How to save money on a flight, taking into account flexible planning, monitoring services and additional costs

Air travel is not a cheap pleasure, but its cost can often be significantly reduced if you follow some simple recommendations. There are some well-known tips, such as credit card miles or membership points. But there are also some non-obvious, yet effective tips on how to save money on airfare so that your future flights will be more profitable.

Look through airline offers before choosing your destination

If you're going on vacation and haven't decided where you want to go yet, check out the offers on airline websites first. There you can find attractive options for an interesting trip and inexpensive plane tickets.

For example, Lufthansa Airlines has a service called "Offers and Destinations", which shows the cost of a flight in six regions: Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa. Therefore, you can first purchase a ticket in the chosen direction, and then plan your trip in more detail and determine your destination. This is a good method for organizing a vacation with a limited budget since it is the flight that takes up a lot of costs when travelling. The cheaper the tickets, the more countries you can visit and the more places you can discover.

Not all air carriers have such services for finding cheap tickets, so you can use similar ones. For example, Travelocity has a selection of cheap fares where you can look at tickets from local airports for less than $200. It may be more cost-effective for you to arrive at the airport an hour or two away from your destination and get there by car or train, rather than flying directly to the city where you're going to spend your vacation.

Browse the different dates

The first advice offered to travellers when it comes to saving money is to be more flexible when choosing your flight dates. This is one of the most effective ways to save hundreds of dollars when buying airline tickets.

Most destinations reduce flight prices several times during the off-season. But travelling during this time doesn't always fit your schedule, especially if you're traveling as a couple or with kids. However, even a little extra time can help save money on an airplane. Look at ticket prices with at least a week beforehand and you may find that the difference can be as much as $200.

The same method is worth applying when your flight falls on a holiday. Spare a day or two in both directions from the date you are going to fly. This way you will be able to avoid peak periods when airfares skyrocket due to high demand.

You can use special services for tracking. For example, Google Flights will help you find the cheapest airplane tickets. To do this, just enter the names of departure and arrival airports and the total dates of travel, and the service will give the cost for each calendar day for the specified period.

Compare the offers of intermediaries and airlines

Third-party sites are really good in search of inexpensive airplane tickets. But don't be in a hurry to buy them there. Such intermediary sites may charge additional fees and commissions. Use them to identify the cheapest airline for your trip, but purchase tickets on its official website.

There are many such third-party services. The most famous ones are Momondo, Airfare Spot, Skyscanner, Google Flights and Secret Flying. All of them help save money on buying cheap airplane tickets, but they also have other useful features. For example, you can set up tracking and alerts for ticket price changes on a particular route so you don't have to spend time monitoring.

If you haven't decided where you'd like to go on vacation, use such services as a spontaneous planner. For example, when using Going or AirfareWatchdog, simply enter your mailbox address to receive notifications about airline offers right away and thus choose your travel destination.

Determine the best time to buy tickets

There is speculation that favorable airfare prices may depend not only on the time before departure but also on the day of the week or even the time of day. But it is quite difficult to find any concrete evidence of whether it is better to buy tickets during the day, after midnight, at the beginning of the week or the end of it. Perhaps you have a personal positive experience of how to save money on airplane tickets by buying them on a certain day from a particular airline operator. You can follow this strategy further.

But some more definitive advice is seen by CheapAir statistics on buying tickets at U.S. airports. They recommend booking 10 months in advance for most flights here. The time is 1.5-5.5 months for domestic flights. Of course, this will help you plan, for example, a vacation in the next six months to a year, but it's hardly useful if you have to fly shortly.

Compare the price of one-way and round-trip tickets

It may seem that you will save money on your flight by buying round-trip tickets. It is indeed convenient, but not necessarily profitable. Buying a round-trip ticket and a return ticket separately will be cheaper. Besides, if you buy a round-trip ticket on one airline, you may find that it is cheaper to return with another operator.

You may fly to your destination and then travel by car or train to other cities and countries to book a return plane ticket. This way you will be able to see more interesting places and will not waste time by returning to the original point of travel.

Another lifehack for buying airplane tickets is related to VPN. If you choose the IP address of the country you are going to fly to, you can discover cheaper flights in its national currency. This rule is not exact but should not be excluded.

Don't forget about miles, points and club memberships

Loyalty programs are available for customers who often use the services of certain airlines. They are beneficial if you fly regularly. Many of these benefits have a limited validity period, so don't miss the opportunity to use them in time.

The terms and conditions of these programs may differ. For example, the more money you spend on flights, the more miles you get with American Airlines. They expire two years after the last action like buying tickets, redeeming miles, etc. So even if you fly once or twice a year, you may end up with enough miles to qualify for free airline tickets.

Travel credit cards also offer additional benefits, but they are more beneficial in the long run. It could be free baggage fees or miles.

Deals that are too cheap raise suspicion

When chasing cheap airline tickets, give way to common sense rather than excitement. If you're not going to buy tickets from the official website of an airline or a reputable, trusted intermediary, don't grab unrealistically cheap deals. If you're offered tickets from the US to Europe for $10, it's almost definitely a scam. If prices or any other aspects make you uncomfortable, back yourself up by checking the information on the airline's website.

Buying cheap airline tickets is not all you have to worry about. Take into account possible pitfalls with additional costs. For example, tickets are usually cheaper on Frontier Airlines and Spirit, but you'll have to pay extra for any luggage. It does not even include carry-on luggage, food and drinks during the flight and a reserved seat. So if you have a couple of bags and need an aisle seat, you may find that flying with a more expensive airline would cost you less. But if you are travelling light and do not need additional services, you can opt for a budget airline operator without frills. Read all the terms and conditions carefully when buying a ticket to know what you are paying for.