Since becoming full-time travelers in 2014, we have learned quite a few tricks to buying flights. To help fellow travelers get the best deals on airline tickets, we are sharing our top tips on booking flights for cheap!
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How To Find a Cheap Flight
Everyone wants to know how to book cheap flights. However, there is not just one way to score a deal on airfare. Finding a cheap flight takes some savviness, a little effort and sometimes a bit of luck.
With our flight booking tips, you will be one step closer to booking an affordable plane ticket. But the truth is, if you really want to get a cheap flight, you need to use a combination of our tips.
25 Best Tips on Booking Flights
We have rounded up our best advice for booking cheap flights. Not only are we sharing our tips for buying plane tickets at low prices, but we are also detailing our step-by-step method for how to get cheaper flights.
Save, Pin or Bookmark our Booking Flight Tips Guide to buy your Cheap Plane Ticket!
#1 Website for Finding Cheapest Flights
Topping our list of Booking Flight Tips is using booking sites. If you want to know how to get the cheapest flight, you need to know where to look online.
There are dozens – if not hundreds – of flights booking websites. Choosing the best booking site for flights is essential if you want to seek out deals.
Not all sites offer the same features. Your specific needs may determine which is the best website for booking flights for your next trip.
Skyscanner
Skyscanner has long been hailed as the best booking flights website. Their robust airline search engine offers amazing features for travelers looking for the absolute best flight deals.
Our favorite feature is the Whole Month price comparison. If your travel dates are flexible, rather than entering a specific date, the Whole Month calendar displays the cheapest price for every day.
You can even search by Cheapest Month. This is helpful if you know exactly where you want to go, but are searching for the cheapest time to go.
The second Skyscanner feature that we love to use is Everywhere. This is one of the best tools for booking cheap flights if you haven’t yet determined a destination.
You enter your departure airport and select Everywhere as the destination – and Skyscanner will show you the cheapest places to fly. The Everywhere feature is fantastic for when you are in the mood for a cheap weekend escape.
Google Flights
As the most popular search engine in the world, it’s not surprising that many people rank Google Flights as the best way to book flights at cheap prices.
Google Flights is fairly intuitive, easy to use and super fast. Plus, there are heaps of features on Google Flights that will help you find low airfares.
One of the coolest is the fare calendar. After selecting your destination, the calendar shows the cheapest dates to fly. The snapshot view helps narrow in on the best air deals before you even begin your search.
Using the Multiple Destination/Airport feature is another fantastic tip for how to get flights cheap. Rather than just searching one city or airport, you can select several options to search all possibilities simultaneously.
That said, we think the star of Google Flights is the map-based search that shows the lowest airfares from your origin city.
Similar to the Everywhere feature of Skyscanner, the map gives a quick visual of the lowest priced destinations for plane tickets.
FlightHub
FlightHub is also considered by many to be the best booking website for flights – especially if you know exactly which flight you want.
The most useful feature is the Price Alert. You can set it for a specific flight, then get notifications if the price drops.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a destination or dates in mind, their list of the Best Deals of the Day is an inspirational way to book tickets.
The list populates the cheapest flights to popular destinations. At a quick glance, you can see if there is a cheap flight deal you want to grab!
Kayak
Hailed by some as the best flight booking site for spontaneous travel, Kayak offers tons of search options and fare comparisons to help travelers.
Specifically, the Kayak Explorer feature is a fun way to find cheap flights when your destination is undetermined.
How Explorer works is that you set your departure airport, your flight budget and desired length of flight. Then select type of trip, be it a beach vacation or romantic getaway, and presto!
#2 Flight Booking Apps
We highlighted some tips for finding the best website for cheap flights, but mobile apps are an equally fantastic resource.
The best travel sites for flights have their own apps – so if you like the features of their website, download the app, as well.
That said, one of the often raved about travel apps for the best airfare prices is Hopper. Dedicated to the mobile booking experience, Hopper updates prices 24/7 and partners with hundreds of airlines for the lowest fares.
