Whether you’re on a long term budget trip or just trying to squeeze in one more vacation this year, the tips below might help you save money on cheap flights. While it’s impossible to perfectly predict pricing in the airline industry, these tips will make it slightly easier.
1. Flexible Vacation Dates
If you have the luxury of flexible dates while planning your next trip you can make sure to schedule on low volume travel days for any given route. Check the same flights on different days, weeks, or even months to get better rates. Additionally, if you are able to go during the offseason at certain destinations you can save even more money.
2. Use Incognito Windows or VPN
It’s no secret that companies are tracking more and more of our activity using cookies and location based information like your IP address. Travel companies can use this information to provide different prices based on the country you are searching from. One way around this is to use an incognito window which will restrict the amount of information these sites can see about you. If you use Chrome browser this can be accomplished by hitting the following keyboard commands while Chrome is open.
Windows, Linux, or Chrome OS: Press Ctrl + Shift + n.
Mac: Press ⌘ + Shift + n
Additionally, if you have a VPN configured you can use it to switch the location you are browsing from. Oftentimes, you will find that lower rates might be offered to lower income countries.
3. Fly from Larger Cities
While we have an international airport in our city, we’ve found that flights are often more expensive since it’s smaller. Traveling to larger nearby cities has sometimes saved us hundreds of dollars on single flights. Plus, it’s always a nice excuse for us to take the train to that city.
4. Use Skyscanner or Google Flights
Google Flights
There are a number of websites aimed at helping you browse all of the airlines offerings at once to compare prices. Personally, I like using Google Flights. If I don’t have a set destination you can look at the map view to see low price fares as you scroll over countries, which might help you decided on your next adventure. Additionally, you can look at a month view to see which days have cheaper flights for a given route. Once you’ve found the ideal flight it will redirect you to the airline’s website to book it. The tool also allows you to sort by travel time if price isn’t an issue, and you’re more focused on getting the most direct route.
Skyscanner
For budget travelers Skyscanner can be the most effective tool at finding cheap flights. It is widely used as one of the go-to flight search tools for price conscious travelers. It also has a flight fares map, like Google Flights, to help inspire you if a destination hasn’t already been selected. Flights can be sorted by price, speed, or best (combination of low price and speed). Use the integration below to start searching with Skyscanner today!
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