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78 votes, 34 comments. Lately, it feels like finding affordable airfare is like searching for a needle in a haystack. I was recently shocked to see…
Finding cheap flights is more about how early you book, when you plan the trip (be flexible), and how trafficked are the airports (bigger airports are usually cheaper). I like Google Flight + Kayak Map for getting general ideas about what destinations may be cheap when I have no specific destination in mind.
I look at those site to see what the cheapest fly is. Then I book the flight directly at the airlines website to avoid the fees of the search site. I also travel with just a backpack.
To get truly cheap flights you either have to be flexible on dates, be subscribed to something like Scott’s Cheap Flights that emails you mistake fares, be willing to leave from a different airport, or use credit card/airline points.
Dates, flight times, airlines, origin even destination. The more flexable you are the better the deals you can find. Google flights and then use points and miles to look for availability on those flights. Easier to do with points already accumulated and flexibility in dates.
Google Flights and watch a youtube video turotial on how to use all the features. This is an extremely powerful tool for finding the best prices. Once you have a flight number go to the airlines site and book direct.
For long haul international flights, it's usually not worth it to check every single source airport. Just a short list of the usual suspects is enough to get the cheapest fare. I check LAX, SFO, SEA, EWR, JFK, ORD, IAD. That maxes out the number of airports in the google flights search box.
