It’s that time of year where we start thinking about holidays for the upcoming 11 months -where would we like to go this year, what would we like to see, what time of year, how much will it cost and all that jazz. But how do you get the cheapest flight deals?
Search In Secret (Incognito/Private Mode or Delete Your Cookies)
Holiday searches (flights & hotels) are often based on the cookies in your browser, meaning if a flight route or hotel is searched a number of times, for example if you’re still deciding on a destination, you’ll probably see a flight increase. To beat this, always search for flights in incognito or private browsing mode.
Use Google Flights, Airfare Watchdog and Kiwi
Some travel search engines are better than otherd. We do love google flights to compare for flight dates, Kiwi.com to find the cheapest routes that are cheaper than booking with just 1 airline and Airfare Watchdog for finding the those pesky little error flights before the flight companies realise they are listed in error then take them down.
Fly on a Tuesday
Evidence (and our experience) shows that Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly out on. Yes, it makes sense because it’s a weekday, and weekends (when the majority of people are off work therefore in a more flexible position to fly) tend be slightly pricier. Prices are cheaper when no-one wants to fly, which is why early morning and late evening flights are great if you’re wanting to keep the costs down. However, if you’re ever in doubt when booking a flight on a comparison website such as sky scanner or Google flights, instead of entering a date, select “Whole Month”, to browse all dates to see which airfares are at their cheapest. This requires you to be flexible with your travel dates and times
Use Secondary Airports
In larger cities there tends to be a secondary airport, this is an airport which probably isn’t host to a lot of major airlines, or international flights but they are often cheaper to fly in and out to. One thing to look out for is the distance that it takes to travel from a secondary airport to your final destination . If it takes longer or is more costly to get from the airport into a city centre etc., weigh up the costs and think is it worthwhile to fly to a main airport?
Use Frequent Flyer Programs and Points
Frequent Flyer programs are god sends. But there is a massive myth attached with them that you have to be boujee and fly first class in order to benefit from them. Wrong. It’s worth having a look at those are linked to spending i.e. where you spend £1 and receive 4 points – the British Airways Avios program have a credit card in this format. Airline rewards card let you collect points/miles every time you purchase a ticket with that airline and over time, you can redeem points across a variety of flights.
Book connecting flights yourself for less
More often than not when you’re booking long haul flights through a search engine it will be broken down into multiple flights. Book these flights separately on your own and don’t follow through with the search engine or website. More often than not these just show the routes coming from a single airline, whereas if you mix and match airlines in order to find the cheapest price it can make a huge difference.
You can even book your own multi-day layovers, meaning you get to see 2 destinations for the price of 1. Bargain.
Take Advantage Of Student Discounts
There are many. If you are a student (or under 26), there are many, many discounts available to you. You can usually find prices 20-30% off the standard fare. Travel agencies like STA Travel or Flight Centre can help find you a cheaper ticket.
Fly Me Anywhere
Got holiday time but no place in mind? If you want to find the cheapest possible country to fly to, FlyMeAnywhere.com tells you where is cheap in order from lowest to highest price.
Book In Advance
Flight tickets are one of those expenses where it is not cheaper to wait until last minute to book a ticket (plus who needs that stress), your biggest savings come from booking far ahead when you can. The best time to book is around 6 – 8 weeks prior to your departure.
Pay In Another Currency
If your payment card is free from foreign-transaction fee, consider a rate may be cheaper if paid in another currency. By default, you will pay in the currency you are departing from, however it can often be cheaper in a country where the currency is weaker.
Jacks Flight Club
Jacks flight club does the hard work for you. Set up by Jack (obviously), this scans all the internet to find the cheapest flights for you, with deals such as £30 return from mainland Europe or £299 from the UK to Cuba (return) Jacks flight club do not receive referral money from any of the airlines they link to. However you can upgrade your membership from the free one (where you get 2/3 emails per week with flight deals) to premium to receive many more flight deals
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