Today’s Save Money Tip is about getting a cheap flight using round-the-world (RTW) airfares, which can both shave dollars off your flights and expand your travel options at little or no extra cost.

RTW tickets seem to defy logic. Because you can often add destinations to your itinerary and pay less than you normally would for a single-destination trip.

Here’s how it works: RTW booking agencies, like Airbrokers.com or Airtreks.com, work with almost every airline in the world to combine the cheapest flight segments they find into attractive, inexpensive itineraries. And they buy so many tickets, they can negotiate low-low fares.

Cheap Flight Example: Los Angeles to Hong Kong

So say you want a cheap flight to Hong Kong, for example…

With a RTW ticket, you could fly Los Angeles – Hong Kong – Bangkok – Singapore – Bali – Los Angeles for $1,049.

By contrast, a simple round-trip, non-stop ticket from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on Expedia.com is $1,224. So not only is the RTW ticket cheaper, but you get flights to Bangkok, Singapore, and Bali essentially for free. (If you were to buy the five one-way tickets that make up this trip, even if you could get the cheapest fare on Expedia for all five flights, you’d pay $1,920 total.)

And RTW fares can also open up to you the opportunity for the kind of “grand trip” that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive.

For example, right now on one of these special tickets, you can go around the world for less than $1,000.

Using a RTW fare through Airbrokers.com you can fly New York – London – out of Istanbul – Kiev – Bangkok – Hong Kong – Los Angeles for just $899. You can add additional destinations for as little as $100. The travel is valid for a full year, and most of the dates are changeable without penalty.

Tips on Getting a Cheap Flight

Before you plan an RTW trip, keep a few things in mind: Waiting until the last minute to book RTW tickets won’t get you the best deal. Since the ticket agency has to figure out the cheapest tickets for your route, you’d do best to book as far ahead as you can.

Also, pay attention to high-season and low-season at your travel destination. Some RTW tickets charge a supplement for high-season.

For more money-saving travel advice like this, get a copy of IL’s How to Get the Best Deal Every Time You Travel. For less than $20, you’ll learn a neat trick to use when flying to South Florida that can save you hundreds of dollars…the single most important money-saver for any trip…how to get into VIP airport lounges for free…and lots more.

Len Galvin
Managing Editor, IL Postcards

P.S. As readers living overseas will tell you, one of the great advantages to a good-value lifestyle is having money left over for travel. In destinations like Ecuador, for instance, you can live the good life for as little as $600 a month. With expenses that low, why not take off to explore the world? To find out the fastest, easiest way to set yourself up in low-cost, good-living Ecuador, get a copy of Ecuador: The Owner’s Manual. It’s on sale now for 20% off and shipping is free.

To catch up on the Save Money, Make Money series so far, see:

Tip #1: Slash Your Health Care Costs by 50%

Tip #2: Waterfront Living For Less on an Affordable Beach

Tip #3: Get Cheap International Calls and Cut Your Phone Bill to $20 a Year

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