Booking an airline ticket is rarely ever a cheap purchase. There are countless websites to scour all claiming to have the cheapest rates for everything you may or may not need.
So, what is this the best way to navigate all the options and find the best deals? Here are tips to help you find the cheapest airline tickets.
Keep Your Searches Top Secret
Before you search for anything online, open and new incognito window in your browser. Almost every website on the internet uses cookies to track user search history, and if they know you are actively searching you may not be shown the lowest price they can offer.
Using an incognito window or private browsing will prevent your search history from being tracked and improve your chances of seeing the lowest price possible.
Search Multiple Sites
Compare the different booking sites, they will not necessarily show you the same prices. They are all competing for you to book through them, so there is a good chance you can find a ticket for the same flight cheaper on a different website. There are also sites that allow you to search multiple sites at once.
Search One at a Time
When searching for flights online always search for one seat at a time even if you intend on booking 3 or 4. If you start by searching for multiple seats, the search engines will be able to find you 3 or 4 seats but they may round up-on the price of the cheaper seats match the more expensive.
Be Flexible: Part 1
Be willing to fly in a day early or out a day later. The cheapest days to fly in and out of your travel destination might not be the exact days you planned. The price difference might be a pleasant surprise if you switch to flying on Monday instead of Sunday.
So, try adjusting your arrival and departure dates forward or backward a day or two and see what kind of change it has on the price of the airline ticket.
Book Early
The closer you book a flight to the actual travel date the more you are likely to pay for the airline ticket. As there is less time and fewer seats available on a flight, airlines start to raise prices since they know they can charge more and people will still pay.
So, if you are in the position to plan your flight in advance try and book your flight early so you don’t pay extra while waiting for the last minute.
Enjoy a Layover
Don’t fly direct if you don’t need to. Yes, flying direct is much more convenient but if you are trying to find the cheapest airline tickets possible, consider the price difference for the routes with one or two layovers.
And hey, maybe you are not in a time crunch and one of the layovers is in a city you have always wanted to explore. Now you have a chance during your layover to walk around for a few hours and enjoy lunch.
Reward Programs
Take advantage of airline rewards points and mileage programs. No matter how little you fly each year you should always sign up for the major airline rewards programs and have a credit card with airline reward miles.
This is the simplest and easiest way to always get some discount on the airline ticket you purchase. Some of these programs will also get you access to private airport lounges and more.
Fly Budget
Nowadays budget airlines fly major routes, even long haul. The days of budget airlines only doing commuter routes are over.
To find budget airlines you might have to get off the major websites and do some research of your own to locate them. Often times they don’t like to pay the fees that come along with having their flights booked through the major platforms.
Student Discounts
One perk about being a student is that almost every business has some sort of student discount. Shop around and see if there are any sites or specific airlines offering student discounts. You will probably have to prove you are a student with your ID or a recent transcript.
Book a Vacation Package
If you haven’t booked a hotel yet try searching for flight and hotel packages. Most major websites have bundle airline tickets and hotels to create package deals. Some hotels even have their own flight rewards program.
Newsletters
Yes, we have too many emails in our inbox too, but try signing up for some airline or cheap flight website newsletters. They have built their whole business around finding flights that are cheap compared to the normal price.
Be Flexible: Part 2
If you are still in the “deciding where to go” phase of planning your trip and don’t have your heart set on a specific destination, consider all the options.
Take a look at your budget and then search for flights to destinations that fit within your budget.
Who knows, maybe you will find some remote tropical island you never knew of that fits your budget perfectly.
Just Book It
You want to go on that vacation right?
Well, the flight won’t book itself… Just book it!