Planning A Vacation? Here Are 10 Genius Hacks To Get Cheap Flight Tickets
The blistering summer heat is sending everyone off to cooler parts of the globe, and it’s hard for you not to have your heart set on Europe! The only downer: those expensive AF flight tickets!
Even if you’ve chalked out the perfect budget backpacking trip, getting half way across the world is going to cost a fortune. In fact, flight tickets to certain destinations can actually prove to take up 40 to 50% of your overall vacay budget. Ouch! Well, to help you get cheap flight tickets this summer, we have listed our very own tried-and-tested hacks for booking flight tickets online.
Follow these rules on how to get cheap flight tickets, and your summer vacation won’t burn a big hole in your pocket. P.S. These tips are good all year round ;)
1. Book your tickets 6 to 8 weeks in advance
Plan in advance, and book try to book your ticket at least 6 to 8 weeks in advance. Last minute bookings are usually much more expensive, so when you ponder on those memes about packing your bag and going on a solo impulse trip to Europe, well.. think twice about that (6 to 8 weeks in advance)
2. Avoid a direct flight.
As obvious as it may sound, a direct flight is always more expensive than one with a short stopover. If you want to go from Bombay to New York, try looking for a split itinerary that is from Bombay to London, and then London to New York. Splitting your journey in different legs may increase travel time a little, but will help you save some big bucks!
3. Book a return ticket.
A one-way ticket is likely to be more expensive than a return ticket. So if your dates of travel are fixed, you might as well make the most of it. Also, choosing the same airline to go and come back reduces your fare further.
4. Book a non-refundable ticket
The cost of a refundable ticket is typically 3 to 4 times as much as a non-refundable flight ticket. The downside is that if you do decide to bail on a trip to Bali with your friends because of a silly argument, you might just have to throw away the ticket.
5. Take advantage of layovers.
If you are flying to New York, and you have a stopover in Switzerland, take advantage of the free stopover by extending it, and go explore the place! This will also give you some time to rest if your flights are really long.
6. Build up on frequent flier points.
There are alliances of several airlines that help you add on the miles covered during your trips. You can redeem these miles for in-flight shopping and even free tickets. So get going, girl, catch up on those miles!
7. Fly on a week day instead of the weekend.
If you are flexible with the day you fly in and fly out, look for the cheapest day of the week, which is mostly a Tuesday or Wednesday. It is definitely cheaper to fly on a week day compared to a weekend, so its best to take a look at the visual of prices for the whole month, and pick the cheapest dates.
8. Book a flight with a layover that’s actually your final destination.
Say you have to fly from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, but the ticket you saw for Mumbai to Delhi with a stopover in Ahmedabad is cheaper. You might as well book that flight and disembark at Ahmedabad (don’t board the connecting flight).
9. Search for the best options across all websites and phone apps.
When you are booking your flight, make sure to check all travel search engines like Kayak, Priceline, and Skyscanner for the cheapest deals. Even try downloading certain apps and look for coupon codes for first-time users; you’ll be amazed at how much you can save!
10. Clear your cookies or open an incognito tab before booking.
As stalker-ish as it may sound, travel agencies use your computer cookies to see what flight you are interested in, and they often raise the prices accordingly. So ensure that you clear your browser cache, or open an incognito tab before you start searching for tickets.
