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|Updated on November,17,2024|

Are you struggling financially but still want to travel? Overwhelmed by questions like how to find cheap flights or where to look for the best travel deals? Don’t worry. I’m here to tell you that traveling on a budget is possible today, and it doesn’t take any special skills to score affordable tickets.

 

I’m always on the lookout for the best deals, and I make sure to maximize my credit card points to fly for free or at a fraction of the cost. Affordable flight booking tips, like the ones I’ve gathered here, can make all the difference. If you have a desire to travel, follow these helpful travel tips, and start planning your next adventure!

 

Here, I’ve created a list of 15 tips on how to find the best deals and cheap airfare so you can start traveling today!

How to Find Cheap Flights:15 Best Tips

1. Be Flexible With Your Dates and Time

The first and most important tip is you have to be flexible with the dates. If you’re wondering how to find cheap flights for international or domestic travel, flexibility can help you find better deals.

 

Flying on the weekend or during the holiday season will cost you much more than flying during the week. If it is a high season, a holiday, or from Friday to Sunday, avoid flying this time if possible.

 

For example, I fly a lot during a week, and a trip for 2 or 3 days round-trip can cost me up to $100 max in the USA. So something between $70-$100. Not bad, right?! But, if I flew over the weekend, the cost of the tickets was doubled or tripled.

 

If you’re looking to save on flights, consider booking early morning flights. Not many people want to wake up early for a flight, which means these tickets are often less popular and can be cheaper. I’ve found that flights before 8 a.m. are usually more affordable. Airlines sometimes lower prices for these times because fewer travelers are booking them. So, if you’re flexible with your schedule, it’s worth checking those early flight options for great savings!

 

Keep in mind that flying in a season is always super expensive, or if there are major festivals, concerts going on, etc. In this case, it is always better to fly off-season.

 

Believe me, the difference of only one day can change the situation completely and save you a lot of money.

 

Always try to be flexible and you will get the best deals out where possible.

2. Be Flexible With the Destinations

Looking for the best affordable flight booking tips? The best tip to find cheap tickets is just to look everywhere, especially if you do not know where you want to go. Skyscanner is the best site to do that. You simply need to specify the time frame you want to depart, like the exact days, or even better, just search for a whole month and use the “Everywhere” option to search for all tickets.

 

I love this option to search everywhere as sometimes I just do not know where I want to go and the search helps me a lot to make the right decision as it easily allows me to compare destinations and prices at the same time. This can also work best for spontaneous last-minute travel.

 

Sometimes you can find a good deal, but do not feel like you want to go to that place. But what if that vacation can become the best in your life? That is how it usually happens to me. All spontaneous things end up being good.

 

Check out this blog post on how to find cheap international flights.

3. Always Check Airlines Websites Directly

When I find a good deal with a third party, I try to check the airline’s website directly as well. How to find cheap flights for international or domestic travel is not just about comparison sites. Have you done that before? If not, you might be missing some good savings out there.

 

I noticed that some airlines offer better prices and better cancellations or change policies sometimes. So it never hurt to check the airline website directly to see if they will have better deals.

4. Book With The Right Agency

Some third-party companies might give you a good price for the ticket itself, but charge you a lot of extra fees. Sometimes those extra fees are not visible to you, and you only see them after you pay. A good example is Justfly, which charges the booking fee and does not show you that until the final price.

Also, take note that some of the fees are non-refundable. That is why it is very important to pick the right agency right away.

 

Affordable flight booking tips include checking the best sites to find cheap flights with flexible dates. I mostly use Skyscanner to find my flights, and I always book through that site. However, I also like to compare a few other platforms to make sure I’m getting the best deal. Other sites I check with are  Hopper, Expedia, Kiwi. Hopper has a good feature that sends you a notification if the price drops or gets higher for the destination or hotel you were searching for before.

5. Search Tickets With Layovers

Direct flights are usually more expensive than flights with layovers. Especially if you fly internationally. If you are flexible with your time, try to look for tickets with stopovers. It will save you money, and sometimes you can even see a new place while you have a long layover.

 

For example, I know if you are flying through Turkey, they usually have pretty long layovers, and if your layover is more than 6 hours, you can take a tour of the city which they offer for free. Or If you book tickets directly on Icelandair, you can select a free stopover for 1, 2, 3 days, or longer. Not bad either.

 

Also, check flying to nearby airports. I did it a few times and it was cheaper than flying to the main airports.  Getting from one airport to another can take some time (an hour or more), and you can miss your flight if the layover is short. So, If you decide to go that route, just make sure you have extra time. Using layovers as an opportunity can be a great way to add an extra adventure without the extra cost.

6. Buy Tickets Directly At the Airport

If you do not mind driving to the airport and waiting in line to buy tickets that way, just try it out. Buying tickets directly at the airport is a good idea if you do not want to pay extra fees. A good example is Spirit or Frontier where you can save around $23 or more per ticket.

 

The downside is that there are no guarantees that if you buy tickets directly with an agent, it will cost you less as it depends on the destination and type of ticket. But if you are lucky, you will get a lower ticket price as you won’t have to pay those extra fees we get charged when we buy online.

