Chris Guillebeau of the Art of Non-Conformity has a new ebook, The Unconventional Guide to Discount Airfare, provides useful tips every traveler.
The table of contents of this guide includes:
I. The Good and the Bad of Travel in 2008
II. Surviving Travel in North America
III. Beyond Travelocity: What I Use
IV. Alternative Routings and Unusual Ideas
V. Contrarian Travel
VI. Surviving Euroshock in Europe
VII. Across the Pacific to Asia
VIII. Premium Travel
IX. Awards Tickets
X. FarAway Places
XI. Round-the-World & Regional Passes
XII. FAQ
XIII. Other Resources
XIV. Wrap-up and Thanks
Overall I thought the best tips were:
- On discount airlines
- Using Priceline.com
- Matching of elite status between airlines
There is also an amazing tip on getting free rental cars that I will definitely try. His section about getting into airport lounges is intriguing but probably not for me.
Overall this guide for best for travelers who have a lot of flexibility in where and when they travel. But it also has good tips for the occasional traveler. My favorite part of the ebook is his general philosophy about travel — which he calls “contrarian travel.” The idea is that if you’re open to trying new things — like an extra long stopover that allows you to to see one more city — you’ll be able to get a much better deal on flights.
In general, I think you can measure the value of ebooks in the amount of time they save you by putting helpful information all in one place (since you can find almost anything on the internet if you look long enough). Chris packs a lot of tips in his ebook and I know from experience the information he provides in one place can save you dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of scouring the internet for travel tips and tricks.
Lastly, if you’re not happy with the Unconventional Guide to Discount Airfare Chris provides an “Uncompromising Guarantee: If the Unconventional Guide to Discount Airfare doesn’t rock your world, you get your money back. There is no time limit to the guarantee.”
You can buy The Unconventional Guide to Discount Airfare for $24.95 by clicking here. Chris promises updates for life which makes it a pretty amazing deal if you ask me.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a copy of this too. I thought it had a lot of good information in it for beginner travelers.
I’m looking into buying this book now thanks for the review
This looks like a great book with some good advice. A great tip for those who can be flexible with their travel plans is to look into last-minute deals that most airlines announce on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Typically they offer great deals on airfare to lots of great places.
yeah this book really looks interesting, as i will be travelling the world very soon as my tvi express positions cycle, and i wouldnt mind purchasing this to get more for my money lol. always saving lol grrrrr
The book looks interesting, but for $24.95, even with free updates for life, it is quite expensive. Most ebooks are much cheaper. Do you really think it is worth the money – that I will save at least that on my first trip?