10 Hacks for Booking Flights

Are you looking to bag a bargain? These are our best hacks for booking flights to help you score. From using flight search engines to your benefit, to knowing the best time to buy. All of these tips will help you save money on your next vacation.

1. Sign Up for Email Alerts

Prices change…a lot. How much? Sometimes as much as 3 times per day. Sign up to newsletters and deals from your favourite airlines to find out about sales in advance. Also consider signing up for price alerts to monitor a particular flight route and see when the price fluctuates to ensure you book at the cheapest price.

2. Know the best time to buy

Have you ever wondered when is the best time to book your tickets? It turns out that 6-8 weeks out of the fly date is usually the best time to buy (with an exception for flash sales and deals). A great resource for finding cheap airfares is FlightList.

3. …Except for Holiday Travel

Planning to travel at peak holiday season? Plan no more. Act now. Book those tickets ASAP. Seriously, run to the checkout with those tickets. There’s no time to spare. Are you booking yet? You should be.

4. Travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays

Flying mid-week is usually the cheapest time of the week to fly. And the most expensive? Sundays. Don’t travel on Sundays if money is a consideration as this is usually the most expensive day to fly.

5. Buy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

But what about knowing when to buy? Mid-week is more often than not the best day of the week to purchase flight tickets.

6. Use an Incognito Browser

Ever searched for a flight, returned to re-search the same flight a few days later and seen a massive price hike? It’s true, your search history can be monitored by airlines. To avoid price hikes, use a private window in your browser to search undetected.

7. Compare all of your options

Its no secret I’m an avid user of the website Skyscanner when booking and comparing flights – but that’s not to say that I always find the best deal there. While most airlines are on the website with often the best deals, I have on occasion found better deals elsewhere – be it on a different flight comparison website or going through the airline direct. I find the best way to ensure you save THE MOST amount of money is to search on a flight comparison booking engine, then take a look elsewhere to ensure you’re getting the best deal. 

8. Travel Off-Season

This is an obvious one, but it saves a lot of money so it is well worth a mention when considering cutting the cost of flights. If you don’t have a destination in mind but can only travel at a particular time of the year, consider that it is always going to be off-season somewhere in the world. Be brave – branch out – and go somewhere new. Experience a city or country when the streets aren’t filled with tourists elbowing one another in the line for an ice cream and trust me, you won’t regret it!

9. Make Stop-Overs

Another great way to save money on flights is to fly in-direct and make one (or multiple) stopovers along the way. This will almost always be cheaper and cansometimes result in an impromptu day-long excursion into a new city or country you haven’t previously explored. Win-Win!

10. Collecting Miles – Yes, No, Maybe!?

Definitely! But should you pay more for a ticket with your preferred airline in exchange for accumulating points? Of course it totally depends on your personal preference. If you have a preferred airline you like to travel with and use your points to upgrade your seats (assuming you travel a lot), then it is definitely a good idea to stay loyal. However if you’re looking to save the most money, consider flying with cheaper airlines and going for the ‘best deal’ each time, rather than relying on points systems.

Over to you – how do you save money when booking flights!? Are there any hacks for booking flights you’d like to share??

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