Curious to find out what flight sites I use to book affordable flights around the world? It’s not magic that I score cheap flights, it’s strategy (and a few helpful websites!). Check it out.
Psst. This post contains affiliate links. Read our disclosure.
In 2017, the year I ventured off on my Southeast Asia backpacking trip, I flew on a total of 27 flights.
I know… wowza! Safe to say it was a big year.
On the other hand, 2018 was a quieter year… but I still managed to jet off to a few new places! I even scored a flight from the UK to Poland for a whopping $15.
Yeah — $15 freakin’ dollars. Say it with me, “whaaaat?!”
And just a couple days ago, I scored an incredible flight deal. For just $590, I’m flying round trip from Manchester to Thailand! And that’s not even with a budget airline — I get to check my bags, have a couple meals, and free alcohol (score!).
No joke, I think I search for various flights around the world every single day. I just love seeing what kinda good deals I can uncover!
Many believe booking cheap flights is impossible and that traveling completely breaks the bank…
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Make 2021 kick-ass by traveling to these 10 affordable and underrated destinations!
If you search hard enough, you can definitely uncover some incredibly awesome travel deals! I mean, I’m by no means raking in the moolah and yet, I’m making the most of wandering the world! You can, too.
With that said, are you ready to find out what flight websites I use to score these kind of deals? I’m sure the suspense is killing you by now!
Okay, okay, without further rambling, let’s save some money!
Hey, you! Yeah, you. Are you thinking of traveling without proper travel insurance? THINK AGAIN, PAL! Reliable travel insurance is essential for staying safe while wandering. My favorite is World Nomads. Click here to check them out.
Top Sites for Booking Affordable Flights
Ready to score some sweet flight deals? Guuurrrrl (or guy), I gotchu. Here are my absolute favorite websites for booking affordable and cheap flights!
Skyscanner
If I have one go-to site for searching for flights, it’s 100% Skyscanner! There’s so many awesome aspects about this site. For example:
- The “Explore” feature. If you don’t have any set plans, dates, or even a set destination, you can put in your desired outgoing airport and then search either for the cheapest dates to go on or the cheapest destination (or both!).
- Multiple airlines. When searching for flights, Skyscanner has the power to scour through multiple different airlines to find the best affordable flight.
- No added fees. Don’t you hate it when websites have undetected or hidden charges? I sure do. With Skyscanner, there’s absolutely no added fees or hidden charges to hike up your flight prices!
Ready to see what kind of deals you can get with Skyscanner? Visit their website.
Orrrrr try the Skyscanner “explore” feature below to discover cheap flights departing from your favorite airport!
Just put in your “from” destination and leave the “to” box blank. Then pick your dates (or not!) and uncover deep flight discounts.
Skiplagged
Another favorite cheap flight booking sites is called Skiplagged! This one is a bit off the radar of many but man, oh man, it is awesome.
Skiplagged is very similar to Skyscanner in how it scans several different airlines to find you the best flight deal but it also does something a bit different…
If you’re jetting off somewhere where you’ll only need a carry-on or you only travel with a carry-on anyhow, Skiplagged has the power to search flights with specific connections that is your desired destination.
In other words, a layover would be your end destination.
For example, I once bought a roundtrip flight from Minneapolis to Nashville with Skiplagged and on my way home the actual end destination for the flight was Toronto… but the layover was Minneapolis! So, with my carry-on bag in hand, I just hopped off the plane at the MSP Airport.
Click here to check out the Skiplagged website.
Momondo
Momondo is typically the last place I search for booking affordable flights — except for when I’m in Southeast Asia. Because, typically, Momondo searches more small, budget airlines than Skyscanner and Skiplagged.
Although, similar to Skyscanner, you also have the ability to search the calendar view to see which days are offering the best flight deals.
Even though it’s one of the last places I look for cheap flights, Momondo is still a top flight booking site due to its ability to search smaller airline brands and its calendar view!
I mean, in my opinion, it’s still much better than other sites like Travelocity, Orbitz, or Expedia. In fact, Expedia owns both Travelocity AND Orbitz! Clearly, it’s a bit biased.
