And in this day and age, booking directly with the airline is more important than ever. So do the mental math and make sure those savings are worth it.
The U.S. government has a federal law that requires airlines to provide a full, 100% refund for any flight that touches U.S. soil if you cancel within 24 hours of booking. It doesn't matter if you're flying a U.S. carrier like American or Delta or a foreign airline like Lufthansa or Copa: If your flight departs from or arrives in the U.S., you're covered.
U.S. regulations require airlines to offer either a 24-hour refund policy or the option to lock or hold a flight at the current price – but not necessarily both.
It may not work last-minute: Airlines are only required to offer a free cancellation window for flights booked at least seven days before departure.
Some of the major online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia honor the 24-hour rule, but many smaller sites do not.
Put it all together, and you can use the 24-hour rule to book an insanely cheap flight the moment you find it. After that, do the legwork to make sure you can get the vacation time or your favorite travel buddy can come with. Not going to work out? Just cancel within 24 hours of booking and get your money back.
We like to focus on finding cheap flights through deals on the major, full-service carriers. These are the big airlines with names you know like Delta, American, and United or big foreign carriers like Lufthansa, SWISS, Japan Airlines, and Emirates.
But there's no question that budget airlines have their place for travelers looking to save. Whether you're flying within the U.S. or down to the Caribbean, criss-crossing your way through Europe, or heading all the way over to Asia, there are a ton of low-cost carriers (or even ultra-low cost carriers) that pride themselves on offering low fares.
But be warned: These cheap fares can be a mirage. These airlines survive by nickel and diming passengers for everything imaginable, with high fees to check a bag, bring a carry-on, pick a seat, and buy food onboard. Some of these airlines even charge an extra fee for printing purchasing tickets online – a fee you can avoid by buying your tickets from the airport.
So if you're content traveling with just a backpack, you can often come out way ahead on these fares. But for anything else, you'll want to do the math and make sure you're actually saving once you've added up all those “extra” costs that may come free with a spendier ticket.
Not seeing cheap deals from your airport? Think you're stuck paying $1,000-plus to fly to Europe or Asia? Think again.
Positioning flights can be a game changer to save hundreds on international travel. These are short domestic flights from your hometown airport to a second hub in order to hop on a cheaper fare. You can score huge savings by booking an international flight from major airports like Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Boston (BOS), New York City (JFK), or Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), then book your positioning flight to get there.
If you've got international travel on the brain, broaden your search to some bigger airports that are relatively cheap to fly (or drive) to. Just be sure to give yourself enough time between these flights in case things go wrong. And consider packing in a carry-on bag to simplify your connections.
We know points and miles can be intimidating at first. We've been there. But trust us, it's worth the effort to save even more on flights. The good news is that there are a few points and miles programs that are perfect for getting started. If you're looking to dip your toes into points and miles, we've got a few favorites.
This is our top card for beginners – and for good reason. Chase points are extremely valuable and easy-to-use, as you can book flights straight through the Chase travel portal (it looks just like searching with Expedia!) with points. Find flights for $400? Make it free using just 32,000 Chase points from your Preferred Card.
You can currently earn a 60,000-point bonus after spending $4,000 within the first three months of card membership. And there are some amazing ways to put those Chase points to use.
There's a new travel card on the scene, and it might just be the best we've seen in years.
Launched last year, Capital One launched The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card – a souped-up version of the ever-popular Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card that’s chock full of extra benefits. That includes access to Capital One Lounges and Priority Pass lounges, a $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, great travel and rental car insurance protection, and more. The annual fee clocks in at $395 a year, but the benefits can easily outweigh that. It’s the reason why we think the Venture X annual fee shouldn’t scare you off.
Here’s the best part: You can currently earn 75,000 Venture Miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Considering you earn at least 2x for every dollar you spend on the Venture X Card, you’ll earn a total of at least 83,000 Venture Miles.
Cheap FlightsIf you're ready to learn more, read our guide to getting started with credit cards, points, and miles. From there, check out our Points Principles series, where we tackle hot travel rewards topics and reader questions.
