A few tips for Student Travelers and others traveling internationally...

So, I recently went to Dublin, London and Amsterdam roundtrip for $660 from June 24-July 5th without using low cost carriers (except RyanAir once). The amounts paid were as follows:

DC->London->Dublin (10hrs tot.) with British Airways= $220
Dublin->London via Ryan Air Business= $60
London->Amsterdam via British Airways= $80
Amsterdam -> Philly->DC (10 hours, American)= $300

I aggregated all kinds of data, mainly through trial and error. I could never figure out how to do those mileage dumps or get access to the boards where they are posted. So, I went old school starting three months out.

1. I booked in segments. At first I was going round trip (when I was just going to London), but then realized it's cheaper to target segments at certain times. You can start to spot trends if using Kayak. Different segments go on sale at separate times.

2. StudentUniverse is your friend. You can get pretty awesome discounted flight prices using them, but you have to know when to book. Their new flight prices roll out on a Saturday morning. Also, you'll get wild discounted between 12AM-3AM EST during the week. Plus first time buyers get an additional $30-$50 discount on first flight purchased.

3. Don't be a sucker and pay over $800 RT for anything to Europe. Now, I know many on this board are from BR and NOLA. Unfortunately, I that affects your flight prices not being near a bigger airport. But if you're willing to put in the work, deals can be had.