However, what makes the app truly spectacular for finding the cheapest flights is that its algorithm is able to predict future prices.
Therefore, travelers looking at a specific flight can get alerts about the price for that flight – and whether it is rising or falling – and score the best flights deals.
#3 Tips for Booking a Flight Directly with an Airline
While we feel flight websites are great for finding cheaper flights, sometimes the best online booking site for flights is the actual airline website. There are a few reasons why booking direct is one of our best tips for buying airline tickets.
First, flight search engines don’t always show all of the flights. As a matter of fact, some airlines don’t allow booking with flight search engines. Low-cost carriers don’t always display their best fares with flight booking engines, either.
Another reason why going directly to an airline website is a good idea is that there are some benefits that only apply to direct bookings.
The most advantageous is the 24-Hour Rule that applies to US flights. If you book directly with the airline at least seven days in advance, you have a 24-hour window to cancel your ticket for free.
Other benefits of booking directly with the air carrier is that if something does go wrong, the actual airline will help get it sorted out. If you book through a third-party, you may have to deal with them.
#4 Flight Ticket Booking Tips: Call the Airline
Another one of the tricks for booking flights that some travelers swear by is actually calling the airline to book your ticket.
If you explain to the representative that you are on a mission to find cheap plane tickets – and do it nicely – they may be able to find a creative solution.
#5 Book Flight Tickets for Cheap: Sign Up for Airline Emails
Ready to find the best cheap flight? Get the info straight from the source! As we explained in tip #3, airlines are a great resource for finding the best airfare deals.
Perhaps even more so if you subscribe to their newsletter. Carriers, like Frontier and Southwest, have notoriously good low fare sales – and they tell their subscribers first via email.
#6 Pro Tips to Book Flights: Buy One Way Tickets
One of our best booking flights tips is to always check the fare for two one-way tickets, rather than round trip.
It takes just a minute to price compare booking multiple flights one way rather than roundtrip – and sometimes it can save you money.
This method may require you to fly two separate airlines. With the right booking engine websites, however, it just takes a few clicks to find one-way airfare tickets for cheap.
Using this tip actually has more benefits than just saving money. We also like booking one-way for the flexibility in trip planning. You can opt for the best flight times or choose to fly into one airport and out of another.
Additionally, by booking one-way flights, we can alter one segment of the trip without it effecting the entire flight itinerary.
#7 Budget Airfares: Multiple Flights for the Cheapest Route
Piggybacking off our One-Way Cheap Flight Tricks is to use multiple air carriers in multiple legs to get to your destination.
The best way to find the cheapest flights with this method is to search for two (or more) one-way tickets enroute to or from a single destination by utilizing a layover. This is an example of an open jaw ticket.
Say you are flying from Los Angeles to New York. Instead of booking the trip (with or without layovers) on one ticket, you could book a one-way ticket from LA to Chicago and then another one-way ticket from Chicago to New York.
Just keep in mind that this can get tricky – and be risky, too. You will likely need to collect and transfer any checked luggage on your own.
Furthermore, a delay or cancelation in the first leg can cause you to miss the second leg entirely with no recourse from the second airline.
#8 Cheapest Travel: Use a Combo of Transport
Sometimes learning how to book the cheapest flight is to not only look at flights, but trains and buses, too.
This works best in places where there is ample public transport – like the Northeast of the US, most of Europe and parts of Asia. This is why it’s one of our Booking International Flight Tips!
Instead of only looking for the cheapest flights, check for a combination of flights, trains and buses that will get you there at the lowest cost.
Let’s say that you want to go to Croatia – but flights are too expensive from your preferred airport.
First, find the cheapest flight to a major city in Europe. Then search for one-way plane tickets, trains or buses from that city to your final destination.
#9 Cheap Flight Tips: Search Alternate Airports
Another one of our best tips for getting cheap flights is to adjust your airport selection. In LA, New York and Chicago, there are multiple airports.
