How to Find Cheap Flights + Secret Tip!

The biggest obstacle that can make or break your dream trip is usually whether you can afford the flight or not . One thing to know about me is that I hate overpaying for anything. You better believe I will hunt for the best deal till I drop. Most of my friends see my travel adventures and assume that i’m laying on stacks of cash with all the trips I take. But honestly, to fit these trips into the strict budget i’ve set for myself just takes a lot of diligent researching. I am not an expert, but these are some of the many tips I’ve relied on in the past to turn my dream trips into reality.

First, let’s address some of the common myths you may have heard over the years in the many articles that guarantee you on how to find the cheapest flights.

Incognito Mode

Hate to break it to you, but nobody’s trying to stalk your flight purchase plans and increase prices to crush your dreams. You’re just not that important. This is the number one myth that has perpetuated the world for some time. There may be many articles that try to prove it, but there are many that have debunked it as well. The results are too inconsistent for it to be proven true. However, some people have had some luck with it, so it honestly doesn’t hurt to search in incognito mode if you want to.

Cheap Tuesdays

Tuesday’s used to be the cheapest days to flight out, but much more flights populate the market today for that myth to remain. Today, cheapest days vary, but weekdays are still often times the cheaper days to fly out because they are less in demand than Friday and Sunday’s.

Buying Early

I am notorious for buying my flights late because I have commitment issues. Plans change and I like options, okay?! Having commitment issues are not so bad when you learn buying late is no different than buying early. Sometimes it can be even better. You should never buy last-minute – literally, but the absolute latest you should book from my experiences for domestic flights is 2 weeks out and 2 months out for international flights (can you tell I live for the thrill?). It’s never bad to start tracking your flights early with websites like Airfarewatchdog though. Tracking websites give you a sense of where the prices of a particular flight average and how low it can go (incase you miss a deal). They also help you determine when to snag a deal and alert you immediately when they catch mistake fares.

Now that we’ve gotten those myths out of the way, here’s how I begin my search.

Google Flights

I always start with Google Flights to see what dates, times, and destinations are most cheap and convenient. Google has this great Explore page with a world map of all the cheapest prices during the year displayed on the country. Google Flight’s Explore page is great in that it allows you to search based on your departing city and further refine by the length and month of trip. It’s useful when you’re not sure where to go, but consumed by wanderlust and daydreaming hard at work.

Within Google Flights, I usually will try various routes to and from different airports and play around with different dates. It’s important to be flexible with your dates. When you’re prompted to put in your dates, you can easily see the average prices on the calendar for each of the days for the next 10 months. If you’re a little tied down to your dates, it’s helpful to use ‘Date Grid’ to view the prices 3 days before or after your prospective dates.

When planning a multi-city trip, Google is seriously your best friend. The interface is much more user-friendly, faster, and easier for me to cross check all combinations of my routes.

However, I don’t rely solely on Google Flights because their prices are not always updated, does not catch mistake fares, and does not show Southwest Airlines prices.

Cross Checking

After knowing what general dates I want, I’ll cross reference on various travel sites for the best options. My top few are Skyscanner, Momondo, Priceline, and Orbitz.

Skyscanner is great because not only can you select your destination as ‘Everywhere’, but you can also set your dates as the cheapest month Skyscanner’s data says to depart. Similar to Google Flight’s Explore Page, they also have the map function for you to see it in a more visual way. Once you’ve selected a destination to search, if you click ‘Show whole month’, a color coded calendar or chart is shown to display the most expensive, average, and cheapest days to fly.

Momondo provides the color coded calendar directly on its front page as you fill in your trip itinerary. They also provide the chart for you to explore the prices for nearby dates.

What I like about Skyscanner and Momondo is that their results both show third-party websites. These websites are often times the cheapest options, but do not offer the greatest customer service. I get it, you probably wouldn’t touch those websites with a ten foot pole after I just said that. However, they can work out very well for you if you most likely won’t be trying to get a refund, change dates, or have a ton of checked baggage. I’ve booked on several of them including Cheapoair, Justfly, Justairticket, Smartfares – just to name a few and have never had an issue.

