything and just make sure everyone knows how to check the requirements. What we said in today's podcast will be different next week and the week after and things will change as far as covid requirements and vaccines and certificates and tasks and all this. We have everything that we do up to this point and in fact, I still cannot confirm about Ivy's rapid test.
00:01:06 And if they are allowed to get back into the United States, I will link to everything as I say, in the podcast under30experiences.com. But, you know, the government information and we have to follow lots of different government information, all different countries around the world and, and states for that matter and its all different. It's all changes. There's not that much guidance. So usually just one website. So we've tried to make sense of it all, but I am specifically saying that Scott had mentioned that the rapid tests are coming out that are going to be available at Walgreens and I think already are. I haven't seen them personally on the shelves, but it sounds like they are after. Like 11 $12, you can get a covid test in just shows you right in front of you, whether you have covid-19 ott1, which is fantastic. However, we will visit, these just came out self. Will this allow you back into the United States?
00:02:06 I'm not sure. You're just going to have to keep up-to-date out for yourself and yet that was the big thing that wanted to say. Other than that I get back get back. Enjoy cuz we have a great episode coming out for you. And if you're interested in supporting our small business, as we get back on our feet as we get Roland, we have tons of USA trips coming out from Grand Canyon and Yellowstone in Yosemite the Pacific Coast Highway Acadia National Park. The Great Smokies that's a lot of domestic stuff that we are running and then of course countries that are currently open. We're talkin about Mexico. Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica.
00:02:52 Ecuador to Galapagos, Peru were hoping is going to be available for us again soon. Greece. Just opened up. We got good news coming up about Spain opening. I believed you on June 4th, the list goes on. We are just trying to do our best to stay on top of it because just as quickly as things shut down and things are opening up just as quickly and so a lot to keep track of. But anyway, those are things off the top of my head that you can book on under 30 experiences right now and that are actually open. So pretty exciting get ready for an awesome show. Thanks so much.
00:03:38 Hello everyone and welcome. I'm your host, Matt Wilson. And today I'm here with none other and Scott ties for the second time. He is the author of take more vacations and me, founder of Scott's cheap flights. He was on the millennial travel podcast and live different podcast. Now, here and will be Aunt for the second time and an updated post covid version. So, I am really excited to have you on Scott and talk about you. I see you got your Pfizer sticker on there. I'm just so happy and excited about. I don't want to take it off. It's almost like a lucky. Pair of socks. You just want to keep them on until I until they just finally, all the glue just finally, evaporates. And then we'll know everything's back to normal. I certainly hope so.
00:04:38 So, you got your, you got your job, you got two jobs and you now, I've got my both my jobs today, we are exactly two weeks out for my second shot. So I am feeling on top of the world, just a weight, off my shoulders and so thankful, not only for myself a lot, you know, it's one of those things to you and your family, get their shots, your friends, get their shots. He just thinks that's cheap. Flights members get those shots. It feels such as just a celebratory moment as a not just for port for the world, for the country. But as a return to being able to do so many of those things, we love to do, including take the sorts of traveling trips, that many of us, haven't been able to over the past year, I couldn't agree more. I just the feeling where I could see my mom who lives across the state line, and not have to refer why we had to test in quarantine just to see my own mom. And that was, yeah, that was a big pain and not to mention that the obvious risks other than the law but
00:05:38 Yeah, happy to be here happy to yet to start flying again. And that's I think what's going to be the main topic of our conversation but at first I just got to ask you out of curiosity. Your book is scheduled to launch. I can you tell me the exact launch date? Is it out yet? Yes. So take more vacations. How to search better book, cheaper and travel. The world book I've been working on for two years now and it's coming out finally on May 11th. So so excited been a long time coming. You not get the question every single day. Scott, what's your secret? How do you find cheap flights? And so I decided finally time to write a book, not only kind of pulling together all my knowledge of how to find cheap, flights within then, even go in a lot larger than that, why cheap flights are so life-changing? How to set yourself up to be getting those sheep. Like how they end up leading you to take happy.
