I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I’ve found cheap flights to fly around the world for a year. Since this is something I wondered myself before leaving on my trip, I decided to create a post (and tutorial video) to show you the secrets I learned to find cheap flights like a boss! 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!
How To Find Cheap Flights

1. Use Discounted Airline Sites
2. Use Credit Cards & Follow the Points and Miles Gurus
3. Keep Your Searches Private
4. Set Up Alerts and Flight Hacker Emails
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. Book Your Flights on a Monday – Wednesday
Airlines won’t necessarily confirm this, but the best flight deals are hands down on these three days. I’m not saying you can’t find them on other days (you definitely can). However, in my experience, when you search for cheap flights, try it on these three days. I’ve done a few tests and flights typically will go up on Thursday and over the weekend.
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!

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 (like I did here) to find the cheapest deals.
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 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. So 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.
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?
READ NEXT:
How I Saved $35K to Travel the World
100 Things I Learned and Experienced from 1 Year of Travel
21 Awkward AF Things That Happen When You Get Back From Traveling Long-Term
10 Travel Tips to Help You Plan a Kickass Vacay
FAQ: How I Quit My Job to Travel for a Year9 Painless Ways to Make Friends While Traveling Solo
PIN IT:

Awesome tips! Especially love the info about using credit cards for daily purchases. I also buy everything possible with credit cards to rack up as many points as I can (but of course pay them off each month😉) My current card lets me use points for anything that’s coded as “travel” so it’s super flexible. Also, great to know about the booking timeframe window of under 3 months. Thanks so much for the great advice!
YES! It’s so smart to use credit cards. I wish I used them more often!
Nice article.
Great blog post Katie I will use these tips for my dubai trip next month book in advance well ahead,
Thanks for the useful information,
I have found many awesome travel deals from my local travel agency, many times they have some special deals that are not available online 😉