Have you ever wondered how to score economical flight tickets? Past few years, we have traveled a lot. And most of our trips included flying – domestic as well as international. We have taken numerous flights to different destinations including the ones on our recent week long trip to Andaman Islands, an extended weekend trip to Singapore, Indore, several trips to Goa, Chandigarh (on our Shimla & Manali Trip & while visiting Palampur on a FAM trip), almost every year when we have been landing into the pink city Jaipur, Cochin (on our way to Munnar) or even our two weeks Europe trip and many more.
Often friends and family ask how we are able to travel so much, that also by air. And we say, we are able to score reasonably cheap flight tickets, so, this is one of the reasons leading to a good amount of travel. We know that often the cost of flight tickets become the determining factor about which destination to go to next. Along with others like, the way we balance travel with our day jobs, our tricks to make travel with a toddler easy and our pro packing tips that help us pack our bags in no time etc. However, in this post, let’s talk about the different tricks that we apply to score cheap flight tickets. These include several methods, including flight comparison across sites using websites like JustFly, booking in advance, looking out for promo codes & discounts, etc. So, here we go with the list.
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Compare fares in order to score cheap flight tickets
There are so many websites now a days offering flight booking. So, it’s really essential to compare the flight tickets across these websites and then go for booking from the website that is offering the best cost. There are exclusive flight comparison websites like JustFly and others which let you compare the flight costs across multiple sites in one shot. They also let you compare flight tickets over days and months to see the best possible deal. And the best part is you can mix and match your onwards and return flight tickets, booking them from different websites if you see better offer that way. We always compare our flight ticket options before flying.
To score cheap flight tickets – book in advance
We have always found that booking at least 3-4 months before the flight departure date helps a lot. The prices slowly increase the closer you move to the dates of travel. I have heard others say that at times they were able to score great last minute deals. But I have so far not been able to find any. Also, I don’t believe in waiting till last minute. It’s like a gamble. If you have already booked your hotels, tours etc. and you are all set to go on that vacation, then there is hardly any point waiting till the last moment. As, there is no guarantee that you will be able to score cheap flight tickets at the last moment. So, better to be vigilant and book best possible options 3-4 months in advance.
Use promo codes to score cheap flight tickets
I have almost never booked a flight without a promo code. It can be for cash back, it can be for a small discount. Or it can be some other promotion that you can use indirectly on hotel booking, taxi booking etc. But end of the day, it adds value and reduces your overall cost of travel. We book many a times from travel booking websites like makemytrip.com. And I utilize the promo code options available. Also, when you consistently book from the same website, you might get cash back that you can utilize on your next booking. Or you might be able to use this cash back at times on partner websites like agoda.com or booking.com to book hotels for cheap.Tr
Look for cheap fare instead of destination at times
I know, it’s always tempting to decide which destination you are heading to next. And then plan your whole journey around it. But you know what, sometimes, it can save you a lot of money and help you score cheap flight tickets if you plan your whole trip around your flight. What I mean is, look for cheap flight tickets to destinations around the world available from your home. And then decide on one of the destinations for which you are getting cheap flight tickets. Then go ahead and book the flight tickets. After this, look for hotel deals. And book rest everything required for getting you all set for the trip.
Follow airlines on social media
To get the latest news pertaining to sales, offers, cash back or any kind of incentive that you might get to enjoy while booking your flight, social media is one of the best places. Since, now a days all businesses including the flights are highly active on social media. Any news about such kind of discounts or sales first appears on their social media account. So, why wait. Just start following them up on their social media accounts in order to keep yourself updated with their latest offers.
Go with low cost airlines
You can fly with the low cost airlines. They might not give you all the amenities that the luxury flights provide. But then the tickets come at much cheaper rates. These might not involve a lavish meal, and sometimes even the luxury of check in luggage. However, you can always pack your meal from home and manage with cabin luggage in case your travel duration is short. Here’s some excellent hard-side carryon luggage that you can choose from. We did the same on our trip to Singapore, wherein we saved a ton on our flight tickets by booking with low cost airlines, carrying our food and packing cabin luggage only.
Book incognito to score cheap flight tickets
Believe it or not, data analytics is everywhere and it is changing our lives – sometimes its good for us the customers, at other times it does good to the businesses. And I speak for it because in my other profession as a software professional, this is one of the things that I work on. The cookies in your browser store information which in turn is used by airlines and flight booking websites in several ways. They know your ticket booking trends. Also, they know that if you are coming back again and again and looking for flight options to a particular destination, you are likely to book it. In that case, they won’t show you lower prices. If anything, they might increase the prices. So, beware and use the “incognito” mode of your browser when booking or even checking for flight tickets. This will definitely help you score cheap flight tickets.
Watch for credit card offers
Many a times, a particular credit card company gives you deals and offers on booking flights. These include cashback offers and sometimes even flat discounts. So, when you are set to book a flight ticket, do check for any running offers on your credit card. Or else, even better, book flight tickets when you get offers on your credit card. By paying through your credit card, you might be scoring some credit card points that you can later convert into reward cards and use for different kind of shopping. And at the same time you will be scoring a cashback and discount as well. Add to that some airmiles as well which you might be earning. Doesn’t it sound like all win-win!
Look out for sales to score cheap flight tickets
Often airlines announce sales on their flight tickets. If you are booking with certain airlines, search the web to see if there are any ongoing sales. Even better, sign up for their newsletter. And when they announce the sales, use it to book your flight tickets. The sales window often have really good pricing. Many a times the prices are sliced to half or even lesser, compared to the actual cost of the same tickets. So, it’s really a deal. Only thing is, you have to be sure that you will be traveling on the dates for which you are booking the flights. Often I have seen that between the months of September – November, airlines announce sales for almost the complete next year. So, if you can book your flights for next year during this period, nothing like that.
Fly with smaller players
Big players have enough money, brand name and enough royal customers who keep coming back to them. So, they often don’t have the urge to lure more and more customers that smaller businesses have. While it applies to all the industry, you can use it to your benefit in travel industry. You can fly with smaller flight operators. They often roll out more deals and lucrative offers in order to win more customers. And if not the deals, they are the ones mostly operating low cost airlines. So, you see, you will definitely increase your chances to score cheap flight tickets when booking with them.
Check-in on the counter to save seat booking cost
This is the latest addition on our list of tricks to score cheap flight tickets. It doesn’t really help you save on the flight ticket itself. Because you have already booked your flight when you reach the check-in counter in the process of on boarding the flight. But, you will be saving on the overall cost because often with web checkin, airlines are charging additional costs of booking your preferred seats. Whereas when you do the same check-in either on the check-in counter or from the self checkin kiosk , there are no such charges involved. Chances are that when you are traveling in bigger groups, not all of you might get seats together. But if you are traveling solo or even two or three people, there are high chances that you will be able to get seats together. So, go give it a shot.
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