Check nearby departure airports. It's not uncommon to cut a long-haul ticket from somewhere like the US to Europe in half by selecting a different, nearby departure airport.
Keep an eye out for nearby destinations. Suppose you're flying somewhere fancy like Koh Samui (Thailand). Because there isn’t a lot of traffic directly there, you might be better off getting a long-haul fare to nearby Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, or Singapore and grabbing a cheap regional flight onto the island.
Once you've chosen your route, always check nearby dates using the Google Flights price-calendar tool. Moving your travel dates by a few days might mean a better route or a much cheaper flight.
Airlines use all the tricks in the book to make their fights look the best value. That's why you should know precisely what you need before you go searching, or you could end up overpaying for your ticket.
Checked bags - If you're taking them, make sure the airlines that charge extra don't end up more expensive than paying for a ticket class that includes a checked bag.
Budget airlines are the biggest culprits - they're notorious for having high checked bag fees and charging extra for carryons.
Seat selection - There are two kinds of people: those who are okay with any seat and those who have military-style strategies to find the best seat. If you fall in the latter camp, be prepared to pay extra for that perfect seat. However, some airlines still offer free booking at check-in if you're feeling lucky.
Insurance & Flexible Policy - With travel en route to getting its groove back, many airlines that offered free changes during the pandemic are returning to their 'old flexibility policy'. Read: no flexibility at all. It might be worth the extra cost to get a ticket that allows changes/refunds if your plans change later.
Pro tip: The best way to compare flights is to include the extras you want to the ticket price before comparing.
Packing light ensures that you don't get hit with any unexpected fees or delays at the airport. Plus, it's always easier to maneuver through the airport and onto the plane when you have less to carry.
On the other hand, your personal bag (like a backpack or purse) usually doesn't have any weight restrictions. This means you can load it up with all the heavy items you need, like your laptop, camera, books, and other essentials.
You can often fly back from a different airport or add a stop to flights for the same price as a regular return flight. You're already planning a trip to Thailand, so why not add time in Istanbul into the mix?
It can be tricky to find these sometimes, so check out our full guide to booking each type in our multi-destination article.
A hidden ticket is a flight hack where you purchase a ticket with a stop before the final destination, and instead of going through the entire trip - you leave early at the stop and don't board the final flight.
This works quite well because direct routes are more popular than multiple stops. Therefore airlines price direct flights much higher according to the demand and multi-stop flights lower even though you'd be flying more miles.
Skippedlagged.com is a great website for finding hidden-city and multi-city flights. But be mindful of the caveats, such as limitations on when you can check a bag. We have a full Hidden-City Ticketing guide here.
Sometimes the foreign exchange rate works in your favor when looking for cheap flights to anywhere. Local airlines usually price fares in their currency and may be cheaper if you pay in it too. For example, Mexico's VivaAerobus may charge their tickets in pesos, saving you a couple of bucks if you're dealing with dollars/euros/pounds.
Flight search engines let you choose the country and currency you'd like to see when searching. It's worth checking the prices in the currency of your destination.
This trick works especially well in Europe where many countries share a currency but online travel agencies and agents differ in price. Keep in mind that their customer service might only be available in a language you don't speak, although most will also speak English, at least.
Cheap FlightsThere's nothing quite like buying a flight ticket for $0 - and the best way to do that is through travel hacking with credit cards.
If you're starting out, you can choose between an airline rewards card that's associated with a particular airline or alliance, or you can opt for a general travel rewards card that gets you miles/points for several airlines.
The trick is to use your card as you would with cash, pay for everyday items, and pay off the balance each month to avoid interest.
There are some caveats to watch out for when using this method. For example, opening a new credit card account could potentially shorten your credit history, and applying for multiple credit cards at once to score those signing up bonuses could drop your FICO score.
There you have it, folks - our guide to finding the cheapest flights like a pro. We've covered everything from timing your bookings just right to taking advantage of rewards programs and flexible travel dates. But remember, finding the best deals requires a little bit of patience, research, and flexibility.
It may take a bit of extra effort, but the rewards of scoring a cheap plane ticket at a great deal are well worth it. So the next time you're planning a trip, keep these tips in mind, and you'll be a cheap flight finding pro in no time.
We end up in a never-ending mind-battle, distressing about how to properly allocate the available budget and how to arrange cost-related activities every time we plan to have an economical Trip to Europe or elsewhere. Plane Tickets are probably the number one concern every time we dream of having a journey somewhere abroad, as of suggesting the greatest cost of all; the same time the most important aspect of the journey.
We end up in a never-ending mind-battle, distressing about how to properly allocate the available budget and how to arrange cost-related activities every time we plan to have an economical Trip to Europe or elsewhere. Plane Tickets are probably the number one concern every time we dream of having a journey somewhere abroad, as of suggesting the greatest cost of all; the same time the most important aspect of the journey.
Well, the time when finding a Cheap Airline Ticket to Europe was a synonym for a low-quality travel it is almost an allegory anymore. Good news in this regard is that all you need now is exploring and spotting the random hidden Cheap Flight Deals that guarantee you an affordable and pleasurable Trip to Europe.
To be honest, we are not acting as if for this process to be an effortless one. What is more, is a practice that requires from you to be willing to dedicate time and effort to do the needed research, to possess the looked-for patience, as well as the needed flexibility to adapt your planned travel with new dates when tickets get cheaper, sometimes this process even involves your readiness to change the intended traveling destination. All these for the fact that European Airlines, despite their standard pricey Plane Tickets, they regularly have also knockout or best low-price deals, starting from erroneously issuing cheap prices, deals with client, to lowered prices to respond towards cheapened prices of the rival airline companies.
We are saying that the myth about getting a low-price or cheap ticket means low-quality travel is gone anymore, and all you need to get a cheap and affordable Plane Ticket for your dreamt European destination is only your readiness to properly dedicate yourself on researching and spotting these cheap deals of the airlines in the real time, early enough.
And guess what? Below, we will show you some key tips that will most likely save you time, frustration and most importantly money when booking your next flight to Europe.
What most people probably do not know about buying online is that nowadays companies can track your online searching activity, in attempt to understand customer’s needs. What else you might not know is that this also affects the price of the product you are trying to buy online, based on frequency of your online search. Same it goes for Flying Tickets. The moment Airline Company discovers you are regularly searching for Flight Ticket of a specific destination, based on the cookies in your browser; it reaches to increase you the price of the ticket on your computer, alarming you to make an early booking of the flight ticket – as a part of their marketing strategy.
Annoying isn’t it? But guess what? You can make your search secret or hidden, blocking the opportunity for the company to track you and consequently to increase prices anymore, allowing you to see the lowest flight tickets prices. You might do this by going incognito (secret), or private, every time hunting online for your flight ticket.
There are several search engines that enable people to search available flight tickets around the globe, but only few can be considered a good choice, especially when seeking for low-priced flights. This for the fact that some of these existing engines or websites, tend to present increased flight ticket prices as they want to take their part from airline companies, tickets of which they sell.
Top six recommended websites or online travel agents (OTAs) that can ease your flight ticket search, enabling you to find cheapest airline tickets to Europe are the following:
The website started its activity by offering flights within Europe but it enhanced its offer by later providing flights for different destinations around the globe. In addition, a user-friendly engine which frequently publishes cheap Flight Deals. Go to JetRadar!
