Tips For Finding Cheap Airfare
Planning that next big vacation? Have a last-minute flight to catch?
Here’s the catch (no pun intended) – there’s no “secret” savings plan when it comes to flights. There are tricks and methods that you can implement into your search to save your hard-earned money. For example, trying different booking sites, altering your dates, and sometimes just waiting until that right time to make your purchase can drastically change the price of your flight. I’ve flown to the same place numerous times and saved hundreds of dollars the second time around when I implemented these strategies!
If you’re willing to put in a little time and effort, you could save big on your next flight.
Book in Advance
If possible, you should book your flight several months before you depart. If I’m booking a holiday (especially if it’s overseas) I’ll book the flights at least 2 or 3 months in advance. Airlines constantly offer early bird specials so give yourself the best chances of securing a deal and book early.
Be Flexible
Depending on the website you use, you may be asked whether your travel dates are flexible or not. There is a very good reason for this, flying on the weekend is typically more expensive than during the week, so if you’re flexible with the day you fly on, it greatly increases the chances of finding a cheap ticket.
Travel Light
If you don’t read the airlines luggage allowances carefully, you may be slugged with a hefty fee once you arrive at the airport. You can prevent this by travelling as lightly as possible and finding out exactly how much you’re allowed to check-in with and take on board with you.
Here are some of more tricks and methods for you!
Buy Early
If you’re planning that next big trip I would suggest buying 3-6 months in advance. Prices fluctuate, but they always go up the closer to travel time. Especially for flights during peak travel times, where flight options may be limited as they sell out quicker than other times – planning in advanced can save you big time!
Buy Late
Complete opposite of my first tip I know but I promise you I’m not just making things up. If airlines have failed to fill the plane, sometimes you can buy tickets at the last minute for a great discounted price. LastMinuteTravel.com is a great site for this exact scenario. Use this and other sites like it to check for flights if you are looking for something last minute!
Use apps such as hopper to track your flights
Hopper predicts prices for flights with 95% accuracy up to 1 year in advance. You can watch a trip right in the app and they will send you a notification when it’s the best time to buy — recommending you, to either, book now, or giving you a heads up for when it’s smarter to wait a little longer.
Check different airports
If you live close to more than one airport – always check your options! Most travel sites enable you to select “all nearby airports” when searching for flights. Flexibility is always going to help you!
Some credit cards can help you build up miles more quickly, and all airlines offer incentive and membership clubs/bonuses. Do your research and implement flying loyalty programs as often as you can!
Keep your eyes on your flight. If fares go down after you’ve purchased your ticket, you may ask for a refund! You might not always get one, policies vary by airline — but many airlines will honor this although they don’t advertise the fact that they will refund you the difference if the price of your flight goes down.
