We’re all familiar with the age-old myths and beliefs for scoring cheap flight tickets – Tuesdays being the cheapest days to book tickets on flight booking portals, searching on incognito, etc. These tips may have been true until the world caught on, but as of 2020, none of these seem to work.
Airlines have started using advanced algorithms that none of us can actually predict and with technological advancements, the system has become way too smart for these meagre hacks. However, new loopholes have come to the surface and in this article, we shall discuss nine hacks that have been found to be useful to score cheap flight tickets:
- Don’t shop too early or too late
Careful, now! Buy too early and you will pay too much. Buy too late and you may pay much more than usual. The sweet spot for deals on flight booking apps is usually found in these shopping windows. So, shop at least five and a half months or at least one and a half months before departure.
- Always compare airfare
The golden rule of shopping: Always compare airfares. Some folks fail to do this because they ‘know’ their favorite airline always has the best deal, but no airline always has the cheapest prices, not Indigo, not Vistara. If you don’t compare, you are more likely to pay too much.
- Opt for different airlines
Agreed, the easiest way to get cheap flights for your trip is to book for a return journey. Besides, the general perception says that return flights are much cheaper. But hey, guess what? the truth is rather different. You will crack a better deal if you make that extra effort to go through the flights offered by other airlines and be more open about the time of your flight.
- Don’t book on the weekend
Contrary to popular belief, booking flights on the weekend is not the best possible solution. If you notice carefully, airfares usually go up on a Friday and start falling down on weekdays like a Monday or a Tuesday.
- Be flexible with dates
Planning an air journey can get a lot easier only if you are flexible with the dates. The rates of flight tickets to a great extent are based on the time of the year you are flying or the day of the week. For instance, the prices skyrockets when there are upcoming holidays or festivals.
- Accumulate miles & points
Airline reward programs and travel reward cards are the best way to get cheap flights, get some travel benefits, enjoy room upgrades and even get free hotel stays. And that’s not all. If you are lucky, you may also get welcome bonuses, rideshare credits, access to airport lounges, and much more.
- Sign up for newsletters
Cheap flight newsletters are worth the spam. They scour the internet for affordable flight offers and compile them for you. To say the least, they do the hard work. So, keeping your eye on the deals will ensure you don’t miss an amazing one. Additionally, airline newsletters often provide you with frequent flier bonuses.
- Red-eye flights (almost) always happen to be cheaper
If you don’t have a problem traveling during odd hours, you can score red-eye flights for half the price. Due to their obscure timings, not many people are aware of these flights. Hence, airlines sell them for lesser prices as an incentive to book flights during these off-peak hours.
- Try your luck with different search engines
By now, you’ve probably realized that finding a cheap flight requires a lot of research. So, here’s your chance to think beyond and try your luck on different search engines and websites. Many popular sites don’t always mention the budget carries or small foreign carriers because they don’t pay a booking commission to these third-party vendors. To ensure you know all your options, try a combination of search engines to ensure you’re not missing out on any results.
Searching and booking cheap flight tickets can be pretty tiring. However, you can actually save big on flight tickets if you try some of the above-mentioned hacks. Once you score a cheap ticket, head straight to a flight booking app and book a ticket!
