I have this friend who never seems to stop traveling.
Tired of her “just arrived in –insert-beautiful-exotic-location-here–” feeds, I asked her if she either owns a gold
mine or knows some secrets on how to find cheap airfare.
To my delight, it turns out to be the second option!
Here’s what she does:
1.
Play with countries and currencies.
Before you book your tickets, check if they cost less on some other country’s version
of the airline website.
You can often get the same class ticket on the same flight for cheaper if you choose
to view the price in a weaker national currency, than, say, Dollars or Euros.
A VPN can help you hide your actual location or “relocate” you to some other country.
2.
Choose the cheapest payment method.
When it comes to the payment stage, many people just click on the first available option without
looking at how much the processing fee will be.
Often, using online money transfer is cheaper than paying with your credit card.
However, if you’re traveling internationally and want to earn some flyer points and miles,
you'd better stick to your credit card.
3.
Book your tickets at the right time.
There’s no such thing as the perfect day of the week to book your trip – it’s a
myth.
Instead, there is a perfect time interval, and it's 6-8 weeks before your departure date.
Buying far in advance, like 5 months before the flight, will be pricier.
Buying last minute can sometimes mean a great deal, but in most cases, airlines will raise
the price by then.
They know if you really have to go so soon, you'll pay whatever it takes!
4.
Be flexible with your flight dates.
You can't shift a trip back home for some holidays or a major sporting event, but it
will cost you way more than flying off-season.
If you can be flexible with dates, just open the calendar in your favorite travel aggregator
and see how you can shift the dates a bit to save some cash.
In general, flying in the middle of the week is cheaper than on the weekends.
5.
The time of day matters too.
It’ll normally cost you less to take off early in the morning or late at night.
No one likes 3AM wake-ups and red eyes, right?
6.
Experiment with your destination.
Let's say you want to go to Amsterdam, but the tickets are through the roof.
Open the flight routes map and see if you can get a better deal for other airports within
a 3-hour ride.
You can just catch a bus or train, arrive in Amsterdam a couple hours later, and see
an extra country on the way!
7.
Pick the right airport.
Large cities typically have more than one airport.
Don’t fall for a famous name where everybody flies.
Instead, look around and see if there’s a better deal for tickets to, say, London
Luton instead of Heathrow.
8.
Mix and match airlines.
If your travel aggregator or common sense is telling you a flight with a stopover somewhere
on the way will be cheaper than a direct one – book it.
It's always safer to do the booking directly from the airline website, so you might have
to type in all your information twice, but it's worth it.
Low cost airlines, for example, don't normally do long-haul flights, but you can book a ticket
halfway with a regular airline and then buy the next one from that budget line.
9.
Try the hidden city trick.
For some reason, a direct flight from point A to point B can be pricier than a trip from
point A to point C with point B as a stopover spot.
If that’s the case, book it, and just get off at point B – a.k.a. “the hidden city.”
10.
Check the flight route before you book.
How long the flight is going to take and how much you’ll have to pay for it doesn’t
depend on the distance, but on the route your plane will fly.
It can be more expensive to fly over certain countries or airspace, and in some cases,
even forbidden for airlines of this or that origin.
If a flight has to take a detour, then it’ll be more expensive.
You might even have to pay extra for checked bags!
11.
Delete your cookies/history when looking for the best deal.
Have you ever noticed how ticket prices go up when you come back to check them after
a while?
This is because websites can store your search data and offer you a more expensive price
for the destination you’re interested in.
They do this to pressure you into buying the ticket faster before the price gets even higher.
12.
Use multiple search engines.
Some travel aggregators don't list certain low-cost carriers or websites that aren't
in English.
Check a few options before you do the final booking to get the best deal.
13.
Don't ignore points and miles programs.
Spend an extra minute and sign up for a travel rewards card.
I know, you hear about them all the time, but they really do work!
Airlines love loyal customers and reward them with free hotel stays, events, other travel
perks, and, of course, huge discounts or even free flights!
Just curious: do you collect bonus miles?
Let me know in the comments below!
14.
Set up a price alert.
Most travel aggregators have an alarm bell icon – turn it on, give them your email,
and you’ll be personally notified when the price for your itinerary goes down.
This works well if you have plenty of time before the trip or make regular flights to
the same places.
15.
Follow airlines on social media.
This way, you can get some insider deals or secret offers.
You can also sign up for their mailing list if you don’t mind some extra notifications
in your inbox.
16.
Find out if you can get a flight pass.
For their beloved loyal customers, many airlines offer flight passes that are much cheaper
than individual tickets.
You can check with major lines in your region or some international carriers if they have
this kind of a deal.
17.
Use any discounts you qualify for.
It differs country-to-country and airline-to-airline, but most offer good discounts to students
and people under 26, seniors, and other categories.
Just check out if you belong to any of them!
18.
Check all the terms and conditions when flying low-cost.
Low-cost airlines do offer great deals, but it’s better to double check if luggage or
even carry-on is included.
Check-in can also cost you if you decided to do it at the airport instead of online.
There might be some extra hidden fees you couldn’t even imagine.
Plus, low-cost carriers mostly fly to secondary airports, so add the price of ground transportation
to your ticket fare and see if it’s still cheaper than regular airlines.
19.
Try booking two one-way tickets instead of a round trip.
It’s normally cheaper to book a round trip, but there are those rare occasions when two
one-way tickets will cost you less.
So price out both options or even check out two different airlines before you book your
flight.
20.
Watch out for mistake fares.
No system works perfectly 100% of the time, so a zero can accidentally drop on a $1,500
ride, or all the tickets to some destination can suddenly become a fixed low price.
If you see something like that online, book it, but wait for an official booking reference
from the airline before you pay for a hotel room or concert tickets on the other end of
the ride.
The airline might cancel your deal.
Finally, here’s an idea for the most adventurous travelers…
21.
Go plane hitchhiking!
It's been a thing since the ‘60s.
Of course, you can't hitchhike on a passenger Boeing 737, but small private plane pilots
do take passengers on board for a minimal fuel fee.
There are even special flight-sharing online platforms where you can find pilots or passengers
to travel with.
And if you're spontaneous as can be, try wandering around a small town airport – you can get
a free ride to some place you might’ve never even heard of!
Sounds like fun!
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friend!
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Just click to the left or right, and stay on the Bright Side of life!