Ask travelers what price they paid for their flight and you’ll get as many answers as there are seats on the plane. If you’re lucky enough to be on the lower end of the price range, congratulations. If you paid entirely too much for a seat, it’s time you search cheap flights on these six websites.
How to Find Cheap Flights and Discount Airfare
To make the most of both your time and money, the best way to search cheap flights is to use a website that populates flights from as many airlines as possible. Additionally, flying during midweek will save you money as will having flexibility when you leave and return home, as will booking at least a couple of weeks in advance.
Lastly, flying over peak travel season, i.e., major holidays and during the summer months, will give you the least amount of airfare savings.
On a side note, using browser extensions like Rakuten and Swagbucks will save you even more money in the long run by giving you cash back on popular third party booking sites. My advice? Leave plenty of time to research several airfare websites and take notes so you can compare prices easily.
Google Flights
Google Flights is very user friendly when it comes to finding and booking flights. With only typing in your departing and arriving airports, it shows a calendar for the current month and the next to get you started. The calendar highlights the cheapest flights to help you narrow down dates.
From there, flights are highlighted by lowest price and trip time.
Additionally, some flights have a price guarantee: if the price drops after you’ve booked, Google will pay back the difference. There is a drawback to Google Flights in the fact that not all airlines are included in the search results including Southwest.
Going
Formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights, Going’s spin on cheap flights starts with your destination in mind. With two tiers of paid Premium and Elite member perks including deals on points and miles, international airfare, and mistake fares, if you fly often the fee will pay for itself.
In addition, you’ll have access to all international and economy plans for both tiers. For the top tier, Elite, you’ll be able to search for the best prices on business and first class flights as well.
If you don’t want to pay a monthly fee, Going offers Limited Membership that highlights flights in the Continental U.S. With the paid membership, a nice inclusion is its Watchlist.
Add in a destination and you’ll get flight alerts and deals. Again, you’re paying for it but it will save you time and effort.
Kiwi
If you’re all about saving money on the flight itself and aren’t concerned with departure dates or times, Kiwi is a good website. All you need for information is the departure and arrival airports, no need for the details.
Flights are highlighted by cheapest price and fastest route and then can be narrowed down by baggage, stops, and connections.
A nice feature for Kiwi is the ability to lock in a pflight price for a low fee. For example, when I searched Pittsburgh to Orlando International, for $11 I was able to lock in the price of $93. I then had three days to commit to booking the flight or forfeiting my deposit.
Once locked in, if the price lowers I’d receive that price. If the price increases, Kiwi would pay the difference up to a certain amount or refund the tiket all together.
Kayak
Kayak uses a color-coded calendar to showcase the cheapest flights to and from a destination. You’ll need to know both your departure and arrival airport to get price details, but you can choose your arrival and departure dates based on a green, yellow, and red system.
By checking the left sidebar, Kayak also highlights if it thinks you should purchase a ticket now or if prices will be dropping in the next seven days.
Once you’ve selected a flight, you’ll be taken to another website, either the airline’s official or to another third party website for booking completion. If I had to give a thumbs down to Kayak for something, it’s the fact that Southwest Airlines’ prices aren’t shown until you are transferred to its official site.
Momondo
Completely free to use, and with zero hidden charges, Momondo searches the web for the best flight prices using both major airlines sites and smaller company sites.
It offers the flexibility to “Mix and Match” your flights by using one airline carrier to depart and another to return home. Of course, you don’t have to fly this way, but if you’re all about saving money on flights the opportunity is there.
For reference, Momondo is similar to Kayak and ises a color-coded calendar to chow the cheapest days to fly. You don’t have to have exact dates with this style of flying, making those with travel flexibility have the upper discounted hand.
Skiplagged
Skiplagged’s spin on cheap flights is unusual in that it highlights how United Airlines sued the company and it won thanks to finding such low prices. A definite point taken, I enjoy that its search is unusually wide from the getgo.
Starting with your departure airport, give the website departure and arrival dates and it will search for the cheapest flights around the country. For whimsical travelers, this is ideal for those with a Devil-may-care attitude.