Matt Robbs - Smart Saving Advice

Although in this day in age, booking a flight may seem easy, many spend hundreds of dollars more than predicted. With endless searches seeming to bring about empty answers and the same triple digit number on the screen, there are ways to help lower the price. Here are some great tricks on booking your next trip and finding the cheapest flights ever. Start Saving on Your Flights by Doing This... 1. Keep Your Flight a Secret Believe it or not, your flight prices can change just because you search it. Certain flight searching sites actually raise the price of commonly searched flights primarily due to the fact they can make extra money off of it. It’s best to hop over to your incognito window before you start searching for flights to avoid this. 2. Search for One Ticket at a Time By searching for one ticket at a time, you can help lower your overall costs and locate the cheapest flights ever. Airlines tend to offer the highest priced tickets when buying in large groups. When buying one at a time, you are more likely to find lower prices, especially if a limited amount of airline seats are on sale. This way, at least a few of the seats you purchase will be cheaper, in case they run out. 3. Use Your Flight Points Now is the time to use all the flight points you’ve racked up for the past few years. To try to find the best seat offer use your points for domestic flights. This way, you are using fewer points since you are flying fewer miles and can collect more points along the way. 4. Constantly Check Social Media and Your Emails By following your most commonly used airlines and applying for their newsletters, you can learn about all sorts of discounts on flights. You’ll have a backstage pass to deals and offers that your friends, who don’t follow them, don’t know about. This way, if a deal pops up you can jump on it immediately. This will help you find and purchase the cheapest flights ever. 5. Do Your Flight Searching Midweek In general, airlines start their sales on Tuesdays and end them on Thursdays. When trying to find the cheapest flights ever, you will definitely want to do your searching during this time period. These sales typically target flights for the following two or three months and require tickets to be purchased at least 14 or 21 days in advance. 6. Book Your Flight to Leave on a Wednesday Wednesday is the cheapest day to travel by air. This is especially true for domestic flights. The next best days to fly on are Tuesday and Saturday. On these days of the week, the airplanes are the least full. This means more empty seats that airlines want to fill by any means necessary, which often translates into lower prices for you. Plus, since these are the least popular days to fly, getting through security will be quick and easy. 7. Book Flights With Connections Though it may seem like a hassle, booking a flight with a connection can save you a lot of money. In fact, a round trip voyage with connecting flights can save you up to $100 altogether when compared to straight flights. When booking your flights, be sure to leave ample time between them so you have enough time to get from one airplane to the next. 8. Don’t Hesitate If you see a good airfare, do not hesitate to purchase it. Airfare changes from time to time, so if you see a price that you are willing to pay, do not wait around for something better. Jump on that low price when it appears. You don't want to let the cheapest flights ever slip through your fingers. 9. Buy Your Tickets Six Weeks in Advance According to a study completed by the Airlines Reporting Corporation, the best time to book your airline tickets is around six weeks before your trip. It is around this time that airlines begin dropping their prices below the average fare. 10. Leave Early in the Morning Generally, the cheapest flights are the ones that leave early in the morning. Try to get on these flights. The next lowest priced flights typically leave during lunch, after that, or during dinner. 11. Use Multiple Airlines for the Cheapest Flights Ever Sometimes it can be cheaper to buy one-way tickets and use a combination of airlines. One airline may have a cheaper flight to your destination whereas another may have a cheaper fare home. Examine every possible combination available to you to find the cheapest flights ever. 12. Check Alternative Airports If you are flying to a popular destination, there are often multiple airports in close proximity to the area. One airport may be cheaper to fly to than the other, so be sure to check out all of your options. For example, if you are heading on a California vacation, consider flying to LGB instead of LAX. Before you book anything, however, make sure that the cost of parking or transportation to your final destination does not outweigh your savings. Otherwise, flying to an alternative airport would not be worth it. 13. Check Local Airlines Oftentimes, search engines neglect to include flights from small, local airlines. This happens especially when searching less popular routes and destinations. Do a Google search and check for local airlines to the destination of your choice. Most of the times, flying with a local airline can save you a lot of money. It is worthwhile to check the websites of these airlines as well. You can often find exclusive sales and discounts that do not show up in regular searches. 14. Don’t Just Use Any Travel Search Engine Only use the best ones. Every travel search engine inflates the cost of fares because they take a cut of the price. However, some websites consistently show higher rates than others. Consider using one of these websites to check for flights: - TripAdvisor - Cheapoair - AirFare Watchdog - JetRadar - Skyscanner - Momondo Unfortunately, no website can be considered the best when it comes to cheap flights. It would be in your best interest to search on multiple websites to find the absolute cheapest flights ever. 15. Be Open to Change Altering the dates of your vacation can help you save money. Consider adding on a few days to your trip and checking the airfare. Besides, who wouldn’t love a longer vacation? Conclusion Everybody loves going on vacation, but nobody enjoys paying those high airline prices. If you keep these 15 tips in mind, you will be saving money on your next flight in no time at all. Did we forget to mention any of your favorite tips for finding the cheapest flights ever? Comment below with your questions, ideas, and tips!