Often, it is cheaper to fly into smaller airports that are further away from the city center. For that matter, you can fly into a different city altogether (Oakland instead of San Francisco or Colorado Springs instead of Denver).
Be aware, however, that this can cut into your vacation time – especially if you just going somewhere for the weekend.
On the flip side, flying into one airport and out of another can substantially increase your opportunity for experiences. Such as a fun road trip from San Francisco to LA!
Also, if you are buying a route that requires connecting flights, we never recommend booking a flight into one airport and out of another.
Pro Tip: If you need to rent a car, be sure to read our hacks to Saving Money On Car Rentals!
#10 Flights for Cheap: Change Your Destination
While finding an alternate airport near your destination is one of the ways to find flight deals, completely changing your destination may get you the cheapest flight of all!
Some places – based on popularity and distance – are just more expensive to fly to. If you can’t find a flight within your price range, choose to go somewhere else.
When planning a beach vacation, flights to Miami or San Diego might be too expensive, but plane tickets to Myrtle Beach or Galveston could be less. Often times, it is cheaper to fly to underrated destinations.
Perhaps, you just want to getaway! In this case, the tools in Skyscanner – specifically, the Everywhere feature – can help you find the cheapest flights.
#11 Be Flexible to Find Cheap Flights
Just like being open to what airport you fly into, being flexible with your dates and times is another one of the tricks to get cheaper flights.
Trying to book flights around the holidays (especially Thanksgiving and Christmas), school breaks (Spring Break and 3-Day Weekends) and major events (Mardi Gras and NYE) can be tough.
Certain days of the week – like Mondays and Fridays are in high demand by business travelers. Typically, the cheapest days to fly are usually Tuesday and Wednesdays.
In addition to booking travel mid-week, another tip to get low-cost flights is to fly during the shoulder season, which in most cases is the spring and autumn.
Travelers can also score a cheap ticket by taking early morning or late-night flights. The first flights of the day – at 6am or sometimes earlier – are the least desirable, thus the cheapest. Late night flights – and overnight red-eye flights – can also come at a bargain.
#12 Best Days for Booking Flights
We have long heard that booking flights on Tuesday will get you the best deals. To be honest, we haven’t tested this theory enough to find it to be particularly valuable.
In fact, we believe that airline pricing algorithms have become far too intelligent in recent years to rely on these rumblings.
With all of the tools available – and our tips for the best way to get a cheap flight – it is possible to find a deal any day of the week.
#13 When to Find Cheap Flights: Book in Advance
Deals on last minute flights are great for spontaneous travel…but not at all wise for a planned trip.
Don’t get me wrong – we love last minute flight deals, but we’ve been burned a few times waiting too long to book flights for trips we already had planned.
In our experience, booking the cheapest flights happens when tickets are purchased a couple of months in advance. For international flights, you will likely find the cheapest flight six months prior to your travel date.
#14 Cheap Airfare: Don’t Fear Budget Airlines
While no-frills airlines often have smaller seat space and lack even the most basic amenities (like free water), using them can get you a cheap flight.
While the ride is far from luxurious, they get you from Point A to Point B for a mere fraction of the price.
Taking flights with budget airlines in countries outside of the US is one of our international flight booking tips, too!
For shorter flights, we often use low-cost airlines in Europe (like Ryanair, Eurowings and Easy Jet) and Southeast Asia (such as Air Asia and Lion Air). They sometimes have deals on flights that cost less than train tickets!
One word of caution about booking low-cost flights. They only display their base fare…and then they nickel and dime you for every other aspect of the flight.
Customers will have to pay for anything additional, like luggage (sometimes even carry-on), seat choice, early boarding, food, drinks and so on.
While it is easy to get reeled in with cheap fares, you can quickly see the price increase with each add on.
One of our top plane ticket buying tips for low-cost carriers is to do everything you can to avoid the extra fees…which brings us to our next tip.
#15 Tips for Cheaper Flights: Minimize Extra Fees
From our experience, the airlines will do everything they can to make you pay more for your flight. If you are prepared, however, you can avoid the pesky extra fees that airlines try to charge.