That's it. That's all it takes to find cheap airfare and start flying more for less. There's no magic in how to buy airline tickets, or magic day or time to book cheap flights. If you're really set on finding cheaper airfare, it all comes down to using the right tools and, more importantly, having the right mindset.
Use these tips and tricks to rethink the way you book flights, and save hundreds on your next trip. If you do, you'll discover a whole new world of discount flights – and that finding cheaper flights isn't rocket science.
Choosing to fly during the week is generally cheaper than at weekends. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are good for bargains (they're not usually popular days of the week to travel).
A lot of airline websites have made it easier to spot the cheap days to fly. Look out for 'calendar view' booking systems that let you view prices across the whole week you're searching for.
Comparison site Skyscanner has made this function even better by presenting flight prices in a handy graph. With it, you can see clearly which days are the cheapest to fly!
Also, think carefully about the time of your flight. It might be cheaper to go for a 6am flight, but work out whether you'd be able to get to the airport in time. Public transport might not be running and the chances of you getting a lift are slim.
Also, think carefully about the time of your flight. It might be cheaper to go for a 6am flight, but work out whether you'd be able to get to the airport in time. Public transport might not be running and the chances of you getting a lift are slim.
Remember that peak season in the UK won't necessarily be peak season elsewhere in the world. Prices vary depending on where you're flying to.
You'll see a list of all the flights leaving from your chosen airport on that date, in order of cheapest to most pricey.
This is a great option if you can't be flexible with dates, but you're up for trying somewhere totally different.
Don't be turned off by places you've never considered before. Do a bit of reading online and you might find it has all the sun, sea, sand and everything else you're looking for.
Skyscanner lets you filter by flights with lower CO2 emissions. This is worth doing, along with offsetting the emissions of your flight to reduce your carbon footprint.
As with virtually everything you purchase, shopping around and doing your research is the best way to find great deals.
The good news is there are loads of sites that make it quicker and easier to compare the prices of flights.
Try using sites such as Expedia to look for a good deal on a bundle (flights and a hotel, for example). Do this before checking airline websites to see if it works out cheaper to book separately.
Momondo provides a graph that clearly indicates the cheapest days to fly around the dates you've searched for. You can also alter the search to focus on the quickest route if that's more of a priority to you.
You can sign up for an airline rewards card that earns points with a particular airline, or a more general travel rewards card that lets you redeem points across a variety of airlines. As a beginner card, we recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. You can earn up to 60,000 in bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months after your account opening. That's worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards, and more than enough for an international flight. And since it includes trip cancelation insurance, car rental collision damage waiver, lost luggage insurance, and no foreign transaction fees, it's the perfect all-rounder travel credit card. You can compare this card with other top credit cards.
$50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x points for purchases on Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on dining, and 2x points on all other travel purchases.
Points are worth 25% more on airfare, hotels, car rentals, and cruises when booking through Chase Ultimate Rewards (e.g. 60,000 points worth $750 toward travel)
Do you have your own business? Then consider the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card instead, where you can earn a whopping 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 in the first 3 months from the account opening. That's worth $1250 through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You'll also earn 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in select business purchase categories per year, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Learn how to apply.
We recommend using your card for everyday purchases, and to treat it like cash, using only the money you have in the bank, and paying your balance off each month. That way, you won't be charged interest, and you'll effectively get your points for free!
For more tips on how to master points travel, check out our guide How to Get Free Flights with Travel Credit Cards and Points for everything you need to get started.
Budget airlines offer significantly cheaper tickets than their full-service counterparts. It should be obvious, but this comes with compromises such as less leg room and no “free” food/drink on-board (which by the way, is normally covered in your higher-priced ticket with full-service airlines).
If you are considering flying budget, which in our opinion is a great way to save, I'd highly recommend reading our guide on 7 must-know facts about budget airlines.
Below is a comprehensive list of budget airlines around the globe. Red indicates true budget airlines while blue implies the cheapest companies available where budget airlines don't exist or aren't plentiful.
Ensure you've booked & paid for your luggage allowance. Adhere to restrictions on weight, height, and # of bags allowed. Some airlines (e.g. Ryanair) will charge hefty fee if you're over. Remember, paying only for the exact luggage space/weight you need is how budget airlines keep their prices lower than traditional airlines!
