How to Find Cheap Flights

While I normally write about makeup, today I decided to write about another one of my passions (in honor of me being in Colombia at the moment).

Today, I want to talk about how to find cheap flights. While I’d definitely say my passion is travelling, I’d also say finding an awesome deal on a flight really gets me going.  A few days ago I found flights to Europe (Paris) in May for $380 USD round trip. It’s amazing how much cheaper (thanks competition) flights have gotten in recent years.

So now let’s talk strategy.  The first thing you want to do is to clear your browser history and cookies. This is how companies track what you have been doing and if they see you look at flights to a certain destination a few times they may start displaying higher prices. To do this just Google how to clear cookies and browser history on your browser.

Next, whenever you search for flights make sure you are using a private browser. Again, if you do not know how to do this Google it!  This makes sure your browser history, cookies, and search histories are not stored.

Once that is done, head over to flights.google.com. Google Flights compiles all different companies and their fares. You can look for different amounts of days, locations, etc. There are different sites that do similar things but I happen to like Google Flights the best. I highly recommend spending some time playing around with all the features to get a feel for how it works. However, I’m going to give you a few tips to maximize savings.

1. Say you know you want to go somewhere in Europe, my recommendation is to put in “Europe” as your destination, because that way you can see where the cheapest place to fly into is. Generally once on the continent it is cheap to get around so mess around and see if flying into Paris and then continuing onto Milan with a different airline might be cheaper.
   
2. Maybe you’re flexible on where you want to go? Then this is a great way to find a destination. It’s how I ended up in Columbia!  All I did was search for flights to South America and from there got my tickets to Columbia.
3. Or maybe you know where you want to go, this is still a great tool. Oftentimes you can fly onto the continent you want to be on and then find cheaper flights, trains, or buses to get you where you want to go.
4. Another thing you can mess with is the dates, maybe you want to go for 1 week but you’re not sure when? Then just take a look at when the best dates to book it are and go from there.
5. Another recommendation is to check prices every other day for a couple of weeks so then you can really understand what the prices are like. Then you’ll know when you’re finding an amazing deal and you will be ready to book it!
6. Don’t be afraid of discount airlines! Some

   

   people find it really offensive that they have all these extra fees and that you have to pay for food and drinks on the airline. However, if you’re saving $300, then having to buy $10 worth of food on the plane still leaves you with an extra $290. Additionally, the discount airlines really get you when it comes to baggage. My recommendation is to learn to travel with just a carry-on. I used to be the worst over packer, but since I’ve learned how to travel with a carry-on, travelling and aspects of my life have gotten so much better. I could not recommend a travel backpack enough if you can afford one (this is the one I have).

7. Another useful platform is an app called Hopper which tracks flight prices and tells you if you’re looking at a good price. It can even tell you when to book!