Priceline and Orbitz are well established and reliable. I’m sure you’ve seen countless advertisements of them by now. While they don’t show third-party websites, they have prices that are comparable as well. I have a soft spot for Priceline because once upon a time, the customer service lady lady on the other end of the phone line gave me a refund on a flight I missed even though it was against their policy. I’m pretty embarrassed to say I missed my baggage check time limit by a minute due to a late night of fun prior. Of course I couldn’t tell the agent that, but I’m sure she heard the shame in my ‘What am I going to do now? My dad’s going to kill me’ voice.

Separating Flights

Booking two one-ways instead of a roundtrip can also sometimes yield much cheaper prices where a one-way is cheaper than half of a round-trip. You can even book several one-ways on your way to a destination if you want! I wouldn’t suggest that for the sake of convenience, but whatever suits your needs. The useful thing about booking two one-ways is experimenting with flying into and out of different airports. Remember to make sure you map the distance between the two airports or wherever you may be coming from, so you can plan your schedule properly. Also, if you have checked baggage, you’re most likely going to need to collect them from baggage claim before transferring to your next flight. When booking separate one-ways, give yourself at least 2 hours between flights incase of delays.

Trains, Boats, Buses

We’re not here to only take advantage of the cheap prices of the skies, but to take advantage of the land and sea as well! Be sure to check local trains, buses, or boats for cheaper prices. Most times the journey may be longer, but it could also be more scenic! Also, checking land options help when you aren’t seeing any flight options that fit your ideal itinerary. I’ve had times where my only option was a 6 hour journey with a layover that was supposed to only be a 1 hour flight. Luckily, I found a train ride that would take me there in 3 hours. I’ve also had times where I was stuck with an $80 flight that is normally only about $40, but I chose to take a sleeper train which runs overnight for just $20! Albeit not super comfortable, I got to save money on a flight, didn’t waste daylight, and didn’t need to spend on housing for the night. Winning!

Credit card points

If you’re already using a credit card, why not use one that rewards you with valuable bonus points, miles, and perks? There are so many different types of credit card that can reward your with flights or hotels that are practically free.

I personally use Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Freedom to collect Chase Points. I have found that my Ultimate Rewards points have been more worth using in domestic flights than international. So for many of my international flights, I strategically book two one-ways using my points to cover the first half of my route. For example, when I fly to Taiwan, I will usually have a connecting flight in Los Angelos or San Francisco. I’ll book my flight from DFW to LAX/SFO using my miles, then pay for LAX/SFO to TPE. If you’ve collected enough points, you can use them them to fund your entire trip, First Class style!

My Top Secret

If you’ve made it this far, you deserve to know my biggest secret tip to finding cheap flights. Airline vouchers or gift certificates.

Most people will receive airline vouchers due to overbooked flights or unforeseen situations where the airline is at fault and will reimburse customers with some form of compensation. Majority of the vouchers will likely have a one year expiration date or less depending on the specific airlines rules. People often times don’t have the chance to use it before the expiration date or they’re just angry at the airlines for screwing them in the first place. Then they’ll swear to never book that airline again…but come on we knooow that’s a lie because who’s going to say no to a cheap Spirit flight? But it’s cool, your loss is my gain – let me kindly take those vouchers off your hands. Like the professional bargain hunter I am, I’ve purchased a voucher worth $500 for just $250 for United Airlines! That’s a 50% off possible flight to Hawaii! I once even bought 7 Southwest LUV Vouchers and received 45% off my flight. By the way, Southwest only allows 4 vouchers to be used at a time, so I called them to combine them for me. EZ.

Not only are there airline vouchers, there can also be gift certificates people receive as gifts, buddy passes, or miles for sale. Each airline has their own names for their vouchers or rewards, whatever you want to call it. It’s usually a little harder to find a better deal on those and they come with a bit more rules. I typically search for all of these on favorite second-hand spots: Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Groups, eBay, OfferUp.

Always, always, always do your research before you purchase. With any over-the-internet purchase, I double check to make sure this person seems legitimate, has made some sales before, is a real person, and has a profile that wasn’t just created a week ago. All airlines also have their respective rules, so double check with them before you purchase to make sure the vouchers are fully transferrable. The most important thing on the voucher is a code you enter in at checkout, and i’ve had times where people unknowingly forget to cover it up in the image on their listing. By the time I tell them, someone will most likely have stolen the code and used it already. So I repeat, ALWAYS double check.