Tips and Tricks on How to Find Cheap Flights to Anywhere

Saving money when traveling is a topic of great interest. One of the major expenses we incur is with airfare. This market is highly volatile and full of traps. To save money, you need to know how to navigate this subject. But how to find cheap flights to anywhere?

There are several ways to find cheap flights online, but not everything you see really works, and not every site is reliable. The best way to find cheap flights is by knowing tricks and tips on how, when, and where to look for airfares from someone who truly understands the subject.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from traveling extensively and staying informed about the subject, it’s that there’s no miracle to finding cheap flights, but rather a lot of strategy and research.

So, I’ve gathered all my strategies from years of traveling the world to share with you the best tips and tricks for finding cheap flights. Check it out!

1. Monitor the prices

First and foremost, I need to emphasize that the airfare market is quite volatile, as I mentioned. This means that flight prices are constantly changing, and that’s why my first tip is about monitoring.

Airlines usually start selling tickets a year in advance, and as demand increases, prices go up, while flights with low demand have their ticket prices reduced.

It’s all a game of supply and demand. Additionally, the fares practiced by the competition also influence this process.

So, if you don’t know how the demand and supply for a destination fluctuate, the best way to find cheap airfares is to start monitoring prices long before your trip. This way, you’ll know the initially quoted price and be alert for when companies adjust the price. If the price drops, buy the ticket. But if it goes up, wait to see if it will drop again.

Monitoring flights is not as difficult nowadays thanks to various options on search sites that allow the use of alerts. Some examples are:

Google Flights’ Track Prices Tool

Expedia’s Price Tracking Tool

Skyscanner’s Get Price Alerts Tool

2. Travel in the off-season

This tip seems obvious but is very important. Unfortunately, it may not be a feasible reality for everyone, considering that many people take vacations only during the high season when many others are also on vacation.

Therefore, if you have the privilege of choosing when to travel, take this advice and seize the opportunity to travel in the off-season.

The off-season is a period of low tourist activity, so both airfares and hotels are usually cheaper. It varys depending on the tourist attractions of the destination,.

So, do your research to find out what is the off-season at the place you are going to. Google Flights has an interesting feature to help you. On the Explore tab you can choose the destination and see when is the best time to visit.

3. Be flexible with dates

If it’s impossible for you to travel in the off-season, the tip you can apply (but which is also good for those traveling in the off-season) to find cheap flights is to be flexible with dates.

If possible, don’t set departure and return dates without checking ticket prices first. They can vary greatly from one day to another.

Generally, especially during the high season and holidays, flights departing on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are more expensive. Therefore, it’s recommended to buy flights departing from Monday to Thursday to save money.

Most flight search sites make it easy for you to find the cheapest days when you do a search. Choose a date and also check earlier and later dates to select the best fare.

4. Don’t buy last-minute tickets

Remember when I mentioned that airlines adjust ticket prices according to demand and supply? Well, continuing that conversation, about two weeks before the flight, when the plane’s occupancy is at medium or high levels, companies further increase fares to maximize revenue and avoid losses.

So, please, if you want to find cheap flights, don’t leave it until the last minute!

I’m not saying that a flash promotion can’t suddenly appearing, of course, but that’s not common. The most recommended way to save money is to prepare in advance and do what I mentioned at the beginning, which is monitoring prices well in advance, up to a year.

This way, you can compare prices and buy when they drop. As I mentioned, the tendency is that last-minute, flight ticket prices will increase, A LOT!

5. Know the best time to buy airline tickets

Despite the craziness that can be airfare pricing, varying considerably from one day to another or from one hour to another, there is a general rule for when prices tend to drop.

For domestic travel, between 30 to 60 days before is when you find the best prices for airline tickets.

For international flights, I would say a maximum of 3 months before, but more specifically between 90 to 120 days before the flight date.

Another thing: I’ve seen many people argue that buying a ticket on a certain day of the week or at dawn is cheaper, but it’s not proven to work.

You can try and be lucky to find a promotion, but according to research conducted by reputable companies, such as Forbes, it doesn’t influence anything and doesn’t increase your chances of finding cheap flights.

So, no need to worry. Monitor and buy in advance based on these periods I mentioned, and you’re already at an advantage! But keep reading because there are many more tips!

6. Buy round-trip flights together

Another tip is that buying round-trip flights and on the same airline makes the tickets cheaper than buying them separately.

This happens because, for airlines, offering the round-trip combo is also beneficial as it facilitates flight management and planning. They protect themselves against flight contingencies, covering the costs of the lack of passengers on the return leg.

So, if you’re going to travel and return to the same place, buy round-trip flights on the same airline. Savings are guaranteed!

7. Follow communications from major airlines, travel agencies, and search engines

Airfare prices not only fluctuate a lot, but flash deals can arise at any time. And how do you find out about these deals?

Well, you’ll need to follow the communications from major airlines, travel agencies, and travel search engines either by email, subscribing to their newsletters, or through social media.

If your passion is traveling, take a moment to follow the major airlines you know of and travel sites like Expedia, Skyscanner, and Kayak.

8. Join a Frequent Flyer Program

Participating in a frequent flyer program is an excellent option for frequent travelers to earn miles and pay less for airline tickets.

Many credit cards offer loyalty programs with travel benefits. Check with your bank to see if you could joining one or if you already have points to convert into mileage for travelling.

It’s also possible to participate directly in airline loyalty programs. But this option is more suitable for those who are truly committed to miles since you need to travel a lot and know how to strategically benefit from the program.

In any case, participating in a frequent flyer program offers many advantages beyond paying much less for airfare. These programs usually also provide access to VIP lounges, priority boarding, hotel discounts, and more depending on the conditions and offers of each program.

9. Compare prices on various sites

Finally, my last tip is: compare prices on various sites and choose to purchase your ticket on reliable sites to avoid falling into traps.

Compare prices on multiple sites, and if you see a price that seems way off, be suspicious.

As I mentioned initially, this market is quite crazy, and there are several scammers on the internet offering prices that seem incredible but are intended to deceive you.

Be very cautious when using search engines! They only scour the internet to find the best prices, but there’s no guarantee that they will only redirect you to reliable sites.

I’ve fallen into traps, and many others have too. So, pay attention and only purchase your ticket from reliable agencies or directly from the airline.

Use search engines like Google Flights, for example, to discover dates with the cheapest flights, explore destinations with the best prices on different dates, see which airlines are offering flights to your destination. But also open the websites of the airlines themselves and perform the search there, on each of them, to compare.

Remember that sometimes you gain more by buying a slightly more expensive ticket with a reliable company, a faster route, and a better schedule, instead of making, as they say, a ‘penny-wise, pound-foolish’ choice and ending up in a bad situation.

Have a great trip!

So, did you like the tips and tricks on how to find cheap flights to anywhere? I know it involves a lot of dedication and research, but it’s definitely worth it! I hope this post helps you find cheap flights for your next trip!

Do you have more strategies? Share them with us in the comments!