Booking air tickets for a visa. How to book a plane ticket without paying for a visa

In the age of advanced communications, when many purchases are made via the Internet, the question arises: is it possible to purchase a real airline ticket without leaving home without paying a penny for it?

The answer in most cases, oddly enough, is positive. Why is there a need to book air tickets online without paying?

What motivates you to look for free ways to buy an air ticket?

If a person wants to buy a plane ticket, but does not plan to pay for it, there are usually good reasons for this:

The airline offers a good discount, but, as luck would have it, there was no card at hand for payment. If you have a card, then perhaps there are no funds on it at the moment or there are not enough funds.
No visa fee. According to the rules, to submit documents to the visa center, you must provide round-trip air tickets. However, there is no 100% guarantee of obtaining visa approval; the money spent on tickets may be lost.
A trip abroad is planned, but the exact date of return has not been chosen, because if you like it, there is an opportunity to stay.
When traveling there is a need to cross the borders of several states. The rules of some of them require the presentation of a return air ticket or a ticket to another country. But a reservation for such tickets is enough. Even if you plan to return by other means of transport, an air ticket is still required.

What to do in all such cases? There is a solution: book tickets with deferred payment.

How to fill out the reservation form?

To complete the booking procedure correctly electronic ticket, you need to go to the appropriate website, register, select your destination (country, city) and departure, decide on the date of arrival and return (if planned).

Next, the airline is selected. You should not pay special attention to the cost of the ticket, since in principle payment is not expected. Then a form is filled out, where data on the passenger and his companions is entered.

After entering the required information, you need to go to the payment point. Then the site will issue a reservation number, and a special counter will appear that takes into account the reservation time and notifies about the end of this period.

How to make an unpaid purchase of an Airbus ticket

Of course, there are travel agencies and airlines that do not agree with free bookings. There are those that allow you to postpone payment only for an hour or no more than a day. This will not save you if you cannot yet collect the full amount for payment or if there is no money at all at the moment.

Companies that provide reservations for more than one day prefer to keep it for up to 2 - 4 days. Much less often, up to 7 and 10 days. Moreover, it is worth paying attention to the fact that in each specific case the period can be negotiated separately. And also do not lose sight of the fact that reservations are provided up to a certain time, and not inclusive!

Duration of e-ticket booking period for popular airlines:

Airline	Deadline BEFORE
KLM	24 hours
AlItalia	24 hours
SAS	2 days
Aeroflot	2 days
AirBaltic	3 days
AirBerlin	4 days
AirFrance	4 days
EuropeAir	7 days
UIA	10 days
Turkish Airlines	10 days
Lufthansa	10 days
Qatar	10 days

Preliminary preparation for reservation

In order not to lose money, time and nerves, and to get the result for which the booking was actually started, you need to assess the situation:

When planning to carry out the procedure for obtaining a reservation, it is worth analyzing which air carriers offer a longer retention period.
Calculate the time that affects the duration of maintaining the reservation, the maximum required for paperwork.
Take into account the conditions for unilateral cancellation of reservations when demand increases.
Clarify sanctions for refusal to pay for a reserved seat for a customer.

Recommendations for purchasing an air ticket with deferred payment

Free options

There are several ways to book air tickets without paying:

First: using airline websites. Airlines allow you to make a reservation and then transfer funds over periods of varying lengths. However, there is a nuance here: they can independently shorten the period for confirming a reservation by payment.

Usually a notification about this is sent to an email address or phone number, and therefore it is mandatory to indicate real contact contacts when booking. Printed booked ticket usually contains information that the reservation has not yet been paid, however, this circumstance does not interfere with visa processing.

It is important to familiarize yourself with the terms of deferred payment in advance. There are airlines that charge pennies and fines for bookings not paid within the specified period and for cancellations. For example, Lufthansa issues an invoice if a ticket has been booked, the reservation period is still valid, but it is no longer necessary and for this reason you have to cancel it.

The second way to book a plane ticket without paying involves doing it on the resources of those agencies that sell air seats. This is the most popular option. It is beneficial in that agencies can make it possible to book a ticket without paying even with those air carriers that do not provide such a service themselves. The most common solution is to decide on a suitable flight on the website agent.ru.

This is practically an online tourism agency that searches for air tickets based on a given request, without redirecting to airline websites. The nuance is that the reservation in this case is secured by the site itself, charging a commission depending on the cost of the ticket. Therefore, the price of a ticket purchased there will be higher, and you will not be able to save money.