Read the fine print. The best example is that Ryanair WILL CHARGE AN AIRPORT CHECK-IN Fee €/£55 if you do not check-in online in advance and print your boarding pass, or use their mobile boarding pass. A warning of this fee is clearly stated in all capital letters in the first sentence of your e-confirmation. In a nutshell, always read and follow instructions!
Remember, if you want to book the cheapest flight possible (not service-of-the-year-award-winner), be adaptable, do your research, and know the budget airline's requirements & restrictions.
Southwest (consider their credit card with Companion Pass – every time you fly, your friend flies too – and 60,000 bonus points after hitting the minimum spend of $3,000 in the first 3 months)
If you're heading to any of these parts of the globe, start stalking these airlines. Use Twitter, Facebook or regularly check budget airline webpages to keep you in touch with specials before they sell out. Air Asia, Jetstar, Tiger Air and Ryanair are especially good at having regular deals.
Southwest Rapid RewardsMany of these budget airlines have their own airline rewards credit cards, and most of them offer a major signup points bonus. For example, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card from Chase offers Companion Pass (every time you fly, your friend flies too) and 60,000 bonus points after hitting the minimum spend of $3,000 in the first 3 months. However, a general travel rewards credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the best option for most people, as you have the flexibility to redeem your points towards a wide variety of airlines and hotels. You'll receive 60,000 bonus points worth $750 through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months of your account opening, and the card features no foreign transaction fees. Compare this card to other travel cards here.
On a side note, Wikipedia has a more detailed, comprehensive listing of low-cost airlines down to specific countries here, though what they consider “low-cost” is debatable. Still, if you're going to a specific country, it's worth checking so you know all your options.
Airlines sometimes make mistakes when posting their fares, leading to seriously discounted flights. This can happen for various reasons – currency conversion mishaps, technical glitches, or human error. If you're in the know-how on where to find airline error fares, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars on a ticket.
One of the most popular sites for tracking sale and error fares is Going (previously Scott's Cheap Flights), or if you're in the UK, check out Jack's Flight Club. The website has a dedicated team that scours the internet for flight deals every day. Just make an account and enter your departure airport, and you'll start getting flight deals sent to your inbox. There's also a premium plan for only $49/year (but you can get 20% off with the coupon code TNOMADS20), which gives you access to even more flight deals with even deeper discounts. Considering members save an average of $550 per ticket, this is well worth the cost!
Other sites like Airfarewatchdog, Kiwi.com Deals, and Secret Flying are great resources to stalk for finding mistake and sale pricing, as they conglomerate slashed ticket rates all in one spot. You can also read our detailed how-to guide which spells out how to find mistake fares on your own. One great approach is to search for flights for an entire month using Skyscanner (Tip #3 in this article). This will allow you to easily spot a significantly reduced fare against what's displayed that month, and has twice helped us stumble on error fares ourselves.
Cheap FlightsIf you're flying somewhere that involves a transfer, say from Canada to Australia which typically involves Canada to LA, then LA to Australia, consider that it may be cheaper to book these two legs separately on your own by adding another destination to your trip. It should go without saying that in doing this, you should not book tight layovers. I repeat: do not book layovers that are hours apart! This approach is for those who want to create an additional destination of a few days or more, before catching their next flight. The one exception is when booking with Kiwi.com, who offer their own guarantee on making connecting flights even when not with the same partner airlines.
First, do your research: are there budget airlines unique to the country you're flying out of and where you're headed to? Booking with a budget Australian airline (Jetstar) from Sydney to Honolulu, then an American one from Honolulu to Montreal saved us over $400 each when flying back from Australia to Canada earlier this year. This allowed us to create a thrifty five-day stopover in Hawaii on our way back, which was less exhausting and a lot cheaper! Kiwi.com and Skyscanner are both great search engine for revealing cheaper routes like this that involve multiple airlines.
You can even book your own multi-day layovers, essentially allowing you to see 2 destinations for the price of 1. Rather than spend a day sitting in the airport, you can spend multiple days exploring the city you are laying over in. By using Skyscanner's multi-city search feature, you can book a multi-day stopover for essentially the same price as if you had connected directly. To learn how to do this, read our guide on How to Get Free Extended Layovers & Hack One Trip Into Two.
