Trip planning is one of our favorite activities but what we love even more is finding cheap flights to take us there. We constantly get asked how are we able to fly so frequently, how do we find the best deals and now we are going to share some of our secrets on how we do it so you can save some dollars too.
If you are always searching for travel tips or planning a trip on a budget - you've come to the right place!
Check out our list below of our top ten airfare hacks for saving money on airline tickets.
1. Open your internet browser in "incognito" mode to hide any of your previous flight search history. Airlines increase prices when you are constantly searching for a certain flight or route.
2. Be flexible with your travel dates. When booking just one or two days before or after your preferred travel date you can often save 100s of dollars! Yes... Hundreds! Flights are cheapest departing on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The most expensive days are Thursdays and Saturdays.
3. Use Skyscanner, Hopper or Google Flights. Input your preferred travel dates and destination and they will pull up a calendar showing you the cheapest times to travel.
4. Typically flights are cheapest when booked 6 to 8 weeks before departure date.
5. Use a VPN (virtual private network) to change your location. Often when you book from the point-of-sale you can save big bucks... Meaning more money to splurge on activities when you arrive at your destination! Our personal favorite VPN provider is Surfshark, you can click here to try them out for 30 days.
6. Add a layover. Breaking up your trip to include a stop over can actually save you money instead of costing more and the bonus is you get to explore a new city for a few hours or a day!
7. Take the red-eye. A flight that leaves late at night and arrives early the next morning and is too short to get a full nights sleep is usually considered undesirable to many travelers, making it a cheaper option.
8. Don't avoid the holidays. You might be thinking that national and public holidays are the most expensive time of year to travel, and yes, you are right... BUT.... If you travel on the actual holiday i.e Christmas Day or Thanksgiving, you may find the flight price has gone down considerably compared to a day or two before or after. The bonus is that people are usually in the festive spirit and in a happier mood making the journey much more fun for everyone.
9. Ditch the suitcase. It's a fine art and a serious skill to be able to travel light (trust me, we are still trying to master it!) but if you want to save money on flights taking a carry-on only can save you dollars. This hack works well especially on budget or smaller airlines which often charge an extra fee for checked in luggage. This also saves you time when you arrive at your destination as you can skip the part where you have to wait in the baggage hall! Winning!
10. Join a loyalty or reward program. Collecting miles or frequent flyer points is easier than you think. Look out for credit cards that are linked to airlines, then every time you make a purchase with that card on groceries, gasoline, utility bills etc you will receive points that you can use with your preferred airline for upgrades, discounts and even companion passes.
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