More often than not, flights can be the most expensive part of a trip. And the most common question I receive as a travel blogger is “what are your tips for snagging the cheapest flights?”
Well, more than the time of year, booking at 2AM on a Tuesday (myth) or booking exactly 90 days before your trip is this tip—research. Use the following 27 resources to dig through the internet for your cheapest flight possible. The asterisks* signify the sites I use most often and can personally endorse them. And for fun, I threw in an extra one to make it 28 total. You’re welcome.
SEARCH ENGINES FOR CHEAP FLIGHTS
1. Google Flights*
Find cheap flights in seconds, explore destinations on a map, and sign up for fare alerts on Google Flights.
2. SkyScanner*
Search cheap flights with over 1200 sites at once to find the cheapest airline tickets for 2019. Compare all options and book direct. The site is available in over 30 languages and is used by 100 million people per month.
3. Momondo*
Momondo is a travel fare aggregator and travel fare metasearch engine. Momondo also operates a travel information blog, Inspiration. The website is part of the Kayak.com subsidiary of Booking Holdings.
4. Hopper
Hopper analyzes billions of prices daily to predict how prices will change, and tells you whether to buy or wait. Save up to 40% on your next flight.
5. Expedia*
Expedia Group is a travel technology company. Its websites—which are primarily travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch engines—include CarRentals.com, Expedia.com, HomeAway, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, trivago, Venere.com and vrbo.
6. Kayak
KAYAKÂ searches hundreds of other travel sites at once to find the information you need to make the right decisions on flights, hotels & rental cars.
7. Kiwi
Kiwi.com provides a fare aggregator, metasearch engine and booking for airline tickets. It’s flight ticket search features “virtual interlining” – selling flight itineraries combining normally non-cooperating airlines.
8. HotWire
When you use Hotwire to book a flight within the US, or between the US and Canada, you’re guaranteed to fly with one of the following airlines: Delta Air Lines, US Airways, United, Virgin America, or their codeshare partners. Major airlines use Hotwire to fill their unsold seats at deep discounts.
9. Jet Cost
Jetcost is a European leading travel metasearch, where people can find – always for free – the most relevant travel solution for their next journey.
10. Skiplagged
Skiplagged makes it easy for you to find the best rates on airfare and hotels. All of the information, none of the hassle. We even show you flights the airlines don’t want you to see. Our goal is to empower consumers to use their buying power however they please. We exist to just find the best prices for you.
11. Cheap-O-Air
Save BIG on cheap airline tickets with CheapOair! We offer cheap flight tickets, hotels and car rental deals year-round. Book now & Travel the world for less!
Google Flights and SkyScanner are no-brainers. But want to be extra sure you're getting the best flight price? Here are 27 websites to start with. Click To Tweet
12. Last Minute
Founded in 1996, Last Minute Travel was the first website serving today’s time-starved traveler and grew to be one of the most trusted online marketplaces for people to discover and to book the ultimate vacation. Last Minute Travel is linked with 175 airlines and offers 120,000+ hotels and 10,000+ activities in over 4,500 cities worldwide, connecting travelers to unique travel experiences at any price.
13. Fareness
Fareness is a valuable resource for travelers in the early stages of trip planning who haven’t settled on a destination and/or exact travel dates. While Kayak has a somewhat similar search feature (you type in your home airport and the season or month you want to travel), Fareness offered a more comprehensive calendar of results.
14. We Go
Wego is used by millions of people every month — people who travel for adventure, for work, for family and for many other reasons. That’s why we work tirelessly to make your experience of planning & booking flights, hotels and trips as seamless as possible.
15. Just Fly
Justfly was created by a team of technological experts with many years of experience in the travel industry. We have partnered with over 400 airlines to deliver the best prices possible to our customers. Our team of travel agents is ready to assist you on the phone you can rest assured we’re with you every step of the way to make sure your vacation is flawless.
16. My Trip
With Mytrip you can easily and securely search, book and pay for flight tickets and trips all over the world. And we have 300,000 hotel and holiday rentals for you to choose from, as well as car rentals across all model types and price ranges.
NEWSLETTERS/ALERTS
17. Scott’s Cheap Flights*
All of our fares are searched by hand. The secret sauce is hard work. Airfare changes by the hour, if not by the minute, and the best deals don’t tend to last very long, so finding out about them early is the key to booking them before they’re gone. Most people don’t want to spend all their free time searching for cheap flights; we love doing it and being subscribers’ early detection radar.
18. SecretFlying*
Find cheap flight deals and mistake fares at Secret Flying. They provide info on airfares with huge savings to your favourite destinations around the world by sending you alerts.
19. TravelPirates*
TravelPirates, a travel site relatively new to the US but popular in Europe since 2011, curates and presents an ever-changing assortment of low-priced packages, hotels, flights and even bus, train and other deals.
20. Jack’s Flight Club*
Jack’s Flight Club is a company co-founded by Jack Sheldon and Phil Wintermantle. It is an email newsletter and mobile app focusing on helping subscribers find cheap flights, using flight deal alerts. There are over 1,000,000 members in the United Kingdom and Europe.
21. Travel Start
For travel between the major cities in such as Lagos, London, and Capetown – Travelstart is an African online travel booking website, offering flights, hotel bookings, car rental, vacation packages, and other travel services through their online booking engine.
22. The Flight Deal
Curated Daily Travel Deals from NYC / BOS / PHL / DC / MIA / DFW / PHX / LAX / SFO / PDX / SEA and ORD. 24/7/365.
23. NextVacay
When you tell them your home airport, their system scans thousands of databases for the cheapest flight deals to the destinations you love. When the system finds a deal, our deal team verifies it, and you receive an email instantly. You book directly with the airline – no ‘middleman’ or agent is involved.
This is a paid service, but for a limited time we’re opening up our Next Vacay Membership at a special price of $25 per year.
Flight payment services, special discounts for students, and credit card/frequent flyer points advice. Never pay full-price for your flights again! Click To Tweet
COMMUNITY FORUMS FOR FLIGHT DEALS
24. Flyertalk
FlyerTalk is a living, growing Internet forum where frequent travelers around the world come to exchange knowledge of airline frequent-flyer programs, hotel loyalty programs and other issues related to air travel.
LEVERAGE CREDIT CARD/FREQUENT FLYER POINTS
25. The Points Guy*
The Points Guy is an American travel website and blog that produces news and stories on travel, aviation, points and miles, politics and credit cards. Optimize your credit card and frequent flyer points to get cheap flights!
PAYMENT PLAN SERVICES
26. Airfordable
Find a flight from your favorite travel site, take and upload a screenshot of your flight details. Book your flight for a fraction of the cost upfront and pay the remaining balance in installments before your departure date. Receive your e-ticket after your last payment.
FOR STUDENTS (OR THOSE WITH STUDENT EMAILS 😉 )
27. StudentUniverse*
StudentUniverse is an online travel agency specializing in youth travel. It offers flights, lodging, travel insurance, and escorted tours. Customers are generally required to be enrolled students or faculty members at accredited colleges or universities, or between 16 and 25 years old.
28. STA Travel*
The world’s largest student and youth travel agency. Find cheap flights, tours, Spring Break packages and exclusive travel deals for students with STA Travel.
Which of these are your go-to for flights? Leave your vote in the comments.
Her mission is to empower young people to seek risk, seize opportunity, and see the world.
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