 

7. Signup For Newsletters

This method is not good for me as I usually do not plan in advance and can’t keep an eye on such emails, but if you like planning way ahead, this must be a very good option for you.

 

Ticket prices change every minute, you know that, right? And the main problem is that you can’t spend the whole day checking the websites over and over to see if the prices have changed already. That’s where the Hopper, Skyscanner or Googleflights price change alert can be useful.

 

So signing up for a newsletter can save you time and help you to buy the best ticket at a good price.

8. Buy Round Tickets as Two-Way Tickets Separately

I used this trick for my flights to Asia, which worked great. Because I booked one ticket from Chicago to Singapore and another from Bangkok to Chicago, it only cost me $700 with the same airline. Which was a perfect deal instead of searching for tickets from Chicago to Singapore to Bangkok and to Chicago that would cost me way more.

 

If you have multiple destinations and or a round-trip, check the option to buy them as separate one-way tickets, as it might be cheaper.

 

9. Use Your Credit Travel Cards

Using travel credit cards can offer excellent rewards, including points for flights, accommodations, or even free trips. I use mine to get discounts, which often makes my flights much cheaper, if not free.

• Leverage Sign-Up Bonuses: Many cards offer substantial bonuses (e.g., Chase Sapphire Reserve’s 60,000 points or Chase Sapphire Preferred), which can often cover flights or accommodations. Look for cards with the best bonuses based on your travel habits.
• Earn More Points on Travel: Cards like American Express Platinum offer 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or if you book with the Chase card on the Chase portal. This can significantly boost your rewards balance.
• Use Points for Upgrades or Extra Perks: Points can be used for things like upgrading to business class or gaining access to airport lounges. This can make your travel experience much more comfortable.
• Maximize Travel Benefits: Many travel credit cards include perks like travel insurance, lounge access, and primary rental car insurance, saving you money on trips.

For more detailed tips on how to use these cards effectively and see additional benefits, check out my in-depth guide on maximizing travel credit card rewards 6 Best Travel Credit Cards 2024

10. Buy Each Ticket Separately for Every Person

Affordable flight booking tips can also extend to booking tickets separately for each person. If you are flying with somebody, do not buy all the tickets together as you will end up paying more. Sometimes it cannot be very convenient as you might think you need to do all the work twice, but just compare prices, and you will see if it is worth it or not.

 

Seats together usually cost more in general if you look them up at the same time, so most likely if you buy tickets at the same time separately, you will get the next seat to each other anyway if it is available.

 

Also, if for some reason you bought one ticket, and you saw the available seat next to you, but after you tried to buy another ticket it was not available anymore, do not give up. Just use a different browser and try to search a few times. Sometimes it can change very quickly, like prices. Or just ask another person to buy the ticket at the same time. So you are both will make sure you got it right.

11. Use a VPN to Search for Tickets

You might have heard about this trick already or you might not. Sometimes you can get a good price by using a VPN in a country with lower incomes. For example, if you search for tickets from the USA to Russia, use the VPN, and instead of using your country, which is the USA, use Russia. So the search engine will think that you are located in Russia and can show you better prices. Note, that it will only work for some destinations, but not all.

 

12. Book Tickets With a Low-Cost Airlines Directly

Some of the low-cost airlines do not post their tickets on third-party sites, so you will never know if they offer the best prices until you go to their website directly. And not everybody knows what those airlines actually are.

 

Here is a list of low-cost airlines for your convenience. So you can save it and check every time in the future when you are looking for tickets.

 

The full list of low-cost airlines can be found here.

13. Travel With a Backpack or Buy Luggage Online to Save On the Ticket Price

It is not a surprise that paying for luggage can be very costly. Simple check-in luggage in the US costs between $25-$50 or even more. To avoid that extra charge, try to travel as light as possible with only your backpack, so you won’t have to check your luggage.

 

Or if you have to take bigger luggage, pay for it in advance online. If you skip that step, you will end up paying much more at the airport, which will be very sad.

 

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Tips for traveling cheap

14. Use Membership Discounted Price

Some third-party agencies offer promotional prices if you buy a prime membership with them. They usually have a 30-day free trial, so in any case, you do not lose money if you decide to cancel. You will get the promotional ticket value + won’t be charged a penny if you decide not to continue paying for Prime membership. Signing up for a free trial membership and access to exclusive deals might be a good idea. Sites like eDreams and ExploreTrip provide discounted prices through prime membership services, and you can cancel after the trial period without any charges.

15. Use Your Student Status As an Advantage

Some third-party websites offer student discounts. One of the good examples is StudentUniverse. For example, the price of a one-way ticket from Dublin to Chicago with a student discount costs $373, and for adults, it’s $513. Pretty good price, right?! In such moments I regret that I am not a student anymore. So, do not miss this chance to save if you are eligible.

 

Final Thoughts

Finding cheap flights is very possible if you can spend some time doing that. These 15 best tips on finding cheap flights can help you save a lot of money and travel more often.

 

I think traveling should be a part of everybody’s life as it is an amazing experience to see the world and learn the best of ourselves.

 

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