Sometimes the hardest part of planning a trip is finding the best flight. Especially if you’re leaving from a major airport or going to a popular travel destination, it can be hard to find a flight that fits your budget. That’s where we step in! Here are our ten most tried-and-true hacks for finding a cheap flight, no matter where you’re headed.
1. Use a flight aggregator site
Flight aggregators are sites that let you browse flights on multiple airlines at one time. We LOVE these because it’s an easy way to see all possible flights to your destination at once, as well as easily compare prices and flight times. Some of our favorites are SkyScanner, Momundo, and Kayak. You punch in when you're starting, where you're going, the general dates you want, and BOOM! The site tells you all the flights you can take, and you can browse and select the one that works best for you. SkyScanner also allows you to put your destination as "anywhere" so you can see all the cheapest flights to your closest airport to literally anywhere in the world and make your decision from there. That's the kind of traveling we can get behind. We also like Google Flights because its “destinations” tab provides you with a map of all the cheapest places to travel from your starting point. Although we recommend using flight aggregator sites to find the cheapest flight, we also recommend you book directly with the airline to get the absolute best price.
2. Set a price alert so you know when prices drop
If you’re using SkyScanner or one of the other sites we mentioned to look at a flight for a specific time, you can set a “price alert.” The site will then send you an email to let you know when the flight you’re looking for becomes a little cheaper.
3. Take advantage of “error fares”
Some sites like Secret Flying and Scott’s Cheap Flights alert you about insanely cheap flight deals and also “error fares,” or times that an airline posts an abnormally cheap flight on accident. These sites catch them and alert its subscribers to them so they can take advantage. Error fare prices usually don’t last that long, so act fast!
4. Always clear your browser history before looking at the same flight more than once
If you’re anything like us, you usually look at a flight two or three times before hitting that purchase button. The problem with doing this is that sites can track your cookies, so they know when you’re looking at a flight more than once and can raise the price slightly every time it sees you go back to look at it. However, if you browse flights in incognito mode or clear your search history between each time you scope out the flight, the site can no longer track your activity and try to charge you extra. Sneaky sneaky.
5. Know the best times to purchase your flight
According to FareCompare.com, Tuesday and Wednesday are the cheapest days to buy flights. The site also specifies that domestic flights around the United States are the cheapest if you’re purchasing them between one and three months before your departure date, whereas international flights from the U.S. to other countries are generally cheaper if you purchase them 1.5 to 5.5 months before taking off. They also caution to make sure you buy flights around peak holiday times (New Year’s Eve, for example) two months in advance, as that’s when basically everyone and their mother will be trying to travel.
6. If you can, keep your dates (and your airport) flexible
Frequently, flying on a slightly different date than you had originally planned or flying to another airport can decrease the price of your flight. If your dates are really popular (say, a weekend or during a big event), your flight will likely be more expensive than if you fly a few days earlier or later. Most flight aggregators have a button where you can filter flights by other dates and nearby airports.
7. Take a flight with a long layover - or several layovers
Flights with multiple stopovers sound less convenient to the average traveler - and therefore will usually be cheaper if you're okay with stopping a couple times before getting to your destination. The same goes for flights with super long layovers - we’re talking like upwards of ten hours. We actually love these, because if you plan your time correctly, you can leave the airport and explore a little, adding another city to your trip you may not have gotten to see otherwise!
8. Be willing to take a red eye
Because many people can’t sleep in airplanes, lots of people wouldn’t want to take a flight overnight. This makes red eye flights generally more affordable than a flight during a more normal time, like say noon. One huge added bonus of an overnight flight is you save money on accommodation, because that’s one less night you have to pay for a hostel or AirBnb. Have a flight at 4 in the morning or have a layover at an unusual time? The website SleepingInAirports.com is a detailed site that lets you filter by airport name and gives you inside information on the best place in each airport to sleep, even down to the gate number. Side note, can we just take a second to appreciate how many amazing free resources there are available to travelers? Man, we love traveling. Okay, carry on.
9. Don’t be afraid to take a budget airline
Sometimes budget airlines get a bad reputation, but any airline is A-OK with us as long as they’re affordable and get us from Point A to Point B. The only thing you have to be careful about with budget airlines is that they’ll frequently charge extra for things that other airlines may not. Just make sure you know what those things are and you should be golden. Double-check each airline’s specific luggage requirements for both carry-on and checking. Some charge for even just a carry-on, and some allow both a free carry-on and a personal item, whereas some only allow one. Make sure you also read up on any other requirements they have, such as needing to check in 24 hours ahead of time or print out your boarding pass. Many budget airlines charge an extra fee if you don’t abide by these rules, so be careful!
10. Travel in low season
If the whole purpose of your trip is attending a popular event, like New Orleans for Mardi Gras or Guatemala for Semana Santa, obviously you’ll be trying to go when a ton of other people are also going, and therefore it will probably be a little trickier to find a really cheap flight. But if you just know that you want to go to, say, Paris sometime this year and you don’t care when, pick a time that most other people aren’t going there. Both flights and accommodation are more likely to be cheaper during a time that most people aren’t going somewhere (i.e. not during a particular event or when the weather is the best). Also, the streets, beaches, mountains, and other attractions are likely to be less crowded, and therefore easier to enjoy and take pictures of. It’s a win-win-win.
Did we miss your favorite cheap flight hack? Let us know in the comments!
