By Okuneye Moyosola
Booking cheap flight tickets online (or if you prefer with your agent) is a luxury many can only wish for, it is difficult and at times almost impossible with the continually unstable prices of airline tickets. However, because we love to share information you ought to know but do not know, we put together a few tips on how you can book the cheapest flight tickets online today.
Below are 9 ways people like you book cheap flight tickets daily.
Opt for Private Browsing Mode
You would have discovered that the price of a flight ticket changes after a repeated search on the browser. The cookies in the browser has been programmed to increase flight prices when a specific destination is searched continuously. To book cheaper flight, search in incognito (chrome) or private browsing mode. Activating this browsing mode will ensure that your information is not tracked. As you continually search, the price would be the same. If you are using Google Chrome or Safari to browse, incognito is activated by hitting Command (or “Control” if using PC), Shift, “N”. For Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, hit Command (or “Control” if using a PC), Shift, “P”.
Use Good Flight Search Engines
Do you know that you can search about flights on a search engine that won't inflate flight cost. There are a list of search engines that offer the best prices.
AirFare Watchdog
Skyscanner
Kiwi.com
Momondo
Cheapoair
JetRader
For those in Africa,
Travelstart
Jumia Travels
TravelBeta
Flightscanner
Know the Cheapest Day to Fly
Most people believe that booking a flight is cheaper on Tuesday. This is not totally true. Sometimes the flight might be cheaper on weekends and at other times, it could be cheaper on weekdays. The best way to know the day favorable for you is to know the prices for a whole month. With this, you can ascertain which day is cheaper.
Steps to know the cheapest day to fly
Go to the Skyscanner website or download the app on playstore
Enter your departure & arrival flight even if you are flying a round trip.
If you are using a computer: click “Depart” but instead of entering a date, select “Whole Month”, and
then “Cheapest Month”. This will enable you to check all dates to see which is cheapest, then select “Search flights”.
For the mobile app: Tap the departure date, then change the view to “Chart”. To find the cheapest date, swipe left and right and tap on one of the bars to see the price.
You can also use these steps listed above to book your return flight.
Free Flights
You can sign up for just one travel rewards credit card and if you reach the minimum spend, you could get a major point bonus. This in turn would be enough for a free flight. There are an airlines rewards card that earns you points, or a more general travel rewards card that allows you gather points across a variety of airlines. You can choose one of the options depending on what you want.
Budget Airlines are Cost Friendly
Budget airlines usually do not provide the services associated with the full service airlines such as free food and drinks. However, you get to spend less if you travel with a budget airline. Before booking a flight with these budget airlines, do an extensive research to know their requirements and restrictions. Also do well to check the location of the airport and read the fine print. Some budget airline will charge you if you do not print your own ticket or obey their restrictions on height, weight anthe number of bags allowed.
Buy Flights Ticket in Bulk
If you buy a lot of flight ticket at the same time with the same airline, you will save cost. You can also book flights in bulk with round the world tickets and regional passes. Airline alliances have special ticket offers that allow you to travel round the world on a lesser price.
Do not Wait to Book if you are Certain about Your Destination
The closer the date is to your departure, the higher the price of flight tickets. So if you are sure of your destination, you can book your flight a month before the departure date to save cost. When you book early, you are certainly going to enjoy more than a cheap fare, you are certain seats will be available and most times, you get to pick the best seats.
Local Airlines
Some of these local airlines offer flight ticket at a cheap rate. Most search engines do not usually include small airlines on their list especially in less popularly booked routes. When you discover local airlines, check the company's website to gather enough information about their flight ticket, how and when to book, as well as the dos and don’ts in relation to luggage and everything related to your travels.
Paying in other currencies could be cheaper
Sometimes, paying for a flight ticket in other currencies could be cheaper. Do well to find out if you can pay for the flight in other currency. Using a credit card that is free of foreign transactions will help you save money, otherwise you might end up spending more in an attempt to save money. For instance, If you are travelling to the UK from New York and would prefer say British Airways, paying in Pounds will be your best option if you have a Pound Sterling domiciled card as you don't have to pay the extra bank conversion fees that can be as high as 3-9% of your transaction sum.