00:06:38 Your vacations in addition to more vacation and how they can end up completely changing your travel life, in picking your, your even your in between travel life so much happier as a result. And so, that's why I was writing this book, that's what kind of I was writing it for and so excited now that it's going to be coming out, that's great, and you've timed it. Now off of big news that European Union has. I don't know if it's official, but they have announced that they will be opening this summer. How has it been trying to keep straight? All the places that are open and closed and flights are flying to. And from what, where do you get your news from Scott? I think that might be a fun place to start yet. You know what it what I really felt bad for our folks, who, who, you know, just trying to follow this, as a normal average person. Like it's literally my job to stay on top of that news, you know?
00:07:38 What's happening in the travel world where you can travel to what the requirements are. And so, I could spit you chapter and verse about most places around the world and what what it looks like right now. But to try to follow that is just an average in a person, you've got a job, you've got your home life made me kids, all type stuff, and then trying to remember oh you know, do I need to get a negative test before my flight to let's say Jamaica or do I not need to know what's required to come back to the office? I can see why it's such a feels like such a burden for many folks and why especially international travel is down so far from where it was a year ago and so the you know we're seeing a lot of green shoots right now. We're seeing a lot of country starts re-open, especially giving Fast Lanes to people who have been vaccinated that their most countries that are reopening aren't actually saying, you have to get vaccinated in order to
00:08:38 Is it instead? What they're usually saying is that, if you've been vaccinated, you get to go in the fast lane, you get to bypass any testing or quarantine requirements. If you've not been vaccinated, you're going to have to bring a negative test or in some cases, you're going to have to quarantine upon arrival. But for all the more incentive I think for folks to get vaccinated and then be able to get back to those sort of normal international trip. That we all used to love to take before the pandemic. Absolutely. Right now, as far as I know, I know that this kind of just a made-up term, which is right now, we're just whatever I got it. Walgreens, as far as I understand, that's my vaccine passport. What are you seeing? Cuz there, there's a purse to digitize this. And I noticed like that the state has a copy, of course, on a computer somewhere. Tell me more about that. Yeah, I agree with you. I wish we had kind of come up with
00:09:38 A better consensus term, the vaccine passport because I think it gets confusing for folks. A lot of folks think this is something I have to go out and buy to have to go obtain vaccine passport. We seen a ton of misinformation on social media folks telling, you know, there was a viral video with over 4 million views tongue people. If you want to travel internationally, you have to go get a yellow passport from the w h, o in order to show your your covid vaccination that your white CDC card would suffice all of that is not true. The vaccine passport is this ID again of just give me a fast lane a a a a way of verifying that you have indeed been vaccinated and everywhere right now around the world every country that allows in vaccinated Americans and lets them skip any testing or quarantine requirements, accepts your white CDC card. That's all you need to bring that white. CBC cardigan, keep it safe. Make sure you don't like lose it damage. It
00:10:38 Spill stuff on it like I'm prone to do. I keep it safe because that's going to be your ticket to be able to avoid those testing requirements. If you're traveling to Iceland or Croatia or Greece, or believe, or, you know, looking like throughout the European Union this summer. So it's not something again. You that you have to go out and buy two more of a concept of of being allowed certain privileges. If you can show you've been vaccinated okay, great. That's good to know and I appreciate you peppering and how much misinformation there is out there and one of the things that I heard was that it is not the US, government did not want to make some big deal out of what the records were going to be like because they didn't want to dissuade anyone from getting from getting vaccinated, right? Because obviously there are large group of people who for whatever reason and that's their choice.
00:11:38 Don't want to get back to mated. But that the u.s. government from what I've understood, what I understand is saying that we're not going to force some type of big fancy passport system on the country and all that. We just want you to do your best to get the shot. Let's get her to Munich Community here and hope that this virus gets away, but the reward of getting that is being able to travel, obviously, the huge reward is this the risk of, you know, not not getting it spreading covid. But yes, the travel is it is not a bad reward either. But you say things in look, I think everybody that tells you both should go out and in and get vaccinated it, you know, I mean, it is such a miracle that we have these incredibly effective vaccine that help, stop this pandemic and let us return to normal life and love to see everybody be able.