But, if you don’t need the ticket itself, but only the fact of booking it, then this agency is the most suitable. From 3 to 10 days, depending on the airline's capabilities, this service allows you to maintain your reservation while it is necessary to complete administrative procedures. The booking period is closely related to the expected start date of the trip. Therefore, the closer it is, the shorter the reservation period.

Searching a few months before your trip will give you more options for booking length. Once the period expires, the reservation becomes inactive. It is recommended to cancel it when it is no longer needed, independently before the expiration of the term, in order to avoid the accrual of fines, etc.

The third method of booking air tickets without payment is suitable for those who have to some extent mastered the skill of reading English language. The English-language resource gomosafer.com helps make booking air tickets without payment very simple:

Searching and finding the departure direction.
Reservation of a place.
Confirmation by pressing the on hold button where payment is required.
Completing the booking process.
Ticket printing.
Receiving a status confirming the reservation.

It is difficult to say exactly how long a reservation remains active. The experience of travelers confirms that such a reservation allows you to calmly go through all customs bureaucratic procedures.

Options with minimal investment

This recommendation on how to book air tickets is suitable if you still have a small amount in your account. Here you need to deposit three hundred rubles. A ticket to the desired destination is booked on the website euroavia.ru. When the booking form is completed, at the end, when choosing payment, it is noted that a booking confirmation is needed only for obtaining a visa. It is for this visa reservation support that you need to pay a fee. The reservation will be active within a week.

Despite the fact that this method involves depositing money, it has an advantage over free options. In this case, the reservation is guaranteed to be kept for a week. But the previous versions do not provide such a guarantee. Even if a pre-booking is made for a period of up to 10 days, the airline can unilaterally cancel an unpaid reservation and sell a ticket, citing high seasonal demand or the approaching day of departure.

The next option is for the case when it is absolutely necessary to have a long-term reservation. You can't book here required air tickets online without payment, because we are talking about buying a ticket with the possibility of a refund after completing the necessary formalities. Airlines do not always provide the opportunity to return a ticket without losing money.

A minimum service fee is charged. The more expensive the ticket sales rate, the higher the fee. When a refund can be made in advance, there is a possibility of an almost 100% refund of the ticket price paid. The closer the departure date, the fewer such opportunities. Some companies immediately stipulate the conditions under which it is impossible to return a purchased ticket.

Most often these are economy class tickets. There are intermediary sites (for example, OneTwoTrip.com) that help compensate up to 90% of the cost of a ticket if you cancel it, even where a refund after purchasing a seat is almost impossible.

Another way to book a ticket without paying is to initially reserve the purchase of a seat with a reservation for a minimum period, indicating that payment will be made electronically. You won’t have to spend a large amount, because by checking the meter for the end of the payment period, you just need to buy an extension of your reservation on time for a purely symbolic amount. This can be done on sites where such a service is additionally provided.

Another way: if you have money, but it’s not enough to redeem your reservation, you can use a long-term reservation with a travel agency. This will cost a much smaller amount than the cost of the ticket.

One recommendation is to buy the most cheap air ticket. If your visa is refused, you don’t have the money to pay for insurance against visa refusal, or you simply can’t use it, you don’t have to fly anywhere and throw away your ticket. For European flights, low-cost companies often offer tickets with an affordable price of a few euros; losing such an amount is not too critical.

A creative version of how to book an air ticket without paying is to contact friends living in the area of the planned departure to make a long-term reservation. You can pay them upon arrival by purchasing a ticket or giving them a desired souvenir that you brought for them.

Booking confirmation

If a reservation was needed for visa center and he requires its confirmation, then a paper copy of the documents is provided by the following reconciliation services: www.myairlines.ru, www.viewtrip.com, www.virtuallythere.com, www.checkmytrip.com.

The algorithm for obtaining documents is as follows:

Book air tickets on the resource online without paying.
Go to the verification service website.
Enter the 6-digit code (PNR), after booking it will be sent to your email address.
Fill out the form with the Latin surname of the person who is going to fly.

As soon as your reservation status is confirmed, you can safely make a printout. It puts a mark confirming the reservation. If there is a need to check for its activity, this can be done on the websites: checkmytrip.com, virtuallythere.com, myairlines.ru, viewtrip.com, entering the reservation, order, payment number and the customer’s last name or by email address, mobile number and etc.

As for the websites of airlines whose tickets are booked, there may not be such information about the availability of reservations. Instead, it is usually written that the ticket reservation is at the registration stage or something similar.

