Flying is usually the most expensive part of a vacation.
It used to be the reason why I thought I couldn’t afford to see the world. Especially with a family.
But I’ve figured it out!
I recently was even able to book a European trip, on a whim! That’s how good of deals I find all the time now.
Use these tricks to score a great deal and save money on your travels. Because I want you to know that you can afford to see the world too!
Check out Part 2 for another 11 great tricks to save $100’s or even $1000’s!
ULTIMATE TIP: be as flexible as you can.
Try to be flexible in both timing and destination.
The more flexible you are, the cheaper your flight can be. Even being flexible a few days can save you 100’s of dollars.
For examples: Arrive or leave a few days differently than you originally planned. Look at flying in or out of a different airport than planned. Instead of saying “I want to go to Hawaii”, say “I want to go to a tropical beach” and your options for saving will open up.
I see great deals all the time, like $500 to Africa or $400 to Singapore, both are normally $1200 or more! I also spend $100+ less than my friends or family by flying in on slightly different days to the same location. You can get these great deals too by having flexibility in location or timing.
Read more about how being flexible in buying flights is key to saving money flying.
See how by departing and returning different dates can help you get a cheaper flight.
Use the “explore” feature on flight discount sites
Once again this has to do with being flexible…
Check out this popular post on how to use the explore feature to save you tons on flights!!
Kayak.com has my favorite explore feature because it lets you see a visual map of everywhere you can go with your budget.
Say I want to go on an a cool trip but only can spend $500 on a flight. I decide my absolute parameters (such as price, timing, departure airport, stops, etc.) and look what is available.
By setting my parameters of price and departure airport, I quickly found a flight to Beijing for $333 roundtrip!
I like to play around with the parameters a little to see what other good deals are available. For example, I know flights from Denver to Vegas or LAX are usually cheap, so I check flights departing from there also.
Fly in the off season
Every destination has its own different peak season, so you adjust where you go based on when you can go.
Choosing to go in off seasons means that the flights and everything at the destination, from lodging to activities, will be cheaper too.
For example, a popular (and therefore expensive) time to go to Florida is the spring. So, if you need to go on vacation in April: trade Mickey for Australia, where the weather is cooler and beautiful that time of year. Or if your heart is set on riding “It’s A Small World” again (just kidding), take your family to Florida right before school starts up again in August or September.
Another bonus to this is that it will be less crowed where ever you go in the off season. So, you will get to avoid the crowds and do more things!
Consider flying to a different destination first
It may be cheaper to fly from or to another airport than where you actually want to go.
In these cases, look at your costs to add extra mini-flights or travel and it may still be much cheaper than flying directly.
We flew to Amsterdam when we went to Paris because it saved us money and got us points with an airline we use more. Then we could have taken another flight into Paris, but opted for a high-speed train instead.
We got a few days in Amsterdam, got to relax on the train, saw beautiful views of Belgium, got there sooner than our plane would have landed, and saved a few hundred dollars each.
This brings me to the next two tips:
Embrace the good layovers
If you do buy legs of your flight separately, I recommend at least a 4-hour layover for wiggle room.
Because the tickets were bought separately, if your flights run late or are cancelled and you miss your next flight, you miss it. You won’t be refunded or automatically put onto a new one. Especially if they are different airlines.
If you are still nervous about 4 hours not being enough security, I highly recommend booking your tickets through Kiwi.com. They offer a guarantee that they will get you on another flight in case of these situations, even when booking through different airline.
One of my favorite parts of VERY long layovers is that they can be a bonus mini trip!
You can get two places for the price of one. I love using this and have met my cousin in New York on the way to Europe. Or helped a friend explore Mexico City on the way to Cancun.
Be sure the airport is actually near things you want to go do or see and that you will have plenty of time to get back through security. I like to give myself an extra 2-3 hours transition time, not including travel time.
This means if I have a 10 hour layover and I need 30 minutes each way traveling and 2-3 hour cushion, I only have 7-6 hours there. Err on the side of caution and ask airport staff how long you should go for. You DO NOT want to miss your flight! You will be stuck buying an expensive last minute one home.
Think expensive first
The more expensive a flight is the more your potential savings are. This is because there is more room to go down. If I find a flight to Boston for a great deal for 50% off, I save $100 off normal price. If I find a flight to Australia for 50% off, I can save over $1000!
Sometimes those flights are even the same price. I have even seen Shanghai the same price as Orlando, about $350!
Keep this is mind when you find a great deal leaving from the wrong airport or landing in a nearby by different destination city than you planned. Make your priority getting over the ocean for cheap. Then buy tickets for the little flights to make up the rest of the trip. You’ll save more money by getting your best deal on the big ticket.
I just did this for my upcoming trip to Barcelona. I got the ticket for $300 from Chicago to Barcelona, so I didn’t really care if I spent $100 or $150 getting from Denver to Chicago. An extra $50 on that flight was worth the $1200 I would have spent going directly there.
Look at first class tickets too.
I am not very savvy when in comes to redeeming credit card points for a flight, it is one of my goals to get better at. (So I can teach you too! 😉 ). I do know that you get a better value for your points redeeming them in international first class tickets than economy. Check out travel saving guru Brad at Brad’s Deals to learn more about getting the most out of redeeming your credit card points.
Think unconventional
There is usually a better way to buy anything than the popular way. When it comes to buying things (especially expensive things): creativity = savings.
Think like a local. If you are flying between international airports check out regional airlines. They are often cheaper and there are usually even local budget airlines.
Check out other ways to travel too, like boats or trains. We did this between Amsterdam and Paris, and loved it! Much more comfortable way to travel than by airplane.
Pay with foreign money
Paying with foreign money makes me feel like a travel ninja.
The idea behind this is that booking sites know when you are paying with American money and raise the rates slightly. If there are options to pay with other currency or through a local site, compare prices to see where the best deal is.
Be sure to use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees, or you may end up paying more in conversion!
Check a few different sites
Information is king. Take the time to do a little research and learn what normal prices are, so you know when you are getting a good deal.
I usually use a few different comparing sites (Momondo, SkyScanner, Kayak, Kiwi, Google Flights, Cheapo Air, etc. Read more about some of these sites and my favorite features on them.) to get a feel of times, prices, nearby airports, etc.
It also helps you to find out what all the flights actually are. That way you know all the times and airlines going in and out.
I usually spend just 20 minutes and spend at least 30% less than what I first found, sometimes A LOT more!
Use an incognito tab
This may come as a shock to you…but Google spies on you! Jk, hopefully you knew this and have come to terms already.
What you may not know is that airlines also figure out when you are searching for a particular flight. The more you search the more they creep the prices up and give you “2 seats left!” warnings to get you to buy.
To avoid this, use an incognito tab (click here for a how to do this) so you search history remains private.
Don’t use safari
When you perform a search, it sends data that lets companies know what search engine and internet browser you are using.
When you use Safari, booking companies assume that if you were willing to spend more on an Apple product than you are also more likely to spend more on other things….like flights.
What tricks do you use to buy cheap flights? What's the best deal you have ever gotten?
1 comment
Round trip tickets to Paris, posted for $208, plus taxes. Ended up being about $350 per person.