00:12:38 Get it sooner rather than later. So we can all get back to normal life sooner rather than later. Domestic travel is almost certainly not going to require proof of vaccinations. You can travel right now, you can get on a plane to 49 states without not only without having to show proof of vaccinations. You don't have to show a negative test. Either the one exception is if you're flying to Hawaii you do all travelers right now, even if you've been vaccinated have to show a negative test, but by the summer Hawaii is saying that they're planning to allow folks to have been vaccinated to bypass that testing requirements. So again this is the sort of vaccine passport concept, giving a fast lane to folks who have been vaccinated you're seeing it show up but likely probably will stay confined to Hawaii as far as domestic travel goes I would not expect that there's going to be a Dish channel states that mandate you have
00:13:38 To get show vaccine or a negative test in order to visit here quite obviously in a pretty unique position of being a AAA in Ireland, a group of islands in the middle of the ocean. Sure. Now that that makes sense. Airlines. Let's see. One thing recently is the middle seat, is now being filled it is and is that correct on all the major? At least the Legacy carriers? Yeah, you know, Delta was the last one to continue to block middle seats. They did so through the end of April but now they're selling adjoining all the other airlines installing flights to full capacity. So an end wall over all. The average flight is still considerably less full from where it was pre-pandemic pre-pandemic. You saw planes on average eighty-five to ninety percent. Lanes on average about 75%.
00:14:38 That's not to say that every given flight is 75%. So you're sort of traditional tourist, favorites place like Hawaii. Florida. Cancun are usually. 100% folder close to it. Where is some of the flights to maybe more? Business-oriented cities? That haven't quite seen the same rebound yet, places like San Francisco and New York are liable to probably be last fall and he sort of tourist favorites tourist hotspots. Okay great. And just as a note, I heard today that I believe it's July 1st. I didn't you're talking about something. I didn't actually read the whole article but July 1st the headline from The New York Times was July 1st. New York City is supposed to be 100% open. At least. That's the that's right. Yeah, and run me. One of the things that didn't need this quote is even a couple months old at this point. But dr. Ashish jha that the dean of the Browns University school public.
00:15:38 Saying that, you know, look even as the depend Emich is not fully over in the u.s. is waning down and soak. You know, his quote was that the summer of 2021 is going to look a lot more like the summer of 2019 than the summer of 2020, like we even seeing that this summer, I think we are looking forward to a really, really good one. But if I did again, continuing to get vaccinated continuing to
00:16:06 Vaccine rollout, is key to letting us all. Be able to get back to that sense of normalcy. Absolutely rumors. And I didn't follow this too closely, but that there were going to be flights that you could go on that were just, you had to test in to get on that flight like a little, you know, covid free pod that ever happened. Where are those? Maybe? Maybe that's kind of an obsolete idea. Now that we're getting towards the end of carpet, are lines in a couple countries experiment with that type of thing. So they're different ways. I mean there's some that have experimented with only allowing, folks have been vaccinated board. Some that have rapid test and say everybody on board has to take a rapid test before the board. This this flight, you're not seeing that in any widespread, Manor in it and into my understanding
00:17:06 Knowledge. It is basically not been implemented in any widespread fashion that for the fast fast, fast majority of flights any requirements to be on board or extension reflective of the requirements of where you're flying to do. If you're flying somewhere, that requires a recent negative test, you are going to have to show that negative test to the airline officials Before you depart on your initial flight. Or if you're flying somewhere that lets like Iceland that lets you bypass that lengthy, quarantine requirement. If you've been vaccinated, you're going to have to show that proof of vaccination to the airport and Airline officials when you get to your departure airport much in the same way that if you're traveling internationally, the first person to ask for your passport, isn't the Border officials at your destination. It's the airline official before you fly out, because they want to make sure that you're actually allowed in where you're going. Otherwise, the airline might be responsible for.
00:18:06 Fly you home and they don't want to have to deal with that, right? I'm pretty sure that will that's why they always ask for your Visa before you arrive somewhere because I think they are actually subject to fines in a lot of places if they arrive with people that cannot get into the country. So, that makes a lot of sense and it's got you, you're really on top of this stuff and I'm going to keep asking things that I haven't had the chance to actually fully look into because there's just, I don't know, obviously this is our observers are specifically relate yours is specifically related to fly, but there is so much information and it changes so fast. Yeah, it's one of those things right now. You know, it's, it's much more in flux and uncertain just kind of tumultuous the travel scene compared to what it was pre-pandemic. And so as not to say trout travels, very, very possible one.