Video: how to book air tickets without paying?

What to do when it is impossible to track your reservation?

If for some reason the reservation is not activated or is not detected, for example, on the website www.checkmytrip.com, then you can try to make it on other resources. Any system can “freeze,” that is, fail. Don't despair, you need to try again.

Sometimes it comes instead of a 6-digit code - a 5-digit code (PNR). Then you should check your reservation on the website of the air carrier where the seats were reserved. If all else fails, it is better to duplicate your reservation with another airline.

Hello! Today I’ll tell you how to book a plane ticket without paying. When might this be needed?

— For example, to obtain a visa. In the list of documents for Schengen countries there is an item: air tickets. When we applied for a visa to China in Hanoi, we also booked air tickets without payment.

Enter the place of departure and destination. Just for example, we are flying from our native Omsk to Bangkok, there on February 28, back on March 14. Click "Find".

2. A list of all available options is shown. Don't look at the price, you won't have to pay anything anyway. It is important to choose a reputable airline; they usually give you the opportunity to defer payment for a certain period of time. It could be Emirates, Etihad, Korean Air, or you can google the airline you need.

3. We select the desired flight and then go to the ordering page. You must enter your email, first name, last name, date of birth, document number, citizenship and passport expiration date. Leave your phone number below and put a little cap in the “I agree” column.

4. It is suggested to take out insurance, it is not needed, uncheck the box and click “Place an order”.

5 . Ready! We now have a six-digit reservation code (PNR) at our disposal. In total, we have a little more than 3 days. There is no need to pay anything!

6. We go to the website and enter the six-digit PNR code and last name into the fields. As you can see, the reservation has been confirmed, which is written in green.

7 . Click on the “Print” button, and a page will appear on which the inscription “Confirmed” proudly displays. Feel free to print it out and take it to the consulate if required.

8 . In addition, a reminder is also sent by email. It is indicated that the airline may unilaterally shorten the payment period for the order. Therefore, I recommend making an unpaid air ticket reservation as early as possible, and not on the eve of going to the consulate, for example.

The reservation will then be canceled automatically, or you can cancel it manually. Thus, you don’t even show your bank card details, while you still have an unpaid reservation in your hands - beauty!

A little more about how this whole system works. The fact is that all bookings go through global distribution systems. The main ones are Amadeus, Galileo, Saber. All airline cashiers must know them like the back of their hand. The Agent.ru website works through Amadeus.

— used to check reservations in the Amadeus system.
— to check reservations in the Galileo system.
— to check reservations in the Saber system.

What to do if the reservation does not go through?

If your reservation is not detected through checkmytrip, then try to find your reservation through the other two sites.
It happens that the system is simply stupid or has crashed, in which case you will have to repeat everything again.
I read that some people receive a 5-digit code, not a 6-digit code. In this case, it is recommended to go to the website of the airline whose tickets you booked and check your reservation there.
Ours was simply canceled the next day, although it was indicated, as in the example, about 3 days. Try again, or choose a different airline when booking.

This method, together with an unpaid hotel reservation from booking, worked quite well for us in (Vietnam) - they gave us a visa, though only for two weeks, although the reservations were for a month. This once again suggests that no one can give a 100% guarantee of success. After all, ultimately the visa is issued by the consul, and this is a living person.

For Schengen, you need to keep your reservation for at least 7 days, so it is more likely that when checked at the consulate, your tickets will be lost in the reservation systems.

Good luck with your visits to consulates and memorable travels, friends!

One of the documents that should be prepared for traveling to a foreign country is booking tickets for a visa. Consular services request it as confirmation of the real purposes of the trip. Purchased plane tickets or their reservation will serve as proof that the visa applicant intends to visit a specific country on certain dates and then return to their homeland.

How to get a flight reservation to apply for a visa

The procedure for obtaining a visa depends on the decision of the consulate of a particular state. But as a rule, consulate officials are more willing to give permission to visit the country to those who have already purchased a ticket. However, in some cases, it is better to only book plane tickets to obtain a visa, and not buy them in advance. For example, not everyone wants to spend money and buy tickets if they are not sure that a visa will be given, or if the visa is issued in reserve and not for a specific trip.

You can book air tickets for a visa at a travel agency, or you can do it yourself. To do this, you need to use one of the aggregators for searching for plane tickets on the Internet.

