As someone who has been traveling for quite some time now, I have learned some of the best ways to save money on travelling. Through the years I have found hacks to get cheap hotels or accommodation, I can sniff out the cheap holiday packages when they are out there, and most importantly I can find the cheapest possible flights.
Many people are deciding to shun traditional vacation packages and opt to book things themselves for a cheaper trip, flights included. With this in mind, and for you nomads out there, here is how I go about finding the cheapest flights.
Credit Card
The first recommendation that I would give you is to either get yourself, or switch to, a credit card which gives rewards based around travel. These cards basically give you points when you spend on them, and then you can convert these points into air miles to save on your next trip. I take at least 2 long haul trips each year for absolutely nothing, just using points. The way I amass so many points is by using my credit card for everything each month, and then clearing it at the end. If you want cheap flights, get a travel credit card.
Connections
The way that I save the most amount of money when it comes to flying around the world, is through taking connections. To be honest, I am surprised that more people don’t do this because with one or two stops along the journey, you can save an enormous amount of money. Last year I flew from Mexico City to Edinburgh, the direct flight cost was $867 return, yet I managed to bag it for just $432. The reason for this dramatic price cut was that I flew from Mexico City to Houston, on to Vancouver and then to Edinburgh. The flight time took my 21 hours, instead of the 11 hours that it would have taken to go direct, and so for the cost of just 10 hours of my time, I was able to save over $400. Check out a website such as Kayak which can show you not only direct routes, but flights which take the more ‘scenic’ route for you to get to your destination. If you aren’t in a hurry, this is the best way to travel without blowing your budget.
Searching Online
The two websites which I use when searching for the cheapest possible flights, are Skyscanner and Momondo. Both sites are similar in that they are flight aggregators which scour the web for the best prices. What I love about these sites is that they do not just search the airlines, but also third party sites to find the best deals. Each site has a ton of filters which you can use to ensure that you get the exact flight, destination, route or price that you are looking for. In truth, I wouldn’t even entertain using another flight search website, these two are the best and most importantly, the cheapest.
Why not try these out for your next flight, see how much you can save.