How to book cheap flights
There are many ways to book cheap flights. This works better for international flights. However, it may not entirely work for local flights.
Ways to book cheap flights
For most trips, airfare is the most expensive part of the trip. While prices for transatlantic flights have gone down in recent years, they can still put a sizeable dent in any travel budget. Whether you’re a budget solo traveler or a family looking to vacation abroad, finding a cheap flight can be a bit challenging because it will require your flexibility and prompt decision in making a quick move.
You probably must have heard some myth about Incognito Mode. It may sound as a myth but it works sometimes. Switch into Incognito mode by clicking on the three dots above your browser. After that, visit or open the airline site. This process can be used for PC or tablet.
Another major way is to use VPN. Visit the Playstore and download Savage VPN or Windscribe VPN because they are free. Change your location to any country of your choice. VPN will hide the data airline use to customize airline prices.
These are some of the secrets most airline agents use while booking flights.
Some other things you may want to consider before booking cheap flights are:
Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates and Times
Airline ticket prices vary greatly depending on the day of the week, time of year, and upcoming holidays, such as Christmas, Summer, New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving, or the Fourth of July. August is a big month for traveling around Europe, and everyone wants to go somewhere warm in the winter or travel when the kids are out of school.
In a nutshell, if you are going to fly when everyone is flying, then your ticket is going to cost more.
Try to be flexible with your dates. If you are dead-set on visiting US, go to US in the spring or fall when fewer people visit and airfares are cheaper. Notwithstanding, you will also get hotel prices at a cheaper rate too.
But if you want to go in the middle of August? You’re out of luck and prices will be at their highest. Likewise, hotel prices.
Flight Search Websites
Websites like Skyscanner and Google Flights offer explore tools that allow you to put in your home airport and see a map of the world with all the flights on it
Step 1: Go to Google Flights and click on the map:
Step 2: Next, put in your departure city and the date. Now you can look at a wide variety of options on the map. If you don’t have a specific destination or dates, you can search via the “Flexible dates” option:
Book Early (But Not Too Early)
Airline fares keep rising the closer you get to departure, but there is a sweet spot when the airlines begin to either lower or increase fares based on demand. Don’t wait until the last second but don’t book far, far in advance either. The best time to book your flight is around 2-3 months before your departure, or around five months before if you are going to your destination during their peak season.
Finding a cheap flight is all about being flexible and getting creative. It may take some effort, but the deals are out there if you’re willing to look. Follow the tips above to get started, but don’t waste hours and hours hunting for a cheap flight. If you’re spending more than an hour booking a flight, you’re spending too much time.
Once you find a flight deal that you’re happy with, book right away, as airfares change by the minute. Remember that you have a 24-hour window to cancel in case you need to.
Use the tips above on how to get a cheap flight to get the ball rolling. Do that, and you’ll always get a great deal!
Fly Budget Carriers Airlines
Years ago, if you wanted to fly between continents, you were mostly stuck with traditional expensive airlines. That’s no longer true. These days, you can fly most of the way around the world on a budget airline. Sure, they might not be as comfortable and you may need to pay for premium upgrades like checked bags and meals, but they bring the world to your doorstep without breaking the bank.
Here is a list of the biggest budget airlines in the world:
Asia
Europe
Australia/New Zealand
Middle East/ Africa
(Pro tip: If you aren’t sure which budget airlines fly where, visit your departure airport’s website to get a list of airlines that fly there.)
Flying budget airlines is a good alternative to flying “the majors” whenever possible. You get fewer perks, but you can save a bundle in price.
Just be sure to watch out for fees. That’s how they make money! Budget airlines often charge fees for checked bags, carry-ons, printing your boarding pass, using a credit card, and anything else they can get away with. Be sure to add up the cost of the ticket and the fees to make sure that the price is lower than a larger carrier.
Don’t Always Fly Direct
Not only does it help to be flexible with dates and destinations but being flexible with the route you take is another way to get a cheap flight. For example, sometimes it’s cheaper to fly to London and take a budget airline to Amsterdam than to fly direct to Amsterdam from your departure city.
