Find Cheap Flights To Anywhere (9 Tips)
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Flights are often the most expensive part of a holiday, especially if you’re travelling further afield such as the USA or Australia. Booking your own flights and accommodation isn’t always to cheapest way to travel but it can give you a lot more flexibility when it comes to dates, times and airline choices.
Find Cheap Flights To Anywhere
No matter where you’re going on holiday, this post takes a look at how you find cheap flights to anywhere – from Europe to the USA, Australia and back again.
1. Find Cheap Flights To Anywhere By Booking As Early As Possible
Booking flights as soon as you know your travel dates is one of the best ways to save money on air travel. September 25th to October 25th are the best dates to book travel for the Christmas period but for general travel and vacations, the further ahead the better.
While you can occasionally grab a very cheap last minute flight (usually within Europe if flying from the UK) generally speaking if you book close to the date of your travel, chances are you’ll see a huge price increase.
2. Is It Worth Taking A Detour To Get Cheaper Flights?
One way to cut the cost of air travel, especially when it comes to long haul flights, is to take a less direct route. You can often save a lot of money doing this, but it’s worth thinking about the time it will cost you versus the amount of money you will save.
We actually did this on our honeymoon to the USA, where we spent a week in Las Vegas followed by a week driving up the west coast from San Diego to Anaheim.
We couldn’t find reasonably priced flights to Las Vegas so instead opted for a flight to Calgary where we then changed and hopped on a smaller flight to Las Vegas all booked on one ticket and for one price.
We had a four-hour layover which was enough time to get some food and stretch our legs. In fact, I’d say it was a bit too long. Frankly, we ended being very bored. The airline dealt with our luggage so that was something we didn’t need to worry about, even though I did worry and was paranoid it wouldn’t end up making its way onto our onward flight.
In all honesty, with the added travel time, stress and boredom, it’s not an option I’d choose again unless I really had to. I’d happily pay the extra and fly direct to my destination. And that’s coming from someone who LOVES to save money.
Some tips for if you do decide to book an indirect flight:
- Make sure there’s enough time between your flights to get your luggage and get to the next gate. Two hours is the recommended minimum.
- If you need to stay overnight in a city or plan to spend time there on a longer layover, factor in the costs of this against just flying direct.
- Have a plan B in case your flight is late and you miss your connection.
- Book direct flights on the way home if you can. At least on the way there, the excitement will keep you going! On the way back, you’ll just want to get home.
3. Is Your Flight As Cheap As You Think It Is?
Budget airlines are great for finding cheap flights to anywhere in the world. However, that cheap price might not be quite as good as it first looks.
Budget airlines often give just the bare minimum in the price of their flights so you could see all the extras, such as luggage, seat choices, food and even booking fees bumping up the cost.
The best things to do is a price comparison using a website such as SkyScanner.net or Kayak.co.uk to compare as many flights as possible as well as looking at booking directly with airlines too.
4. Be Flexible When Looking For Cheap Flights
When it comes to flight times, dates and airports, the more flexible you are the more likely you will be able to find a better deal. However, I know that is easier said than done, especially if you have jobs, school holidays and other commitments to work around.
Midweek flights are often the cheapest, and this applies in the school holidays too. If possible, book two weeks off work and holiday in the middle from Tuesday to Tuesday or Wednesday to Wednesday – although finding accommodation that allows this could be tricky.
You could also consider taking children out of school for holidays. While I know not everyone is happy to do this, and some schools do impose fines (although these are often much less than the money saved overall). Personally, I think family holidays are important and would have no issue removing my child from school for one, especially as it’s easy to add educational aspects of other cultures etc while away.
If you’re planning on going travelling then finding cheap flights shouldn’t be too hard as you can be really flexible although if you leave it until the last minute you could see a price increase, so do be wary of this.
5. Mix and Match Airlines and Airports To Find Cheap Flights To Anywhere
Remember when booking flights you don’t need to book the same airline both ways, so you can mix and match as much as you like until you find the best deal for you.
For example, on our honeymoon, we flew with WestJet to Calgary, Air Canada to Las Vegas and then Norwegian Airlines from LAX on the way home.
You also don’t need to use the same airports for both outbound and inbound flights, although if you plan on using airport parking you may need to take this into consideration.
However, it might be worth looking at airports slightly further afield from where you live or where you’re planning ongoing. For example, an extra 30 minutes travel time to or from the airport could half the price of your flight.
While it’s always important to do the maths and make sure you’re getting the best deal, make sure you consider all possible options too.
6. Use Your Credit Card
If you have a credit card then this is the best way to pay for your flights. While it won’t get you your flights any cheaper, it does make it much easier to reclaim money if you have any issues such as delays, cancellations or if the airline goes bust.
Also, if you have a cashback credit card then you could be making a little bit extra back too.
7. Cheap Flights To Anywhere: Look At Package Deals
There are occasions when a package deal does actually provide cheaper flights than buying them on their own. Always look at this option if you think it’s something that might work for you and your family.
Package holidays are protected by ATOL which can help if anything goes wrong with your holiday. You can find out more about what it covers in this post from the CAA.
8. Clear Your Cookies To Find Cheap Flights To Anywhere
Have you ever noticed that when you keep searching for the same flights (to the same place or for the same date) over and over the price of the flights can start to creep up?
Or you’ll go back later in the day to actually book and flights are much more expensive than you remember?
To stop this from happening, try clearing your cookies or browsing in incognito mode. Cookies show websites what you’ve been searching for and they sneakily put up the price.
9. Ditch The Extra Luggage
Do you really need to pay for extra luggage? Learning to travel light could help to save money too. Or you could try splitting the luggage allowance with a friend or partner, paying half each and sharing a suitcase.
While we’re on the topic of luggage allowance, it’s definitely worth investing in some luggage scales for at home so you’re not caught out with extra charges when it comes to checking in at the airport.
