There are few things I love more than travel. Â I love the chance to get away, change locations, experience a new place, culture, and food. Â And, like most people, half the fun of a trip is the planning and preparation. Â But, the hardest part about travel planning is find the right flight at the right price. Â As a family of four we are often priced out of travel options because the flight prices are just too much. Â When I worked for a corporation I was amazed at the travel deals big companies got on flights and wanted to find a way that I could gain some savings for myself and my family. Â While some love to book with a travel agent, I prefer to do the research and booking myself. Â That way I know that I am also saving on commission rates and getting to pick my preferred airlines. Â After years of travelling, here are my 5 tips to find cheap flights.
5 Tips to Find Cheap Flights
#1 Travel mid week – usually flights are cheaper on Tuesdays and Wednesdays – flying out and returning on those days significantly cuts your flight costs. These days are often cheaper because business travellers are more likely to fly on other days.
#2 Research trends in flight drops – with lots of research out there we can predict drops in prices based on time of year.  Check out this USA Today article with great tips.
#3 Search websites specializing in discount prices.  Search cheap flights on fly.co.uk for flights that fall within your budget.  Using websites like these enables the best rates for the best flights and a search of all major airlines at once.
#4 Book early/last minute – The earlier you book a flight the greater your chances of cheap flights. Â As airlines fill seats the prices tend to increase but, in the last few days before the flight you will also see cheap flight sell offs as airlines try to fill the last few seats.
#5 Collect Points – There is nothing better than only having to pay the taxes on your flight! Â Booking with points (again book early) is a great reward and a fantastic way to keep your vacation prices down.
Having just booked a flight to San Francisco for the summer, these tips were my guidelines. Â Not only did I book on a Tuesday, but I was able to find a discount flight that fit my travel needs. Â I’m all booked! Â Now, just the waiting for a fabulous vacation.
Looking for other travel tips?  Check out our posts on 5 Tips on Road Trips with Kids , Travelling with Allergies and 8 Tips for Flying with Infants.
What is your favourite tip for finding cheap flights?
Thanks for sharing this, we are planning a vacation this summer and this is great to know
Terri recently posted..Happy Birthday Mom
These are some very useful tips! Thanks for sharing.
While we travel a lot with The Kids, high plane ticket fairs have inhibited us from flying with them (we drive instead). I will definitely look into your tips. Thanks, I love to save money!
Besos, Sarah
Blogger at Journeys of The Zoo
Sarah at Journeys of The Zoo recently posted..The Kids First Day of Mexican School is a Happy Affair. Kind of. Maybe. Not
The last minute thing backfired on me around Christmas. I booked the day before I wanted to send my step son to see his grandmother and waiting cost me big time. The mid week thing usually works, though.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) recently posted..Weird Science Series: Frankenstein’s Hand
Great timing. We are planning a trip in May.
Becky Lyons Borgia recently posted..Big and Absorbant Made in the USA Cloth Wipes by Bummas (Review with Giveaway, Ends 02/01/14, US Only)
We have many trips planned this year to Texas, Nevada and California. These will be really helpful, thanks!
Megan @ That Neat Blog recently posted..Best friends, who would have thought?
Great tips that I will be keeping in mind as we consider a trip across the country!
Mandi recently posted..How I Can Set An Example For My Daughter
These are great tips!! Paying full price is no fun!! I didn’t realize some of these tips existed!
Jenn recently posted..Wordless Wednesday ~ Pony tail fun!
These are great tips. We have family who will be traveling soon, I’ll be passing these tips onto them. Thanks so much!
Liisi Carr recently posted..Manicure Monday: Sinful Colors Brand
Thank you so much for the very helpful tips. I have a family in the Philippines that I want to visit sometime soon. I am taking my kids with me and golly the plane ticket price is crippling. I am really hoping to find some great deal somewhere.
April McGregor recently posted..Reduce Gender Stereotyping in Toddlers
I heard if we look at 1am on a tuesday the airlines gives a great deal! Thanks for the tips, i am searching for a vacation spot..
