Traveling by air is always more expensive than any other means of transport, but it’s irreplaceable, especially when you have to travel internationally or need to save time.
Nonetheless, airlines never leave their chance to make money out of their customers; be it extra luggage price, seat-selection cost, or last-moment booking, you will be charged heavily for even the slightest privilege.
But smart travelers know how to checkmate the airlines and play cleverly to save money. If you are also searching for tricks to save your hard-earned money while booking a flight, we have 11 tried and tested ways that can help you get flight tickets at a low cost at the last minute.
11 Ways to Save Money on Flights
Whether you’re a budget traveler or simply looking to get the best value for your money, here are some amazing tips to help you score great deals on airfare and plan travel for minimum flight disruption. These are also some significant things to consider before foreign travel.
Avoid Booking on Weekends
Booking flights on weekends is usually an expensive affair. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are the days when the flights are most expensive. Hence avoiding weekends for booking is the first thing you can consider if you want a budget-friendly trip.
Unless it is something important, do not run to book on the last days of the week as a high number of customers on the weekend motivates airlines to shoot their prices. By doing this you can travel in Luxury on a budget.
Prefer Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to book
As we discussed, weekends are quite expensive days for airline booking. So, go for the first three days of the week i.e., Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to book your tickets. So, if it is a weekend, wait for a day or two (if you can) and make your airline reservation on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Do Booking in Advance
Early birds always get benefits, so make sure that you follow the “advance booking” rule religiously to get cheaper flights for your travel. The later you book, the higher the charges you need to pay.
Compare Prices
Discovering flights that are low at price online becomes easier with third-party websites like Google Flights. Such sites are best to compare prices and find cheap flights. All prices will be shown hierarchically, and you can pick the one that suits your budget.
Also, you can set the limit for prices and only fitting options will be displayed. So, doing a little R&D with these sites can help alot to find cheap flights. Also, you can find the best days on which you can find a flight for less price.
Some of these sites are:
Enable Alerts and Notifications
Alerts are the Holy Grail for every traveler and there are several benefits to having alerts for cheap flights. You can easily set the notifications using various iPhone, Android, and computer apps that regularly notify you of price drops, deals, and discounts. You will get notifications for flights that you have set.
Select a Flight with a Layover
A flight with a layover usually costs less than a direct flight. When you search for a flight, look for flights that have the “stay” destination before your actual destination. But layover flights are only recommended to the people who have ample time so that the waiting period won’t affect your trip.
Avoid Peak Seasons
The summer and winter holidays are the most expensive time to book a flight. If you have a plan during vacations make sure you book the tickets in advance as the instant bookings will be heavy in your pocket.
Seat Selection Can Cost You More
Luxury comes at a cost and with airlines, you need to book extra bucks to get the seat of your choice, especially when there is a big crowd hopping on the same airline. So, if you think the seats of your choice are costing you a lot of money, get the seats recommended by the airline. If your budget is tight, do not pay the extra price just for the matter of seat. Alternatively, you can go with the airlines which cost you nothing for picking any seat of your choice, you can choose any seat from the vacant ones.
Flexibility is The Key
The price for your airline ticket depends upon the flexibility. So, the more flexible you will be, the lesser the price you need to pay. Do not be rigid about timings and layovers, in this way, you can save several bucks. A wider window of time will help you get better deals and lower prices. So, avoid peak seasons, weekends, and other costlier days to pay less.
Refund is Possible in 24 Hours
If you have already booked a flight, you can still browse for cheaper flights within the span of 24 hours as the air tickets can be refunded in 24 hours. But it is only valid if you have paid the money and not reward points to buy your ticket.
Earn Points
Frequent travelers should take the point scheme seriously. Every airline has a different point scheme, so if you travel very often, you are likely to get some reward points (for every booking) which you can use to purchase your next ticket. If you have collected enough points that can cover the cost of your ticket, you can technically travel for free.
Conclusion
By employing these tips and tricks, you can save money on flights and make the most of your travel budget. Remember to plan ahead, stay flexible, and explore all available options to find the best deals on airfare.
These 11 tricks are best to grab flight tickets at cheap prices. So, when you are tight on budget but high on traveling, try these tricks and satisfy your nomadic temptation.
How to book flights at the cheapest rate?
Here are some quick tips to save big on your flight tickets:
- Be flexible with your travel dates.
- Avoid booking at the last minute.
- Avoid booking on Weekends
- Do booking in advance
How can I lower my flight prices?
Here is how you can lower your flight prices:
- Check the cheapest days to fly out
- Check for cheap seats
- Go incognito while booking flights
- Choose flights with a layover.
What are the cheapest airlines?
Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Allegiant Air are some of the cheapest airlines.