If there’s one thing I love about being a millennial, it’s that we have the freedom to choose what to do with our lives–there’s no one formula to success, and we thrive on options! We no longer need to slog it out at a 9-5 job like our parents, saving up the entire year just to take one small trip. With the option of remote jobs and cheaper flights, travel has become a lot more accessible than it was a few years ago. And once you’re bitten by the wanderlust bug, it’s hard to stop! So if you’re a travel junkie and are looking to get the most out of your vacation while spending as little as possible, you’ve come to the right place.
How To Score Cheap Flight Tickets
Don’t you love it when you get a good deal on a flight during the festive season or an annual sale? What if we told you that you no longer need to wait for a particular sale to get a good deal on your flight tickets? Intrigued? Scroll down for secret tips!
1. Always Book Early
This is the golden rule of travel. The earlier you plan your trip, the cheaper it will be. If you plan to travel abroad, we recommend you book your travels 6 months in advance and 2-3 months for domestic travels, to get the most cost-effective tickets. The math is simple: the closer your travel dates, the costlier your tickets are going to be!
2. Check Comparison Websites, Book On Airline Website
Who wants to hop from one airline’s website to the next to compare prices and look for the cheapest deal? Not us! This is where flight comparison websites like MakeMyTrip, ClearTrip, Skyscanner etc come handy! Not only will they tell you about the cheapest flight on your given dates, but they’ll will also inform you about tickets that might be cheaper on other dates in case your itinerary is flexible! However, the agenda here is to look and not buy–because let’s face it, these websites tend to charge a pretty hefty convenience fee! So compare flight prices on these websites, and book directly on the airline websites, those will save you some extra cash!
3. Use Incognito Mode
Owing to every website’s cookie policies, most websites will try to fleece you by saving your travel dates and showing you hiked up prices for those specific dates! In order to avoid falling for that trap, make sure you turn on the incognito mode on your web browser while searching for and booking your flights! Alternatively, you could also clear cookies on your browser or just use a completely new browser to plan your travels.
4. Use Different Airlines
While it may be convenient to book your onwards and return flights via the same airline, it may not be the most cost-effective. Our suggestion? First, search for only one flight at a time, instead of looking for return tickets. Once you’ve individually found the cheapest tickets for both your flights, you’ll notice they will rarely belong to the same airlines. So visit their respective airlines’ websites and book your tickets separately–this will definitely help you save some money.
5. Don’t Book Direct Flights
Direct flights are usually meant for business travellers–those who need to be at a specific place at a particular time. If you’re travelling for leisure and you don’t mind a longer travel time, we suggest you skip the direct flights altogether. Flights with layovers are considerably cheaper and if you plan carefully, you can also visit the destination of your layover! And who wouldn’t want to explore two completely different places over the course of one trip?
6. Never Book On Weekends!
Just planned an exciting new trip with your friends? No matter how much you’re itching to book your flights right away, make sure you use all your will power to keep away from your credit card over the weekend! Most people are likely to excitedly book their airline tickets over a weekend, making airlines inflate their prices. So which days are ideal for booking? The most depressing days of the week–Wednesdays and Thursdays, when most people are too swamped in work to even think about travel. Take advantage of that and book your tickets on those days!
Now that you’ve managed to save all that money, you can spend it on better hotels, extend your trip or simply save it for another trip later!
Featured Image: Shutterstock
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