00:19:06 Things that I try to impress some folks. You know that's not the case that international travel is shut down. There are dozens and dozens. I mean, probably over 75, 80 90 countries. You can fly to this afternoon as an American. It just takes a little bit more free planning to check on what the covid-19 are. Mints, are rather than that didn't exist before the pandemic. But again, may I perhaps a small price to pay for those of us who haven't been able to take the trip. So you really wanted to have the last year and are excited to be able to do. So again, especially after we've been vaccinated. Now, that that's great. I myself something recently that there were going to be rapid rapid test at airports. Now, did you catch? Did you catch this one at all? A handful of us. Domestic. Airports were were installing rapid test, but I didn't quite know what they might be used for perhaps if people are flying into the sea.
00:20:06 It's a needed to get tested or or retested at. Did you hear about that at all? Scott. Yeah, so this is one of those things that are ports of largely set up different casting opportunities depending on the airport. Generally speaking, these are not covered by insurance that generally not free. Generally have to pay out-of-pocket for them, but if you are traveling somewhere, maybe the test that you had brought with you either expired because it was too far in advance or, or you know, you forgot the documentation or something. This can be helpful to make sure that you're able to still take the trip rather than not being able to bring that negative test. If it's required where you're going and having to cancel the vacation. So it, you know, it's going to be very significantly airport to airport and especially depending on what the requirements are where you're flying to, because friends and some country.
00:21:06 You can fly to any one of these 15-minute rapid antigen test are accepted but other places. You're going to have to get a lengthy or more expensive PCR test. And so, I can get a very depending on where you're flying if you're flying back to the US. For instance, they accept either one. You know, you do have to show a negative test. Even if you've been vaccinated right now, I think that's going to change sometime in the next few months. I think vaccinated Americans will be able to bypass that requirement, but right now you do have to show a negative test but they can be either a PCR test or one of the rapid antigen test. Okay. Yeah. That, that makes that makes a lot of sense. And do you know how much we're really getting to the weeds here? I guess. But, you know, approximately how much do the rapid tests are because the bigger test the longer test that takes some PCR, take me to a close to $150. Do you know if?
00:22:06 If it's a lot cheaper for the rapid, some of the airports are going to help them be much more expensive. If you one of the great things is that they just approved by the FDA approve. These rapid antigen test for selling over-the-counter retail without needing another prescription or a monitoring a medical official essentially, the same as a home pregnancy test where you can just take it yourself. See the result and and be on your way. And so those rapid antigen test that are being sold over the counter sink price points as low as as $10 per test. Usually, they're sold in the pack of Two And so again of a, a significantly cheaper price point than your scene with the PCR test. But one of the really, I think helpful things for a lot of international Travelers, knowing this requirement coming back to the us, a lot of hotels and resorts especially in Mexico actually prefer
00:23:06 Complementary to their guess, they're saying you come vacation in Cancun in Cabo in Puerto Vallarta. And before your flight back to the us, we have a testing site on you know, on site here in the resort, come, get your test, get your results and be able to fly back to the US without having to try to figure out, where do I get a test in in Cancun or Cabo? Or put it back to where you might not know? You know, the local Customs might not speak Spanish. It could be a lot more difficult. That's why the hotels and resorts are trying to make it as seamless and simple as possible though. That's that's really nice speakers in now and all our itineraries internationally for under30experiences we have built-in. Okay. Here's where in the itinerary the best place to get tested in the country and yeah it's logistically especially because you know we could be in the rainforest in Costa.
00:24:06 It's not like you can just walk in anywhere in and get a test and just to double-check with you. As of the today's recording, they're not accepting rapid test to get back to the States. You still have to do pcrs. That correct know. My understanding is that you the rapid test actually are accepted for travel back to the u.s. not me no double check the exact requirements and might need to be performed by a medical official rapid. Antigen test are accepted for flying back. To the US, has good news and I'm going to pick up a bunch of these resources for everybody. In the show. Notes are so under30experiences.com block and that you will see Scott's shiny face on their tiny. I don't know why I use that word, two faces.
00:25:06 But I needed a small difference I guess, but anyhow, I'm going to link up test and resources and stuff like that because just a few months ago before this type of Technology was available you and it seemed like a miracle even that somebody could ship about a test kit to your house, overnight express mail and you could do the swap and put it back and then within 24 hours, you would get the result. Granted, it was $150, which, you know, that adds to your travel budget, Scott, you flew to Milan on your first trip, your first trip is Scott from Scott's, cheap flights or less, what that that would have this whole thing begin for less than it cost. For that PCR test. That's a hundred. It was $130 flight. Did I get that right? That's right. So, I mean, one of the most bizarre life twists I've ever encountered was back in 20.
