16 Proven Tricks to Help You Book a Cheaper Flight During Your Next Travel
Choosing a pocket-friendly flight is very simple, yet very few travelers take advantage of the ability to do so. Low airfares do exist. Unfortunately, most travelers end up paying premium amount all the time either because of ignorance. Moreover, they wait until the last minute and hence rush the process. Airline fares are so dynamic. What they charge at a particular time or day is entirely different from any other day. This is where a traveler needs to become smart. If you learn a few tricks about flights, then you might save some bucks.
Here are some of the ingenious tricks you can use to catch a cheaper flight:
1. Check the Fares Early. Do it Often
There is a big margin in the difference between flight charges on the best and the worst day. In fact, you could save more than $200 if you are smart enough. Keep in mind that if you purchase a flight within the same week of travel, mostly seven days, the charges are higher. Fares may change even several times a week let alone weekly. Timing matters a lot when choosing your flight. Experts would recommend that you keep checking at least once a week right from the day you are completely sure that you will travel. If a good deal comes up, grab is as fast as possible because new offers are short lived.
2. Purchase Ticket at the Right Time
As aforementioned, air fares are incredibly dynamic. Knowing the best time to purchase might save you a lot of cash that you could use on other things. Booking too late (below 14 days) will cost you premium charges. The same thing applies to booking too early, say five months in advance. Consider booking your flight between 3 weeks and four months. According to a study by Airline Reporting Corporation, the ideal time to purchase flight ticket is six weeks before the date of flying. That way, you may land cheaper deal as the prices go even below the regular fare. But this does not apply if you travel during a peak season like a holiday. At that time everyone is flying, and the fares are extremely high.
3. Purchase Tickets the Right Day
The week, day or time when you buy your tickets affect the price. It makes a significant difference regarding prices. The trick is to purchase your ticket on Tuesday if there is a deal on Monday. Likewise, refrain from buying during the weekdays if there are not deals forthcoming. Also, there are times of the day when you pay less than others. To save some extra cash, you can fly early in the morning or lunchtime break when there are few travelers. During those times of the day, they are like to give some discounts or good deals.
An intelligent traveler would use kayak to know when to buy or wait before making any purchases. Kayak analyzes the trends and comes up with predictions. You can even know how they arrive at their decision. It helps you to make the best decision in booking flights, and you end up paying lower fees. Even if you buy the tickets at a lower price, they could reduce further. What happens is that the airline refund whatever amount is above the current price.
Yapta is yet another money-saving site that helps you keep track of your tickets and alerts you if the price drops. It complements the work of kayak. Expedia and Travelocity are also key players in providing crucial travel information.Lower the overall cost by using a Travelocity coupon code which you can find online.
4. Take Your Flight the Right Day
The days of the week are major determinants of the airfare. There is a nice trick here for you; if you can, consider traveling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Apparently, these are the cheapest days for a domestic flight. If you book Fridays and Sunday, then you have to pay a lot more than the rest of the days. Here you need to beat them at their own game. Are you planning to go home for the weekend? It would be cheaper to buy a Saturday to Monday/Tuesday ticket as opposed to Friday to Sunday ticket. For those who have commitments that will take a whole week, then a Tuesday to Tuesday ticket or Wednesday to Wednesday would be a perfect bet. A person with a flexible schedule would manage to play around with the dates better.
5. Season and Holidays
The airlines will always fix price depending on the numbers of people who are booking. There certain periods of the year when the number of travelers increases. The airline has to adjust the price upwards in response to the rising demand. For instance, taking an international flight to a foreign country that is visited by a lot of people mainly during a specific season. The flight ticket cost will be higher. On the contrary, if it is out of the season, you will only part with regular prices. The same thing applies during holidays like Christmas, and Thanksgiving celebrations. Booking earlier is necessary if you plan to visit some of these destinations during the high season. You may benefit some discounts on whatever you pay.
6. Consider Mix & Match Flights
In this plan, you buy two different tickets. Both of them are one way; one for traveling to and back. They may be the same airline or two separate airlines. Then you can combine them to go and come back. The benefit of the trick is the ability to choose the cheapest flight. You can save as much as 100 dollars.