Whether you know exactly where you're going or you just want to find to the cheapest possible country to fly into, Kiwi.com is a great tool to get the wanderlust going and save some big bucks. Hop on their site and enter your departure city, then select a date range to fly. Approximate costs then appear over hundreds of countries around the globe from your departure point, while the list of destinations is sorted by price, allowing you to see the most cost-effective place you can fly.
Where Kiwi.com really shines is the way in which it mixes and matches airlines in order to find the cheapest price. For example, maybe you want to go to Rome, Italy from Washington, USA. A typical flight search engine will only suggest routes coming from a single airline and its partners. An example search on Expedia shows the cheapest route as $631.20 USD via TAP Portugal.
Kiwi.com, on the other hand, will mix and match airlines (including budget airlines) in order to find you the very cheapest route. For long-haul flights especially, this can make a huge difference. The same search on Kiwi.com returns a route at $459.80 USD via JetBlue, Norwegian Air, and Vueling. That's a savings of $171.40 USD, and the travel time is even shorter!
Typically, booking a whole trip with different airlines would be risky. For example, let's say your first flight with JetBlue was delayed, and you missed your connecting flight with Norwegian Air. Because the airlines have no association with each other, Norwegian Air has no obligation to reschedule your flight for free, so you would just lose your money. Kiwi.com instead offers their own guarantee, which covers schedule changes, flight delays, and cancellations. As long as you contact Kiwi.com as soon as you're aware of the delay, they will provide you with an alternate connecting flight, or a full refund, at your discretion. We haven't used this guarantee ourselves, but it certainly sounds like an appealing way to take the risk out of a thrifty flight hack!
Typically, booking a whole trip with different airlines would be risky. For example, let's say your first flight with JetBlue was delayed, and you missed your connecting flight with Norwegian Air. Because the airlines have no association with each other, Norwegian Air has no obligation to reschedule your flight for free, so you would just lose your money. Kiwi.com instead offers their own guarantee, which covers schedule changes, flight delays, and cancellations. As long as you contact Kiwi.com as soon as you're aware of the delay, they will provide you with an alternate connecting flight, or a full refund, at your discretion. We haven't used this guarantee ourselves, but it certainly sounds like an appealing way to take the risk out of a thrifty flight hack!
Skiplagged ExampleTravellers long ago discovered a trick known now as “hidden city” flights. In a nutshell, sometimes a flight that connects in a city you want to go to is cheaper than flying directly to it. So instead, you book that cheap flight which connects in your desired city and hop off there, not taking the ongoing connection.
If your luggage is checked, it may go on to the final destination. For this reason, with hidden city ticketing it's best to have carry-on luggage only.
You may not be allowed off the plane (if the same plane is continuing onward to its final destination).
Airlines may detect that you did not take your connection. The consequences of this are hard to say, especially since people miss flights all the time.
There is now a web search engine which finds hidden city tickets for you. It's called Skiplagged and was even sued by United Airlines who were angry about this debatable hack. We have never used the hidden city approach, but I know several who have, and they've scored some thrifty savings. Use at your own risk!
As a general rule, you will get better value on your flight tickets if you buy more at the same time, but only if they are with the same airline, or airlines in the same alliance (e.g. Star Alliance). For example, flying a return ticket from New York City to London with United Airlines will be cheaper than 2 one-way tickets.
You can also take advantage of this on multi-city flights. For example, Virgin Atlantic has routes from New York City to London, London to Shanghai, and Shanghai to New York City. If you book all these at the same time using the multi-city search function on Skyscanner, you'll save some serious cash.
Another way to bulk buy flights for less is with round the world tickets and regional passes. These are special tickets offered by airline alliances that let you go around the world, a continent, or a country at a discounted rate. To learn how to book these, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to round the world tickets.
All this said, sometimes a few separately booked flights with budget airlines is still cheaper than what partner airlines can offer. The only way to be sure is to use a site like Skyscanner, punch in your destinations, search as multi-city or return vs multiple one-way bookings, and compare yourself.