00:26:06 Thirteen, when I was not work, I was not a flight expert. I was not Scott's Chromecast to flights. I was actually just working as a journalist at the time. I was covering politics and elections and wanting to really travel internationally, be able to visit, you know, you're up in Asia. And all these amazing places around the world that I just frankly couldn't afford to do if I was paying full price for like it was not those, those $2,000 tickets were just laughably out of my budget and so over time, you know, it kind of put on my journalist has started trying to investigate. Why are flights so, like following, why is he one day? It's $1,000. Next day is $300, the next day, it's 750, why is it always jumping up and down? But also, what are all the things that I can do to make sure that I don't overpay for flights? What how what can I do? A new people are getting cheap flights out there but I'd no idea how they were actually getting them.
00:27:06 And, you know, so I started just digging into the research, watching flight going on. Message boards chatting with folks, just really kind of like immersing myself in this world, it all culminated in 2013. When I got the best deal of my life. Still to this day, that hundred $30 round-trip flight to Milan. New York City to Milan 430 bucks non-stop. Round trip on United included a couple check bags like it was amazing. The funny thing about that trip. I have no intention to go to Milan. Like I woke up that morning with diet. Never thought about flying to Milan and I went to bed that night, the proud owner of a $130 flight to Milan. When I got back from this trip, I mean, it was an amazing trip. You know, it's at AC Milan. Soccer game, went up to Lake Como when skiing in the Alps and hiked in Cinque Terre. When I got back all my friends and co-workers that kept coming up to me. Hey Scott.
00:28:06 That great deal. You got a listen. Next time you find a deal like that, can you let me know? So I can get in on it too. It's a rather than trying to remember every single person I needed to let know why don't. I just start a simple little email list in this way. Anytime I find a great deal, I can just let everybody know it once in that moment scottscheapflights was born but I had no idea because this is just a hobby it was just something I was doing for fun For the Love of the Game and it wasn't for another kind of 18-24 months that I grew large enough that it had to start to think about it, huh? I wonder if there's a a business opportunity here and then finally launched what became scottscheapflights. Also to our previous podcast of you, share a couple more stories from your early days, I believe in there. And this was a great transition from covid. Because God, I think everybody's probably tired of hearing you had
00:29:06 You gave really nice at factual up-to-date information, but I'm happy to talk about the future now. And as we get back to the new normal and I love that quote from the guy from Brown University, there about how 2021 summer will look more like 2019, then it does and then it does 20/20. So I'm Scott in your, in your book, you and even use this already on. On this podcast you say something about happier trips. A really was just
00:29:51 A clever saying or maybe clever is not the right word but for whatever reason, I said, I want to take happier trips. So what can you do? Can you tell everybody what you actually mean by happier trips? Yeah, let me let me let me give you an example.
00:30:10 North before this Milan, flight, most trips that I took were filled with a mix of excitement and also a sense of just pressure and red and a sense of this, kind of self-imposed, I need to make sure I'm I'm enjoying myself enough on this trip, to justify the expense of the flight over here. And so, I paid $1,000 to fly to Europe every moment of that trip. I was thinking, am I enjoying myself enough to to make $1,000 flight worth it? And, and, you know, Not only was that he sort of corrosive thought process because you're sitting there just to unwind and relax and enjoy yourself on vacation, but if you're putting pressure be happier, enjoy yourself more, that doesn't exactly Elite itself to a a a good outcome there. But so when I got this hundred $30 flight to Milan and said it was like that weight had been
00:31:10 We left it all of a sudden. I was taking this trip that I felt like was virtually free. You know, I was playing with house money because it cost so little to get here that I felt not only did I feel no sense of pressure that I had to enjoy myself? And as a result, I ended up enjoying it even more but I could also take a vacation as well because I had, you know, I save $750 on flights. So what does it matter? If I buy another, you know, after all Spirits, are explored for the Truffle linguine or whatever it is, you can take a much better vacation when you save all that money on the flight over there. So not only do you not have that same sense of pressure, you don't have that you get a much more so than some flexibility with your pocketbook. But then you also get to really be happier between vacation because when you pay, you know, when you get a cheap flight and when you make cheap flights, your sort of Northstar for your
00:32:10 Nations are able to take more vacations as a result. What happens? Is vacations go from something, you take once a year to something, you take three or four times a year. And what that means is when you get back from your vacation. We've all had that sort of post vacation hangover, can't leave back to work, man. I miss the beach, miss the cocktails, that was great when you get back, it sucks when it's 11 months until your next trip when you do once a year, but when you're taking three or four trips a year, as soon as you get back, you're just right back in that cycle where you're planning again, you're excited for the next year because it's not that far away. You know, 3 months from now is the middle of summer. Like it already starting to warm up here, I can feel it and not TripIt. Next trip, is already coming in. So you end up being happy or between your trips as well as being happier on your trips. I was actually, you know, I've long been a real cheap flight efficient
