I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I’ve found cheap flights to fly around the world. Since this is something I wondered myself before leaving on my year-long trip around the world, I decided to create a post to show you the secrets I learned to find and book cheap flights! Now that I’m not traveling full-time, I use a lot of these tricks to ensure I get the cheapest flights possible.

When planning a trip, flights can be the most expensive part, but when you use some of the strategies below and use the right tools you can have plenty of money left over to actually have a wonderful vacation! Sometimes, it’s not that easy, and you actually have to work at it, while other times, great deals can just fall into your lap.

There are many different factors that are dependent on finding cheap flights, but here is the ultimate guide to finding hacks that can help you in the future. 

So, how do I find cheap flights? Here’s how it’s done!

While we’re at it, let’s be friends on Instagram and Tiktok!

How To Find Cheap Flights

How to Find Cheap Flights Like a Boss

1. Use Discounted Airline Sites

Using discounted airline sites or online travel agencies (OTAs) has been the number one way I find cheap airfare, but it’s important to keep in mind that using multiple sites and trying them all is a better option than only using one all the time. Also, note that some of these sites will mark up the cost even more than booking directly with the airline, so it’s smart to look at all of your options.
 
My go-to sites are Skyscanner, Google Flights, Momondo, and Kayak to find the best prices. I’ll then compare the prices I get on each of these sites to the others and to the airlines to see where I can get the best deal.
 
The best part about Skyscanner and Google Flights a few of the other sites (some are just implementing this) is that you can type in your departure location and then put your destination as “Anywhere or Everywhere”. This will then make the flight search engine look and see where the cheapest places to fly are on the travel dates you’ve specified.
 
Tip: None of these sites are perfect, so just beware that they all have their flaws.
 

2. Book your flight first, then your trip

If you’re really looking for cheap flights, then I recommend booking your flight first and then booking your trip. This way, you can look for the cheapest plane tickets and book a trip to a destination that has the best deals. If you can be flexible with your travel dates and don’t fly during peak travel times, you can usually find massive flight deals.
 
One great way to do this is to go to Google Flights travel website and search for your departure destination and look at the calendar to find the cheapest dates.
 

2. Use Credit Cards & Follow the Points and Miles Gurus

This is a big one. Many people are afraid of credit cards, but you really can use them to your advantage when finding flight deals if you’re smart about it. I literally put every single thing I ever buy on my credit card. As of now, I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and am slowly starting to figure out the points and miles business by following sites like The Points Guy and The Frugal Travel Guy to find the best deals with credit card points. Before the Chase Sapphire Reserve (my favorite card of all time) I used the Chase Sapphire Preferred which was a great entry-level to points card.
 
There is an entire industry dedicated to points and miles hacks and there are so many ways to use credit cards to your advantage.
 
A few things that work for me when using credit cards is purchasing regular day-to-day items on the credit card websites instead of the actual websites themselves. For example, if I want to purchase something from Target, I can log in to Target via the credit card website, and then I will get double the points shopping from the portal.
 
I also use my card for all travel-related expenses because I get more points per $1 spent on travel purchases and at restaurants.
 
Each credit card is different, but there are small ways you can gain airline points by just changing up the way you’re purchasing things you already buy each day. Credit cards have helped me get A LOT of free flights and points over the years. It will save you money in the long run, I promise! Like I said earlier, I put almost every purchase I can on my credit card and just pay it off immediately.

3. Keep Your Searches Private

This may sound like a weird one, but if you can keep your searches private when you’re looking on all of these discounted flight sites it might be a good idea.
 
I don’t think this happens all the time, but the sites can track what you’ve searched for and raise their prices. Just like your search engines know what ads to serve to you, the flight search engines airlines are tracking what your computer searches for. Then they can raise the price of that particular destination if you keep coming back for the same thing.
 
Make it a habit to search for flights in an incognito window just to be safe!

4. Set Up Alerts and Flight Hacker Emails

I LOVE setting up flight alerts and signing up for flight hacker emails. This has been the source of some of the best flight deals I’ve ever gotten. I first will recommend signing up for Secret Flying’s daily email because they find airline errors and mistake fares and send them out as soon as they find them. Going, formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights is another great email to sign up for to get deals to your inbox. I also pay for the Thrifty Traveler deals because they are so good, you can put in your home airport, and they have more long-haul flights included.
 
For each of these, you can pick your departure location and then get those locations sent to your inbox. Here are some other great sites to keep an eye on and set up alerts with Airfarewatchdog, The Flight Deal, Holiday Pirates to get cheap airline tickets.
 
Setting up fare alerts is also a great way to get notified on specific flights you may want to take. This is especially great if you know exactly the dates you want to leave. I recommend using Kayak or Google Flights, and you’ll get a notification when your airfare drops.
 
