Clear on the date you want to fly on but unclear about the return? Well. Well. Well. A situation we face oftentimes that also lead us to cancel plans because of non-clarity. Planning to study abroad, visiting for business purpose, have dicey meetings and schedules, might want to explore the destination even more, urgent need to take care of, etc. might be many of the few reasons for the unclear return date. Nevertheless, it is important to but get flight tickets for at least one side but then you are stuck with how to proceed further. Worry not, because CheapFareGuru has it all sorted for you.
Buy flexible fares
While narrowing down on flight tickets, do not book air plane tickets that are cheapest because of that mere reason. Instead book air plane tickets that offer advantages of modifying travel dates, refund, cancellation, and more. These flight tickets may not be the cheapest, instead would demand higher airfare prices but would guarantee a chance in dates in case of return date non-clarity. Some airplane tickets though would ask you to pay a certain fee for modifications/cancellation or refund but in general cases, there is no fee in this class of airfare prices.
Book one way for now
Buy an open-ended flight ticket by taking only one-side air flight ticket instead of paying for round-trip flight. In this case, you can book one way flight ticket and leave the other way to be booked when you know the return date confirmation. This might be a little more expensive than a round-trip flight but definitely lower than the change fee to be paid for modifying dates in case of change.
Use miles and points
Another way to solve the problem of non-clarity on the return date is to book your flight ticket and use your miles while booking. These flight tickets booked through miles and points allow you to change the dates as per convenience upon payment of small fee or free of cost.
Use special status
If you are unable to book return flight tickets because of not being able to decide on the date of return, you can choose to book airplane tickets by using your special status such as student ID. Some airlines allow student travelers to book open-tickets and choose a return date when they one. This is basically allowed in cases where the students are going aboard for studying.
That said, some airlines also allow you ‘hold for free’ – implying that you can book air tickets for a certain time without paying for them immediately but within a specified future time period. You can pay for these flight tickets once you have surety about the return. This allows you more time to plan, as well as puts your seat on hold, while sending regular reminders about the ‘expiry’ of holding period. Some companies also offer low fare exchange in these cases which means that in case the airfare prices of the flight tickets reserved or put on hold is reduced, the air ticket prices on hold will also be reduced and made available at the current reduced airfare price.
So, next time if you are unsure of return dates, check these hacks to get the best offer available.