00:33:10 Auto. But one of the reasons why I'm out here, preaching, the gospel of cheap, flights is just realizing in in sitting down and doing this research, research, and taking on This Book Project realizing just how life changing they really can be like, I thought out. Yeah, you know, cheap flights are great. They save you some money. No, no, no date. They transform everything. You take better, vacation, have your vacation, more of them, you're happier after you get to visit more interesting and varied and diverse places. Because when you take four trips a year rather than one, you can take a risk on somewhere more off the beaten path. You know, some of my favorite trips have been to places like Lithuania and Taiwan in Trinidad and Tobago that are not on the you know, traditional tourist, favorite bucket list. But ended up being some, my favorite trips because they jailed with me personally, rather than with the average tourist, but if you only take one trip a year, you're not. Not so willing to take that risk.
00:34:10 Because it's a high or too much higher stakes and you do end up going to the more so than traditional favorites. Hawaii, Florida Paris, not that these are wonderful places but they might be places that jibe with the average tourist might not be the same that jibe with you individually, you know, you the person and so being able to test them in and try these places out more because you're taking more trip is a real, a real, join a real blessing. Now that's great and we always hear from the experiences that they're looking forward to travel. They need something to look forward to something on their calendar. And when they get back to Jesus, you know it like you said there, it's so sad to go back and sit in your cubicle or wherever you are be upstairs. Like the the crazy old man in his attic. That I feel like now in the in the home office and yet, she's did Scott, did you have fun?
00:35:10 2020 plans. I'm sure you. I'm sure you did and then I got to ask, what are your 2021 plans? So I had 20/20 was going to be the year of Scott on how I was traveling planning to travel so much. I had. So it's going to take my first trip to France was going to go to Switzerland. Going to go to visit family in Belarus was going to go to down to Mexico over to New England during the Fall Foliage season Philadelphia. I had so many trips that got waylaid and you're on this isn't boohoo woe-is-me but I think one of the things that really got to so many of us over this past year, you know, we've been making so many personal sacrifices to combat the virus as weak as, you know, rightfully. So. But when for many of us, one of those sacrifices has been not being able to take the trip, then in normal times. We so look forward to
00:36:10 One of the things that I like, I don't think I fully appreciated before sitting down to write this book and and and, you know, they really go in-depth in in the book is just how important the anticipation of a trip is to our own kind of personal happiness. And the way that we think of travel, you know, we we often make the mistake of thinking of travel is just something. You enjoy during the trip itself, you know you booked a week in Hawaii and you just enjoy that week and what we don't give enough. So the deference are or what we short, shrift is the fact that you get actually get more happiness from the weeks and months of anticipation of that trip. Then you do during the actual week itself and you actually get more joy and happiness from the months and years after that trip where you get to look back on it and smile. And remember that great, you know, Beach dinner you had remember that awesome, you know, rainforest High Q took all these wonderful memories that especially
00:37:10 Are oftentimes a little bit Rosier in retrospect? Are we get to kind of daydreaming a little bit more before that before? The fact then are sometimes too actually how it plays out in reality when were on the trip. And so that anticipation, that Joy of excitement about a trip upcoming was something that was robbed from from so many people over the past year. And I think I took a toll on a lot of books and not being able to have a trip to look forward to a trip on the calendar. And you know, what is it? That makes a trip. Go from something that you just maybe that'd be cool to go to Paris. What is it? That takes it from a dream to to something that actually feels real and tangible, is booking your flights? It's a, you know, it's not planning not daydreaming it's literally getting the flights but that's what takes it from an idea to a reality. And so, I think now, as you know, people are getting back to me, these things are improving. Have being able to book those Trips Again. And
00:38:10 Unable to take advantage of those deals again, is leading the so much more happiness and excitement of a better days to come. So, for me and looking forward this year, I got a number of trips upcoming. I mean I'm actually going out to the Oregon coast this weekend. Take my daughter to an aquarium. They're really really excited for that but then bigger troops. I mean I've got flights to Spain in June that I've been watching like a hawk to see whether the borders are open and it looks like they almost certainly will be at this point. I'm feeling very excited about that and going up to Seattle down to Cabo in September. Like I've got a lot of trips looking forward to now that I feel like I've been almost on a travel binge after getting vaccination, so I can feel like. Yeah, let's go. You know, we're back. Let's Travel again. Totally, this the snap back as we've been talking about G's for a year now, it's it's finally getting here at Scott's.
