Meet the Reddit user whose hobby is finding people cheap flights for free
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It's no secret that we here at TPG love flying. More than that, we love finding the best deals to get you where you need to go — whether it's with points or cash. So, when we began seeing Reddit user u/delta777er, otherwise known as Nick Doyle, offering to find people cheap flights out of nothing but the goodness of his heart, we knew we had to talk to him.
It turns out that Nick is a fairly normal guy. He's a young man who just graduated college and began a career as a software developer. Originally from Pennsylvania, he attended Cornell before moving to the Bay Area for work.
As for what piqued his interest in travel? Although a lover of aviation since he was a child, summer internships with Southwest meant that every weekend he and fellow interns jetted off around the country for free. If that's not a way to get into flying, I don't know what is.
When asked why he started offering to find flights for people, Nick explained that he used to spend all his time looking up random flight itineraries for imaginary vacations. So, rather than continuing to search for flights that would never be purchased, he thought he'd offer his services to those looking for a little help. This isn't a one-time thing, either. He's been doing it for the last eighteen months, helping hundreds of people score cheap tickets.
The hardest time he's had trying to find flights? As should surprise no one, people asking to travel within the US during the holidays are nearly impossible to help, with limited travel dates and minimal flexibility on destinations. The worst offender is Thanksgiving, where folks are looking to leave the Tuesday prior and return the Sunday after. He suggests taking Monday off and returning a day later to chop the fare in half.
Of course, not all the flights he prices out are for others. Nick has traveled a fair bit himself, using sites like Google flights and The Flight Deal to book some jaw-droppingly low fares, like Washington D.C to Europe for $200 roundtrip and even a flight to Japan via Beijing with Air China.
As an avid reader of TPG, Nick has just recently gotten into the credit card game, snagging the Citi® Double Cash Card, as suggested by our article on the best cards for college students. Now that he's got his career started, he has lots of opportunities for points and miles. Maybe that'll mean a business class ticket in his future?
Bottom line, Nick Doyle is an awesome guy. There are tons of agencies that'll charge to find you good fares for tickets, but he's here, doing it for free. And he's got some recommendations for you so that you can find cheap flights too:
- The most important thing is to be flexible, in both dates and destinations.
- Keep looking, as fares fluctuate throughout the month.
- Figure out where the budget airlines fly and search their hubs.
- Make sure you're using the right websites to search.
Thanks, Nick. You rock.
(Feature photo by Orbon Alija via Getty Images)
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