It’s always a part of your wish to book cheap flights. You can save a good amount of money on the fare if you use the right strategies. Once you understand the nuances of airline pricing, explore different booking platforms, and make the most of various tools and tips available, you can score some real deals. Here is everything you need to know about booking cheap flights and getting the most out of your travel budget.
1. Be Flexible about Your Travel Dates Be flexible about your travel dates, which is actually one of the very best cheap flights tips. Airfare prices fluctuate depending on demand, day of the week, season, and holidays. Open up to travel during less popular times and you’ll find cheaper fares.
Mid-Week Flights: In general, flights that take off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are pretty cheap. Try to avoid travel on weekends when more people leave town and prices tend to be higher.
Off-Peak Seasons: Try to travel when it is not peak season. That will definitely save you a lot of money. If you have the flexibility, travel during the shoulder season. For example, to Europe in early fall or late spring may be cheaper than traveling in July.
Avoid Holiday Periods: Prices peak over holidays like Christmas, New Year, and major national holidays. Try to avoid traveling during these dates if it’s avoidable.
2. Flight Comparison Websites:
This is one of the most simplified methods to get cheap flights. Using flight comparison websites aggregates information from hundreds of different airlines and booking sites so you can compare them and therefore choose the best.
The popular websites include Skyscanner, Google Flights, Kayak, and Momodu, which are very good for price comparisons. They have other advanced features like alert settings when the price changes and availability of options to search for all months for the cheapest day to fly.
Explore Everywhere Feature: Skyscanner provides an “Everywhere” search feature, useful if you are not picky about flying to multiple destinations. That way you can see where the cheapest places to fly are on those dates.
3. Set Price Alerts
The changes in the prices of flights make it difficult to constantly keep track of the change. In that scenario, search for price alerts will really be very helpful. Also, some booking websites and apps provide facilities to get notified of whether prices have gone up or down for your flight routes.
Alerts: To create an alert you would have to visit your comparison website for the flight. Here you input your destination and dates, and you opt to set an alert to either be altered on a price drop or increased, altering the fare to when you should actually book.
4. Book at the Right Time
Flights that are booked too early in advance or too close to your travel dates tend to be pricier. There isn’t a secret hour to book by to get the best price, but there are larger trends.
Ideal Booking Windows: For domestic flights you might find it more suitable to book 1-3 months in advance. For international flights, it is generally better booked 2-8 months in advance. Of course, these windows do depend on the route, season and airline.
Avoid Last-Minute Bookings: Though sometimes, last-minute deals can be found, generally it’s not very safe. Airline ticketing representatives know that only the business travelers and those in pressing need get to book at such last moments, so they tend to hike prices close to the departure date.
5. Budget Airlines
Budget airlines are a more accessible option both in the country and abroad. They are sometimes not able to keep up with the services provided by the full-service airlines, but they can get you where you need to go without breaking the bank.
List of Popular Budget Airlines: Ryanair, EasyJet, Wizz Air operate in Europe; JetBlue and Southwest Airlines operate in the United States; AirAsia and Scoot function in Asia.
Watch for Add-On Fees: The cheapest base fares belong to cheap air carriers, but they will be charging you for seat choices, checked luggage, and meals aboard other things. So be careful, check the fine print carefully, add these extra charges to the fare price so you can compare fairly.
6. Use Airline Miles and Reward Points
Frequent flyer programs, credit card reward points, and travel reward programs can come handy when saving you money or getting free flights. If you are a frequent traveler, being in an airline loyalty program can be very useful.
Join Loyalty Programs: Usually, most of the airlines have a loyalty program that helps earn miles with every flight booked. These miles can be further redeemed for discounts or free tickets.
Cash In Credit Card Rewards Many travel credit cards offer points or miles for your daily spending, which can be used to pay for flights. A few cards even give you a sign-up bonus that might be enough to cover the cost of a round trip.
7. Conduct an Incognito Search
Sometimes, airlines and booking websites will track your searches through cookies, and if you do repeated searches for the same flight, they will increase the price. Searching in incognito mode or clearing cookies can help to prevent an increase in price based on search history.
How to use Incognito Mode: On Chrome, opening an incognito window. Use Ctrl+Shift+N for Windows, Command+Shift+N for Mac. For Firefox and Safari, it is Ctrl+Shift+P or Command+Shift+P. It doesn’t allow websites to track your history, which can help keep prices level.
8. Alternative Airports and Routes
Flying into or out of alternative airports can sometimes save you a bit of money. Many cities have more than one airport, and sometimes the lesser or secondary airports are cheaper. If budget airlines fly there then all the better. Check other airports: When searching for flights, pull up options for airports in other cities or areas around where you’re headed. For example, if you’re heading to LA try checking out LAX, Burbank (BUR), and Long Beach (LGB).
Connecting Flights: Sometimes booking connecting flights instead of direct flights can even save money. You would think that any direct route would be cheaper, but a multi-leg journey with layovers might be cheaper than a direct-to-destination airline. 9. Think about Booking Separate Airlines for Round Trips
While round trips on the same airline are often very easy to book, it sometimes pays to book one-way tickets on different airlines. Price compare each segment of the journey to see if doing so is cheaper.
Advantages of Mixed Airlines There’s a potential to get cheaper fares if you book an outbound flight with one airline and your return ticket with another airline. Many comparison sites allow you to check for such “mix-and-match” fares in search results.10. Sign up for Email Lists and Follow Social Media for Deals
Many air carriers and travel companies offer great discounts and flash sales to subscribers and followers. These become available either through email newsletters or social media subscriptions with airlines as well as deal sites in travel.
Key sites to track: Websites like Scott’s Cheap Flights, Secret Flying, and The Flight Deal regularly publish discounted fares and error fares. Most of these deals are time-sensitive so that you can grab them before they are gone.
Conclusion
Booking cheap flights is just a matter of doing a little homework, being flexible, and using the right tools. But you know what? It’s all worth it! By using these tips—to be flexible in your dates of travel, to use comparison websites, or to set up price alerts, for instance—one can save thousands of dollars in airfare and free up some more money in the budget to really experience a destination. Happy travels!
