Flexible travellers can find bargains

NEW YORK – Jessie Purton won the frugal travellers’ lottery.

A bit of luck, some quick thinking and lots of flexibility landed her an amazing travel deal: a four-night Carnival cruise to Mexico plus two nights in a Miami hotel for just $275.

Purton, 30, found the cruise online in January, shortly after the Costa Concordia — owned by Carnival — ran aground off the coast of Italy. She and six friends booked the deal — while out — using a BlackBerry.

“They were giving everything away,” said Purton.

Savvy travellers can find some incredible travel sales, but they need to have fluid schedules and willingness to vacation at off-peak times. An understanding boss is helpful, too.

Purton is part of a small group of travellers who pick their vacations based not so much on destination, but cost. These types of people always have a suitcase packed — just in case.

Here are the best ways to find insane deals:

Download mobile apps, bookmark pages, create online profiles and add creditcard information. That way, when a deal comes along, you can book it from anywhere with minimal hassle. By the time you get to a computer, it might be gone.

Twitter and Facebook are your friends. Sometimes airlines, hotels and cruise lines will post their deals on social media. More often, you will hear about them from industry watchers or friends.

Sign up for text alerts. Travel blogs such as Deals We Like — boardingarea. com/blogs/deals we like/ — will actually send you a text message when there is an amazing special with a short shelf life.

Question travel newsletters. By the time a travel company emails you about a “sale,” most of the spots are gone. Also, sometimes those deals aren’t any cheaper than what is normally offered. Like any savvy shopper, know what typical prices are so you’ll know when the price has truly gone down.

Search for last-minute weekend fares. Each Tuesday, some U.S. airlines email offers for that coming weekend or the following one to flyers who have signed up online for deal alerts. Travellers have to depart late Friday night or anytime Saturday and come back Monday or Tuesday. But at least the trips don’t gobble up any of those precious vacation days.