First, if checked luggage is not included in the price of the ticket, only pack a carry-on bag. While this can seem like an unsurmountable task, trust us, it is possible!
Read our packing hacks to minimize your luggage for an upcoming trip. Some ultra-low cost carriers charge for carry-on bags as well – so check when booking!
All airlines have their own rules about what size and weight are allowed – and your can get stung with extra fees if you exceed the allowable limits.
Pay attention to measurements and buy a luggage scale to ensure your bag does not extend the airline’s weight limits.
Other tricks to book cheap flights is to forego the seat selection (especially on short, cheap flights). If you are prepared with all the proper flight essentials, then where you sit won’t matter as much.
#16 Booking Air Miles Flights and Points
There is a way to buy plane tickets without spending any money at all – and that is by using points! Using credit card points or airline miles is one of the best cheapest flight hacks of all.
Whenever you book a ticket, you should create an account to earn Frequent Flyer Miles. If you fly the same airline a lot, these points can really add up!
Credit Card for Booking Flights
An even better way to quickly earn points is with a travel credit card. Points are accrued with every dollar you spend – and several come with huge sign up point bonuses.
Almost all airlines offer their own branded credit card that earns points specific to the airline. They sometimes includes other perks, like free checked luggage or lounge access.
Often the prime time to sign up for airline credit cards is when booking a flight or during a special in-flight offer.
That all said, we actually use the Chase Sapphire Preferred Travel Credit Card. Not tied to a specific airline, the card offers tons of travel benefits – like no foreign transaction fees and double points on travel purchases.
#17 Finding Cheap Flights: Promotions, Deals and Mistakes
Searching for flights isn’t the only option to find budget airfare…the deals can come to you! One buying flight tickets tip is to subscribe to lists that offer promotions, travel deals, lowest priced flight of the day and fare mistakes.
The emails from Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) are a great resource for finding cheap flight tickets.
They offer a basic program, as well as a premium membership service. To start getting the Going emails, you provide your home airport, select your membership level and then wait for the cheapest flights to roll into your inbox!
Pomelo Travel is another site that seeks out international airfare from the US and emails the daily deals to subscribers.
#18 Book a Flight with Your Destination as the Connection
Okay, this is one of the tips on buying airline tickets that is a bit tricky (dodgy?). So, bear with us as we explain how to save money on flights by booking a longer journey.
Flight pricing is not static…and how fares is not as straight forward as Flying X Miles equals Y Price. There are hundreds of factors that go into how airlines price their flights.
Sometimes, it is more expensive to fly from Point A to Point B than flying from Point A to Point C with a connection in Point B – your actual destination.
Therefore, you can book the one-way journey at a cheaper price with a connection or layover as your destination. Then, just don’t take the second flight.
We won’t lie – this is one of the booking flights tips and tricks that is complex…and a little risky.
First, you have to understand the risks, such as being rerouted to another flight with a different connection.
Furthermore, you need to book one-way and with carry-on luggage only. Finally, airlines are on to this trick, and may ban you entirely if they catch you.
If you still want to give it a try, the top way to book flights with this method is on Skiplagged.
#19 Cheap Flight Ticket Tips: Search All Inclusive Deals
Sometimes the best way to book a flight for cheap is to roll the cost into an all-inclusive vacation package. It’s one of the secrets to buying airplane tickets that not all travelers consider.
For example, if you are already planning to embark on a European River Cruise, it’s often cheaper to package the flights in with it rather than paying for them separately.
Some of the top ranked vacation packages are offered from Apple Vacations, Costco Travel and Groupon. Of course, we recommend pricing out the trip and flights individually to be sure!
#20 How To Get Cheap Airline Tickets: Use a Travel Agent
Maybe you have already scoured all the cheap flight websites. Or perhaps you simply don’t have the time to invest in seeking out affordable plane tickets.
In that case, it just might be that the best way to find cheap flights is with a travel agent. Travel agents have inside info on cheap airfare tickets and expertise in flight hacks.
