Job Discussion Forums

timmyjames1976 · Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 148

Ok, I am a newb, but I do have a legitimate question they may aid other newbs. How can you purchase the round trip ticket that is required for reinburment from certain schools. I have looked online, and they will not let you book a round trip ticket that has such a long span between the dates. Do you have to go through an agent? Do you have to go say...Point A to B then B back to A, or could you go A to B then B to C in order to qualify for reinbursment? Any help would be great. Thank you.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

If your school is willing to reimburse you for the plane ticket, then ask them what is best. They may have their own travel agent or ask you to buy a one way ticket. There is no one poilicy that schools or teachers follow.

phis · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 250

Most airlines (through Internet or agents) will only sell the cheaper tickets for an initial stay of up to 7 months. However, if the terms and conditions of the ticket state 'maximum stay one year', you can then change the return date to bring it up to the one year period. Obviously, you mustn't forget to do this before the 7 month period is up or you will lose the return fare. I usually do it two to three months before.

The most important thing is to check that the terms and conditions clearly state 'maximum stay one year', before you buy the ticket. If you work through an agent tell them that you must stay for one year. If you buy through the Internet, the conditions should be clearly stated and you should print out a copy of these.

I have used both methods numerous times without any problems.

phis · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 250

I forgot to add that some airlines charge a small fee for changing the return date, while others do it for free.

carnac · Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:18 pm Post subject:

Phis is correct.
An airline ticket is valid for one year from the date of issue. If you get a round-trip ticket, you can book your outgoing flight for a specific date with what is called an "open return", return date unspecified, valid upon making a booking. If your return will be beyond one year from the date of issue of the ticket, the ticket can be reissued (before the year is up!) with a new date of issue, again valid one year from the (new) date of issue.
An open return is more expensive than a two-way confirmed booking, but ultimately cheaper than two separate one-way tickets.
Check with the airline you are using about "open returns". Then call again to check with another reservations agent to make sure the information you were given is confirmed. If you use a travel agent, re-check all "opinions", twice, with the airline. You will avoid the "but he told me that..." blues when you go to use your ticket and are turned down.
And remember - the armrests on your seat have a purpose. The harder you grasp them and pull upwards, the more your airplane will stay in the air. To maintain level flight, hold on firmly. To climb, as with a takeoff, yank those suckers upwards as hard as you can! Just watch - it works!
At least it works this way for me...

vespertine · Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 35

Oddly enough the cheapest way can be buying two round trip tickets at budget price and only using 1 leg of each.

vespertine · Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 35

Say you buy 1 open ended (and thus expensive) ticket valid for 1 year. Let's say it costs you $2000.

Or you could buy 2 restricted, budget tickets. Let's assume you're from the US, and you are using travelocity or some other online airfare site. The first one you buy before you leave, let's say for $750. You use the "going to" part of the trip. You enjoy living wherever you are living until you decide you want to come home. Then you go back to travelocity and purchase another roundtrip ticket for $750 (as if you were leaving the US again), using only the "returning from" part of the ticket. Thus you have saved $500 and achieved maximum flexibiity.

This is hypothetical in the sense that it doesn't always work this way, but many times it will.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

It can also work out to be cheaper if you want to return from a different city.
For example, one of my co-workers wants to fly from Mexico to San Francisco, then fly to LA, then fly back to Mexico. (A triangle)
Rather than buy three one-way tickets, it's cheaper to buy a round trip from Mex to LAX and a second round-trip from LAX to SF; she just picks the right flight dates and everything is okay.