How to be Your Own Best Travel Agent

To say I love to travel is an understatement.  I am obsessed with travel.

When I go shopping for clothes, I look for things that are perfect for traveling, even if I don't have a trip planned.

During a job interview, when I was asked what I like to do in my spare time, I said, "Go to Paris."  (I didn't get the job.)

I read travel guides when everyone else is reading Oprah's favorites.

I study travel websites.  I have memorized the European flight schedules of major airlines.  I have counseled friends on exactly what to say when booking frequent flyer seats.

This nugget is going to turn you into your own travel agent.

Over the years, I have used many different websites to check airline prices. (You never know when that JFK-Paris flight might go on sale!) Then I discovered the place where the popular travel websites get their information.

Here's how it works:

First, figure out where you want to go.  That may sound simple, but you really need to decide if you want to fly into one city and out of another, or if you want a round trip ticket to and from the same place. (My advice, if you only have a week and you don't travel frequently, is to go to one city and "live" there the whole time.)

For this example, let's pretend we are going to Paris for seven days. (Yippee!)

Don't decide the dates of your trip just yet.  If you want the very lowest rates, you need to be flexible with WHEN you go.

Go to Matrix.ITAsoftware.com.  ITA Software is the computer program that many of the travel sites use to find flights for you.  Skip the travel sites, like Expedia, Travelocity, CheapTickets, Priceline, and go directly to the source.

Enter your departure city and your arrival city.

Now comes the good part.  Under "dates," select "see calender of lowest fares." Now enter the first day of any month you could possibly go on this trip, and fill in your length of stay as 7 days. It will ask you what cabin (coach or business class) and how many stops you will accept-- nonstop only, or 1 or 2 stops.  Don't do anything with the rest. Click "search."

Up pops all of the round trip rates on every day of the month.  Are all of the rates too high for you that month?  Go back and change the date to the first day of another month. You can look at all of the rates for 30 days from the date you specify.

When you find a month and days that give you the best rate, select a departure date and click "show flights."

Now you have all of the possible flights at that price.  Pick a flight that works for you, and go to that airline's website and find the same flight on the same days. Book the flight directly with the airline.

Don't be tempted to use a booking agent like Expedia, Kayak, etc. If something goes wrong with your flight, you want to deal directly with the airline. Trust me on this.

That's it.  Your flight is booked directly with the airline, so you don't have to worry about the travel website's cancellation policies or extra fees.  And you didn't have to go through the hassle of trying to find the days when the airline offers the lowest prices.

Bon voyage!