Travelling by flight can leave a dent in your pocket if you are running on a tight budget. However, if you don’t want money to come between your desire to travel and explore the world, then you need to plan smartly.
If you travel frequently, you might have observed how quickly the fares rise while searching for flight tickets for a particular destination. If you don’t book well in advance, then flight tickets could eat into your budget, especially if you have plans to travel abroad. If you don’t want to cancel your shopping plans or cut down your spending, then here are a few tips you can consider for grabbing tickets at cheaper rates.
1. Early bird bookings
It is best to always plan your travel in advance. If you plan your journey a month ahead and book your tickets, then you are sure to grab the tickets at a cheaper price compared to what you might have to pay a week before your journey.
All the travel companies keep a tab of your preferences using IP addresses and cookies. If you check the prices repeatedly for a specific date, then the chances are you will be served with increased prices. To avoid this, you can consider browsing information in incognito mode or you can clear the cookies once you are done browsing.
2. Use flight comparison websites
Before booking flights, it is best to do a comparison of prices on a reliable ticket booking and comparison website. This will help you grab the cheapest tickets. While doing a comparison, make sure that you don’t specify the date and instead check the price trend for the entire month.
3. Return with a different airline
Instead of booking a return ticket with the same airline, you can opt for another airline while planning your journey. This trick could save you plenty on your return ticket. You might believe that booking a return ticket with the same airline will cut down your fare, but this is not always true. It would be a good move to check fares for round trip as well as one-way flights before purchasing. Budget airlines are cheaper for one-way flights. Also, a flight with one or multiple stops is actually less expensive. International flights usually involve one or more stops and they come at lower fares when compared to direct flights.
4. Purchase tickets midweek
There is a common misconception that purchasing tickets on weekends is cheaper. The truth is that you can grab a cheaper flight ticket if you book your tickets midweek.
5. Pick the right dates & time
Unless there is an emergency, you should always be flexible with your dates if you want to save a considerable amount of money. Most airlines and travel sites do mention the dates with the cheapest fares. Fares are expensive during weekends and around festivals. Hence, it would be best to book tickets in advance for long-haul trips. The prices hike during the final two to three weeks from the date of departure. If you are flexible with dates, then you can spend more time and check the dates that have the cheapest flights.
The departure time could also impact your fares. Usually, flights between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. are more expensive than the ones in other time slots. Off-hours tend to attract low passenger traffic and hence carry lower airfare.
6. Make good use of reward points
If you are a frequent flyer and have a membership card with any airline or booking site, then you would be able to fly free as well if you have accumulated sufficient reward points. You can also get a travel credit card with which you can earn reward points each time you purchase flight tickets.
Travellers can also check out discount airlines and browse through their offers. Chances are that you could be offered discount coupons at the check-out page. Most websites don’t highlight this feature and it is better if you do a quick check for discount coupons.
In summary
Want to make the best travel plan? Consider the above-mentioned tips while booking your next flight tickets. They will help you save a considerable amount of money on your flight tickets. Spend some time doing research, compare prices, and use a reliable ticket booking platform to save on your journey.