7 tips for booking cheap flights – Travel Hacks
Traveling is food for the soul. It is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding activities. It is also educational as we can learn a lot from our experiences. Travelling exposes us to the natural beauty and cultural diversity around the world. It’s safe to say we all love to travel. However, it can be quite expensive. A lot of the time, getting to your destination itself can take up most of your budget. The expense of airfare often makes us compromise and settle for cheaper destinations. In situations like these, we all want cheaper tickets. Here are some travel hacks that allow you to save money and use it to enjoy the rest of your trip. These are simple tips that can be kept in mind and utilized when planning your next trip.
Plan Your Flight In Advance
Most airlines have dynamic price adjustments for their tickets. These adjustments are based on complex formulas. However, there is one dominant factor that we can use to our advantage. This factor is time.
When it comes to travel hacks, booking your flights early is the wisest move. Any product or service that is on sale works on the principle of supply and demand. Airplane tickets are no different. Booking tickets in the same month in which you are planning to travel is a rookie mistake. This is because as the day of departure arrives, the tickets start running out. This is especially true if you are planning to travel to a popular tourist spot or during a busy vacation period. Even if it is a slow month for the airline, ticket prices go up as time passes. Therefore, plan your trip in advance and keep an eye on ticket prices. This will help you to get an idea about the fluctuations in prices and allow you to save money.
Sites like Skyscanner can be used to set up alerts for ticket prices. These sites allow you to set the parameters of your journey and then monitor prices for you. They inform you about everything ranging from price comparisons to error fares and early booking opportunities.
Use Incognito Mode When Booking Tickets
Airlines often track your travel habits. Even if you switch up the airline and booking portal, your browser history, cookies and cache can be used against you. If you frequently travel using a particular airline, route or booking site, your browser history reflects it. As a result, every time you search for tickets the prices will increase. Even if you don’t book the tickets, the prices go up with every search. Therefore. it is wise to use incognito mode while booking tickets.
This is one of the most underrated travel hacks. Incognito mode ensures that the browser does not record your search history or cookies. This means that airlines and booking sites have no previous data about you. It allows you to avoid the unfair price hikes that come with repeated ticket searches.
Be Flexible With Your Dates and Timings
Airline prices vary greatly based on the time of the year. Therefore, being flexible with your travel dates and making compromises can lower your travel expenses. Plan your trip wisely. Make sure it does not clash with any popular holidays if possible. These are times of extreme air traffic. This means that prices are high as well. Weekends are also more expensive than midweek due to similar reasons. Check and compare ticket price trends from previous years. It will give you an idea about when the prices are the best.
Use Your Frequent Flyer Points
The Frequent flyer system is an incentive based program implemented by many airlines. It is a system designed to promote and reward loyalty amongst their customers. So how does it work? The more you travel with a particular airline, the more you are rewarded with frequent flyer points or ‘miles’. This is an attempt by airlines to retain their customers.
If you travel a lot using a particular airline, then you should consider getting enlisted into their Frequent Flyer program. The more you travel with them the more points you will accumulate. You can use these points to purchase tickets for cheaper or to purchase goods at select merchants. You also receive certain perks such as extra baggage allowances and priority check-in. The usage of Frequent Flyer miles is more of a travel basic than a travel hack. However, it is still one of the most effective ways of cutting your travel expenses. Click here to check some of the best Frequent Flyer programs available in India.
Compare The Prices Offered By Different Sites
Not all websites offer the same ticket prices for the same flight. These prices vary depending on the commission offered by the airline to the particular website. Therefore, it is always wise to compare the prices from various vendors. You can do this with the help of several dedicated websites such as Kayak or MakeMyTrip. Websites such as these compare the prices for you and offer you the best and cheapest options as well as a comparative view of the various prices.
Book Connecting Flights Manually
Connecting flights can also be used to save money on airline tickets. If you are not in a hurry, opting for these flights can be a cheaper alternative to a non-stop flight. Also, in case the connecting flight is absolutely necessary, choose it yourself. Instead of allowing the ticket vendor site choose the connecting flight for you, browse multiple airlines yourself. This will be a little more tedious and time consuming, but it is worth it. Having multiple options to work with is always ideal for saving money.
Be Flexible With Currency
This is one of the most underutilized travel hacks out there. Most ticket booking websites ask for payment in the currency of the country that you are travelling from. When booking tickets, always try to see if you can pay in a currency which is cheaper currency. Using the difference in economies can help save your money. However, you should ensure that your bank does not charge fees for conversions and transactions in foreign currencies. If they do, then this method can end up costing more than it will save.