Finding discounted flights is a crucial part of traveling the world on a budget. With the right strategies and tools, you can significantly lower your airfare costs, allowing you to stretch your travel funds further. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to find discounted flights for world travelers:
1. Use Flight Comparison Websites
- Why it works: Flight comparison websites aggregate prices from different airlines and travel agencies, helping you find the best deals quickly.
- How to do it: Start with sites like Skyscanner, Google Flights, Kayak, and Momondo. These platforms allow you to compare prices across multiple airlines and booking sites, providing you with a clear picture of available deals.
- Tip: Use the flexible dates feature to see if changing your travel dates by a day or two can reduce the price. Skyscanner’s “Whole Month” feature is especially useful to identify the cheapest days to fly.
2. Set Alerts for Price Drops
- Why it works: Flight prices fluctuate frequently. Setting alerts will notify you when prices drop, ensuring you don’t miss a deal.
- How to do it: Create fare alerts on platforms like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Airfarewatchdog. Enter your preferred destination and dates, and these services will alert you via email or app notifications when a price drops or deals become available.
- Tip: Sign up for fare alerts on multiple sites to cover all bases. Sometimes different platforms may show different prices.
3. Book Flights in Advance
- Why it works: Airlines tend to offer the best prices when flights are booked well in advance, often up to 2-3 months ahead of departure.
- How to do it: Plan your trip in advance and book your flight as early as possible. For international flights, aim to book at least 3 months in advance to secure better prices.
- Tip: Some low-cost carriers offer flash sales or promotions, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on these even if you plan to book early.
4. Be Flexible with Dates and Airports
- Why it works: Flight prices vary depending on the time of year, day of the week, and even the time of day. Flying on weekdays, especially Tuesdays and Wednesdays, is often cheaper than weekend flights.
- How to do it: Use the flexible dates option on flight comparison tools. This feature will show you a range of prices for flights on different dates. Additionally, consider flying in and out of alternate airports. Larger cities often have multiple airports, and flying into a nearby airport could save you a significant amount.
- Tip: Search for flights on “incognito” or private browsing mode to avoid price hikes based on your search history.
5. Book Round-Trip or Multi-City Flights
- Why it works: Round-trip tickets or multi-city itineraries are often cheaper than booking one-way flights. Airlines may offer discounts for booking both legs of a trip together.
- How to do it: When planning a trip with multiple destinations, use the multi-city option in search engines like Google Flights or Skyscanner. Instead of booking separate one-way tickets, a multi-city option often offers a discounted price for a long-haul flight and regional flights combined.
- Tip: When booking round-trip flights, ensure that your return dates are flexible in case of cheaper alternatives that become available later.
6. Use Airline Miles and Loyalty Programs
- Why it works: If you frequently travel or make purchases with a travel rewards credit card, you can accumulate miles that can be redeemed for discounted or even free flights.
- How to do it: Sign up for frequent flyer programs offered by major airlines. Use platforms like AwardWallet to track your miles. Additionally, consider applying for a travel credit card that earns points for everyday purchases, which can later be redeemed for flight discounts.
- Tip: Redeem your miles for flight upgrades or to reduce the cost of your ticket. Some airlines also allow you to combine miles with cash for discounts.
7. Take Advantage of Flash Sales and Promotions
- Why it works: Airlines occasionally offer limited-time flash sales or promotions that offer significant discounts, especially on international routes.
- How to do it: Follow airlines on social media platforms or sign up for their newsletters to be the first to know about flash sales. Websites like Secret Flying and Scott’s Cheap Flights specialize in finding and sharing these limited-time deals.
- Tip: Be ready to act fast. Flash sales often have limited availability and are time-sensitive, so if you spot a great deal, book it quickly.
8. Use Budget Airlines for Regional Travel
- Why it works: Budget airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet, AirAsia, and Jetstar often offer very cheap tickets for short-haul flights within specific regions, especially Europe, Southeast Asia, and the US.
- How to do it: If you’re traveling within a region, consider booking flights with budget carriers for short distances. Many of these airlines provide affordable connections that can help reduce the overall cost of your global trip.
- Tip: Keep in mind that budget airlines often charge extra for things like checked baggage, seat selection, and onboard food. Be sure to account for these additional costs when comparing with full-service airlines.
9. Consider Using an RTW (Round-the-World) Ticket
- Why it works: RTW tickets can often provide a cost-effective way to travel to multiple continents with a single ticket, especially when purchased through an airline alliance.
- How to do it: Major airline alliances such as Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam offer RTW tickets, which can allow you to visit a set number of destinations on a single itinerary at a discounted price. These tickets are often cheaper than booking each leg of your trip separately.
- Tip: Make sure to follow the rules for RTW tickets, such as traveling in one direction (e.g., east to west), and use an RTW expert or travel agent to help you plan and book your trip.
10. Book Tickets During Sales Seasons
- Why it works: Many airlines hold annual sales or offer seasonal discounts on specific routes.
- How to do it: Keep an eye out for sales during the off-season or around holidays like Black Friday or New Year. For example, airlines often have major sales in January, after the holiday rush, or around back-to-school time.
- Tip: Airlines like Delta, American Airlines, and United often offer seasonal sales, so it’s worth keeping track of these windows to score discounted flights.
11. Check Out Hidden City Ticketing
- Why it works: Hidden city ticketing involves booking a flight with a layover at your actual destination and skipping the final leg of the flight. This can sometimes result in cheaper fares.
- How to do it: Use platforms like Skiplagged to search for hidden city tickets. However, be cautious: while this can save money, it may come with restrictions, such as not being able to check baggage, and some airlines discourage this practice.
- Tip: Hidden city ticketing works best for one-way flights, and you should not book return flights in this manner.
12. Search for “Error Fares”
- Why it works: Error fares are mistakes made by airlines or booking systems, where flights are mistakenly listed at significantly lower prices.
- How to do it: Websites like Secret Flying, Airfarewatchdog, and The Flight Deal track error fares and alert travelers to these rare, discounted flights.
- Tip: Error fares can disappear quickly, so be ready to book when you spot one.
13. Consider Alternative Airports
- Why it works: Larger cities often have multiple airports, and flying into or out of a smaller, less popular airport can save money.
- How to do it: For example, in New York, you could fly into Newark or JFK; in London, you could choose from Heathrow, Gatwick, or Stansted. Use Google Flights or Skyscanner to search for multiple nearby airports and compare their prices.
- Tip: Check how far the alternative airports are from the city center to make sure the cost savings on the flight are not offset by higher transportation costs.