Where do travel bloggers get all of their secret information?

After attending the summer Frequent Traveler University in Chicago, one of the questions posed in the small breakout session was where travel bloggers get all of their “secret” information.

It confused me when this question was asked, because I don’t have any more access to this “hidden” information than anyone else.

What’s so hidden anyways?

• Deals are available on a variety of travel alert related sites.
• You can find availability, fare codes, routings and other pertinent information on sites like Expert Flyer
• There are blogs and forums that will always let you know of the latest mileage run, loyalty program change, or word of advice on the best seat in the house.

I thought about this a bit, and realized everyone else might not be so versed on the best places to get travel information, so I wanted to create a post of the best places to find this information.

To start off, this summer, I did create an essentials guide to airlines, hotels and miles and points.

Airlines, Airfares and Searching Availability

• The Flight Deal will give you some great airfares from select departure cities. Choose your favorite departure city, and they’ll let you know of great fares from that particular city.
• Flight Aware will track flights for you, and show you when your plane is scheduled to depart, land, etc.
• Airfare Watchdog lets you choose a departure city and see all good fares leaving from that city, or you can select individual city pairs and view all of the fares between those locations.
• ExpertFlyer is a subscription service that lets you view current seat maps, award availability, fare information, routing rules and other typically “airline only” information. If you want the inside scoop into your ticket, this is the site for you.
• Airline Route provides you the newest routes an airline will be operating. It also shows schedule changes, aircraft type changes and other industry leading route or network news.

Hotels

• Extreme Hotel Deals provides very low hotel deals on a variety of properties on a variety of dates throughout the year. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to narrow down by date or city, however, once you see one of these deals in your inbox you may want to plan trip around that deal. 🙂

General Information

• Subscribe to Inside Flyer Magazine
• Take a look around FlyerTalk and book the various forums you’re interested in.
• Looking for mileage run deals? Click here.
• Looking for good deal premium class fares? Click here.
• Take a look at the forums at MilePoint.
• Subscribe to the Saverocity Forums. There’s a really great Manufactured Spending forum there, but you need to be a Level 2 member to view it.
• Subscribe to the forums at Travel Codex. Some of these forums are closed to higher level members, but the more you participate, the more you’ll be able to view.

There’s no secret information when it comes to travel deals. You just to have the willpower to find the information, and use the information. Nothing comes easy, but the longer you stick along for the ride, the more information you’ll find out! Of course, if you subscribe to this blog, like the blog on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter, you’ll be the first to know of those major deals and changes!