00:39:10 Do you only have about 10 minutes left here? And I want to get to some actionable stuff for folks. We had a bunch of questions come in from listeners from under30experiences community. And so I want to run through a few things that people some assumptions are some rumors that people make about travel or urban legends. Maybe we can call I'm cell. I'm going to start with this one. Factor fiction using an incognito window helps you save money Fiction. It's not going to hurt. It's not going to make your fares, any any, any more expensive but it's not going to make them cheaper. And and and you know, the to test this, this is a long long held myth that you need to clear your cookies that the airlines are tracking you. They're jacking up the price, they think you want to book to test. This, I took a flight Denver to London and I searched it once. It was four hundred forty bucks, I searched it twice. It was still pouring a 40 bucks, I searched
00:40:10 100 times and on that hundredth time, just like the first time it was $440 the airline is air fares, extremely volatile. And so, when the price changes, I think many folks mistakenly assume there's a sort of Truman Show thing happening on the airline's watching me and they're trying to jack up the price on me. When in reality what's actually happening is that the prices just constantly change on the airfare is much like the stock market rather than you know like a gallon of milk, where the price is pretty stable. And so it's not that they're tracking your cookies, I think it's not going to help you at all but you know if you feel more comfortable, if you sleep better at night to search incognito, knock yourself out. It's not going to make flights any more expensive. Okay, great. Now, this one comes from Victoria and she says, I've her Tuesdays are the best booking best for booking because they update the fares but she said, she's never notice. The difference, is this fact or fiction?
00:41:10 Yeah, this is also fiction it but this isn't one of those myths that has the benefit of used to being true. So 20 years ago, when Airlines first started selling their tickets online, they're really did load them generally once a week at a predetermined time like Tuesday at 1 p.m. and so if you were one of the first people to book once those new Fair got released, you really could get some of the best fare. The problem is that that Dynamic has not been true for years. Nowadays, airfare is being driven algorithmically, it's not something that's manually loaded once a week and so it's changing today, you know, by the day sometimes by the hour, if not by the minute there's no single best time to book cheap flights. The good news though is that cheap? Flights are popping up all the time. You don't have to plan to book on any given day in advance. You can know that any given day might be your date for cheap flights but the last thing of note here is that often times it gets a little confused
00:42:10 We did when we talked about cheapest day for flights because well there's no cheapest day. Or cheapest, time to book flights. There are cheapest days and months to travel to actually take flights. So, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are typically the cheapest days to fly a January through March and September. October chip, typically, the cheapest months to fly but even though, you know, those are usually the cheapest I don't want folks over London as soon as always the case that, you know, the analogy of drawers that look like bron James is favored to win every single time, he steps on a basketball court, but that doesn't mean that he never loses a game, you know, Tuesday, flights are generally cheapest, but that doesn't mean that they're always cheapest. Okay, great makes makes sense. I think he knows Scotts and a question from Andrew says, what are your three top favorite booking sites?
00:43:10 I generally like to differentiate between places where you search for flights in places where you book flights. I almost always prefer to book directly with an airline and the reason why is that, if anything goes wrong with your ticket, if you need to change it, if the flight schedule gets changed, if it gets canceled this and that it's a it's a thousand times easier to deal with if you're just dealing directly with the airline then if you're having to deal with a middleman as well as the airline because the the third-party sellers policies might be pretty different than the airline policies. But you have to try to deal with both of them. So if you do all things being equal, I generally try to book directly with an airline but my favorite place to search for flights. All I'll do you better, I'll just give you one Google flights and the reason why is that just had the best user interface? I find it's the fastest, the most powerful but they do kind of hidden secret is that it really doesn't matter where you search for flights, the fair.
