Finding a cheap flight is all about being flexible and getting creative. It may take some effort, but the deals are out there if you’re willing to look. Follow the tips above to get started, but don’t waste hours and hours hunting for a cheap flight. If you’re spending more than an hour booking a flight, you’re spending too much time.
Once you find a flight deal that you’re happy with, book right away, as airfares change by the minute. Remember that you have a 24-hour window to cancel in case you need to.
Use the tips above on how to get a cheap flight to get the ball rolling. Do that, and you’ll always get a great deal!
I start all my searches with Skyscanner because they search all major AND budget airlines, non-English websites, English websites, and everything in between. Even if you aren’t sure your plans, it’s best to start searching for flights today. People who wait to book are people who end up spending the most.
Airfare pricing is extremely complex, with algorithms changing fares minute by minute. It puts the average consumer at a significant disadvantage and far too often results in travelers overpaying for flights.
That's why I started Going. After I snagged the fare of a lifetime—$130 roundtrip to Milan—I wanted to help others explore the world for less and show them how to get cheap flights. Today, my team and I spend hundreds of hours every week searching for cheap flights, and when we find them, we let our members know. We also publish guides like this so that whether you book one of our deals or search for flights on your own, you never overpay again.
Be flexible with where and when to go. If you’ve picked out your destination, picked out your dates, and don’t have flexibility, 95% of what you can do to bring down the cost of airfare is already out the window. Flexibility is king. Plus, as we'll discuss below, once you get to Europe or Asia or wherever, it’s really easy to hop a budget flight to your final destination.
Sidenote: If you're looking to book the cheapest flights, be sure to search more than one date. (Clicking the calendar in Google Flights shows you cheap tickets for two months at a time.)
Our three favorite tools to search for flights are Google Flights, Priceline, and Momondo. There are also some more complex ones like the ITA Matrix, SkyScanner, and various plugins, but for most folks Google Flights, Priceline, and Momondo are plenty.
One of the reasons we love Google Flights so much is because it makes it really easy to see tons of options. First, you can input up to seven airports in the departure and arrival fields, so if you can fly from any airport on the East Coast to any airport in Ireland, voila, just put in the corresponding airport codes and you can see the route that'll be cheapest.
Just put in your departure airport and leave the destination open (or select a region, country, or state like Europe or Asia or Bali or Florida) and a map will populate with all your options. You can search select dates or browse weekend, one-week, or two-week trips in the next six months.
Another handy feature of Google Flights is that it's easy to see if moving your dates can lower the price. When you select your dates, Google Flights will show you two months worth of dates and highlight which ones are the cheapest days to fly based on the length of your trip. Often times shifting the dates by even a day or switching from a six-day trip to seven days can cut the price in half.
What are the cheapest days to travel? In general Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday are the cheapest days to travel. Friday and Sunday are usually the most expensive days. These aren't always the cheapest days to book—cheap flights can pop up anytime!
If you want to get the cheapest flights possible, focus on getting the cheapest fares across the ocean, even if it’s not from your home airport or to your ultimate destination.
Two itineraries are frequently cheaper than one. Plus you can stay and explore another city for as long or short as you like.
Here's a personal example: I used to live in Washington DC, but the best ticket I ever purchased was the ticket I mention, above, a Mistake Fare from NYC to Milan for $130 roundtrip.
It was well worth the $20 bus ride up, and I even got to spend the weekend with friends in NYC. If I had insisted on flying to Milan from Washington DC (not NYC) the ticket would’ve been around $800, not the $150 I actually paid.
The next best fare I’ve gotten was from DC to Brussels for ~$250 roundtrip. So nice I bought it twice! Even though I didn’t have that much interest in Belgium, I knew once I was in Europe, I could easily find budget flights to other European countries.
For one trip I bought flights from Brussels to Norway (~$60 roundtrip) and for the other trip I bought flights from Brussels to Dublin (~$80 roundtrip). If I had insisted on flying from DC to Norway or Dublin (without stopping first in Brussels), I would have paid around $750 roundtrip, not the $310 and $330 I actually paid. And I wouldn’t have gotten a day in Brussels to boot! Rome2Rio makes it easy to check out local transport options between destinations.
Cheap FlightsLet’s say you and your partner want to fly from Seattle to Washington DC. At time of writing, the cheapest nonstop flight was $299 per ticket.
But a funny thing happens when you reduce the number of travelers from 2 to 1: the price on the exact same flight drops from $299 per ticket to $199.
This pricing anomaly sometimes occurs because whenever you’re booking multiple tickets, airlines want to put your entire group into a single fare bucket.
(A fare bucket is a fancy term that airlines use to denote not just which cabin you’re in, but also any privileges included with your ticket like whether it’s refundable or if it’s upgrade-eligible. The number of seats available in any given fare bucket isn’t a secret but it takes some digging to find; all we’re typically shown when we search for flights is the lowest ticket price.)