7. Switch Up Your Connections
Some cities could have fares on sale. You should consider them to save some cash. Use sites such as Airfare watchdog that show fares to certain cities. You also get an opportunity to know the cheaper routes.
8. Signup for Free Airfare Alerts
To stay updated on the trends, you may need to subscribe to the airlines to be receiving notifications. That will ensure you are always among the first to benefit from cheaper deals. For instance, airlines send alerts to its subscribers on Tuesday informing them of a deal. Similarly, AirfareWatchdog.com is another reputable site where you can sign up to be receiving alerts on fall in fares and friendly deals from airlines. A site like this vet’s real people. So, you get firsthand information as opposed to the use of computers. You can expect the information to be more reliable. As opposed to other sites, they update you on any development only when there are substantial drops in prices or excellent deals. Then you can act quick so you can save when booking.
9. Follow the Airlines on Social Media
Every airline now has a social media account. The aim is to connect easily with the clients and also reach potential travelers. To promote themselves, they offer crazy deals on Facebook and Twitter. You need to be quick enough as they are just created to last a short duration. Through the social media, you may find a fascinating deal.
10. Book Refundable Flights
In this strategy, you only buy tickets from the airline that guarantees payback if the prices of the ticket go down before you travel. Some will give you a travel voucher. It is not a bad deal. You should always go with it if available. This should give the travelers confidence when buying the tickets. It is necessary to note that cheap flights rarely have the refundable policy. That being the case, you need to weigh out the best option. You do not want to limit yourself despite the fact that you are after some savings. The refundable option might proof cheaper than the non-refundable low-priced ticket.
One thing to note is that if your flight is canceled, delayed or even altered after booking, you have the right to receive a full refund. That is inclusive of the non-refundable flight ticket. Flight Aware is a very nice app that notifies you when your time of flight reaches. You can attend to other business and only arrive at the airport just before its time.
11. Be a Frequent Traveler
It pays to become a return customer of your airline or use a credit card affiliated with them. When you enter the elite member of the frequent-flier program, you gain an edge over other ordinary travelers. If the credit card happens to offer rewards for the users, you could check if they are redeemable for free airline miles.
12. Use Reward Sites to Rack up Free Airlines Miles
e-Rewards gives its players ticket that they can redeem as airline miles on sites like e-Miles. They are also allowed to cash-in Amazon gift cards or use them at hotels for free meals and more. You could use that trick have a cheaper flight.
13. Luggage
Many airlines have regulations concerning luggage. Most of them will charge extra if it is beyond the set standards. Find out the flight options of your carrier to ensure that you comply with their standards. A smart method of reducing the amount incurred on baggage is to pay for the trip together with the carriage charges. Paying later usually cost a lot more than together with the ticket
14. Compare Airlines
The aim is to get a cheaper deal, right? Then you should set some time to compare different airlines in your locality. Do not depend only on the information provided on the airline’s site. You may consider Google Flights to compare prices from multiple airlines. That will ensure that you choose the cheapest deal. Airfare Watchdog is another good site that rates airlines depending on the deals they offer and places them where you can easily spot them. With several options, you are sure to find a nice deal that comes at a discount. Do your research keenly and save some cash.
15. Don’t Ignore Small Carriers
Travel sites usually push the small airlines to the bottom of the list. You might be tempted to imagine that what they have ranked highly provides the best deals. That is not always the case. Treat them equally; they are options and should remain so. So, when checking the airlines that have the best deals, check even the small players. You might be surprised to find an excellent deal from one of those companies that even the giants cannot match.
16. Be Flexible
What does this mean? You might go out and accomplish everything you had planned for. But when you are about to book a flight back, you the airfare is at the ceiling. This implies paying premium prices. However, if you are flexible enough, you may squeeze a few more days or delay your comeback. You will then travel back on the day the airlines decide to give a deal. That will enable you to save or else escape hefty charges.
As a traveler, there are many avenues where you can save cash when booking flights. The efforts that you put determine the cost of your ticket. The tricks and the tips mentioned above will help you book cheaper flights in your subsequent travels.
