In the ever-devaluing world of points and miles, mistake fares are the one glimmer of hope for amazing travel deals. If you’re having a hard time earning miles via credit card sign-up bonuses, reselling, or even paid travel, mistake fares will appeal to you. The problem is that mistake fares are unpredictable, they may not be honored, and finding them can be a challenge if you don’t know where to look. Here’s an overview of where and when to find mistake fares, as well as how to book them:
Where to Find Mistake Fares
There are actual websites dedicated to sharing information about mistake fares. My favorites are The Flight Deal and Airfare Watchdog, which not only do a great job at reporting these super low fares but sharing information about which dates and departure cities they are valid for. You can subscribe to receive notifications when these websites publish a new post, but I prefer the social media route. Twitter is great for spreading information about mistake fares because not only do the blogs share links to their posts outlining mistake fare info, but other folks retweet it. So if you’re not following the original source posting about a mistake fare, your friends might be and if they retweet it, it shows up on your feed. Here are some of the Twitter accounts you should be following to keep track of mistake fares:
- @TheFlightDeal
- @airfarewatchdog
- @SecretFlying (especially great for airfare deals outside of the U.S.)
When to Find Mistake Fares
Though there are exceptions, mistake fares tend to pop up on weekends, when IT people are asleep at the wheel, giving us lots of time to not only become aware of airfare deals but to spread the word. So if you’re the type of person who occasionally goes on a tech hiatus, you might want to avoid doing that on weekends so you don’t miss out on mistake fares if any become available.
How to Book Mistake Fares
You’ve found an awesome mistake fare and are ready to book – now what? If the fare is available through an OTA like Orbitz, I would recommend booking through that channel since Orbitz allows no-fee cancellations within 24 hours of booking. This is invaluable because when a mistake fare comes around, there isn’t much time to sit down and plan. The fare might be gone by the time you’ve decided which exact date works best for you. “Book now, plan later” should be your mantra. I would even go as far as to book several different dates so that you have a backup in case your first travel date doesn’t work.
When it comes to credit cards, I would recommend charging your mistake fare booking to the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard if it’s $100 or more, and the Discover It Miles Card if it’s less than $100. That’s because the Arrival card pays out 2 miles per $1 spent and allows you to redeem miles for travel charges, with a 5 percent redemption rebate. The downside is that you can only redeem miles for travel charges of $100 or more.
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Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®
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$0 first year
$89 after first year |
50,000 bonus miles When you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days Read Review » |
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Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® |
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Discover it® Miles - Double Miles your first year
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$0 first year
$0 after first year |
Double Miles Double all the Miles you've earned at the end of your first year Read Review » |
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Discover it® Miles - Double Miles your first year |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
The Discover It Miles card earns 3 miles per $1/3 percent cash back during the first year (which is cut in half thereafter) and doesn’t impose a limit on travel redemptions. I would actually advise using this card to book mistake fares if you’re still in that first-year window since you’ll be earning more miles than with the Arrival Card. If you’re past the year 1 window and the total cost of the mistake fare(s) you’re booking is more than $100, then I’d charge it to the Arrival Plus card.
What’s the last mistake fare you’ve booked? Do you have any tips on where to get mistake fare alerts? Please share in the comment section.
[Image via Getty]