There are many search engines suitable for these purposes, among which are:

metasearch engines - search for tickets on many sites and provide the information found about various options for flight conditions, airlines, dates and prices in one table;
Ticket search sites – allow you to make a reservation without going to the airline’s website;
air ticket exchanges – offer various promotions and discounts;
airline websites.

How to make a reservation

How to make a flight reservation for a visa? Having opened the most suitable search engine and entered the details of the desired flight, corresponding to the travel details in the requested visa by direction and dates, you need to select one of the proposed options. After filling out the column with your first name, last name, passport data, and contact email address, you can proceed to purchasing a ticket.

Immediately before payment, a window should appear with all the passenger’s entered data, as well as the reservation number, which is a sequence of six characters - numbers and Latin letters.

As easy as obtaining an airline ticket reservation for a visa, the consular officer can verify its validity. Therefore, the reservation must be made with the company and on the site where it lasts the longest, so that at the time of submitting the documents it still has legal force. As a rule, an unpaid reservation lasts from one to ten days.

Where to check and print your flight reservations

Tourist and airline companies use special global systems to issue tickets. In them, but in a version adapted for ordinary users, you can check and print your airline ticket reservation for a visa. Basic systems:

Different airlines operate with different systems. Therefore, if no recognizable data about the global system was specified when booking a ticket, you will have to check each of them. To do this, you must enter your reservation number and last name in the window provided. If the information is found, it means that the ticket has been successfully booked, and you can print this file to present at the consulate.

Is it possible to get a visa without booking tickets?

And finally, the most interesting thing is the restriction of travel abroad for debtors. It is the status of the debtor that is easiest to “forget” when getting ready for your next vacation abroad. The reason may be overdue loans, unpaid housing and communal services receipts, alimony or fines from the traffic police. Any of these debts may threaten to restrict travel abroad in 2018; we recommend finding out information about the presence of debt using the proven service nevylet.rf

Not all consulates require air tickets or flight reservations to obtain a visa. Therefore, in order not to do unnecessary work, before submitting the documents you need to check which documents should be prepared. For example, when applying for a Schengen visa, it is mandatory to present booked or purchased tickets.

Low-cost airline ticket

Please take the sociological survey!

An excellent alternative to a fictitious visa reservation is a real ticket for a low-cost airline. Low-cost airlines are low-cost airlines that reduce flight fares by reducing the services offered to passengers, as well as optimizing the work of company employees and equipment. Sometimes you come across tickets that are so cheap that even if they are purchased only for a visa and you don’t have to use them, you won’t mind throwing them away.

When using the services of a low-cost airline, a passenger receives electronic air ticket for a visa, which will need to be printed and attached to the main package of papers when submitting the application. This ticket differs from a reservation only in that it has already been paid for.

Low-cost airlines do not offer real tickets, since all sales are made online.

Confirmation of another mode of transport

You can also book another type of transport - train, ferry or bus. In addition, a combined travel option using several vehicles may be allowed. In this case, you must provide tickets or reservations for each of them.

Before applying for a visa, you need to find out from official sources which vehicle reservations the consulate of a particular state allows for consideration. For example, unpaid housing and communal services receipts, alimony or fines from the traffic police. Any of these debts may threaten to restrict travel abroad in 2020; we recommend finding out information about the presence of debt using the proven service nevylet.rf

So, there are 4 ways to solve this puzzle and get flight bookings without paying for a visa.

1. Unpaid Aeroflot reservations

You can submit unpaid daily Aeroflot reservations - you will probably get a visa. To do this, during booking, at the last stage of payment, select the “Cash” option; the reservation will remain valid for a day.

2. Possibility of holding a ticket reservation

Alternatively, you can pay for the service of holding your ticket reservation on the airline’s website for 2-3 days (or more, it’s different for everyone), it costs from 500 to 1000 rubles.

However, not all airlines provide such services.

3. Booking tickets through KUPIBILET

Previously, it was possible to book tickets with a hold of 3 to 7 days on the Agent.ru website. However, there is currently no such function on the site.

Therefore, the easiest way is to use one of the airline ticket search engines, which guarantee a refund for 7-10% of the ticket price.

One of these search engines is KUPIBILET(other search engines also have this option, for example OneTwoTrip). Getting this service is easy:

04. It is also worth noting that this service is provided only for large air carriers such as Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines, etc. For example, Pobeda will not be able to return air tickets.

In general, it is convenient, but there is also a significant drawback - using this service is quite expensive. Therefore, when using this service, it is better to select tickets for the flights that you intend to fly in the future.

