Share your travel deals with friends with Yapta’s Frugal Travel Flaunts

by Katie Hammel on

Yapta, a website that tracks prices and helps you figure out when to book your airfare, has launched a new Facebook application called Frugal Travel Flaunts. When you find a deal on a flight and add it to “my trips”, you can choose to publish it on your Facebook page, alerting all your friends to your great find.

The idea behind the app is pretty solid. How many times have you found out about the amazing low-cost flight a friend found, but too late? Hearing that my friend spent just $300 on a round trip ticket from Chicago to London after she gets back from the trip doesn’t help me take advantage of the same deal. And likewise, I feel bad when friends ask why I didn’t share the news of my cheap fare purchase with them. The Frugal Travel Flaunts application allows you to use social media to alert your friends to good deals and helps you score your own with a few easy clicks.

Yapta will also help you get a credit if a flight you’ve already purchased drops in price. The site will alert you to the fare decrease with a link that sends you to the page on their site with credit info. You can also “flaunt” that on your Facebook page, though I see that as a less useful tool. Sharing news on killer deals is one thing, boasting about refunds is another – there’s a fine line between a flaunt and a taunt.

Megabus to sell 50,000 $1 fares

by Katie Hammel on

Megabus, the big blue bus that could, has become synonymous with dirt-cheap fares in the Midwest and on the East Coast. While not always on time, the company has a reputation for offering a better experience than competitors like Greyhound, as there is an assumption that you are more likely to be seated next to a budget traveler or college student than you are, say, a knife-wielding psychopath.

As Megabus’ popularity has grown, it has become harder to snag those elusive $1 fares, which are offered for the first few seats sold on each trip. When I first started taking the bus from Chicago to Detroit back in 2007, I rarely paid more than $10 round-trip, and paying $1 (and once, just 50 cents) each way wasn’t uncommon. But my more recent trips have been as high as $70 round-trip(though still cheaper than flying and faster than taking the train).

But this fall, getting a $1 fare might be easier. Megabus just announced that it will be selling an additional 50,000 fares for the low, low price of $1 each way. Passengers will need to travel between September 14 and November 19 and use the promo code HOTDEAL when booking. The $1 fares do tend to sell out quickly, so book your travel now to get the best price.

Happy Birthday Virgin Atlantic! Celebrate with more fare sales

by Grant Martin on

Virgin Atlantic Airways is all grown up. Today is their 25th birthday, and in a similar guise to their buildup of fare sales over the last few weeks, they’re launching another massive campaign this morning.

For only today, you can book tickets for only $181 round trip in economy or $384 in premium economy between the United States and the UK. Those are fantastic prices for the high summer season, where typical prices normally soar to over $1000.

Rumor has it that the airline is also throwing a bit of an anniversary bash in Tribeca tonight, where we’re sure to see more festivities, galavanting and giveaways, hosted by the man himself, Sir Richard Branson.

Check virginatlantic.com today to cash in on the special 25th anniversary fares, and check Gadling.com later this week for updates from the birthday party!

Fare alert! Take advantage of the fare war to Dublin!

by Grant Martin on

It’s been a little while since we’ve had a good hootenany like we’re having this weekend. Dublin, as you know, is on sale from the United States, from almost every good port of departure.

From Chicago, Grand Rapids, New York, Cleveland and many cities in the midwest, tickets are as low as $330 for travel into March. West of the Mississippi, from departures such as Los Angeles, prices are only $45 higher at $375. You can even score tickets from your local podunk airport — Bay City, Michigan is rocking prices as low as $308.

But the most jaw dropping price appears to be out of Miami, where you can score tickets for only $220 round trip. That’s outrageous!

To find tickets, start by running a flex search at Kayak.com. Use +/- 3 days if you want the best prices, then when you find a good set of tickets, bounce over to the airline of choice’s website and book tickets. Right now I’m sitting on top of some Feb 20 – 22 tickets, but seeing as I was just there, I’m a little gunshy to book.

Interested in learning more about what’s going on in Dublin? Check on Gadling’s list of 10 Things you Didn’ t Know about Dublin.

Fare alert! Seattle is on sale!

by Grant Martin on

We’re a couple of days late to the party because, well, of all of the partying, but these fares were just too good to not tell you about.

Southwest Airlines (WN), the great low cost carrier based out of Dallas, TX, has done it again, launching a 50% off fare sale from and to Seattle, WA, originating anywhere that WN flies from.

Tickets are rocking as low as $150, with some of the best deals on transcons. You can get back and forth from Baltimore for about $185, less than the cost of a one way most of the time.

And the best part of this fare sale? Most airlines without their heads up their asses matched or lowered their prices, so if you have another favorite carrier, want to fly direct or just want a seating assignment the fares should be similar on other airlines.

Thanks for resetting the market on this one, Southwest. This weekend I’m taking advantage of November’s $98 fare sale to Salt Lake City for some Snowbird, Sundance and hedonistic Mormon parties.

Book your ticket TONIGHT if you want to take advantage here!