Depending on where you live, you might also want to look up if any local influencers have set up flight deal alerts from your hometown. I live in Boise, Idaho and we have an account Boise Flight Deals that shares the best flights from our home airport! You might have that too depending on where you live.

5. Fly Into Larger Airports

This tip is hit or miss, but if you want to fly the cheapest way possible then you’ll usually want to fly in or out of a larger airport. Smaller airports always cost more money because the smaller flights have to connect to them.

So, when booking flights—if you can—try booking into the larger hubs and taking some sort of ground transportation or car rental to your destination. Sometimes taking ground transfers/renting a car can actually cost more though, so make sure it costs less than just taking that extra flight.

 

6. Be Flexible

This is the key to getting the cheapest price on your flights possible. If you’re flexible on dates, locations, and times then you’re good to go. I realize most people don’t have this much flexibility in their schedules. However, just know if your destination or departure location is flexible and you can leave on a random day during the week instead of a Friday night, your flight tickets will probably be cheaper!

7. Avoid the ‘best date to book travel’ myths

Back in the day, everyone used to share that you should book your flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Airlines never would confirm the cheapest day to fly, but they would share studies showing that the best flight deals are on these three days. I’m not saying you can’t find them on other days (you definitely can). However, flight prices jump around so much and airlines are loading new fares every hour. 

8. Don’t Always Take Direct Flights

It helps to be flexible when flying, but this one is sometimes worthwhile. Let’s say you find a flight direct to NYC, but then you find a one-leg flight to Denver with an even cheaper flight to NYC than the direct.

If you can be flexible and have the time, flying a few legs per flight can sometimes be cheaper than just booking a direct flight. Sometimes this is worth it and sometimes it’s not. I found a direct flight from Berlin to Athens as my final destination but found out there was a stop in Kyiv (totally out of the way). It meant my flight was cheaper and I saved over $200 that way. If you have the time and think it’s worth it then try it!

how to find cheap flights

9. Look Last Minute

If you’re flexible, then it will help to look last minute for flights because airlines will want to fill up their aircraft and will typically lower their prices if they have a lot of spots left. I don’t recommend waiting until the last minute all the time, but if you ‘wanna getaway’ to a random spot, this is a good idea to use one of the searches to “anywhere” on the flight sites to find the cheapest deals.

That being said, these deals don’t always come around. If you do decide to wait until 24 hours before your flight, typically you won’t save any money. I recommend booking before the 3-week mark. After that flight prices raise quite a bit!

10. Book Ahead, But Not Too Far Ahead

Yes, I know I just said to look last minute, but booking ahead of time is also a good idea. I typically recommend looking 6-8 weeks before your flight OR 3-ish months if you’re booking in high season to a popular destination or going on an international flight.

11. Sign Up for Frequent Flyer Miles Programs

First of all, I recommend becoming an awards member on all airlines you fly on. While I was working full time and traveling a lot I would sign up for an airline’s frequent flyer program whenever I took my first flight with them.

I currently have a number for all of the airlines that I’ve flown in the USA and abroad and continuously make sure they are updated each time I take a domestic flight. If you don’t fly that much yet, that’s okay, just start signing up when you fly with those airlines. These mileage points add up and can usually be combined with credit card points to get you great deals!

12. Combine Credit Card Points with Frequent Flyer Miles

Did you know that many credit cards have partnerships with airlines? You can now rack up points on specific airlines and then transfer them over to your credit card to double your points! I recommend doing some research on what airlines your credit card partners with because this is a great way to get the most out of your miles!

13. Fly Budget Airlines

There are tons of budget airlines and low-cost carriers out there that offer fewer “perks” and are typically much cheaper. For example, Allegiant Airlines will typically only fly on specific days, but their prices are much lower than other airlines. Southwest is another budget airline and has great options if you “wanna get away”.

Just know that some of these budget airlines will try to nickel and dime you. This is just how these budget airlines survive. By charging you to bring a carry-on bag, charging you to pick a seat, not serving food onboard, or charging you to print the ticket all can affect the price. It will be a good idea to compare the price with a regular airline before you hit book to see if the risk is worth the reward.

Some common budget airlines in the U.S.

14. Use the 24-hour airline rule

Thanks to the government’s 24-hour cancellation rule, you can now search for the cheapest flights, book them, and then get a full 100% refund for most flights coming and going to the USA if you cancel within 24 hours of booking. If the flight departs or arrives in the USA, you’ll be covered. There are a few caveats so be sure to read up on this before going for it. However, this is a great way to jump on a deal and then figure out travel logistics after you’ve gotten the deal. If it doesn’t work out, you can cancel within 24 hours.

Try Booking a Flight Now on Skyscanner!

 

I know there are a lot of you out there with more great flight hacking tips! What did I miss? Any other great advice?

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How to Find Cheap Flights

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