HOUSTON – Tom and Danel Brodie were recently gearing up to save hundreds of dollars in just a matter of minutes.
They were buying tickets to fly to Europe for what most people in Texas would pay to fly to Los Angeles or Chicago. And it's all because they discovered a company called Scott’s Cheap Flights, which promises to save travelers an average of $550 per ticket.
For a family of four, that would mean savings of more than $2,000.
“When we heard about Scott’s, we started looking for airfares to Italy," Danel Brodie said. "My husband just became Catholic, and I wanted to show him the Vatican. We found a trip on Scott’s from Houston to Rome for $376 a person, and normally, that would probably (have) been about $1,200."
On that trip to Rome, the Brodies estimate they saved more than $800 per ticket.
“The prices are just unbelievable," Tom Brodie said. "And you’re flying on major airlines, not some bargain basement airline."
Lisa Bedford, of Kingwood, took her whole family to Croatia, a trip that should have cost about $1,600 a ticket -- and yet, she paid just a fraction of that.
“The deal was amazing," she said. "It was $383 round trip from Houston, and that was mind-boggling to me."
So, how do you use Scott’s Cheap Flights?
At Channel 2, we sat down with Daniel Burnham, a flight expert at Scott’s Cheap Flights.
“So, we will start just by setting up a new account," Burnham said.
Scott’s Cheap Flights is basically a club that you join, and in return, you receive email alerts about upcoming, super-low-cost flights.
First, you sign up with your email address and a password.
Second, you choose the airport you want to fly out of. You can actually pick several.
You might pick George Bush Intercontinental, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, for example.
“Choosing your home airport is really key here because most people in Houston are going to want to pick George Bush because here, you are going to get the most long-haul, international departures," Burnham said. "You will have more to choose from."
Once you're all signed up, you'll start receiving email alerts, detailing the hottest international deals around, each containing a link that you can click on to actually purchase that plane ticket.
You are normally given a specific time range of when those flights are available, for example, November through January, excluding holidays.
Sometimes even major holidays are included.
Here is just a sampling of some very good, recent alerts.
“So, this one is Houston to London for $382," Burnham said as he punched up a recent email alert from Scott’s.
“Here, you’re going to Tahiti for $493 from here in Houston," he added. "We think this would normally cost $1,800 or more."
Burnham kept checking the listings.
"How about this? This is Sydney, Australia, for $482 -- direct (and) round trip. Usually you’re paying about $1,200 for something like this," he said.
Scott’s Cheap Flights offers two different types of memberships.
The first is totally free, meaning, of course, it doesn't cost anything. The second is called the premium membership, and it runs $49 for a year.
"The difference is, with the free membership, what you are getting is only about 20% of the total deals we publish," Burnham said. "You are also not going to get flights offered on holidays or during the peak season."
As for Bedford and the Brodies, they are already checking their email alerts daily, looking for their next “bucket list” vacation to a far-away location.
“It’s true," Danel Brodie said. "I am constantly asking Tom, ‘What do you think of this place? What do you think about this? Can we do this?'"
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Below are four travel links you might want to keep handy:
Scott's Cheap Flights | The Flight Deal | Secret Flying | Escape Houston