How to EASILY Book Cheap Flights - Caroline Rose Travel

03 Feb How to EASILY Book Cheap Flights

Posted at 13:01h in Budget Travel, Travel Tips by Caroline Rose 0 Comments

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When it comes to knowing how to book cheap flights, there are travel hack maniacs that will spew all types of crazy formulas at you like exact hours to book your flights and booking through questionable methods that are risky, all while making a simple process pretty complicated.

Yes, there are loads of websites, apps and ways to save on flights, but for me, I like to stick to a few tricks. Budget travel and booking cheap flights doesn’t have to be difficult, and it’s actually pretty easy. Here’s how:

1. Use Google Flights

I am a diehard Google Flights fan, I know some people are the same way with Skyscanner, but I use Google Flights the most. It’s simple and can be used if you have strict plans or are flexible and just looking for a deal. Here’s some elements I love:

#1 Google Flights shows the cheapest options for someone who already has a trip planned. Enter your destination and your dates, and Google’s got you. It will take you directly to the airline website to book. If not, Google Flights usually doesn’t add an extra fee for booking through them (other services like Expedia often do).

#2 There’s a calendar to show you price differences depending on the day you fly. So no need to remember which day is cheapest to fly on, Google Flights literally shows you.

#3 If you’re looking at flights far in advance or aren’t ready to book just yet, Google flights has the option to track prices on a specific flight. You’ll receive price alerts on that trip, directly to your email.

#4 To find cheap travel deals, use the “Explore Destinations” option (pictured below)- I LOVE this feature! From there you can browse the map and find cheap flights to destinations around the world. If you’re flexible, you can find some awesome deals this way.

Click Here to Go to Google Flights

2. Sign up for Scott’s Cheap Flights

When you hear about people getting insane deals on roundtrips to Europe for $100 bucks, there’s a high chance they got it from Scott’s Cheap Flights.

Scott’s Cheap Flights is a service that sends flight deals directly to your inbox. They only send insanely good deals (40-90% off!) and only deals from your home airports, that way you don’t need to sift through a bunch of insignificant discounts.

It’s $50 to sign up for the year, but it’s so worth it. There is also a free version, but the difference in deals sent to you is SIGNIFICANT. I was on the free version for awhile, and after upgrading I’m blown away by these deals!!

For the budget traveler trying to see as much of the world as possible, SCF is a must.

Sign up for Scott’s Cheap Flights Here

3. Book all your flights with a travel credit card

If you have a travel credit card, you need to be using it to book every single flight so that you’re getting points back. And if you don’t have a travel credit card, you seriously need one…it’s a game changer.

With travel credit cards, you get a lot of points back on purchases (especially those regarding travel) and can later use those points towards flights and other things. Many also have signup bonuses that award you thousands of points for spending a certain amount of money on them in the first 3 months.

For example, I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred card right around the time I knew I had some big purchases to make and received 60,000 points. Later I then used the card to pay for everything travel-related (flights, hotels, gas, restaurants etc.). From those points combined, I was able to take a few FREE flights, including from the Philippines back to the United States!

Click Here to sign up for the travel credit card I have

(rated best for flexibility and sign on bonus in February 2021 by NerdWallet)

4. Use Hopper to know when to book & for price drop alerts

Hopper makes searching for a flight so easy. While I don’t usually use the app to actually book my flights (they charge a service fee) I do use it as an easy way to search and keep track of a flight.

The calendars are easily color coded so you know when is cheaper or more expensive to fly. Then once you select your dates, Hopper will tell you if it’s best to wait or book now for a cheaper deal.

If they advise you to wait, then you can select ‘Watch This Trip’ and you’ll receive notifications when the prices drop. In a way it’s similar to Google Flights, but I like receiving the notification on my phone vs. just getting an email.

Download the Hopper App here

5. When searching for any flights, always use an incognito window

While you’re searching the internet, websites are constantly gathering data. If you’re not on an incognito/private window browser, then the flight search engines will essentially take note of which flights you’re looking at, and then raise the price if you don’t book right away.

There’s nothing more frustrating than looking at a flight, waiting, and then coming back only a day later to find the ticket is more expensive. To help avoid this, always check for flights on a private browser.

When is the best time to book a flight?

I’ll be honest, I’ve heard so many contradicting theories or stats that I’ll never remember, which is why I prefer to find my cheap deals via all the means I’ve mentioned above instead of relying on a formula of dates.

Because the truth is, there’s no one formula for the best time to book. There’s so many things to be accounted for: domestic vs. international, which season you’re flying, airlines are constantly changing how they do things, and now in a COVID world it’s even more unpredictable.

Even that myth we’ve all heard that Tuesday’s are the best day to book on? Yeah, Skyscanner actually says it’s Saturday according to their research. But even that can change.

So in short, to make booking a cheap flight EASY – if I want to know the cheapest day to fly somewhere, I check Google flights calendar. If I want to know if the price will drop between now and my trip, I check Hopper. If I have an amazing deal from Scott’s Cheap flights, I’m booking it NOW!

And that essentially, is how you book a really cheap flight, easily.