Top Tricks for Booking CHEAP Flights 2024

Finding affordable airfare can make the difference between getting to have that dream vacation or needing to stay home.

In this guide, I’ll be sharing my Top Tricks for Booking CHEAP Flights, including clearing cookies when browsing flights, using VPNs and private browsing to uncover hidden deals, booking one-way tickets for maximum flexibility, signing up for mistake fare alerts, and more insider techniques.

With the right skills, you can hack airline systems legally and tap into pricing loopholes to save hundreds on airfare costs. Read on to start flying ridiculously cheap using these hacker-style flight booking tips.

Booking Cheap Flights: A Guide to Saving Money on Airfare

Clearing Cookies and Using Incognito Mode

When searching for cheap flights, the first thing to do is clear your cookies and delete the cookies from your web browser.

Cookies allow brands to track your browsing history and then do things like recommend products or curate ads. Unfortunately, airlines use cookies too. If an airline notices you are searching for flights multiple times, they may purposely bump up prices, hoping you’ll buy quickly before prices go up further.

To avoid this, go delete your cookies or open a brand new incognito browser window. This hides your browsing history from the sites you visit.

Using a VPN to Unlock Cheaper Fares

Another tip is to download and use a VPN (virtual private network). A VPN masks your IP address, allowing you to pretend to be in other locations.

VPNs are often used by scammers pretending to be in the US when they’re really overseas. But VPNs also have a legal use – booking cheaper flights!

Flights are priced differently based on what country you’re searching from. Connecting to another country via a VPN makes flight search engines think you’re accessing the web from that country. And flights you view from other countries may have cheaper pricing than your home country.

An Example Saving $30 By Searching Flights From the UK

For example, say you want to fly Phoenix to London one-way on May 10th.

• Searching flights in the US, the cheapest Phoenix to London flights are $655.
• Using a VPN to search from London, UK, the same Phoenix to London flight on May 10th costs £486, which equals $623 US dollars.

Just by using a VPN to pretend we’re in the UK, we save $30 on the flight!

When using a VPN to search flights, try different countries like the destination country, lower income countries, etc. Sometimes airlines have special cheaper pricing for less wealthy nations to drive sales.

✅ Good VPNs to try are Surfshark, NordVPN, and ExpressVPN.

Popular Flight Search Sites

Some popular flight search websites include:

• Google Flights – Great layout and tools. Allows searching multiple origin airports.
• Skyscanner – Fast and simple. Finds cheap flights quickly.
• Momondo – Excellent for searching multiple destinations.
• Kayak – Best for finding cheap one-way flight combinations.

Out of these, I like Google Flights the most. But feel free to experiment with each to see which works best for you.

Search One-Way Flights

When searching Google Flights, go to “One-way” under the main search box.

Booking one-way flights has 2 advantages:

1. It’s often cheaper than round-trips. Round-trips require using the same airline, whereas one-way flights open up more options.
2. One-way tickets give flexibility to change plans and destinations mid-trip. This is great for spontaneous travelers without concrete itineraries.

If needing help finding two separate one-way flights, use Kayak’s “Hacker Fare” tool. It combines two one-way flights on different airlines to save money.

Input Multiple Origin Airports

Next, under “Leaving from”, input multiple origin airports you’re willing to depart from.

For example, airports within driving distance from your home city. Adding more origin airports gives Google Flights more options, often yielding cheaper flights.

You can input airport codes, like JAC for Jackson, Wyoming. Or start typing city names and select the airport from the dropdown. Add as many origin airports as you want!

Use Map View to Search Worldwide

Under “Going to”, don’t input a destination yet. We’re going to leave it open and use Google Flights Map View to search everywhere.

Click on the map icon on the right, above the search button. This opens an interactive worldwide map to visually search flights from your origin airports.

Now you can browse visually for deals anywhere on the planet! Turn on a month under “Date range” to see updated pricing. Try clicking countries and scrolling different regions to uncover surprisingly cheap international flights.

Let the map inspire your next adventure! This method helps discover affordable destinations you may have never thought to search directly.

Finding Mistake Fares

To score the cheapest flights possible, keep an eye out for “mistake fares.”

Mistake fares happen when airlines accidentally list ridiculously cheap ticket prices due to typos or system errors. Think $45 flights across the Atlantic!

The issue is airlines fix these mistakes super quickly, usually within 1-2 hours max. So very few travelers ever catch them.

Use Sites Like Scott’s Cheap Flights to Get Notified of Mistake Fares

Luckily, deal alert services exist to track mistake fares 24/7 and email subscribers immediately when they find them.

My #1 recommendation is Scott’s Cheap Flights.

Scott’s Cheap Flights hunts international flight deals globally and emails members about the cheapest mistake fares before anyone else. This site is by far the fastest way to catch these ultra rare deals.