These are great tips, thanks for sharing!
Jaymi Fillier recently posted..Wordless Wednesday – Tummy Time
I confess my strategy for cheap flights is… just drive there.
Sure, it might take longer. But you have to deal with less security, better scenery, and can even stop over to see some awful/amazing roadside attractions.
There ARE times when flying is better, I admit. But grudgingly.
Steve recently posted..5 Steps Every Budding Entrepreneur Should Take
I quickly learned the trick about Tuesday and Wednesday flights when I was looking for flights from Australia to the US! I haven’t traveled by plane myself, but I will keep in mind to get airline points/miles and to only do the Tues and Weds unless I can’t avoid it.
Kisa recently posted..I’m Drowning In His ODD.
These are some really great tips for flying on budget. Thank you for sharing them with us!
Joanna Sormunen recently posted..Keskiviikon rukous
These are great tips! These days flights are so expensive & everybody is looking for cheaper flights :)
Bibiana Bailey recently posted..Friday Foodie Photo – Minecraft Party
I usually dont travel much but these great tips will help out when I do decide to travel, thanks a whole lot
GossipMoms recently posted..Khloe Kardashian’s Sad, Incoherent Call From Lamar Odom
Perfect timing! We are looking at flights this week and they are SO expensive! May look again keeping these tips in mind.
Karen @TheMissingNiche recently posted..Sudden Cardiac Arrest In Children
It’s also important to know when a particular locale’s high season is so that if your schedule permits you can go a different time. I also work really hard to combine frequent flier miles, and companion tickets in order to fly our family of 5 to the opposite coast. Tricky!
These are wonderful tips!!! Love it did not know about this before .. We are planning a trip this summer to UK. These tips will be really helpful .. will make sure we book around 3.00 pm on Tuesday..
Thanks for sharing
I didn’t realize that buying last min could yield a discount. i always try to buy tickets as early as possible. Thanks
I travel a lot and these are so useful! Never heard of http://www.fly.co.uk/, but I gotta check it out when I plan to travel again. I actually pin this so I can go back and use some of these :-)
Thank you!
I knew a few of these tips, but some were new to me! Thank you for giving the tip about trending times to fly, along with the link. That will be very useful!
Kim Miller recently posted..Who Cares?
I have alerts on Kayak that are mailed to me every day, so that’s usually how I decide. However, I’m going to go read that article you referenced!
Liz Mays recently posted..Simple Organization Solutions from Dollar Tree
I think I practiced all your suggestions through out my life, I traveled like mad. The best tip that worked for me to get cheap flights was to buy at last minute through an agent of airline while seeking option on phone from other agent in front of first one, they always try to rope me in with price reduction.
I am going to have to try to see if any of these tips help when I plan our trip to Hawaii later this year. I’m crossing my fingers for some great savings.
Lisa Trudell recently posted..Nebraska is home to first homestead
These are great tips! I will be flying soon so I will definitely be using some of these! Thanks for sharing!
cara recently posted..Craft Frenzy Friday #23
Great post! Useful information that I’ll keep handy for this year.. we want to go back to Puerto Rico so bad :)
Heather @ Frugal Southern Living recently posted..Free One Year Credit Monitoring from Target!
OK, I’m ready for vacation. Thanks for the reminders.
Hi Kerrie,
I am glad this has been helpful. Every day the airline industry is changing. I think your information will be helpful to people who are looking a cheap flights.
It’s definitely not easy to find the cheapest flights, without accepting long lay-overs etc. Thanks for the helpful tips, since I fly a lot to Europe and Australia they will come in handy for me and I’ll definitely try them out :-)
I never thought of looking for trends in price drops. That’s a great idea!
That website definitely has the cheapest tickets I’ve seen online. Do I simply convert the total from Euros to U.S.Dollars? I’m planning a trip from DALLAS to Thailand and want to make sure there’s nothing to worry about if I book through this site!
Yes, you can modify the currency and make it in U.S. dollars. Happy trip planning!
Thank you for your very timely travel tips…with our vacation coming up I will be taking them right to heart.