6 Tips for Finding Cheap Flights

We’ve all been there – dreaming of a destination, sitting in front of the computer for hours trying to make that dream a reality by booking a flight. Finding cheap flights takes time and patience, but it’s not impossible. After many hours of eyes hurting and headaches, I learned the necessary tips for finding cheap airfare.

These tips work – and even better news – sometimes you can stack them for even more discounts! One of these tips actually saved Spencer and me $500 on our trip to Japan even with change fees!

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Top Tips for Finding Cheap Airfare

Flexible Travel Dates

I know it’s hard – fellow planners we have an issue here. However, if it’s at all possible – be flexible with your dates. You’d be surprised at what a week or even a day could mean for flights! I know that starting a vacation on Friday sounds great for the time off, but you can easily save a couple hundred by moving your day to Thursday. I don’t know about you, but saving $300 for a day off from work sounds pretty good to me!

Another thing to remember is the peak season. Traveling in the off-season can save you so much money – even just the shoulder season can save you money. For example, we considered going to Japan in March for the cherry blossoms, but flight prices increased about $750 when compared to the fall (which is a shoulder season).

If it’s a trip that you really want to go on during peak season – like our Kenya safari during the Great Migration – the other tips in this list may be able to help!

My two favorite options for searching for flexible date flights are Jetradar and Google Flights. My favorite part of Google Flights is the price tracker. Yes, you read that correctly – a price tracker so you get emails if the prices on flights have dropped or increased! What a great world we live in! This makes me confident in knowing when the cheap flight is available and if it’s really a good deal – and if so – BOOK IT! Don’t wait- airfare prices change constantly.

I also love being a part of Scott’s Cheap Flights! It’s not a company that you book through but rather an alert service. It’s one of the best ways to find cheap flights! I get regular emails for deals out of the airports I follow. They’ll tell you where the deal is to, and the date range (usually a few months), and show you how to book it on Google Flights. Even with change fees, we saved $500 on our flight to Japan with Scott’s Cheap Flights.

Flexible Destinations

Sometimes, we’re unable to be flexible with our dates. For example, we know we will have a wedding in June abroad, so we have to travel for that date. However, we can be flexible where we fly into as long as we’re in Slovakia for the wedding! Finding cheap flights is a lot easier when you have a few airports to choose from.

We recently booked a ‘spontaneous’ trip to San Juan for Memorial Day next year. The deal they emailed – $150 RT nonstop from my airport – was TOO good to be true!

If you don’t want to fill up your email with notifications and get wanderlust every day (#StruggleIsReal), then Kiwi is the way to go. You can type in your departure airport and then in the destination box, you can put anywhere or “Europe” or an area of the world. If you’re destination and time are flexible, you can put in a date range or anytime!

Kiwi helped me find deals for our trip to Panama! Paired it with some points for a $150 RT flight!

6 Tips for finding cheap flights; read more for how to save for traveling.

Find your Search Engine

You may have noticed a pattern for the first three tips is using a good search engine! There are a lot out there so play around and find one or two that best suits your needs. The engine may change based on the trip you are booking. All of them have pros/cons and I like to double-check on other search engines to see if that really is the best price.

Here are a few of the best-reviewed sites:

Use “Incognito” or a public computer to search!

Websites use cookies to track your movement on the internet – hence that little pop-up on my site that asks you to agree to them. These cookies tell airlines which flights are in demand – and therefore which flights to increase the prices on! So be sure to go “incognito” or use a VPN so you aren’t being tracked. I also try to use the library computer that cleans cookies regularly (I’m a regular at my local library – it helps me save money for travel!) If you use Google Chrome or Safari – press Command or Control, shift, N. If you use Firefox or Internet Explorer – press command or control, shift, P.

Look for a long layover or stopover

Non-stop flights tend to be more expensive. I know, logically they shouldn’t cost more, but they’re more in demand. So don’t be afraid to look for a long layover or even a stopover. A long layover is more than 8 hours which would give you time to leave the airport, explore for a bit, and get back through security. A stopover is staying more than 24 hours somewhere. It’s how we saved a few hundred dollars on our trip to India – with a nice long layover in Dubai! (Thanks to covid, this trip has been postponed indefinitely). If you’re flying into Europe, look at flights to London – there are a LOT of cheap flights out of London to most of Europe.

6 tips for cheap flights; Read more books to inspire travel!

Sign Up for Rewards Programs

I won’t advocate for credit cards right off the bat as they can get you into debt. Yes, credit cards can help you with miles and rewards – but you MUST PAY THEM OFF MONTHLY. The ridiculous interest on credit card debt is not worth any amount of points. Now that I got that off my chest, if you’re comfortable enough to get a credit card – then do it. Learn the system of travel hacking – making the most of points and rewards! Usually, for rewards, you have to spend a certain amount in the first few months – so be sure to hit that requirement for the full benefit. PAY THEM OFF EACH MONTH. (sorry, had to say it again).

I’m a member of no less than 10 hotel rewards programs. They’re free to join so why not. I’m not limited to a certain hotel chain when I travel and I get benefits from places I want to stay in anyway. Airlines also have frequent flyer programs, so sign up for an airline that flies out of a local airport. They often have email lists to send deals on flights and how to earn more points! You can also get miles as gifts.

I’d love to know if you have any other tips that I should add! Or if you start using these tips and find cheap airfare let me know!

Read More Travel Tips

Long Haul Flight Survival Guide

How to get through the airport quickly

16 Tips for Saving Money on Accommodation

How to Choose a Hotel

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Do you have any tips for finding cheap flights to add? Let me know!

5 thoughts on “6 Tips for Finding Cheap Flights”

  1. Wow! You have signed up for 10 different hotel reward programs! I need to amp up my game 🙂 WE do use credit cards, but we pay them religiously as we go, as if it was a debit card. If we don’t have money to pay, we don’t buy it. We don’t allow ourselves to get into a stupid debt.

  2. Pingback: How to Plan a Trip in 8 Easy Steps

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