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Have you ever seen a post or read a review about a fantastic business-class product only to realize that those tickets are almost impossible to book on points? Lie-flat seats to Australia sound amazing until you find that the availability is basically nil (at least until the last minute). How on earth do people ever score these aspirational redemptions?
If you resonate with the above, Thrifty Traveler Premium may be your solution. Here's what you need to know about Thrifty Traveler's Instant Alerts and how you can use this service to snag amazing deals, too.
What Is Thrifty Traveler Premium?
For the unfamiliar, Thrifty Traveler is a service that alerts subscribers to flight deals. You can sign up for the free version at no cost to receive emails about up to two cheap flight deals per week. But, the real value is found through the Thrifty Traveler premium membership. This service costs $99.99 per year and sends email alerts for cash and points deals tailored to the airports of your choice.
You can also add Thrifty Traveler hotel alerts for an additional $24.99 per year. As a premium member, I've gotten lots of great deals delivered to my inbox daily. It's been a great investment for me.
Most of those deals, however, don't fall in the “mistake fare” or “ultra-rare” category. For those, Thrifty Traveler has special Instant Alerts sent via text message since these “unicorn fares” are highly time-sensitive. These alerts are included in your premium membership.
What Are “Mistake Fares” and How Can You Use Thrifty Traveler To Find Them?
Mistake airfares — also known as “error fares” — arise when an airline or travel agency accidentally publishes an incorrect flight price. Often, this results in tickets pricing for far less than they otherwise should. The U.S. does not require airlines to honor these tickets when there is clear evidence that they were published as a mistake. However, airlines will occasionally throw travelers a bone and let you keep your booking.
This year, Thrifty Traveler alerted their premium members to a mistake fare offering round-trip flights to Dublin for only $135! When fares are likely mistakes by the airlines, Thrifty Traveler will give you a warning that you should wait to make any other non-refundable plans for this trip since it isn't a guarantee it will be honored. In this case, Air France did honor the price, and those who were quick to book scored an incredible deal.
Other Kinds of Unicorn Deals You’ll Find With Thrifty Traveler
In addition to alerting subscribers to deeply discounted airline tickets, Thrifty Traveler will also send out Instant Alerts for rare points and miles availability. Like mistake fares, ultra-rare award availability is usually only available for a short time.
Some of the recent alerts include close-in Air France business class flights to Paris, super-discounted flights to Norway, and peak season lie-flat seats to Chile. In July, I received a text about availability for a combo Qsuite business class ticket/Qatar First Class ticket with a stop in Doha (DOH).
When airlines release availability like this, savvy travelers will scoop them up quickly. Getting a text message through Thrifty Traveler Premium gives you the best chance of securing the coveted award space.
How to Sign Up for Thrifty Traveler Instant Alerts
First things first: You'll need to sign up for Thrifty Traveler Premium. Once enrolled, log into your account and click on the settings tab. Then, go to your profile. At the bottom of the first page, you will see an optional space to add your phone number for Mistake Fares.
Upon entering your number, you'll get an alert from Thrifty Traveler informing you that you are now registered to receive these alerts. After that, don't expect many messages. The deals are rare, and so are the alerts. Since it's that easy to sign up, be sure to take advantage of this perk if you subscribe to Thrifty Traveler Premium.
My Take
Thrifty Traveler Premium continues to be one of my favorite travel subscription services. I have found value in both airline and hotel deals. The service is particularly beneficial for those who have flexible travel plans since you never know which sweet spot they may uncover.
However, for those needing more specific plans, a searchable service like Point.me, Seats.aero, Roame.Travel, or PointsYeah might be more helpful.
For the flexible traveler, these Instant Alerts are another way that Thrifty Traveler Premium can help you find the epic redemption you've been waiting for.
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