Getting cheap flights is always the number one priority when travelling. But it can be tricky. Here are the best tips to find the best flight deals.
“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Anonymous.
Traveling literally opens up a whole new world to these willing to explore it! One of the big obstacles to travel can be the price tag, particularly for flights.
Did you know that almost every single person on an airplane paid a different amount for their flight? You can learn several tricks to get the best deals to let you travel the world!
Skyscanner is Your Friend
Various websites help you browse flight options, but Skyscanner is my favourite. Several things to try include:
- Type Everywhere as a destination to see the cheapest places to fly to from your location.
- Under ‘Depart’ and ‘Return’ dates, select ‘Whole Month’ and then ‘Cheapest Month.’ This can help you see when it is cheapest to travel to your dream destination.
- When searching for flights by month, you can see the cheapest days to travel. If you are flexible, this can help you save a lot of money.
- Try ticking the ‘nearby airports’ box if you don’t mind taking a bus or driving to an airport to save on the flight costs.
- Finally, ensure that you don’t have ‘Non-stop flights only’ ticked, as this can make flights more expensive.
When buying flights on Skyscanner, keep an eye on the clock. Every hour the prices refresh and can get more expensive by the hour.
Search on Incognito Mode
Although this is debated, many believe that when you search for a specific destination in your browser, some sites will take note and may jack up the prices of flights.
It is recommended that you use an incognito or private browser tab when you look for flights to avoid this.
Some websites claim that this is a myth, but personally, I have noticed that flights can get more expensive every time I look them up – although this could be a coincidence.
Use a VPN
Another trick that some people swear by is using a VPN to set your location to the place you are flying to rather than from.
Sometimes there can be a different price if you search in a different currency as well. Although this can make the search process longer and more complicated, it can be worth trying if you are on a budget.
Plan WAY Ahead, or Last Minute
Some say that there is a sweet spot of time when you should buy a flight. According to CheapAir, it is best to buy a flight 47 days before the departure.
In my experience, it depends. If you don’t have the flexibility and are flying during a holiday or a popular time to fly, your tickets will be expensive no matter what you do.
If you are flying at a less popular time, it can help to either buy your flight way in advance, like eight months ahead, or super last minute.
The risk of purchasing a last-minute flight is that it may end up costing even more than it should. However, if a plane isn’t full, they will sell super cheap tickets to fill it up.
If you are flexible and adventurous, it can pay off to check flights the night before you want to travel and see what deals you can get!
If you have a time crunch or a specific destination in mind, this may not be a risk worth taking.
Keep Other Costs in Mind
I have made the mistake of buying really cheap flights that ended up racking up other costs. For example, if you have a layover in London and opt for a flight that goes into one of the airports and out of the other, keep in mind that the train between them is expensive.
Likewise, if you search for nearby airports, you may pay more than you saved to get to the airport.
Plus, if you take the risk of a super short layover, you may end up paying for delays or cancelations.
Even if an airline may eventually reimburse you, you might be stuck with the bill for months. So keep these other costs in mind when shopping for flights!
Everyone has a trick to finding great flight deals. Talk to your friends and family and try out everything they recommend until you develop your own method.
There are always ways to save money when traveling, and finding great flight deals is just the start! Where there’s a will, there’s a way, so if you want to travel more, take the time to learn this new skill to go explore the world!
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