The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights
The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Google Flights - The Search Engine Giant Gets You There for Less
Google Flights has become an indispensable tool for finding cheap airfare. As part of the Google empire, Flights leverages the tech giant's powerful search capabilities to scan hundreds of sites and surface the best deals. For travelers looking to maximize their budget, it's a game changer.
The interface is straightforward - simply enter your origin and destination airports, travel dates and other parameters. Google Flights will instantly return a list of flight options, color coded by price. But the magic is in how comprehensive the results are. Major airlines, budget carriers, codeshares - Google Flights casts a wide net. Partner sites like Priceline and Expedia provide pricing data. And the see-the-cheapest-month calendar view allows you to easily spot the most affordable travel windows.
Helpful filters allow you to fine tune your search. Looking for a nonstop flight? Or a red eye? Only want to see options with free checked bags? No problem. Google Flights makes it easy to eliminate results that don't fit your criteria. The explore destinations map is another handy feature, revealing surprising flight deals to destinations you may not have considered.
But Google Flights' superpower is its ability to track airfares and alert you to price drops. Simply add your ideal flight to your Google account's tracker. You'll get an email anytime the fare changes. This tactic is invaluable for swooping in on mistake fares and last minute deals. Sign up for price alerts on the flights you need, then sit back and wait for Google to do the work finding you huge savings.
The Google pedigree also means seamless integration with other Google products. For instance, the flight search tool is baked right into Google Search, allowing you to find flights alongside web results. And Google Flights reservations can be managed through Google Pay.
What else is in this post?
- The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Google Flights - The Search Engine Giant Gets You There for Less
- The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - SkipLagged - Hack Airfare Pricing with Hidden City Ticketing
- The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Scott's Cheap Flights - Get Email Alerts for Amazing Airfare Deals
- The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - The Points Guy - Maximizing Miles and Points for Free Flights
- The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Momondo - An International Meta Search Comparing Hundreds of Sites
- The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Skyscanner - Comprehensive Search Including Budget Airlines
- The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Kayak - The Old Faithful Flight Search Aggregator
- The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Hitlist - Get Notified When Your Dream Destination Gets Cheap
The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - SkipLagged - Hack Airfare Pricing with Hidden City Ticketing
Savvy travelers are always looking for ways to outsmart the system and snag the cheapest fares. SkipLagged capitalizes on quirks in airline pricing models to uncover deals even Google Flights can miss. The core premise is simple - book the first leg of a one way ticket, then skip the second leg. Known as "hidden city ticketing," this exploit takes advantage of the fact that direct flights are sometimes more expensive than flights with a layover along the way.
For example, say you want to fly from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The nonstop flight costs $200, while a flight from LA to San Francisco with a layover in Las Vegas costs $100. By purchasing the flight with the Vegas layover and simply disembarking in San Francisco without boarding your Vegas connection, you've just saved 50% on the same route. The key is that airlines set prices based on final destination, not individual legs. SkipLagged crunches the numbers to uncover these scenarios.
The huge savings come with some caveats. First, the strategy only works for one way flights. TSA regulations prohibit hidden city ticketing on round trips. You also run the risk of your luggage being sent on to the final destination, never to be seen again. Carry on only is a must. Finally, airlines are catching on and some now include "no hidden city" clauses in their contracts. Use with caution.
Still, clever flight hackers continue to rely on SkipLagged to save big. The site scans thousands of routes across hundreds of airlines, reporting back on the best hidden city opportunities globally. An intuitive map-based interface lets you visualize potential savings on routes around the world. Customizable email alerts notify you as soon as a price drop is detected on your target itinerary. And a nifty Explore Tool generates surprise destination ideas based on the biggest fare differences surfacing that day.
The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Scott's Cheap Flights - Get Email Alerts for Amazing Airfare Deals
Scott's Cheap Flights is the brainchild of flight hacker extraordinaire Scott Keyes, who combines his passion for travel with a knack for uncovering unbelievable airfare deals. After realizing many of the mistakes fares and crazy low prices he was finding were not being surfaced on major flight search engines, Keyes had the idea to curate and directly email the steals to fellow travelers.
The Scott's Cheap Flights model is simple yet powerful: they leverage relationships with airlines and industry insiders to access unpublished fares as they are loaded into reservation systems. An army of deal experts then analyze the data, identifying the juiciest mileage runs, undiscovered bargains to dream destinations, and top international flights at previously impossible prices. Any time an amazing airfare surfaces, subscribers receive instant email notification so they can book before the deal disappears.
This direct line to the deepest discounts has saved SC subscribers thousands on flights worldwide. One New York based member landed a $250 nonstop roundtrip ticket to Milan. A San Francisco resident scored an $800 fare to the Maldives, a trip that normally costs upwards of $2,000. A Londoner was notified of a $400 roundtrip fare to Thailand, only to find flights on the same dates priced above $1000 just 24 hours later.
Unlike broad flight search engines that overwhelm with hundreds of options, Scott's Cheap Flights delivers a curated list of airfare "wins" directly to your inbox. The fares have already been cross checked and verified as legit. With just a few deals per day, subscribers can act fast when that dream trip lines up with their schedule and budget.
