Cheap Flights – 10 Ways To Save Big Money On Flights

10 ways to save big money and find cheap flights

There are plenty of ways to save money when booking flights.

This is especially good news if you have a family and need to book multiple tickets.

It wouldn’t be possible for my family to spend so long travelling the world if we didn’t do our research, and find out how we can fly for less.

So many people assume we ‘must be loaded’, since we’re travelling the world for 12 months. But it’s simply a matter of knowing how to do it, having the tools, and being committed to learning where to find the cheap flights. Just like anything else.

The good news is, I’ve done all the hard work for you, and consolidated all I’ve learnt into this post.

Now up to you to use these tips and do your own research, so you can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars when you go travelling.

Here are 10 different ways we’ve saved money travelling the world.

#1: BE FLEXIBLE!

This has to be the biggest, most important factor for saving money on flights.

If you’re going on a business trip, flexibility might not be possible.

However, if you’re reading this, chances are you’re taking a family trip. Even if you or your partner is an employee, you can still be flexible by doing your research before you ask for time off.

And I’m not just talking about finding out when peak and low season is.

This brings us to point two.

#2: Consult Flight Aggregators

The internet is awesome – and some clever people have designed flight aggregators, which gather fare prices from around the web and present them to you in an easy to read format.

Flight aggregators will help you research, plan and compare fares before you travel. Set up fare alerts for the destinations you’re planning on going to, and you’ll be notified when prices drop or rise.

Before you ask for time off, check for when prices are lower, and then ask to start holidays on that date.

To see our favourite flight aggregators which have saved us loads of money, see my post here.

#3: If Travelling Long Term, Travel Slow

It makes sense – the more countries you want to see, the more you’ll be paying for flights.

This is especially true if there’s a fair distance between those countries.

The fewer countries you see, your overall expenses will be greatly reduced. There are some exceptions, for example Europe, where thanks to competitive budget airlines, you can fly very cheaply between cities.

In some countries, it can be very cheap to travel by bus or train to other cities or countries, so always check out your options. For example, travelling on comfy sleeper buses in Vietnam between several cities cost us less than $10 per person. The kids actually loved it too.

#4: Check Out Best Price Policies

Jetstar is an example of an airline that offers a best price guarantee. They’ll not only match the price, but offer an extra 10% off the price (check the conditions, there are a couple, e.g. making sure fares are in the same currency as what they accept).

We received a great discount and saved money when we found an AirAsia flight cheaper than Jetstar. Normally we would have just picked the AirAsia flight, however it was right after the AirAsia disaster and we were a little nervy, which is why we looked at the next most expensive option (we’ve flown with them since and had great experiences).

#5: Take Advantage Of Your Children’s Ages

With most airlines, children under two years of age are free.

Some airlines offer a discount for children who are under a certain age (usually 12). Discount airlines will usually charge a full price.

Once your child is 12 or so, they are a full fare paying adult. So if you’re planning long term travel in the near future, you can save a heap of money by going before your children hit age milestones and need to pay a full fare. Huge money to be saved.

#6: Subscribe To Airline Facebook Pages / Newsletters

Getting regular airline travel updates via Facebook or newsletters will help you to get easy specials and offers on flights, hotel packages, products and services etc.

#7: Use And Accumulate Frequent Flyer Points

If you’re someone who doesn’t fly often and has next to no frequent flyer points, don’t despair – there are many ways you can accumulate them.

Many frequent flyer programs are affiliated with other businesses to help you boost your points. You can earn big frequent flyer points from:

• Incentive offers to get a frequent flyer credit card
• Making your purchases on that credit card
• Purchasing products and services from affiliated businesses, from groceries to insurance and utilities

Especially if you have good control over your credit use, it can be a very effective way to pay for everything you can on your credit card, then pay off your bill every month, keeping fees and interest low. Be careful not to fall in the trap of using the card for luxuries or nice-to-haves, but for everyday living instead. There’s nothing worse than travelling with credit card debt.

If you have frequent flyer points sitting there, then make good use of them!

#8: Fly During Low/Shoulder Season

It’s not always possible, but if you can, travel during low or shoulder seasons.

There are more likely to be sales and offers, saving you good money.

But before you make a decision on timing, check out my article on the pros and cons of travelling in the low season.

#9: Get Creative With Your Route – And Save Big!

Especially when travelling long distances, it’s really easy to get stuck in thinking of the easiest solution to get from A to B.

However, if you invest a little time into looking into alternative routes, you could easily save hundreds per ticket – we’ve just done it, and you can see an example here.

Using the flight aggregators above, experiment with different departure cities and stopovers. If you’re in regions like South East Asia or Europe, it’s really easy (and cheap) to jump across to neighboring cities. The difference between departing those two cities could provide a massive savings. It all depends on who flies out of those airports, what days they fly out, and airport fees and taxes that airport charges. See our example as mentioned above and you’ll be blown away.

#10: Clear Your Cookies Before Booking

When you visit a website, they use cookies (small, digital files) to retain certain information about your actions on their website. For example, they remember if you’ve visited before.

They can also remember what you’ve searched for on their website in the past.

As far as flight ticketing goes, cookies are known to be used to show higher ticket prices on your return visit. They know you’re interested in booking a flight and take advantage.

Before you book any flights, clear your cookies to ensure you’re getting the best price.