If you’re a frequent flier, then you know how important it is to find a good deal on an airline ticket. You probably already know a few tricks, but in this article, we’ll give you at least x more tips that you’ll certainly appreciate, and leave you with a few more shekels to spend during your trip.
[Source: Freepik]
- Search Incognito
One of the first tricks you should know as a frequent traveler is that your cookies affect the ticket price.
Yes, you’ve read that right – your cookies can make it so the ticket you’re looking up is a lot more expensive than it actually is!
This is because websites take a cut of the money for the ticket, so they post higher prices. Not only that, but they’re also trying to coax you into booking, so they increase prices, making you book sooner, despite that flight not being the best option for you, or not being the most convenient.
This is why we’re suggesting you start searching for flights incognito. Open an incognito page in your browser, and you’ll soon realize that the ticket prices you find this way are cheaper, and you’ll start saving money in no time.
- Find the Cheapest Day
Okay, we have to be truthful here, and say that the myth of flight companies selling bookings cheaper on certain days isn’t exactly true.
What happens instead is that certain time slots are less popular, so they command a lower price overall. For example, if you’re booking a flight really early in the morning, you will often get a better price, simply because not a lot of people are flying at that time, because it’s harder to reach the airport at that time if you don’t live close to it already.
In a similar vein, flights during the week are usually cheaper than those on the weekends, as more people tend to fly on the weekends, because they haven’t got the time to organize during a work day, or simply can’t get off of work.
- Find the Best Search Engine
Most people will probably stick to Google, Mozilla or Opera for their searching needs, but what if we told you the marketplace is overflowing with metasearch engines that specialize in finding the cheapest fares for airlines?
That’s right; there are plenty of search engines that are really good at detecting the best deals on flights, and, if you’re a frequent flier, you should familiarize yourself with a few/
Some of the best are Skyscanner, Going, Momondo and Kiwi – all of these engines are exceptional at finding the cheapest possible tickets, as well as showing you the most prominent budget airlines.
- Start Collecting Points
Any frequent traveler knows that collecting flight points is the best thing you can do to protect your pocket, and not break your bank.
Fortunately, there are plenty of options available for collecting points, as most airlines have reward cards for which you can sign up and start collecting.
The best thing about this practice is that even the budget airlines have their own cards! Since they have to compete with big, established airlines, they have to find a way to bring in more customers, which is why they sometimes offer quite generous bonuses, and are more generous with their point systems.
So, if you’re in need of cheap ways to fly, and often, be it for business or pleasure, sign yourself up for a rewards card as soon as possible.
- Embrace Budget Flying
It’s easy to follow the crowd, and book flights with the most prominent airlines, but a shrewd and seasoned traveler knows that budget airlines are your best friends.
Yes, they may not offer the same levels of comfort as the bigger brands, but they offer something much more important – cheaper flights! If you don’t mind less leg room and paying for your meals in order to not break your bank frequently flying, then budget airlines are your best buds for life.
Not only that, but, as we’ve mentioned, most of them have their own rewards programs in order to compete with bigger brands, giving you even more reasons to fly with them instead.
[Source: Freepik]
- Search for Errors
If you’re feeling a bit cheeky when looking for a cheap way to fly, you should consider looking for fare price errors.
This is something most people overlook – airlines make mistakes when posting their fare prices more often than you think. Experienced travelers have figured out that, due to human error, mistakes when calculating currency conversions or technical issues, airlines sometimes post prices that aren’t updated to their current price.
On top of that, there are plenty of search engines that were built around this very fact – Skyscanner, for example, is a very good engine for finding such mistakes, saving you a pretty penny in the process.
- Book Now Rather Than Later
Remember that old adage:”Early bird gets the worm”? Well, it’s especially true for airlines.
If you have an intent of flying somewhere, and you’re already sure of the date, then you should book your flight as soon as possible.
The thing is, airlines tend to increase the prices of their fares as you get closer to the departure date. So much so, in fact, that last minute tickets can cost as much as twice their original flight.
Of course, it’s not always easy to make plans a month or two in advance, but if you’re able, then you should definitely lean into this tip.
- Don’t Disregard Local Airlines
Something often done by inexperienced fliers is disregarding local airlines.
Most people will flock to the most established brands. Those more experienced will know how to find the right budget airline for themselves. However, the true mark of a veteran flier is the ability to sniff out the locals.
The truth of the matter is that most browsers and search engines don’t always include local brands. That’s why you have to put in some extra effort, and ask around to find the locals, as they are often a lot more affordable than their competition. Not only that, but local airlines have their own promotions, too, so check for any deals to fly even cheaper.
- Book Package Holidays
There is nothing worse than when you have to cancel holiday activities because you overpaid for your flight.
Luckily, there’s a workaround for that – booking package holidays! By booking a package holiday, you’ll often get discounts on your flights as well as accommodation, meaning you’ll save a lot more money and have more to spend once you get to your destination.
- Pay Attention to Currency Conversions
When flying to or from other countries, it’s a good idea to check the trending currency rates for the currencies you’ll be using.
This is because, oftentimes, you will find that the tickets can be cheaper if bought in a particular currency. This is especially true for return flights, as the US currency might be a lot stronger in the country you visited, and you might get a surprise discount, simply because you paid in the local currency.
- Buy in Bulk
If you’re particularly loyal to a certain airline, it might pay off to buy flight tickets in bulk. This is because airlines often offer discounts when you buy multiple tickets at the same time.
Multi-city flights are one of the best ways to buy in bulk. Additionally, you can also buy round the world tickets or regional passes, both of which offer you the opportunity to fly around the world or within the country at a discounted rate.
- Consider Hidden City Ticketing
One of the more clandestine tactics to score cheaper flights is hidden city flights.
Though we can’t, in good conscience, fully recommend that you try hidden city flights, we will still tell you that this is a definite option, and one of the cheapest ways of flying.
[Source: Pixabay]
You see, when you find a hidden city flight, what you’re actually doing is booking a flight with a connection. Now, the whole point is that that connection is actually your real destination.
So, what you do is you simply hop on a flight going to another city but that has a connection that’s your real destination, and, when you’re supposed to make your connection, you just hop off and don’t complete your flight.
However, you must know that this is very risky. Many airlines frown upon this practice, and oftentimes, they say right in their contracts that you can’t do this. On top of that, you might not be allowed off the plane when making a connection, meaning you’ll have to complete the flight. Finally, when doing hidden city flying, you have to travel light, because most of your luggage will probably be on the plane and you won’t be able to take it out.
Final Words
And with that, we’re going to wrap up our article on cheapest ways to fly. Like we said, you might know some of these, but we hope we’ve provided you with a few tips and tricks you didn’t know so you can enrich your knowledge on how to fly at a budget.
Author bioTravis Dillard is a business consultant and an organizational psychologist based in Arlington, Texas. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for DigitalStrategyOne.
Finding the best flights API supplier