As much as you want to feed the wanderlust in you, sometimes your bank account won’t just allow you. Finding ways to save on accommodation, food and activities is easy but what’s challenging is to find cheap air tickets. Airfare takes a big chunk out of your budget that’s why it’s a must to exhaust all the possible ways on how you can save on it. So, I’ve rounded up a list of helpful air travel hacks that’ll help make your dream vacation come true.
1. Plan in advance.
Airfare can significantly increase in a span of few weeks so if you already have a fixed date and destination, book your tickets right away. According to research, flights booked seven weeks in advance will save you a lot of money. So for 2017, check the calendars for long holidays so you can already start planning your travels for next year.
2. Sign up for email alerts.
As much as you hate getting useless newsletters on your email, receiving airline alerts can come handy especially if you love to travel. Airline companies usually send notifications to inform their subscribers about last-minute availability of tickets at a discounted rate.
3. Search for the cheapest place to fly.
For those who want to travel but don’t know where to go, a tool called Kayak Explore can help you find the destinations that fit your budget (you’ll choose the cheapest offer of course) and travel date. On the other hand, if you already have a set destination and travel date, you can still go to the site to find the cheapest place to fly. For example, you want to travel to a specific country in Europe… you may opt to go for the cheapest (and nearest to your desired destination) European country to fly into first then just fly around at a cheaper cost.
4. Browse privately.
Prices can increase when the browser senses (a.k.a the cookies in your browser) that a particular route is repeatedly searched. So before you start your search, go incognito or private browsing mode to see the real and the lowest prices.
5. Book midweek.
Several experiments show that prices can go up during Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. So if you want to save much, book during the other days of the week.
