Something I often hear people say as a reason for why they aren’t able to travel is due to airfare prices. Since my family and I are passionate about travel, we have had to get creative over the years when it comes to searching for and locating the best airfare deals.
One of my top travel skills is that I am constantly looking out for those last minute, too good to pass up deals on flights, which really comes in handy for as much as we travel.
Trying to find the cheapest prices to fly somewhere, even for just a long weekend getaway can be time-consuming and even frustrating. But it doesn’t have to be if you know some secret tips for how to find the best airfare prices in minutes.
How Do I Find The Cheapest Flights?
Now you may not want to hear this, but learning how to get cheap flights oftentimes comes down to simply being flexible.
Flexible meaning:
- Traveling during off-peak season
- Flying into and out of other airports instead of your local one
- Visiting a place that may not have originally been on your vision board or bucket list.
Now I don’t know what the future of travel will be like, but a couple of years ago I was able to travel to Paris, Amsterdam, Puerto Rico and Rome, each for under $350 a roundtrip ticket, by utilizing some of these tips I am sharing.
Here’s your reminder not to get discouraged when you think about why are flights so expensive right now because there are definitely ways to find cheap flights and also save money when traveling.
5 Ways To Find The Best Airfare Prices
The travel question I am often asked most is, where can people find cheap round trip flights without wasting a lot of time.
I have some secret tips to save you time, money and sanity when trying to find cheap flights to anywhere.
Before you go anywhere, make sure to sign up for my newsletter and you’ll be instantly directed to a free “healthy travel checklist”. You can download and print it for all the best travel essentials to have before your next trip.
1. Travel Apps
Utilize travel apps, especially when looking for flights. Download a few to keep handy and even set notifications so you can be alerted of certain deals, and also when the price has increased or decreased.
Have you seen that list of 15 free best travel apps I put together for you?
Well, a few of my favorites from that list, when it comes to the best airfare sites are Skiplagged, Google Flights and Hopper. They’re all perfect for helping you locate the cheapest places to fly, when to fly, what airline and also what airport would give you the best airfare prices for your trip.
They are all very user-friendly (Skiplagged is my favorite), and they search a wide variety of airline websites to find the lowest prices.
These apps are timesavers because they help you find perfect cheap airfare flights.
2. Surrounding Airports
Don’t be afraid to check other airports, instead of only sticking to your local airport. This tip has not only saved me a good amount of money over the years but actually also time too.
Even though Philadelphia’s airport is only about a 45-minute drive from our home, there are sometimes not many direct flights to certain islands, (we love visiting Puerto Rico and St. Maarten) or even places throughout Europe.
By flying out of a surrounding airport we may have to drive about 2 hours to the airport, but we can get a direct flight and it’s always for a much cheaper price than if we flew out of our home airport, Philadelphia.
3. Frequent Flyer or Reward Programs
Now I know it might be annoying to sign up for each and every reward program, but trust me when I tell you that airline rewards and frequent flyer programs are so valuable.
Each and every time you book a flight be sure to sign up to become a part of that airline’s reward program or log in to rack up those miles.
The main trick to getting a reward faster is to try to fly with the same airline over and over again. Also, look into getting a debit or credit card that offers the best travel rewards.
Over the past couple of years, I earned enough miles for free flights with both American Airlines and Jet Blue.
4. Book Your Travel or Vacation as a Package
I remember the first time I went to Riviera Maya, Mexico many years ago. We found an incredible deal for a brand new Secrets Resort that had just opened.
We saved hundreds of dollars thanks to purchasing the trip as a package instead of booking it all separately.
Costco travel deals offer great vacation packages, and so do Disney, Marriott, American Airlines, Jet Blue and Expedia.
Price it all out separately if you really want to compare how much you could save by booking a package.
Just make sure you know how to search smarter to avoid fraud when booking travel.
5. Flexibility
Earlier I mentioned this, but being flexible is a key component to finding cheap flight deals.
This may mean sometimes having to take those super early morning flights, red eyes and maybe even multiple connections, but it’s better than paying some ridiculous price to fly somewhere.
I understand this is not always easy for people to do, especially with work, school schedules and more to contend with, but if you’re able to be flexible it could mean saving a lot of money when booking travel.
I hope that by sharing these secrets for how to find the best airfare prices you will be able to say yes to more travel, instead of feeling like your travel plans are ruined, especially due to the cost.
Now it’s time for you to start utilizing these cheap airfare tips so you can stop virtually traveling and get out there to explore the world.
What is the best site for airfare?
No matter where are you hoping to find the best airfare prices next, I hope this helps you realize that there isn’t only one cheap flights app or website to search but instead a variety of resources.
Here is a little travel inspiration:
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