Other sites providing similar mistake fare alerts:

• Airfarewatchdog
• Cheapair

There’s also great flight deal accounts on social media. Like Flight Deals Canada tweeting out cheap fares from Canada or Secret Flying posting deals on Instagram. following region-specific accounts like these helps you catch deals quick!

Including a Stopover

On long international journeys, try including a “stopover” in your itinerary.

A stopover is an extended layover lasting 1+ days, allowing you to briefly experience another destination for little extra cost en route to your final destination.

Some examples of awesome free stopover programs:

• IcelandAir offers free Iceland stopovers when flying between Europe and North America. You can explore Iceland’s stunning landscapes days without paying extra airfare.
• Copa Airlines provides free Panama City stopovers for only taxes (~$6) when passing through Panama between US/Canada and Central or South America.
• Fiji Airways allows free Fiji stopovers on flights between US/Canada/Australia/New Zealand. Relax on world-famous Fiji beaches mid-journey without spending extra!

Research “open-jaw tickets” too. These are round-trips where your destination and origin cities differ, creating a journey with 2 end destinations. Open-jaws with a lengthy stopover in the middle essentially gives you 2 vacations for the cost of 1 round-trip ticket!

Using Budget Airlines

Here’s a tip: Use foreign budget airlines to fly inexpensively between destinations in regions abroad.

These barebones carriers don’t show up in Kayak/Google Flights and need to be searched directly. They offer crazy regional deals thanks to stripped down planes and minimal amenities.

What are budget airlines?

Budget airlines, also known as low-cost carriers (LCCs), are airlines that offer cheaper airfares by cutting operating costs. This is achieved by “unbundling” services and charging additional fees, as well as flying shorter routes with faster turnarounds.

Some common things seen on budget airlines:

• Fees for checked bags, seat selections, onboard food/drinks
• Using secondary, smaller airports to reduce airport fees
• High-density narrow body planes to maximize seats
• Point-to-point short/medium haul routes

This barebones approach allows budget carriers to offer base fares cheaper than full-service airlines. The tradeoff is passengers need to pay extra for perks included in traditional airline ticket pricing.

Popular budget airlines around the world

Here are some of the most well-known budget carriers in major geographical regions:

EU/Middle East

• Ryanair – Ireland
• EasyJet – UK
• Wizz Air – Hungary
• FlyDubai – United Arab Emirates

Asia

• AirAsia – Malaysia
• Cebu Pacific – Philippines
• Jetstar – Australia

Americas

• GOL – Brazil
• Volaris – Mexico
• Spirit Airlines – USA

Using budget airlines to explore regions for less

The great thing about budget airlines is they make visiting multiple countries in a region very affordable.

For example, while backpacking Europe, I used Ryanair to fly all over the continent on the cheap. I flew from Dublin to Edinburgh for $15 USD, then to Paris for $20 USD. In total I visited 9 European cities spending under $250 USD on flights!

Budget fares I’ve personally booked:

• Dublin -> Bucharest = $16
• London -> Barcelona = $27
• Paris -> Rome = $46

Being flexible on departure airports is key – often smaller regional airports have the cheapest budget airline deals. But so worth it to crisscross regions overland on a budget!

Using Skiplagged for Hidden City Flights

Warning: this last trick is mildly controversial, but 100% legal and can save huge on airfare costs!

The site Skiplagged exposes a loophole involving “hidden city ticketing.”

This is when you book a flight with a layover, but get off at the layover city instead of the final ticketed destination. Then that layover city becomes your actual destination.

“Why would this save money?” you may ask. “Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just book a direct flight?”

Sometimes it is cheaper to book directly. But other times using layovers to your advantage via hidden city ticketing yields surprisingly lower fares.

Here’s a real example:

• Boston -> Houston is $240
• Boston -> Orlando (with Houston layover) is $180

Despite the Boston -> Orlando ticket having an extra segment, it’s $60 cheaper thanks to airline metric tricks.

Airlines hate skiplagged, even trying to sue them. But they lost in court. So everything here still works!

Why It Works

Hidden city flights save money because airlines price routes differently based on expected customer purpose.

Higher demand business routes see high prices. Lower demand leisure getaways strangely may cost less even if farther.

In reality airlines probably just overcharge certain city pairs because they know corporate non-discount business flyers will pay the premium.

But using layover flights lets budget travelers bypass the higher published fares for desirable city combinations.

So don’t tell the airlines…but this clever trick works!

Summary of Top Tips for Finding Cheap Flights

Here’s a quick summary of the best tips covered in this guide on finding cheap flights:

• Clear cookies/use incognito browsing
• Try VPNs when searching flights
• Book one-way tickets for flexibility & prices
• Input multiple origin airports
• Use map view to search destinations visually
• Find mistake fares with sites like Scott’s Cheap Flights
• Add free stopovers with airlines like IcelandAir
• Use foreign budget airlines for regional hops
• Get hidden city fares with Skiplagged

Hope this helps you save money on air travel! Bon voyage and happy flight hacking! Please comment if you have any other questions.

Frequently Asked Questions