Let’s start with some very good news – there are plenty of tried and tested methods to save you money on airfare, with bigger savings to be found at specific time slots and dates. Patience is required as the research process can be time consuming as you scour the internet to source the best deals around. If you are flexible on both dates and destination, then big savings are in store. Follow our suggested hacks to find the cheapest flights online!
Table of Contents
5 Search Hacks To Find The Cheapest Flights Online
1. Compare and find the cheapest flights available
There’s a lot of behind the scenes action between OTAs (online travel agents), such as Skyscanner and Opodo, and the airline itself. OTAs act as a middle man ‘shopfront,’ often selling flights cheaper than the airline in a move as a ‘loss leader’ or through making extra money by providing other services as insurance, car, hotels etc. OTAs often have strong bargaining power with airlines as they have the potential to reach a wider base of customers.
From personal experience, Skyscanner (Read our Skyscanner review) is my favorite booking system given its functionality and design, but it’s also worth exploring other OTAs for price comparisons including:
- Myflightsearch
- Opodo
- Momondo
- Google flights
- Cheapoair
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2. Use Skiplagged
Skiplagged acts as a booking system for securing tickets like any regular OTA, but offers enhanced benefits too. According to the company: “Our goal is to empower consumers to use their buying power however they please. We exist to just find the best prices for you”.
As an example, the above illustrates how you can save $120 by booking a flight to Dallas with a stopover in Orlando. The system works by ‘exposing loopholes’ in flight bookings with a fast working algorithm, showing flights airlines would prefer remain unseen by consumers, usually with a stopover, thereby saving you money. Through this method of booking, travelers can find a cheaper flight with a stopover in their destination of choice, and not use the second flight.
It’s not recommended to use this method every time, but for specific flights, it’s an effective way of saving on the ticket cost.
3. Market place for re-selling of non-refundable tickets
Let’s say you have a non-refundable air-ticket for which you paid over $500 – and you can’t use the ticket – what are you options? Thanks to websites such as transfertravel.com and sparefare.net, you can re-sell your ticket. The step by step process is also very simple through both companies easy to follow guidelines. If the ticket sells, you get your money back, minus a market place commission.
Here are some examples of cheap ticket options:
>> DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN RESELL YOUR OWN FLIGHTS AND HOLIDAYS? – CHECKOUT, SPAREFARE.NET
Usually the closer you are to the flight date, the ticket price increases, so from the perspective of the buyer, these marketplaces are a great option for finding the cheapest flights, especially last minute. The more flexible you are on dates and the destination, the more money you can save.
4. Flexibility on dates – Skyscanner Flights and Google Flights
As mentioned above, flexibility on travel times will help reduce the cost of flights. Due to the yield management system of the airline, they often raise the price when demand is high and offer more attractive prices when demand is low. Sometimes even a one day difference can save you over $500, as per the following examples from Google Flights and Skyscanner.
5. Incognito and mobile vs Google Chrome and desktop
When using Google Chrome, online movements are being tracked and you are exposed to Google ads and marketing. Internet privacy companies such as DuckDuckGo and Incognito have been known in some cases to help consumers source cheaper prices than Chrome. Having tried this myself, I found the same price on both. However, I also tried desktop vs mobile and found the price on the same flight to be cheaper on desktop.
Source: Opodo – Book your flights from the desktop
The bottom line? There are many ways to reduce the cost and save money on your next flight. With some research, time and our suggested hacks, you will be on your way to uncovering the best airfare deals on the internet.
21 Responses
Amazing tips on getting cheap flights. Thanks a lot for sharing this.
These are amazing flight hacks that can help frequent flyers like myself. I wish I bumped into your article earlier!
I love these flight hacks. I could save a ton of money using them.
I think skyscanner is more effective than google flights. Both platforms deliver well though.
I will be using these search hacks whenever I want to save while flying from now on. So glad I read this 🙂
I do not know if it really qualifies as cheap since rates to every country could be different. However, finding cheap flights is a must these days since most of us are not financially blessed.
I always compare all available airlines and flight times when I travel. Even if the travel is for business purposes, I see to it to get the cheapest flight possible.
These are great tools to get the cheapest flight to just about anywhere. Thank you for sharing this, now I don’t have to get a migraine by just planning a trip.
I always like to use search hacks when trying to get some very cheap flight. There have always come in handy so that I save some money.
Finding the cheapest flight may be difficult if you don’t know how to go about it…thanks for your write up..I could use some help from your tips to get cheaper flights..
The Google Flights and Skyscanner are very handy tools. It’s definitely important to compare and contrast deals before booking a flight. I love the option of reselling your ticket if you have to call a last minute audible. Thanks for the article!
This is great. I’m planning to travel in New Zealand this Christmas. I will use this tips. Thanks!
Informative post though I like Skyscanner but I now prefer to use Skiplagged for securing tickets because it offers enhanced benefits too. Since I will be given the opportunity to use my power without the interference.
I’m gonna give either a try whenever I want to take my next trip
This is just amazing! They definitely have one of the cheapest flight that I could ever have! Thank you very much for sharing this.
The best part is that I’ll get the cheapest flights saving upto $500. I definitely must try this and see for myself. Sound too good.
Skyscanner is a must have, especially for travellers who need to save a fortune on airfares.This is a great piece of information.
All I think about when planning to travel is to save money. This article is great.
This article is very helpful. It is really hard to find a cheap flight that is legit.