Several times last week, I received a very interesting notification in my inbox: I had obtained a credit for a future flight… with almost no work on my part.
Here’s why this happened and how you can get involved too.
First, some background on why this is more important now than ever. It’s no secret that air ticket prices have risen largely due to higher fuel costs.
Therefore, my usual advice on when to book flights has changed a little. Nowadays, if I know I’m going on a trip and the fare is even remotely reasonable, I usually go ahead and book it, even if it’s way in advance or a little more expensive than I’d prefer.
The advantage of doing this is peace of mind. If prices continue to rise, at least my trip will be assured. But traditionally, the downside to booking early is obvious: You risk overpaying if rates drop later.
However, this is becoming less risky thanks to the increasing number of rate tracking tools that automatically monitor reservations after purchase. These tools track the flights you’ve already booked and guarantee a credit for future flights if the price drops.
I have been using a service called junova To follow the prices of several of my upcoming summer flights for a while now. However, thanks to the overall upward trend in airfares, none of the trips I had booked and sent to Junova had dropped in price…until this week.
Recently, I started receiving some interesting notices about credits for future flights.
At first, I was honestly confused because the United credit notification came before the Junova notification.
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But in the background, Junova had been keeping an eye on the ticket price all the time. Every time the price dropped below what I originally paid, I automatically received another credit for future flights.
After receiving the flight credits, my seat selections were still there and there were no discernible changes to the flights, except for the fact that I received future flight credits to use toward my next reservation.
There is no fee to try Junova, as it only charges you if you find savings on your flight. If you find savings, it charges a fee to your credit card equal to 20% of your savings. However, new users you can get a $25 creditmeaning your first $125 in savings should cost you nothing thanks to that benchmark credit.
In a world where airline tickets seem increasingly unpredictable, tools like this can help alleviate some of the pain of booking in advance.
If prices go up, you’re protected because you’ve already locked in your rate. What if prices go down? You can end up with a future flight credit without lifting a finger.
