They’ll go into a few tips & tricks about how they found deals like these over the last few years:
- London to Liberia, Costa Rica £249 roundtrip
- London to Kathmandu, Nepal £384 roundtrip
- London to Auckland, New Zealand £479 roundtrip
- London to Bangkok, Thailand £345 roundtrip
Careful preparation and planning is key when it comes to saving money on flights. Searching and finding cheap flights can take countless hours and sheer dedication but if you want to spend more time adventurin' and less time searching out the best deals on flights then services like Dollar Flight Club will do all the work for you.
If you're dedicated enough to search out the best deals for yourself though, Jesse shares some of the secret sauce they use when it comes to finding the cheapest flights so you can explore the globe for less and adventure more.
1. Be flexible with airports
Checking out all airports close to where you live, as well as to your destination, is the key to finding the cheapest flights and saving potentially £1000+
Budget airlines in Asia are extremely cheap. Here you can fly roundtrip from most cities for less than £90. If you’re looking to get from London to Singapore for example, but the fare is £1,200 roundtrip (way above the 'good deal' range of £230-£380 roundtrip), check to see what the price is from London to Kuala Lumpur. That fare might be £350 roundtrip and you can then add on a cheap roundtrip flight from Kuala Lumpur to your final destination of Singapore on a budget airline like AirAsia for £40.
2. Be flexible with travel dates
One of the easiest ways to find a great deal is to be flexible with your travel dates.
This can be tough if you have limited time off from work, however plan in advance and you can potentially save £300-£500 if you leave on a Thursday as opposed to a Friday for example. Rather than picking your dates first, check out when it’s cheapest to travel and work backwards from there.
In addition, booking last minute almost always never works. Jesse recommends that you never wait until the last minute unless you have to. When you see a great fare 2-3 months in advance for domestic flights and 3-8 months in advance for international flights you should book them.
Overall, Friday and Sunday are usually the most expensive days to fly, with Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday being the absolute cheapest.
3. Use Google, Momondo, and Skiplagged to search and book
Jesse recommends visiting at least three websites when you’re looking for the cheapest flights. These are his favourites and he reckons they always bring back the cheapest fares. They also allow you to put into play the tips listed above. Try to go through these sites in order.
Google Flights
Always start with Google Flights. It’s the best search engine in the business for a few reasons but mainly because it allows you to browse using a calendar view so you can easily locate the dates with the lowest fares. Make sure you browse the calendar view up to 9 months ahead so you know the cheapest time frame to travel and then narrow down on the dates you want.
Keep a tab open with the price you found.
Momondo
Head over to Momondo, re-enter your itinerary that you found in Google Flights and hit search. You can also double check the flights on Priceline to confirm you have the cheapest deal.
Momondo almost always brings back the cheapest fares, even cheaper than Google Flights the majority of the time.
Keep a tab open with the price you found.
Skiplagged
Lastly, head over to Skiplagged and enter in the dates in to be sure you have the absolute cheapest fare.
Once you’ve gone through these steps and found a fare within your price range, go ahead and book!
Interesting fact: Skiplagged got sued by United Airlines a few years ago by finding a loophole in the booking system. Good news for us, they won the lawsuit and they're still up and running.
4. A few Bonus Tips & Tricks
- Clear cookies after each search session or search in “incognito mode”
- Adding stopovers in other cities can save hundreds of pounds and give you the opportunity to see another city while paying less! Why wouldn't you give it a try?
- It’s always smart to understand airline partners and class upgrade opportunities that offer the most value. Use your miles to book one way flights or to upgrade to Business or First class.
- Check in on deal message boards like Secret Flying or Travel Pirate who often post deals they hear about.
5. Sign up for Dollar Flight Club
Jesse recommends signing up for Dollar Flight Club, a service dedicated to taking the pain out of finding the best flight deals by employing the tactics above and many more.
Find out more at dollarflightclub.com
Happy travels!
