There are a variety of methods that explain how to save money booking flights.
If you’ve ever wondered how to save money booking flights, you may already know of a few tips and tricks. But here are a few more you may not be aware of that can save you hundreds of dollars.
Browse the Internet Secretly
No, you’re not imagining that seemingly spontaneous price increase on the ticket you’ve been watching. This is dynamic pricing. The ticket seller will gradually increase the price of a ticket in the hopes it will motivate you to buy it. This often works, thanks to the fear that waiting too long will cause the price of the ticket to go up further.
To avoid this, clear your web browser’s cookies or search for plane tickets in incognito or private mode, a special feature most browsers have to keep websites from tracking your browsing history.
Buy One Ticket at a Time
Depending on the website selling the plane tickets, if you search for more than one ticket at a time, the search will return results with tickets that are in a fare class that has more than one ticket available. For example, if you need two tickets but there are three seats available in business class and one in economy class, the search will only show that it found the three seats available in business class. To avoid this, search and purchase one ticket at a time. The drawback to this tip is that it will probably not allow purchasers to buy multiple seats that are physically next to each other on the plane.
Carefully Choose the Days You Fly
Historically, it’s cheapest to fly on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday. If your schedule allows for it, try to fly on these days and you can save over 10% on the ticket price.
Consider Budget Airlines
Budget airlines often have the cheapest tickets, but those cost savings come at a price, such as no free snacks, smaller seats or fees for what other airlines’ ticket prices might include, such as checked bags. Depending on your travel needs, any savings from a budget airline ticket can be quickly negated by fees if you’re not careful.
Try the Hidden City Trick
There is a quirk in airline ticketing where flying to a location to catch a connecting flight is actually cheaper than flying directly to it. For example, let’s say you want to fly from New York City to Chicago. It might be cheaper to save money booking flights from New York City to Phoenix with a layover stop in Chicago than to book a direct flight from New York to Chicago. But there are some risks when using this tip.
First, don’t use it when you have checked luggage; otherwise, your luggage may end up in another city. Second, the airline may not let you get off the plane in your connecting city (assuming the same airplane gets you to the final destination). Three, the airline will detect when a flyer tries this hidden city trick and may do something to punish them for using this tactic. Airlines are very well known for attempting various methods of controlling passengers (even when doing nothing wrong), so prepare for possible repercussions for using the hidden city trick.
Look into Buying Two One-Way Tickets
In some cases, it’s more expensive to buy a round trip ticket with one airline than buying two one-way tickets on different airlines. Save money and make your trips using two airlines instead.
Buy in Advance, but Not Too Far in Advance
Depending on the airline and time of year, there will be a “sweet spot” to purchase a flight in advance, which usually hovers around 30 days, give or take a week. It’s hard to predict the exact date that will result in the lowest price, but as a general rule, buying last minute or months in advance will be more expensive.
Purchase Off-Peak Hour Tickets
Departure times between 5 am and 7 am, as well as after 8 pm usually result in lower ticket prices.
If you’re working on learning how to save money booking flights, an auto pawn could help. Call your nearest Title Tree location for help now.