Here are some other great aspects of Momondo:
- It’s really not a flight booking site… it’s a meta-search engine. Unlike Expedia, you can’t book the flight right through Momondo. Instead, it directs you to the cheapest site to book flights with. This makes it an unbiased source, as it doesn’t direct you to the website where it’ll make the most money from. Momondo only has one goal: to find you the best affordable flights.
- Momondo searches 1,000 of different airlines, booking sites, travel agencies, and other discount websites to find you the top-notch deal. This is much higher than the other booking sites, sans Skiplagged and Skyscanner.
- As mentioned before, Momondo includes small, budget airlines and lesser-known airlines as it works to find the lowest airfare. Ever heard of FlyScoot? No worries, Momondo has — and it found it’s cheaper than all the other flights available. Cool, right?
Curious to see what Momondo has to offer? Click here to visit the Momondo website and discover great flight deals.
Tips for Scoring Cheap Flights
In addition to the websites above, I also have a few other tricks up my sleeve for booking cheap flights! While it’s handy to have those sites ready to go, here are a few other strategies you can use to save some money on flying.
Hey! Have you ever thought about starting a blog? Don’t miss this post on 10 things I did wrong when starting mine (+3 things I did right!).
Stay Ahead of the Game
Ever heard of Airfarewatchdog? I hadn’t until last year!
It’s a cool little site that sends out daily emails with awesome flight deals from a desired airport, such as MSP or LAX. But that’s not the coolest part about it…
Airfarewatchdog searches thousands of airline brands for unfortunate flight errors (unfortunate for the airline; fantastic for you!). For example, if there’s an error in a number, like instead of a $900 for a flight to Tokyo, the flight is $600, it’ll update you on this crazy good deal!
Sign up for free alerts with Airfarewatchdog here.
Fly on Off Days
Thinking of flying on the weekend? Think again. Flights are typically most expensive on Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays due to weekend getaways!
Although it’s literally impossible to predict exactly when a flight will be the cheapest, you can bet there are some not-so-great days to fly on that’ll most definitely be more expensive than others.
Here’s a list of when NOT to fly:
- Christmas and other major holidays (like New Years).
- Spring break (late February through beginning of April).
- Summer is big for families, when kids are outta school.
Here’s a list of when to book that flight:
- Winter and off season. (Like October to November in Europe!)
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Remember what I said about weekends? Mid-week is usually much cheaper!
- Thursdays and Saturdays are next cheapest, because who wants to cut a weekend away short?
Since we’re on the topic of saving money here… make sure not to miss my 15 ways to make and save money for traveling! (Psst, it’s easier than you think!) Or my post on 6 real ways to actually make money while traveling.
Be Flexible
Ultimately, be flexible if you can. Let’s say you live near multiple airports, make sure to check each of them to see which is offering the best price!
Or better yet, set price change alerts for each airport (which you can do with the Skyscanner!). That way you’ll know if any good flight deal pops up.
Use Credit Card Miles
Before I ventured off on my first solo backpacking trip I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, which has a fantastic sign-up bonus of 60,000 miles if you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months (psst, that’s $750 to go towards future adventures!).
Since I already knew I had to buy my flights and other preparation items, like travel insurance, I easily hit the spending amount to gain those additional miles.
After all was said and done, my one-way flight to Bali from Minnesota was paid for with my miles! Cool, right?
Interested in signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card? Click here to check out all it’s perks and rewards.
If you want to learn more about travel credit card hacking, take a look at Nomadic Matt’s guide.
Thinking of jetting off a new adventure (especially with these cheap flying tips?). Don’t forget to protect yourself! Click here to read all about this awesome travel insurance.
After wandering the world for the past few years, I’ve nailed down the best ways to score cheap flights! And with these helpful websites and tips, I hope you can find some kick-ass deals, too.
Do you have a favorite site to book flights with? Or anymore tips for other readers? Share it in the comments!
Sophie xx
Like these cheap flying tips? Pin it!
Yay for transparency! This post contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase through one of the links, this site receives a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.
Article Comments