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Home » Budgeting, Stupid Frugal Tricks

How to Methodically Find the Cheapest Flights Every Time

Submitted by G.E. Miller on Sunday, 26 April 20098 Comments

Trying to get the cheapest flight possible is a game that all of us has played at one point or another. There doesn’t seem to be any consensus as to what site you can find the cheapest flight on every single time, but with 10-15 minutes worth of work, you should be able to find the lowest priced option. There’s a lot of options out there, so where should you start?

Direct Airfare Booking Sites

These web pioneers book your flight directly with the airline. You’ll often find that their prices are eerily similar to what the airline is offering directly. The advantage to using them is you get to check multiple airlines at once. With aggregating sites joining the game, is there any advantage left in using these sites other than arranging your entire trip all on one site?

Airfare Aggregators

These are sites that claim to pull flight data from hundreds of airfare websites at the time of your search – which gives them an advantage when finding the cheapest flights over sites that book directly with the airline. It’s a business model that is supported by affiliate links, AdSense ads, and direct ad buys. A few test runs of these sites resulted in the lowest price being from a direct booking site (referenced below), matched by the airline’s site itself.

Booking your Flight Direct on the Airline’s Site

At times, airlines do offer low prices that are not found on any other site due to their immediacy. JetBlue and Southwest are known for frequently doing this. Many airlines are now offering RSS and Twitter feeds so that you can stay on top of special deals and updates.

How to Find the Cheapest Flight

There’s a methodical way to make sure that you get the best rate out there. But it’s worth noting that getting the best airfare is often going to come down to If you want to book your flight far in advance or if you’re flexible on when you are flying out until the last minute.

  • If you want to book you flight far in advance: your search can pretty much start and end with the aggregator sites, but you may also want to check with the airline if the aggregator is not showing a price from them.
  • If you are flexible: set up RSS feeds on the airlines sites and Twitter, if available, which offer the flight you want. Some aggregators and direct booking sites also allow you the opportunity to set up alerts.

Cheap Flight Discussion:

  • What methods have you used to find ridiculously cheap flights?
  • Have you found special fares through Twitter and email alerts?

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8 Comments »

  • Suzy said:

    Kayak is a personal favorite of mine lately. I use the alerts on it. I also check directly on the airlines site and have found prices to be cheaper there at times.

  • Shaun said:

    I’ve always used CheapFlights.com because it saves time since it searches through many of the sites listed above. (Plus, for some reason, I love how their website looks/feels… not sure why.)

  • Beau Vignes said:

    Kayak has been my fav – tons of features to find the flight that best suits your needs. Faircast is fun to play with also, but it takes a bit longer to return results.

  • Justin said:

    Also you can use Yapta to track the price of one or more flights and get an alert when the price is lowest. Also, if the price drops after you book the flight, they will work with the airline company to issue you a credit. Same principal for hotel prices too…really a cool idea and an easy to use site.

  • SavingDiva said:

    I subscribe to daily e-mails through Kayak. When the flight is a price that I find acceptable, I purchase a ticket immediately.

  • Andrea (Recession Proof Living) said:

    Priceline does way more than just spit back the airlines’ published fares. It lets you set a price you’re willing to pay, and then sit back and wait for the airlines to bid. You can get better deals than the ones publically available.

    BTW, they’re also offering $100 Hotel Bonus Cash right now.

  • Justin said:

    Great list. My favorite is still priceline though. The others don’t negotiate as well and offer as great of deals.

  • Airfare said:

    If you’re willing to wait for a last minute deal, airlines generally release their deals on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. You can sign up for their email alerts, or visit their websites directly.

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