travelthunder.com

As a savvy traveler, you first check whether you have a discount certificate you can use, perhaps one given to you as a result of being bumped (refer to the opening story of this chapter) or as compensation for an adverse experience. Doing this before you go online is important for two reasons:

1. Ticketing with a discount certificate can rarely be done online, but will usually require making a reservation directly with the airline, followed by presenting the coupon at the airline’s local or airport ticketing office. Sometimes a discount coupon can be mailed in. While a coupon’s rules will occasionally allow a travel agent to issue the ticket, agents loathe handling such reservations because of very low airline commissions and the complexities that come with applying a coupon.
2. Knowing which airline has provided your certificate will help in your comparison shopping. For example, if you have a $200 United discount certificate and find that the best prices for different carriers are competitive, you know that using your coupon on United is your best bet. Conversely, if Southwest offers a fare that’s $400 less than United’s, you can take the lower fare on Southwest and save your United certificate for another trip. If you own an Entertainment Directory, you may have another discount opportunity. Each directory includes discounts of 5 to 15 percent on some airlines— most recently on United, previously on Continental and Northwest Airlines—by calling direct or (in some instances) booking online and presenting a special discount code.

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