Stay Flexible when Booking Flights
Booking cheap flights is like a game when browsing through airline websites. Prices are constantly changing in the marketplace. There can be many factors that airlines use to price their airfares and they do use an algorithm. Airlines monitor web traffic and customer booking habits to set their prices. Holidays, seasons, days of the week, and even times of day can all play a role when looking at booking cheap flights.
If you can, try and book a trip during the shoulder season which is either early spring or late fall. This could be for instance during the months of October or November instead of the peak traveling time of summer. In doing so you could end up saving a lot of money on airfares.
Take a look at prices for the middle of the week instead of weekend departures. Red-eye flights such as late night or early morning can be much cheaper than peak departure or arrival times.
Check destinations to see if they are airline hub cities. You will be able to find cheap airfares for flights that go to these cities. Sometimes they could be a quick train or car ride away from your final destination.
Compare Prices
Make sure to use an airline price comparison search engine in order to find the best overall deal and booking cheap airfares.
These meta-search engines will compare prices from hundreds of airlines and booking agencies to find the cheapest prices for you all at once. Such a valuable resource to use on one of the biggest costs of your trip. It’s well worth using tools! Take a look at sites like WayAway for some great deals on cheap flights.
Low Cost Airlines?
In order to maintain low airfares, some low-cost airlines don’t partner with these search engines. They do however charge you lots of extra fees such as for checked baggage, meals, and seat selection.
To research prices, you will have to go to many different sites on your own and compare prices for these airlines. So this method will definitely take far more research and time! These search engines will compare prices from hundreds of airlines and booking agencies to find the cheapest prices for you all at once.
Connecting Flights
Booking cheap flights can be as easy as finding airfares that have prices with connections rather than direct flights to a destination. Take a look at two one-way airfares instead of a round trip ticket and you may some cheaper deals that way. You can also try traveling “Open Jaw.” Fly into one destination and fly out of another.
You can also choose flights with layovers and stopovers to save money. Using a stopover for a few days can give you the opportunity to visit a new country all at the price of your original airfare.
Last Minute Deals
Can you really book cheap flights with last-minute deals? Most often the best time to book is well in advance of your planned trip.
If you have somewhere, in particular, you want to sit or have multiple people traveling with you…book in advance. My advice would be to book at least one to two months in advance of your trip.
Booking Cheap Flights with Points
Many different points programs exist for booking flights. Some come from the airlines themselves, through credit cards or individual points programs. The most common way to accumulate points is through a credit card points program. You can earn a certain number of points for each dollar you spend.
When booking airfares with points you have to be careful to make sure that it’s worth it. Some airline routes may not be the right fit for booking with points. It’s possible you could be better off just paying for the flight instead. In my experience, I have found that booking a business or first-class flight is well worth its value in points vs dollars for long haul flights overseas.
The only drawback is that the taxes and surcharges end up being higher…but you do get to travel in more luxurious accommodations such as lay-flat seats and pods!
Check out CheapOair!
Everyone loves to get a great deal! Some of the cheapest airfares available out there are from a flight booking search engine called CheapOair.
There are a few ways to be able to find and book a great deal with them. For starters, you can use their flight search tool. This will compare flight options from over 600 different airlines from around the world in order to find the best airfare deal for you.
If you sign up for a free account with them, you will get access to all of their secret and member deals with the lowest price offerings on flights. You can also try setting up fare alerts that notify you by email about any price drops on flights that you’re researching. If you find a cheaper flight within 24 hours, CheapOair also offers a price matching guarantee.
Take a look at CheapOair and try out their search engine below.
Check Out The Travel Hacker's Toolkit!
Find out some of the BEST Travel Hacks for getting cheap flights around the world. This guide is a helpful tool for getting the best deals out there.
Check out the link below:
The Ultimate Guide for Booking Cheap Flights
You can use a combination of these tips to book the cheapest airfare for your next trip. Once you book a few flights on your own you will find that the process gets easier every time.
We originally published this post for our partner site Traveldealtime.com, we have updated it in order to share it with you.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, we earn a small commission if you make a booking or purchase.
