Back in the day, you booked your flights directly with the airline or through a travel agent. Now travel booking airfare is done primarily by the consumer herself. Online booking happens only sometimes from a desktop, but more often from a phone. But don’t let the convenience of that lull you into complacency.
You find what you think is a great deal on airfare and you’re booking it. While going through the process don’t fall for the barrage of drip pricing efforts airlines use to try to get more money. Read on to find out what Drip Pricing is and why you need to know.
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What is Drip Pricing?
That smaller price that pulled you in is just an opener. Airlines will add a new offer at each stage of the purchase process. Think of add-on fees like baggage or choosing seats together. These extra charges are offered to you slowly over the course of your purchase like a slow drip coming out of a faucet. And just like that drip over time can increase your water bill, these fees can lead to you paying more than you thought when you clicked. U.S. airlines have collected billions of dollars in ancillary revenue through these drip pricing options. So they are banking on you saying yes to one or more of their extra offers.
How to Avoid Drip Pricing?
The best way to avoid drip pricing is to avoid shopping on your phone. Make note of that low price that lured you in and wait until you can shop from your desktop. You want to have multiple tabs open constantly during the shopping process. That way you can continually compare the ultimate price you pay. Make switching convenient with these multiple tabs open throughout the process. This is almost impossible to do on a phone.
Commit to a carry-on bag and personal item only. Or when that’s impossible see if points or rewards are available for upgrading to a free checked bag.
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Be ok with “No” and read the fine print. I once flew our whole family with British Airlines. Traveling as a family of four we had two children and two adults heading from California to Rome. The airline’s policy at the time was to always put a minor with at least one adult in the same party. Once I read that I knew there was no need to pay the extra fee for assigned seats.
Southwest Airlines, according to fool.com, has the best wifi in the skies. But my experience on other airlines has been incredibly unreliable. So why pay extra for that? Skip it and download your own entertainment to your phone ahead of time or prepare to work offline while in flight.
The more you know, the better consumer you become. Grab our Travel Goals Newsletter every Thursday for more travel tips and news. And when you’re ready to see sample travel itineraries to a particular destination check out our detailed destination guides for Mexico, Europe, and the United States.