Most travel agents work on commission paid by the vendor – so it’s not necessarily at an extra cost to you.
#21 Best Way to Buy Airline Tickets: Go Incognito
Have you ever noticed that when you search for a flight – and then go back to look at it again a few days later – that the price has slightly increased?
And then the next time you look, it’s gone up in price again? This could be due to the cookies the website uses to track your search history.
Therefore, the best way to buy plane tickets might be in an incognito browser. You can also try clearing your cache and cookies – or using an alternate browser, like Duck Duck Go.
You can also search from your mobile device with the private setting turned on. We also recommend searching for cheap flights from different devices.
While this is not a proven way to get lower fares, it is one of the cheap flight hacks to get the best flight deals.
#22 Booking Flights Online for Cheap with a VPN
Sometimes the same flight is offered at different prices in different countries. For example, it can be more expensive to buy flight tickets from the United States versus, let’s say…anywhere else.
Of course, you are not going to go to another country to buy a cheap plane ticket – but you can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). This tricks the system into thinking you are searching for a plane ticket from another country.
#23 How To Get Discounted Flights
Many large employers offer discounts on certain airlines – travelers just need to inquire with their HR representative to find out. Furthermore, most US carriers, like American Airlines, offer a discount to college students.
While the discount is usually a small percentage and the flight will need to be booked directly with the airline, all you need to do to get the cheaper airfare is ask!
#24 Best Cheap Flights are Free Flights
Alright, this isn’t really one of the tips to buy flight tickets online for cheap – but rather a way to get flights for free.
Airline employees – even part-time – are granted free flights, as long as there are open seats available. This employee perk applies to flight attendants and pilots, as well as ground crew, mechanics and gate agents, etc.
While this tip won’t help with how to get plane tickets for cheap today, it might be something worth thinking about for the future!
#25 Buy Travel Insurance
If the 2020s have taught us anything, it is that things are unpredictable…and travel plans can change in a hurry.
No one wants to get caught paying for a trip they can’t take – even if you did find the absolute cheapest flight ticket.
Travel insurance from a reputable company can provide a wide range of coverage. This usually included cancellations and interruptions due to injury and unexpected illnesses. Plus, it may cover lost luggage, gear and medical costs.
Step-by-Step Guide to Cheap Airline Tickets
We have shared our best tips on booking flights, now it’s time to put them to use! From beginning to end, it takes us about an hour to complete the first four steps of the process – plus two quick tasks 23 hours later.
Step 1: Start Your Search
We start our search for cheap tickets for planes at least two months before we want to take our trip. This gives us plenty of time for finding a flight that falls within our travel budget.
As we already mentioned, Skyscanner is our go-to resource for how to get best flight deals. We begin by entering essential criteria – such as preferred departure and destination city and our optimal travel dates.
Step 2: Adjust Search Parameters
Once we have an idea of about how much it will cost, we begin adjusting the search to try to find the tickets cheaper.
We do quick tests for different dates and flight times and check the price of one-way tickets, too. Then we look for alternate routes, different airports and a combination of transport methods.
Step 3: Check Airline Website Directly
Before booking the cheapest flight, we hop onto the airline website or app to do a little more research.
First, we check to see if there are any other dates, times and combinations that would result in getting tickets cheaper.
Second, we also look into budget airlines that might not appear in flight search engine websites.
Step 4: Book the Cheap Flight
If we have points to use, we will examine if it is better to use the points…or earn more points with our travel credit card.
After utilizing all of our tricks to getting cheap flights and are confident that we have done our due diligence in finding the cheapest ways to fly, we book the flight!
Step 5: Double Check
If the flight qualifies for the 24-Hour Rule, we put a reminder in our calendar to check back in 23 hours. This gives us more time to search if we can get the airline ticket cheaper!
Start planning your next trip! Search for the great accommodations and fun things to do…then start packing! Want more travel advice? Head over to our Travel Planning Page for more tips on traveling – and for country-specific information, take a look at our Travel Guides Page!
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