I found a killer rate to St. Louis! And by killer, i mean “the best i can find these days with oil sky high and the economy going down in flames” kinda deal :)

Finding the bargain was nice, but what really piqued my interest was the process in which i got it. I really have no idea what i did, or didn’t do, to grab them at the lowest price!

Here’s a step by step breakdown of what i did:

• 3 weeks ago: Logged onto Expedia.com and found my flights for a total of $315. Checked out Orbitz and some others, but have always been a fan of Expedia from day one. Decided to wait and make up my mind first before snatching them up right away.
• Yesterday 9:15 am: Logged back onto Expedia.com and found those specific flights for $585!!!! F that, I decided to look for cheaper flights with xfers and other flight times.
• Yesterday 10:30 am: Logged back onto Expedia and found different flights totaling $317. Emailed my dad (who is also going – we have a wedding to attend) and asked if he could pick me up since i was now planning to take different flights. He said that was fine, and to just holler when i know the arrival times.
• Yesterday 2:15 pm: Logged back onto Expedia to booke these new flights, and found that my ORIGINAL flights were now available for only $276!!!

WTF? Did i just randomly get lucky? Was the man upstairs throwing me a bone? I managed to find my original flight for $300 LESS than it was listed for only 5 hours earlier. And not only that, but it was $39 cheaper than it was 3 weeks ago when my dad booked it!

My co-worker says it’s because the airlines and ticket broker sites lower their prices every Wednesday and Thursday each week. Have you ever heard of that? It seems like one of those myths to me, but then again yesterday WAS Thursday and i got a helluva break.

The sad part is that i used to work for the airlines (Continental) booking people’s fares and checking them in and all, but 99% of what i learned has already oozed out. I don’t recall any “secrets” from back then, and I’m pretty sure it all comes down to marketing and bunch of computer formulas anyways.

You never know what the person sitting next to you on the plane paid for his ticket, but more than likely it was a different price than you paid. One time i remember this guy telling me he paid $100 over what i did for the flight, so i had to just smile and play stupid cuz i didn’t want to piss him off :) Although, i’m sure i was “that guy” plenty of times before too, so it all works out in the end. Ignorance is bliss baby!

Whether it was dumb luck or not though, my good friend Procrastination pulled through big time! He saved me a good $40 bucks and about 6 hours of flying/xfer time. Here’s to you, big man! (and you’re not so bad either, Expedia)