Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere

Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Best Time to Book: Unlocking the Secrets of Timing

Knowing the best time to book flights can mean the difference between scoring an incredible deal and overpaying for the same itinerary. While there is no one-size-fits-all rule, arming yourself with insider knowledge on booking windows can unlock major savings.

The tried and true adage says to book six weeks in advance for domestic flights and three to four months out for international. However, this is just a general guideline. The ideal booking window can vary drastically based on factors like destination, time of year, airline, and more.

For example, booking flights to popular tourist destinations like Hawaii or Europe further in advance often yields better fares. According to the Airlines Reporting Corporation, leisure travelers booked these flights an average of 79 days prior in 2019. Yet when Norwegian launched cheap flights between the U.S. and Europe, last-minute deals a month or less in advance were common.
Booking mid-week flights is another insider strategy, as weekend travel is more in demand. And traveling outside of peak seasons allows you to capture lower fares in shoulder seasons. Visiting Europe in May vs August can present big differences.

Constantly tracking prices with alerts is key. Even if you book in advance, continue monitoring for sales or drops leading up to departure. Scott’s Cheap Flights frequently sees $200+ differences materialize last minute through this strategy.
Being flexible with nearby airports and slight date changes opens up options too. Even shifting your trip by 1 day before or after can unlock special sales. And considering alternate airports within 100 miles can tap into completely different fare availability.
While booking Tuesday afternoons is rumored to offer discounts as airlines unload unsold seats, evidence on actual savings is mixed. Particularly when considering most sales launch at midnight. However, Fridays do tend to showcase pricier fares on average.

What else is in this post?

1. Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Best Time to Book: Unlocking the Secrets of Timing
2. Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Hidden Gems: Lesser-Known Airports for Big Savings
3. Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - The Art of Fare Comparison: Unveiling the Best Tools
4. Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Flexibility is Key: Maximizing Savings with Date and Time Changes
5. Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Loyalty Programs Unveiled: How to Make Miles and Points Work for You
6. Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Budget Airlines: Uncovering Affordable Carriers for Your Next Adventure
7. Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - These subheadings should help you cover various aspects of finding cheap flights while keeping the article engaging and informative.

Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Hidden Gems: Lesser-Known Airports for Big Savings

Flying out of major hub airports like LAX, JFK, and ORD often means paying a premium thanks to high demand. But looking at alternate airports in a region can unlock surprising savings on the very same routes.

While it may involve a longer drive or commute to get there, the cost savings often justify going the extra mile. We’re talking $100+ differences, particularly on popular routes and during peak season.

I constantly see at least $150+ lower fares out of Oakland vs SFO on flights to Hawaii, for example. Getting to OAK may take 30 minutes longer if you’re coming from San Francisco, but that drive is so worth it for the cheaper fare.

Same goes for flying out of Burbank instead of LAX. Bob swears by this strategy and will happily tack on the hour drive from LA to save a bundle on flights east. Most recently snagging an $800 fare to NYC vs $250 out of Burbank!

Chicago is another prime example. While Chicago O’Hare (ORD) is convenient, Chicago Midway (MDW) often sees way cheaper fares, especially on routes east like Atlanta, DC, New York, and Florida. The CTA Orange Line can get you there from downtown Chicago in about 40 minutes.

I always check Long Beach (LGB) when heading west from LA too. JetBlue has a big presence there. And I’ve scored $200+ savings flying to Vegas or San Francisco from there instead of crowded LAX.
Flying out of Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY (SWF) is vastly cheaper than Newark, JFK, or LaGuardia when heading to Florida. It’s 90 minutes north of Manhattan but connecting bus service is easy.
Even in Europe this strategy translates. Paris Orly (ORY) or Paris Beauvais (BVA) are so much less expensive than Paris CDG on cheapo flights to Athens, Madrid, Oslo and beyond. A bit farther from the city center but well worth the metro or bus ride to tap those savings.

So next time you’re flying from a major city, always check alternate airports within 60-90 minutes. Taking a bit more time to get there can unlock amazing deals and offer a more relaxed airport experience.

Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - The Art of Fare Comparison: Unveiling the Best Tools

Comparing airfares across multiple sites is absolutely essential to ensure you lock in the lowest price. No single search engine or OTA will always have the cheapest fare. Leveraging metasearch engines along with airline and OTA websites will unveil the best deals through comprehensive fare scanning.
Google Flights is one of the best metasearch engines for quickly comparing fares across different dates and nearby airports. The easy-to-use interface allows you to customize all key parameters with a few clicks. You can effortlessly tweak dates, nearby airports, length of stay, number of stops, and more to unlock savings. The flexible date grid makes it simple to identify cheaper travel windows at a glance.

While Google Flights misses some airlines, it’s unrivaled for quickly finding the cheapest dates and airports on major carriers. I always use it in combination with Momondo or Skyscanner for even wider coverage. The calendar view on Momondo also makes visualizing prices across dates a breeze.
Don’t forget to check budget carrier websites directly too, like Allegiant, Frontier, and Spirit. They don’t always appear on metasearch sites. Southwest is another one I always search separately given its unique pricing model.

Signing up for fare alerts is also hugely valuable. You can get notified when specific routes drop in price. I have Hopper watchlist alerts set for a number of dream destinations I’m hoping to visit soon. The minuteChicago to Honolulu dips below $300 roundtrip, I’ll pounce!

OTAs like Expedia, Orbitz and CheapOAir are useful for uncovering sales or coupon codes that might not appear elsewhere. Signing up for their email alerts provides visibility into deals at your fingertips.

And never forget to check the airline website directly! Delta, American Airlines, United and others run weekly sales that sometimes don’t populate on metasearch engines. You’ll see them front and center after logging into your airline account.

Lastly, leverage bonus programs from your credit card, employer, or organizations you’re a member of. I’ve scored $100 discounts on flights through my credit card’s travel portal that didn’t exist on any other site.

Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Flexibility is Key: Maximizing Savings with Date and Time Changes

Flexibility is absolutely paramount when it comes to scoring the cheapest flights. While fixed dates are often required for things like weddings or other events, leisure travelers generally have wiggle room when choosing exactly when to fly. And being open-minded with your dates and times can lead to incredible savings.

I’m obsessed with using Google Flights’ flexible date grid to uncover the cheapest windows for upcoming trips. Simply enter your route and toggle on the tool. At a glance, you’ll see color-coded calendars identifying the lowest fares by day. In seconds, you can discover the best time to travel and effortlessly shift your dates around major price differences.

For example, when planning a trip to Europe this summer, I saw flights were absurdly expensive on the exact days I hoped to travel. We’re talking $1,200+ roundtrips from New York to Madrid, whereas the rest of June and July showed fares in the $600-$800 range. But because our dates weren’t set in stone, I easily shifted the trip forward by two weeks. Just like that our tickets dropped to $650 roundtrip – an incredible $550 in savings!

The flexible date feature on Momondo provides similar visibility into cheap vs expensive travel periods in calendar view. This makes it effortlessly easy to move your dates around when price gaps of $100+ emerge.

Being flexible on not just departure dates but also trip length can unlock savings too. I’ll often search a range from 5 to 14 days when exploring options to economize. Many times I’ve seen the price drop significantly when adding or subtracting a day or two, thanks to how airfare pricing algorithms work.

Considering nearby departure dates is hugely valuable as well. If a 2-week Europe trip is cheapest departing May 14 vs May 16 when I hoped to fly, I’ll absolutely shift my plans by those 2 days. It takes virtually no effort to tweak dates and yields huge rewards.
Flexibility with departure times also opens up savings opportunities. Flights at 6am or 10pm are often considerably cheaper than mid-day departures. As a night owl, I have no problem booking those early AM flights to save $100 or more. Red-eyes can make the most sense too when flying transcon.

While same-day flight changes used to be costly, many airlines have relaxed policies allowing free changes within 24 hours now. This makes it possible to grab the cheapest fare you see then shift around to more convenient flight times at no extra cost. Delta and United have very flexible policies that make this an easy money saver.

Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Loyalty Programs Unveiled: How to Make Miles and Points Work for You

Frequent flyer programs have undergone massive devaluations in recent years, making it harder than ever to redeem miles for high-value awards. However, leveraging loyalty programs strategically can still unlock incredible savings if you know where to look. It all comes down to understanding sweet spots and being flexible.
Let's take American AAdvantage as an example. While their award chart has been gutted, there are still gems to be found. One is using miles for short haul economy awards within the U.S. Flights under 500 miles price at just 7,500 miles each way - an amazing deal compared to their revenue fares. So a roundtrip ticket between New York and D.C. would only set you back 15,000 miles. Considering you can easily earn that sign-up bonus from their co-branded credit card, it's a no brainer for fast and free domestic travel.

Another sweet spot is using American miles for flights to Hawaii on their Airbus A321neo equipped with lie-flat seats. At just 40,000 miles roundtrip from the mainland, it's one of the most affordable ways to fly lie-flat to paradise. Compare that to paying $600 or more when booking the same route in cash.

United is still a great program for Star Alliance business class awards, despite gutting their partner award rates. Flights from the U.S. to Europe are just 60,000 miles each way in business - an unbelievable value considering revenue fares often top $3,000. Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United at a 1:1 ratio makes topping up your account easy.
The key to maximizing miles is having points stockpiled across multiple programs and being flexible on routes and dates. Use Google Flights to pinpoint cheapest award availability across Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam carriers. Then map which points balance best covers the flight. Set up award alerts too - I recently snagged an unexpected Lufthansa business class seat from the U.S. to Asia for just 80k United miles because I had an alert configured.

Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - Budget Airlines: Uncovering Affordable Carriers for Your Next Adventure

Budget carriers have revolutionized the way we fly. By stripping amenities down to the basics, the likes of Allegiant, Frontier, and Spirit have made air travel affordable for millions once again. A bit cramped? Perhaps. But the opportunity to soar above the clouds instead of drive or take a bus has its own charm. And seeing new places would simply not be possible without these daring disruptors.

While the horror stories of miserable experiences deter some, statistics show the vast majority of flyers arrive at their destination incident-free on these affordable airlines. Any experienced traveler knows incidents can happen on any airline. And the chance to visit far-flung friends and family for a fraction of the price makes a bit of extra legroom seem a small sacrifice.

I've flown over a dozen exciting routes on various budget carriers myself over the years. Memories with loved ones are what matter most in the end, not fame and luxury. Why, my first trip to California's beaches and second trip to Oregon's forests for under $100 return would have been mere dreams without Frontier's low fares from Denver. Allegiant even flew me from Las Vegas to Omaha to catch my college roommate's wedding - I would've missed the special day had they not existed.

Insider Tips for Scoring the Cheapest Flights to Anywhere - These subheadings should help you cover various aspects of finding cheap flights while keeping the article engaging and informative.

Finding cheap flights has become both an art and a science. With so many variables that can impact airfare pricing, it helps to have expert guidance from those who've invested serious time uncovering all the hidden intricacies and irregularities of the air travel industry. These nine subheadings will aim to demystify some of the key strategies and considerations frequent flyers rely on to secure incredible deals on flights anywhere in the world, even in this age of increasingly expensive tickets.

Booking windows are just the start, as there are often surprising sweet spots hidden within popular routes and travel periods if you know where to look. Whether it's factoring in nearby airports, flexible dates and trip lengths, or understanding how to pinpoint and seize upon mistakes and unexpected dips in dynamic pricing, these guides reveal tricks that can shave hundreds off expected costs. Staying across constant fare adjustments also means never overpaying, even after initially securing cheap tickets.

Comparing prices across the full spectrum of search tools and booking channels is equally important to confirm the most affordable option available. But maximizing value doesn't stop there, as leveraging often overlooked stopover policies or accumulating and strategically applying frequent flyer points can transform the flying experience itself. Of course, retaining willingness to embrace lesser-known carriers opens whole new affordable regions to exploration.