I love looking for deals and what better way to start your next vacation than to be able to save money as you plan your trip? Going on vacation takes time and money, and for those who are money-conscious, it’s great to be able to save where you can and actually splurge where you want. One of the areas you can save money on are flights. I personally like to save on flights since I’m not picky on “comfort” or extra food (I bring my own), and it doesn’t matter to me if I’m not flying Business or First Class. I just want to get to my destination, and we get there either way.
I remember on my recent trip to Miami, Florida during Christmastime, a couple of us were talking about how much we paid for our flights. I paid about $270 CAD round trip (the cheapest I ever paid during this time of the year) whereas the people next to me spent between $400-600 CAD. I know, it’s so unfair how everyone pays a different price for their seats even if they’re next to each other, but if you want to try to cut back on the amount you need to spend to get to your destination, these are the best ways to save money on flights for your next vacation.
1 – Be Flexible With Your Timing
If you are able to be flexible with the dates you can depart, you can save quite a bit of money. This includes days of the week and even hours of the day. I provide more details in my blog post on The Best Times To Book Your Flights For The Best Prices. If you’re adventurous and have the freedom to take a random trip at any time, use Skiplagged or even Google Flights Explore section for the cheapest flight deals available.
2 – Consider A Layover Or A Stopover
If you have the flexibility and time, a layover or a stopover can help you save money on flights.
Layover – It may be a little inconvenient to have a connecting flight, but for the most part, layovers are always cheaper than direct flights. They can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 23 hours in between getting to your final destination.
Stopover – A stopover can be a layover and can even last for a few days, but it also allows you to visit a second destination before your final destination. It allows you to have a multi-destination itinerary. There are also great deals from certain airlines that when you have a stopover, they’ll reimburse you for some part of your trip. Read more about that in my blog post on How To Visit More Destinations In One Trip.
3 – Look At Discount Airlines
There have been more smaller airlines emerging the past couple of years and they are offer really low-priced flights. In Canada, airlines such as Flair, Swoop, and Lynx are no-frills carriers and operate at a much cheaper rate compared to the major airlines. Although you’ll need to pay extra for your carry-on baggage, if you are able to travel with only a personal item, then it is worth it. Even with paying for your carry-on, it is still cheaper than a major airline’s flight costs. Also, the checked baggage prices are very close to a carry-on price so you might as well check in your luggage anyway. For the most part, I would still go for a major airline because the costs of having a carry-on luggage, better customer service, and better cancellation policies outweigh the benefits of a slightly cheaper flight. But I will not discount them since I do have my eye on a few itineraries that these airlines can save me quite a bit of money on.
4 – Set Up Price Alerts On Your Flight Itinerary
Whatever airline you prefer to fly with, I would set up a few different price alerts that get sent to your email on the dates you feel comfortable traveling on. I usually set up price alerts using the Hopper app on my phone. I’ve used this app for many trips and it’s one of the best ways to save money on flights since I have been able to purchase flights for my particular itinerary at the lowest price possible and it hasn’t let me down. It lets me know when the prices are expect to drop or rise, what the lowest price is expected to be, and when to purchase for the best price.
5 – Sign Up For Airline Mailing Lists
If you sign up for your preferred airline’s mailing list, you’ll get flights sent right to your inbox the moment there’s a good deal and you might just find one that fits your itinerary. Occasionally, they’ll also send you coupons or other deals as well. You can also set up price alerts through their mailing list as mentioned above.
6 – Use Fare Comparison and Flight Aggregator Sites
I like using CheapAir, Skyscanner, FlightHub, CheapOAir, and Just Fly for flight comparisons among different airlines. For the most part, I’m not picky on which airline I fly with as long as they get me there in the shortest amount of time at the lowest price. Either way, I get there so it doesn’t matter who I fly with. I like to double check between a few of these websites as some are cheaper than others at times.
7 – Sign Up To Be A Frequent Flyer To Collect Points
When I was young I didn’t understand why my dad was so adamant on me signing up for every frequent flyer loyalty program whenever we had to take a flight. I thought signing up for a flight I’ll take probably twice in the next couple years wasn’t going to really do anything. Plus, a lot of airlines have an expiration date for your points. But one time after taking a flight from Toronto to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, I already earned a free night’s stay at a nice hotel which I was able to redeem in Vietnam. I actually was able to redeem a couple nights since I used my parents’ points as well – and that was just after one round trip flight.
8 – Use Points That You Earn As A Frequent Flyer
If you’re a frequent flyer and have a loyalty card with an airline, be sure to check how many points you have just in case you have enough to redeem for your flight to save some money. You can also check Award Hacker to see how many points you need to be able to redeem for a flight with a particular airline.
9 – Use A Travel Or Airline Co-Branded Credit Card To Redeem For Flights
Personally, the best way to save money on flights is using my credit card rewards. There are many credit card companies out there that provide points you can redeem for travel with no annual fee. If you don’t mind paying an annual fee for extra points, some credit cards also provide the first year fee waived and additional bonus points. Additionally, travel credit cards usually provide pretty good travel protection and travel insurance. Insider Tip: I’ve signed up for credit cards where I only use it for the first year they waive the fee and get enough bonus points for a short-haul flight with my first purchase and then cancel it after that year or downgrade to the no annual fee card instead. But throughout that year while you use the credit card to gain points, you can definitely rack up a few free flights.
I’ve recently signed up for Brim Financial since they give rewards on travel, but most importantly, they have 0% foreign transaction fees which is perfect when traveling internationally. Also, not to mention that they provide you free global Wi-Fi access at over 1 million Boingo hotspots around the world!
10 – Freeze Your Rates Or Hold Your Tickets
When booking a flight with the airlines directly or even by using the Hopper app, you can basically freeze the price on that flight or hold the ticket for a certain amount of time if you’re not ready to purchase. So if within that time frame the price goes up, you’ll only pay the price of what you held the ticket for.
11 – Split Your Tickets
Instead of booking a round trip flight from the start, look into purchasing one-way tickets instead and also look at nearby airports to reduce the money you need to spend. Although you do need to do a little more shopping around for flights, it’s definitely helped me save money on my flights.
12 – Opt For A Nearby Airport Instead
As I’ve mentioned in the previous point, take a look at nearby airports as well. Sometimes the more popular or high-traffic airports cost a little more. For example, when I go to Miami, half the time I’m booking my flight to arrive and/or depart in Fort Lauderdale instead since I’m able to save over $100. And it’s only about a 30 minute drive away so it really is worth considering.
13 – Hidden-City Tickets
Now this way to save money on flights is kind of a loophole. Basically, you purchase a ticket to a destination, but with a layover or stopover in between which is actually your intended destination. But instead of taking the last leg of the flight, you just stay in the layover or stopover location. Flying direct can sometimes be more expensive than having a connecting flight, so booking your trip this way can reduce your costs.
14 – Take Advantage Of Your Carry-On
For the most part, if you aren’t traveling long distances or internationally, you’ll likely need to pay for a checked bag. I like to avoid additional fees for my flights and make the most out of my carry-on luggage and personal item. Here’s How To Pack For A Week’s Vacation To Fit In A Carry-On. I’ve actually been able to pack for a 3 week trip into my carry-on and personal item which saves me a bit of money for a round trip flight.
After booking your flight, the next step is to book your hotel stay. Here are the Best Ways To Save Money On Hotels For Your Next Vacation!