Access to unpublished fares is not the only perk. The SC team leverages their insider knowledge to give context around events impacting flight prices, from airline flash sales to holiday travel surges. Subscribers get the scoop on best practices for booking award travel and leveraging points and miles. And the Flight Experts are available 24/7 to help travelers troubleshoot reservations, take advantage of schedule changes for flight credits, and get the lowest fare guaranteed.
The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - The Points Guy - Maximizing Miles and Points for Free Flights
The Points Guy has become the go-to resource for travelers looking to maximize their points and miles in order to score free flights and elite status perks. Brian Kelly created TPG initially as a hobby while working his 9-5 finance job. But his side hustle quickly took off as readers connected with his practical advice for extracting maximum value from loyalty programs.
Today, The Points Guy provides comprehensive guides for accruing and redeeming across all major airline and hotel loyalty programs. This allows travelers to develop strategies tailored specifically to their typical spend and travel goals. TPG also offers up-to-date intel on earning and redemption rates, dives deep on sweet spots within each program, and keeps readers informed of policy changes or award chart devaluations that impact overall value.
For example, one TPG reader leveraged a guide for maximizing spend on her Chase Sapphire Reserve card in order to earn enough Ultimate Rewards points for a roundtrip business class award ticket to Asia, worth over $5,000. She pooled points earned through her regular spending, transferred them to United MileagePlus, and booked her dream redemption.
Another avid TPG reader takes advantage of guides explaining how to maximize airline status. He strategically chose a credit card that granted him automatic Gold status with his preferred airline, allowing him to unlock perks like free checked bags, priority boarding, and bonus miles on all his flights. This added huge value beyond just scoring free flights.
In addition to instructional guides, TPG provides news and reviews to keep readers up-to-date on loyalty program developments. The Points Guy himself also puts lessons from the site into practice, highlighting his approach through real-world trip reports and reviews. This transparent, experiential approach brings the art of maximizing miles and points to life.
The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Momondo - An International Meta Search Comparing Hundreds of Sites
With flight prices fluctuating minute to minute, finding the cheapest airfare often requires casting a wide net across booking sites. That's where meta search engines like Momondo come in. This international travel search platform aggregates prices across airline websites, online travel agencies, and other booking sites all in one place.
Rather than partnering with a few select sites, Momondo scans over 700 sources to surface the most comprehensive results. Major online travel agencies like Expedia and Priceline are included in the search, as are major airlines across the globe. Budget carriers, regional airlines, charters - no stone is left unturned in pursuit of the lowest fare. This breadth allows Momondo to shine a light on deals that can get buried on individual airline or agency sites.
The search itself is lightning fast, with results appearing nearly instantaneously after entering your origin, destination and travel dates. Filters allow you to refine by stops, departure times, baggage fees and other preferences. A graph shows the cheapest month to depart, while a calendar highlights the lowest fares day-by-day. This transparency and flexibility is invaluable for leisure travelers with adjustable dates.
Savvy travelers laud Momondo for uncovering prices up to 40% cheaper than other meta searches. The site attributes this advantage to their direct connections with travel providers globally, including smaller agencies specializing in niche regions. Users share stories of $350 roundtrip transatlantic flights surfacing on Momondo yet nowhere else. The unique algorithm prioritizes discounted economy fares, while most competitors emphasize paid search partnerships.
Travelers also rave about Momondo's intuitive map-based interface, allowing you to visually browse flight deals worldwide. Regions with the cheapest fares are highlighted bright green, while red indicates pricier destinations. Click to drill down and view deals from your nearest airport. This geographical approach opens travelers' eyes to affordable options they may have never considered.
Momondo also rolls up airfare and hotel packages, helping unlock additional savings compared to booking separately. Their recently launched Trip Planner feature lets you experiment with various stay durations and internal flight connections to build a custom multi-destination itinerary. Travelers using this tool have assembled epic round the world journeys averaging just $150 per flight segment.
The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Skyscanner - Comprehensive Search Including Budget Airlines
Skyscanner has become a go-to for deal-driven jetsetters, thanks to its exhaustive airfare search and knack for uncovering savings on budget carriers. This meta search scans both major airlines and discount providers across the globe, then displays the full spectrum of options in an easy-to-digest format. The "Everywhere" search lets travelers brainstorm destinations based on the cheapest fares currently available globally. No need to have a specific destination in mind - Skyscanner does the legwork to reveal surprising affordability.
Cheap fare junkies have come to rely on Skyscanner first when planning a trip. The search results reliably surface budget airline options that routinely get omitted from other flight aggregators. These ultra low cost carriers like RyanAir, WOW Air, and Spirit can transform an expensive transatlantic hop into a bargain under $400 roundtrip. Yet they rarely appear on legacy search engines like Expedia. Skyscanner solves this, listing major airlines side by side with upstart budget operators.
The interface also makes it effortless to filter results exactly how you want. Search only nonstop flights, or don't mind a connection or two if it saves you 50%? Want to leave after work or save on a red eye? Only see options with free seat selection? Skyscanner provides endless customization. The visual calendar clearly depicts the cheapest travel windows month-by-month. And the destination map reveals surprising affordability for destinations near and far.