4. Buy a return air ticket for a visa

For people who find the above options the height of adventurism, we can recommend an almost win-win option: buy a return ticket and cancel it after receiving a visa, although there may be financial losses (read the refund terms carefully). You should only buy such tickets through airline websites, because... When returning funds through aggregators, problems may arise.

Let me give you an example right away: at S7 airline, the penalty for returning an international ticket purchased at the Economy-Flexible fare is 30 euros (at the time of writing this post, this is 1,800 rubles). Fees are not refundable at all! So decide for yourself.

5. Buy a regular air ticket to apply for a visa

If you are sure that you will definitely get a visa, pay for normal tickets and apply for a visa with them.

This especially makes sense if you have found very cheap air tickets to Europe, for example from Pobeda. In this case, it makes sense to pay for the tickets immediately, otherwise they will simply disappear while you are applying for a Schengen visa.

To book an air ticket without paying, I use the website agent.ru. Most airlines require immediate payment, but there are also those who are willing to hold an unpaid reservation for up to 10 days.

Qatar - up to 10 days
Aeroflot - up to 2 days
Turkish Airlines – up to 10 days
KLM - up to 24 hours
UIA - up to 10 days
AlItalia - up to 24 hours
AirBaltic – up to 3 days
SAS - up to 2 days
AirBerlin - up to 4 days
AirFrance - up to 4 days
Lufthansa - up to 10 days
EuropeAir – up to 7 days

This list indicates that the reservation is valid UNTIL a certain number of days. Therefore, after you have booked your ticket, pay attention to the counter, more about it a little further...

UPD from October 19, 2018

Previously, I always made a reservation without payment on the agent.ru website. I like this method, so I shared it with you. But lately you’ve been writing to me that Agent.ru no longer shows the booking code for unpaid tickets. What are the alternatives?

The website euroavia.ru offers for 300 rubles. book a ticket for a visa without paying. They state that they will hold your reservation for 7 days, but what I read on the forums is not very good good feedback about them. They say they are scammers, they take the money and immediately cancel the ticket. I’m just telling you about the methods that exist, but I’m not ready to vouch for them. Whether you book tickets this way or not is your decision!

Some airlines allow you to keep your reservation without paying for up to 10 days. For example, Qatar, Turkish Airlines and others. After you have entered the passenger data and proceeded to payment, you can check the “Pay later” box.

Such a ticket can be printed for the embassy or border crossing, but I don’t know exactly how long the reservation will be valid. If it is the active reservation that is important, and not the presence of an unpaid ticket form, then I recommend writing directly to the airline and asking how long they are willing to wait.

Some tour. agencies can make reservations without payment. Call several agencies in your city and find out what they did.

How to book a ticket without paying

We go to the website agent.ru and select the country/city and date we need. For example, we fly to Amsterdam on November 8 and return on November 17.

We select the desired airline, in my case it is AirFrance. Don't pay attention to the price, as you won't be buying tickets.

Fill in the required data. In order to book a ticket without payment, you must first register on the website.

After you have entered your data and clicked the “Proceed to payment” button, a reservation code will appear on the screen, and at the very bottom of the page a counter that notifies you about the expiration date of the reservation.

How to print an air ticket without paying

You can find and print your reservation on one of the following sites:

checkmytrip
viewtrip
virtuallythere
myairlines

Over the past few months, I have received a record number of emails asking for help printing a booking from checkmytrip. For many, the interface turned out to be incomprehensible, so I added photos from step by step instructions.

I can't find my reservation, what should I do?

You have a 5-digit reservation number, and the above sites find reservations only using a 6-digit code. In this case, we need to go directly to the carrier’s website and check our reservation there.
The reservation has expired. Pay attention to the counter!
The program sometimes crashes, very rarely, but it happens. If your reservation is nowhere to be found, most likely the order did not go through and the procedure must be repeated.
In the comments, several people said that they made a reservation with an airline that holds tickets without payment for up to 10 days, but agent.ru canceled them the next day. In this case, you need to write to agent.ru support and clarify the reasons for the cancellation.

Booking air tickets for a visa

If you are booking tickets to obtain Schengen, you will need a reservation that lasts for at least 7 days, or even 10 ideally. Tickets must be valid for as long as possible while your documents are being processed. This article contains only my experience and the experience of other travelers, which was successful (read the comments to the article!). But you should understand that I cannot give you a 100% guarantee, each case is unique. When booking a ticket without paying for a visa, the responsibility lies solely with you.

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