Sick of paying too much to fly? Whether you do it for work, to see friends or family, or to explore the world, even saving a small percentage on the flights you take can save you some major dough. Here’s how you can finally start scoring cheap international flights in 2018…
Delete your cookies
No, this doesn’t mean throwing out that bag of chocolate chunk cookies in your pantry. We’re talking about the type that resides within your internet browser. As you surf the web, pages you visit will attach data mining tools called ‘cookies‘ that help them learn about what you do online.
In the case of flight booking websites, this means they can track how many times you have visited the page before. Some airlines may charge more if you have performed a search for a specific flight plan in a bid to trigger panic buying behaviour in its customers.
By clearing your cookies, you give yourself a better chance of being treated fairly by the algorithm that generates the price you’ll pay for a flight.
Track fares via e-mail
If you just log on and pay the price you see on the screen when it comes to making an international flight booking, you are voluntarily surrendering more money than necessary.
You don’t need to log on to a site each day to track price movements (nor should you – see above); instead, sign up to be alerted when your target fare increases or decreases.
This way, you won’t miss out on the flash sales that airlines often hold to generate a ton of buys in a short time.
Follow the social media accounts of your favourite airlines
Spend all day on Facebook or Twitter? If so, following the social media accounts of the airlines you admire is the best way to take advantage of the periodic sales airlines hold. That alluring flight to Miami for only $99 will likely only last for hours rather than days, so acting fast is the name of the game.
Stay off the phone
Not all of you reading this are hyper-connected millennials. In fact, this crowd probably knows most of the tricks discussed in this article. If you are from an elder generation, you might only be comfortable with booking a flight over the phone.
While leaving one’s comfort zone can be tough, you really need to make the jump to the web. These days, many airlines are charging at least $50 more for the same flight if it is booked over the phone versus the internet.
This is done to create a price incentive for customers to move to online booking. Would you spend $50 to make a ten-minute phone call in any other context? Of course not.
Jump online to book your next flight – booking sites have complex security these days, and in the rare case of a breach, credit cards are easily reissued and fraudulent charges reversed.
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