For example, if you get a direct flight to the US at $900 USD, you could fly to Dublin for $600 and get a $60 flight to Paris. It meant more flying time, but you saved $240 USD
This method is more work since you have to figure out lots of different routes and check different airlines. But it can lower the price of your flight, which is worth the extra effort if you end up saving a few hundred bucks.
Note: If you ever have a delayed flight to or from Europe, you might be owed additional compensation (upwards of 600 EUR). Here’s how to find out if you’re entitled to compensation!
Keep an Eye for Special Deals on Airline Newsletter
Before you start looking for specific flights, make sure you’ve signed up for some newsletters. Joining the mailing list for airlines and last-minute deal websites will give you access to the absolute best deals out there. Sure, 99% of them might not fit your itinerary but keeping your eye on the deals will ensure you don’t miss an amazing opportunity.
More often than not, cheap flights are only available for a limited window (usually 24 hours). If you aren’t always scouring the web for sales, you’ll likely miss out on the best deals.
Additionally, airline newsletters often offer frequent flier bonuses. If you’re a travel hacker, those points and miles can add up to free flights and awesome upgrades.
Remember Not All Search Engines are Equal
In order to find the best deal, you need to search multiple websites. Many major search sites don’t list budget carriers or obscure foreign carriers because those airlines don’t want to pay a booking commission. Others don’t list booking sites that aren’t in English. And others still only display prices retrieved directly from airlines.
In short, not all flight search websites are created equal and all have their pros and cons.
Since there is no perfect airline search engine, you’ll want to search a few to compare. Even the best have their faults. That said, I have a few favorites I always start with as they tend to consistently show the best results. To me, the best websites to find a cheap flight are the following: You could also use Incognito mode or VPN while searching.
Take Advantage of Student Discounts
If you are a student (or under 26), there are many discounts available to you. You can usually find prices 10-20% off the standard fare. Travel agencies like Flight Centre and Student Universe can help find you a cheap ticket. Don’t overlook them!
Additionally, keep in mind that most student discounts transfer over to airline partners. For example, Lufthansa offers a student discount, which means you can use that discount on partner airlines such as Swiss Airlines and Austrian Airlines. This will allow you to go much further afield while still saving a ton of money.
If you’re not sure which airlines offer discounts (they don’t make this information easy to find), visit their website or call them. Doing a little digging to save 20% (or more) will be worth it!
Use Points and Miles
As soon as you know you want to travel somewhere you should sign up for a travel rewards card. Airline rewards programs are the #1 way avid travelers to earn free flights, travel perks, and free hotel stays. They offer flight upgrades, huge welcome bonuses, credit toward rideshares like Uber or Lyft, access to free events, access to airport lounges, and much more.
Some people earn over a million miles a year without flying or spending extra money. That translates into dozens of free flights (often in business class) for themselves and their families.
Search Ticket Prices for Individual Travelers
If you’re traveling with friends or family, don’t search for or buy multiple tickets in a single purchase. Airlines always show the highest ticket price in a group of tickets which means you’ll end up paying more money.
Airlines have tons of different price points for tickets (these are based on a variety of factors). They want to sell tickets in the highest fare bucket possible and, when they group tickets together, always list prices in the highest fare bucket.
For example, if you are a family of four and you’re searching for four seats, the airline will find four seats together and show your fare based on the highest ticket price. So if seat A is $200, seats B and C are $300, and seat D is $400, it will price those tickets as $400 each instead of adding up the individual ticket prices. If the price difference is large, that translates into a sizeable extra expense.
For that reason, always search for tickets as a single person. Afterward, in the checkout process, you can pick your seats so you and your family are sitting together. And even if you end up not beside one another, that’s a fair trade for saving a few hundred dollars.
Look for Tickets in Other Currencies
This is one of the best ways to book cheap flights. If your country’s currency is currently strong compared to others around the world, search airfare in a country where the currency is weaker.
For example, when the US dollar was strong and the New Zealand currency weak, I found a one-way flight from Australia to NYC for $1,000 USD. However, when I searched on the New Zealand version of the airline, I found the same ticket for $600 USD.
It was the same airline, same flight, and same booking class — it was just booked in a different currency. This tip does not always work, but it works often enough that it’s something worth trying if your currency is currently doing well.
(Tip: Always use a no-foreign-transaction-fee card to avoid paying a surcharge.)
Courtesy of Nomadicmatt
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