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I discovered how to save a lot of money (and miles) last November when we took our boys to Disneyland for the first time. A flight from SLC to LAX was 5,280 miles or $99, however a flight from SLC to Las Vegas with a layover in LAX was 2,280 miles or $60. The ironic thing was the flight from SLC to LAX was the exact same flight number for both itineraries. However, if I booked the flight to Las Vegas instead of LAX I was saving my self 3,000 miles or $39. That's a 40% savings! This is technique is called hidden city ticketing.
Hidden City Do's and Don't's
- Hidden city ticketing only really works on Southwest Airlines because it violates the contract of carriage of most other major airlines and doesn't work for roundtrip tickets. It is risky if you trying to do hidden city on other airlines and there is even a chance Southwest Airlines may scold you, but I've never heard anyone being penalized for using the hidden city method on Southwest Airlines.
- On Southwest Airlines you are really booking two one way tickets instead of a roundtrip ticket. When I'm flying to LAX I fly from SLC to Las Vegas via LAX (and get off in LAX) and then on the way home I fly from LAX to SLC because there is no hidden city on the return flight.
- Don't check your baggage if you choose to fly using the hidden city method because your bags will end up at your final destination instead of where you are getting off. When we fly to LAX to go to Disneyland we travel with 3 carryon bags, two strollers and two boosters. We bring all of this to the gate with us and the gate agent will tag the strollers and boosters to store under the plane and then we take the 3 carryon bags onto the plane with us.
- If you use hidden city ticketing and decide not to get on your connecting flight to your final destination then please let a Southwest Airlines gate agent know after you arrive in your hidden city so that they can release your seats and so they aren't holding the plane for you.
Personal Hidden City Experience
Back in November when we flew using the hidden city method our flight from SLC to LAX was running late and we weren't going to make it to LAX in time to make our connecting flight to Las Vegas. The gate agent called us up and was going to book us on a direct flight from SLC to Las Vegas. I told her that we were getting off at LAX and not getting back on the plane to go to Las Vegas. The gate agent was fine with that and took the Las Vegas leg off of our reservation and we didn't have any issues with it.
Here is an article that was in the New York Times Magazine about hidden city ticketing.
Below are two examples of how to look for hidden city tickets and how much money it can save you.
Disclaimer: Ideas in this blog post are from my own personal experiences and actual results may vary based on offers available at the time. This is not professional advice.
- 9:20 AM
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