00:44:10 There's no one site that's always cheapest, airfares are usually basically exactly the same whether you're searching on Google flights or Expedia or Priceline or or bits or direct with the airline. I just like to search on some of the medicines sites like Google flights because you get to search all the Airlines and see, you know what, what the cheapest fares are across a A month's worth of dates rather than a few search on delta.com. Your own me seemed Elton their partner flights and one Nuance that I'm not sure is still true, but I think it is that the individual airlines are withholding, a lot of flights at least pre covid 4 hour from the search engines, right? Like Southwest, I think famously just doesn't work with Google flights. Southwest is a great example, this is the one kind of hold out where you won't find any. Southwest flights ORD. NE Southwest fares on the flight.
00:45:10 Search engines. You have to go and search directly on southwest.com for those okay but like Delta is withholding some fares. I heard have you heard about this cop? Not like I'm not something. I'm especially well attuned. To generally speaking you're going to see the the same general inventory are regardless of where you're searching. Okay interesting. Yeah I heard differently so I'm going to link up if there's any resources that I can share with everybody that that says anything else because yeah, people rich people really like to search in and know and I'll share that with you. If I find sure thing that we can find is true, just to give people who are listening the very best information that we can through through the podcast. I'm okay. Just a couple quick more. I'm how can I find where this is from bunny? How can I find more reasonably priced business class flight?
00:46:10 So I mean, first of all, it's a little bit of expectation setting, you know, business class, like a typical business class flight to Europe, is not going to be twice as expensive are three times more expensive than a economy-class. Especially if basic accounting, it's usually like five to 10 times more expensive. I mean, maybe not normal business class flight to Europe, is going to be between 2000 and $2,500 and so did you coming? You got to come in with expectations that it is exceptionally higher price but the same sort of principles. Apply if they trying to get a cheap flight in general, the more flexibility you can give yourself the better. The more kind of lead weigh in Booking. If you try to book three weeks before your flight, you're going to have a bad time. You're not going to find any cheap flights. Where is if your start searching? You know, four, five, six, seven months ahead of time. You're much more likely to find a good deal. And then obviously, you don't remember.
00:47:09 As soon as those great really cheap fares do pop up, we're going to find it and we're going to send out an alert even if it's in a great deal on business class. Okay, great. And this person is already found, I found some through your email newsletter a couple years ago and it was true Paradise. So you have a happy testimonial there I love it. Round-trip business class, flights from the u.s. to Southeast Asia to Bangkok and Mali and elsewhere. Unbelievable deal. Okay, great class flights are perhaps to to rewards points. I was just able to book something. We have a one-year-old daughter and sitting in economy is its it can be tight or especially for the poor person sitting next to my wife and I self with American Express Platinum, we were able to get that play with points and get that 35%
00:48:10 Discard set points back and so that was really helpful. So I jumped at that especially as they were fairly low right now. Yeah. I think I think booking with no points in miles are generally one of the most accessible ways to be able to book business and first class seats. You know it's not without you need to learn the the system in the process is there a lot of great sites out there that help kind of walk you through how to earn a tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of miles and use them not to get good value. But if, you know, if you, if you enjoy that as I do, I love the points in Miles game, it can be one of the most accessible and least kind of expense out-of-pocket to try to fly business class. Especially internationally. Awesome. Scott will I know I need to let you go here. Again the name of your book is take more vacations and it's Scott's cheap cheapflights.com and we can provide a link
00:49:10 Yeah, we can provide a link in the under30experiences blog there on the show notes Scott. Is there anything else you'd like to say to our audience or anywhere? They can connect with you in the future? I know you don't it's so excited to get back to travel and if you would love to get to know when they are cheap, flights popping up out of your home airport, it would be our honor to let you know, it's. Scott's cheap flights. I'll miss is what we love to do everyday, and getting to live vicariously through your trips, is genuinely the happiest part of my day. Thank you for helping. Always awesome to talk to you about the knowledge today. Likewise, thanks, Matt. Great chatting with you. Thank you, everybody.
