Use these 11 tricks to book cheap flight tickets

April 25, 2018

According to research, if you book your flight tickets at midnight - Monday through Wednesday, you get cheaper air fares. So - stay awake, save more!

Want to book your flight tickets? And that too at the cheapest fare possible? Well, for all you travel enthusiasts who are always on the go, we’ve got you 10 tricks that will help you book cheap flights. So, get ready to tick new destinations off your travel bucket list without burning a hole in your pocket.

1. Be flexible with travel dates

You might have come across websites claiming that booking flight tickets on a Tuesday or travelling on a weekday would save you big bucks. But that’s not always true. So, we suggest, you check out the prices for the entire month. This way, you will get a clear picture of days that are cheaper for your destination. Where do you check the monthly prices? Browse through Google Flights, Skyscanner or Hopper. Either try it on the website or the mobile app. What you have to do is simply feed in your departure and arrival cities. First, check for a one-way fare. Click depart, do not enter a date, instead select the whole month. Then, click - search flights and you’ll get to know the date which offers the lowest fare. Now, follow the above steps for your return flight to get the cheapest fare. If you’re booking on the mobile app, you can view the price chart and book accordingly.

2. Go for local airlines

Most of the search engines do not show local airlines. This happens mostly in the case of remote places or less popular routes. If you’re flying to any such destination, we suggest, you search on Google for the local airlines. Then, visit the local airline's website and check for any offers or deals. This will help you, book your flights at a lower fare.

3. Use incognito when searching for flights

Have you noticed that, each time you search for your flights, the fare prices increase in your web browser? Well, that happens due to the cookies in your browser. The website increases the fare after repeated search, so that you book your flight, then and there. You begin to anticipate that prices will increase further. Hence, we advise - when you search for flights, do it in incognito mode. Each time, open a new incognito window before you begin your search. This way, your previous searches won’t be stored, and you won’t see raised flight fares. Other alternatives include browsing from a different laptop/computer or clearing your cookies to get lower fares.

4. If possible, make payment in a currency cheaper than the Indian rupee

Many travellers use this option to get cheaper fares. Most of the airlines ask you to make payment in the currency of the country you’re travelling from. When you’re booking your flight tickets, check if you can pay in any other currency that is cheaper than your own. A word of caution here - If you’re making the payment through your credit card, your credit card shouldn’t levy foreign-transaction fees. Then only, go ahead and book your tickets.

5. Book your flights well in advance

If your travel dates and destination both are fixed, we suggest - you book your flight tickets right away. The reason is - as your departure date approaches, the airline fares will only increase, exceptions are very few here. By booking your flight tickets well in advance, you can save big and utilise the savings for other enjoyable experiences.

6. Set fare alerts

When you visit airlines pages, do remember to set fare alerts. By doing this, you will get to know about the special offers, before they sell out and enable you to book cheap flight tickets. You can also follow pages of budget airlines like GoAir, Air Asia, Jetstar, Indigo and SpiceJet on Facebook and Twitter to learn about various deals and offers.

7. Identify the cheapest place to travel

If you're itching to travel but don’t have any specific destination in mind, then this trick is for you. You can use search engines to find out which places offer cheap flight fares, then accordingly freeze your holiday destination as per your interest. Thinking about which website to visit? Well, you can try Skyscanner. Simply, enter your departure city and hit the search for cheap flights to anywhere in the world. Then, select the destination of your choice from the list of cheapest places to fly and book your tickets. This smart move will help you travel to exotic places and satiate the wanderlust in you.

8. Make use of flight points

If you’re a frequent flyer of a particular airline, you certainly earn air miles points as part of the loyalty program offered by the airline. For instance, Jet Airways offers JetPrivilege Miles wherein, depending on your miles, you can use them to get cheaper flight fares. You can make most of these points while travelling to domestic destinations. However, if you earn more points, you can also qualify for an award flight to your favourite destination.

9. Compare and buy flight tickets

Most of the travel search engines have inflated flight fares as part of taking a cut from the airlines. So, we suggest you try search engines like Musafir.com, Google Flights, Skyscanner, JetRadar and Airfarewatchdog where you can get lower flight fares. You have to try each of them and compare the air fares for different airlines. Go ahead and book your flight tickets which offer the cheapest airfares.

10. When booking connecting flights, do it yourself

Many a time, we have connecting flights and have to change from one plane to another on the way to our final destination. For such journeys, we suggest you visit the AirWander website. This search engine will offer you cheaper routes with multiple airlines options and save you more money.

11. Book on the cheapest day

If you’re a night owl, then this trick is for you. If you aren’t, then it’s time to be one! You ask: Is it applicable thorough out the week? Unfortunately, no. According to research, if you book your flight tickets at midnight - Monday through Wednesday, you get cheaper air fares. So - stay awake, save more!

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