Savvy Skyscanner devotees have all kinds of tricks for stacking savings. Finding budget legs for a portion of your itinerary is one. But even deeper discounts can be had booking "Skyscanner Secret Flight Routes." These are indirect routings with lengthy layovers that can cost hundreds less than nonstop flights between the same origin and destination. Users share stories of Boston to Dublin itineraries with 24 hour stops in Iceland that halve the standard $700 nonstop fare. The secret is ensuring your layover meets the minimum connection time requirements. Patience pays off big time.
Another Skyscanner gem is its "Car + Hotel" feature, which bundles discounted rental cars and hotels with already cheap flights. Solo travelers share stories of week-long European escapes booked through Skyscanner for under $500 all-in. The deals unlocked by pairing budget flights with lodging and transportation would be nearly impossible to replicate elsewhere.
The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Kayak - The Old Faithful Flight Search Aggregator
Kayak is the OG of travel search engines, launching way back in 2004 as airfare price comparison began transitioning online. While flashier competitors have captured the hype in recent years, Kayak remains a reliably thorough meta search for deal hunting jetsetters.
This flight search stalwart casts its net wide, scanning hundreds of sites across airlines, online travel agencies, consolidators and more. No matter how obscure the fare source, if they sell seats Kayak will find it. The comprehensive results surface routinely lower prices than aggregators partnered with select vendors. And tools like Price Forecasting leverage over a decade of historical data to project if prices are likely to drop further or have bottomed out.
Innovation and evolution have kept Kayak relevant through the search engine wars. Travelers laud recent upgrades providing more personalized, flexible ways to find the ideal fare. Multi-city search allows customizing complex itineraries with multiple stops and open jaw flights. And the genius Flexible Date Search spots the cheapest fare within 3 days of your target dates, in case departing earlier/later unlocks big savings.
Kayak devotees boast about uncovering mistake fares routinely lower than Google Flights. Savvy flexibility is key - one got Newark to Honolulu for $250 by expanding her search by 72 hours. Perpetual sale alerts spotlight short term deals other engines miss, like Memorial Day sales launched in April. And the app uses push notifications to ensure travelers can swoop before jaw dropping fares expire.
Beyond flights, Kayak provides a one stop shop for travel far beyond airfare. Hotels, rental cars, vacation packages - they aggregate options and prices from top providers globally. Travelers can assemble and price out full trips based on cheap flights surfaced in the flight search. Some enthusiastically book multi-city international journeys under $750 all-in using this bundling.
Kayak knows its veteran users expect certain functionality many newcomers overlook. Like displaying baggage fees and allowing filters to eliminate basic economy. Saving preferred airlines and airports for faster searching. And a masterful interface allowing intricate filtering and customization of results - yes to red eyes, only nonstops, maximum two connections. Kayak puts granular control at your fingertips.
Not to be overlooked are the legions of worldwide users who still associate airfare deals with Kayak first. Brand sentiment and top-of-mind audience share matters when people decide where to search when planning travel. And Kayak continues earning devotees through a standout mobile experience allowing effortless searching on the go.
The Ultimate Guide to Websites That Find You the Cheapest Flights - Hitlist - Get Notified When Your Dream Destination Gets Cheap
The wanderlust is real, but the bank account balance doesn't always align with your travel aspirations. Enter Hitlist, a free web app that acts like a personal travel genie monitoring flight prices and notifying you the moment your dream destination gets cheap.
Here's how it works: Build a Hitlist by adding destinations you have on your bucket list. Customize your home airports, ideal month(s) to travel, maximum price you want to pay, and preferred cabin class. Hitlist immediately starts tracking prices on those routes, leveraging over a billion flight price points. Whenever the stars align and your target fare threshold is met, you'll receive an instant email alert. Act fast to book the deal while seats last.
This approach flips the script on travel planning, empowering you to manifest your goals rather than limiting exploration to what fits your current budget. Have dreams of an African safari? Track flights to Nairobi for under $600. On your bucket list? Monitor fares from LAX, and you'll be notified the minute a mistake fare crops up.
Savvy travelers are scoring huge deals thanks to Hitlist's ever vigilant price monitoring robots. One user had Reykjavik on her bucket list for years but couldn't rationalize the expense. She set a Hitlist alert, and 6 months later scored roundtrip flights from New York for only $250. A San Diego couple yearned to share the magic of Southeast Asia with their children. Hitlist let them seize on an $800 fare for the entire family to visit Thailand, significantly below the $1500+ they expected to pay.
The key is flexibility. Rather than searching for specific dates, your ideal time range is always being monitored. So you can jump on a killer fare whether it pops up 2 months or 6 months down the line. Travelers recommend setting multiple home airport alerts as well, since price variance across nearby cities can be significant.
Users rave about Hitlist's dead simple email format - deals summarized in 3 lines with a direct booking link. No sifting through clutter to identify the info you need. The app only surfaces airfare alerts aligned explicitly with your personal preferences, eliminating noise. And the smart technology factors in historical trends to distinguish temporary price blips from truly noteworthy discounts worth your time.