Tips For Getting The Best Airline Prices Possible!
Because finding the best savings = more money for making holidays memories!
1. To get the absolute best price, you need to know the best time to buy: generally 6-8 weeks outside of the fly date is the best time to book (with an exception for flash sales and deals). The best idea for getting cheap flights is always to sign up with newsletters and follow on social media. They have great offers and sales, which you might not otherwise find by browsing their website. You will also get to know their special days, such as Thursday for Virgin Australia.
2. It may not be the most pleasant idea but opting for the red eye or the earliest possible flight out will generally be the cheapest option for most airline carriers. The worst day to fly is Sunday. Instead, choose Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Most important however, is booking in off season. Whenever you can, avoid peak times due to the insane price hikes and larger than usual crowds.
3. Never search for tickets during office hours i.e. 9am to 6 or 7pm. Searching after 8pm or later is much better. Why? Because majority of people conduct searches for air tickets during these hours so the airlines tend to increase their prices during peak times.
4. Using a flight comparison website such as Skyscanner will enable you to compare the prices of multiple airlines at the same time. Particularly handy if you are time poor or are booking close to departure date.
5. Take advantage of you age! Are you under 25 or still a student? This can give you some extra special discounts, such as with STA Travel. Or maybe you can even get a nice seat with lots of leg space when you’re older without having to pay an extra fee. Just ask nicely at the check in counter (unless you have checked in online beforehand).
6. Be Loyal - this one makes more sense for those that prefer one airline and fly very often. Collecting miles can provide the happy traveller with great rewards and air fares but can sometimes come with an entry fee. Watch out for special offers, such as the one with Woolworths, Flybuys and QANTAS where they offer free membership, for instance. Sometimes you can get double points during promo campaigns as well.
7. Another great way to save money on flights is to fly in-direct and make one (or multiple) stopovers along the way. This will almost always be cheaper and can sometimes result in an impromptu day-long excursion into a new city or country you haven’t previously explored. Win-Win!
8. Search for 1 person flights even if you are booking for multiple people. If the first search you perform for a flight is for multiple seats, the airline might hike up prices. So instead, start by searching for a flight for just one person, and look into booking for multiple people later.
Expert tip - switch your browser to incognito or private browsing when searching for flights, it’s true, your search history can be monitored by airlines. To avoid price hikes, use a private window in your browser to search undetected.
Have you got any travel hacks to tips to share, we would love to hear it!
Tell us your tips in the comments below.
References:
http://travelonthebrain.net/
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/
http://www.worldofwanderlust.com/