In the above example, Alaska Airlines almost certainly only had one ticket left in the cheapest fare bucket priced at $199. So if you searched for two tickets, the airline would skip over the single $199 ticket and instead only show you fares with at least two seats available, $299 in this case.
But by booking one ticket at a time, you can get the first one for $199 and the second one for $299, paying $498 total rather than the original $598.
Does this work every time? No. But anytime you’re traveling with a group, it’s worth checking if fares are cheaper by buying tickets individually. That’s especially true if you’re traveling with a larger group, because the more tickets you buy, the greater the chance there won’t be enough seats for you all in the cheapest available fare bucket.
Does this work every time? No. But anytime you’re traveling with a group, it’s worth checking if fares are cheaper by buying tickets individually. That’s especially true if you’re traveling with a larger group, because the more tickets you buy, the greater the chance there won’t be enough seats for you all in the cheapest available fare bucket.
If you’re able to successfully use this strategy, call the airline after you book and ask to have the multiple itineraries linked. That way, if there are any changes to your flight, the whole group will be able to stay together.
It will also vary a bit by the specific destination, especially around popular festivals. Fares to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day or to China for Chinese New Year aren’t cheap.
There's so much bad info out there about the best time to book a flight, with many people claiming it's Tuesdays at 1pm, or early on Sunday mornings. If I achieve one thing in my brief stint on Earth, it will be to convince travelers to stop believing this nonsense. It’s not true, it won’t help you get cheap flights, and if anything will likely result in you overpaying for your next trip.
The better strategy for snagging discounts on flights is to book within what I call the Goldilocks Windows.
Airfare doesn’t change weekly these days. It changes daily, hourly, sometimes even minute-ly. Neither I nor anyone else can tell you with certainty when (or where) next week’s cheapest fares will pop up.
These days, airfare is set by complex algorithms that account for hundreds of ever-shifting factors, from consumer demand to oil prices to competitor’s prices and beyond. One factor airlines no longer rely on: technological constraints that only allowed them to change fares once a week at a set time.
Though there’s no set time or date that’s always cheapest to book, there’s still a period when cheap fares are most likely to pop up. I call these Goldilocks Windows.
For domestic flights, the best time to book is normally 1 to 3 months before your travel dates. For international trips, it’s 2 to 8 months prior. If your trip is during a peak travel period (Christmas, summer, St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin) add a couple months to those windows. If you’re traveling during low season it’s more likely cheap fares will pop up closer to departure date, but prices tend to jump in the last month or two before departure, so you don’t want to cut it too close.
You also want to pay attention to times when you know airfare is actually going to go up. At that is at the 21-, 14-, and 7-day marks before departure. Most fares include an advance purchase requirement, which mandates that a particular fare bucket is only available if booked, say, 21 (or 14 or 7) days or more in advance of travel.
Sign up for Thrifty Traveler Flight Deals and you'll get some of the best international and domestic flight deals we find each day right to your inbox.
Once you sign up for alerts for cheap flights, consider upgrading to Thrifty Traveler Premium+ to get 90% more flight deals. Premium members get domestic and international deals, as well as award alerts to use points and miles plus business and first class deals tailored to your home airport so you only see the flight deals from your hometown.
We're not the only flight deal service out there (though we're a bit biased!) We recommend checking out other flight deal websites like The Flight Deal to keep your eyes peeled for awesome deals.
There are dozens of sites out there promising to help you find cheap flights. Ignore them all and start every search with Google Flights.
Google Flights is hands-down the best flight deal search engine out there: it's one of the main tools we use to find affordable flights deals every day! You should start each and every search for cheap airfare with Google Flights. It's packed with powerful features that other search engines simply don't have.
If you're new to using Google Flights, don't worry. We're happy to share what we know on how to get cheap airline tickets. And if you couldn't already tell, we are a little obsessed and have written about nearly every tool and feature it has to offer.
Not sure where you want to go? Use the Google Flights Explore feature to search for the cheapest destinations around the world
OTA stands for Online Travel Agency. Think KAYAK, Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz, and many others. Some of the most popular sites and smartphone apps out there for finding cheaper flights are OTAs.
These sites purchase fares from airlines and then sell them to travelers, sometimes at a mark-up … and sometimes even cheaper than you can get them directly from the airlines. And then there are even more popular platforms like Skyscanner and Momondo, which act as OTAs of OTAs. They aggregate the cheapest flight deals from tons of small online travel agencies.
Because of the way these sites operate, online travel agencies can save you money – and sometimes a lot of money. They're worth checking out, though we still recommend starting any search with Google Flights before you check with some of these sites to see if you can save even more.
And most importantly, these savings from third-party sites can come at a cost. There are tradeoffs to booking through an OTA. Chiefly, you're using a middleman to book your flights. If you book with Expedia then need to change or cancel your trip, you have to go through Expedia to do so – not the airline you're flying with. Some major sites may have the customer service to handle your request, but many smaller sites (with the biggest savings) do not.
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.
Cheap FlightsBut 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.
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.
If 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.
