Flyin' Frugal: My Favorite Apps and Sites to Find the Best Flight Deals
New Year. New Travels! Have you made a list of travel goals for 2018? If so, then it's a good time to start thinking ahead about finding flight deals.
My flight deal game is strong. If the price isn't right, I'm not booking. When it comes to booking flight deals it's important to have multiple resources available. Remember to stay flexible and if you see a deal that's great, don't wait to book it.
Flight School is in session! Grab your pens and pencils because I'm sharing my favorite sites and apps to book great flights below!
Hopper is one of my favorite apps in my flight deal arsenal. Simply search your dates and Hopper tracks flight prices. The app goes even further by telling you when you should book or wait to purchase tickets.
Before buying a ticket, search the flight in Hopper to see how good the price is. Hopper also has a price prediction which also helps with deciding when to purchase.
Have you ever set aside time to go on a vacation but weren't sure where to go? SkyScanner has your back. Simply put in your outbound airport and it tells you the cheapest flights available for that time frame. Be sure to do a search for "Everywhere" to see all the options. You can also select specific destinations if you already know where you want to go. SkyScanner also sends price alerts to your email.
Google Flights will track flight prices for you in addition to sending you alerts when prices drop or rise. It also shows use the lowest price for any day on the calendar to your destination. Don't forget to pay attention to the tip bar, which tells you how much money you'll save if you choose a different airport, fly later or earlier in the day. You can also track flights, and receive phone or email notifications when prices rise or drop. I also love that Google Flights includes Southwest. Many sites don't include their fares.
I love using this site to do a quick search for some of the best deals out of my home airports. Be sure to set your home airport so you can stay abreast of the best deals of the day. You can also track flight prices and receive notifications like some of the other sites I mentioned. Once you see a deal simply click on it, and it tells you how to find the fare, and what dates its valid for.
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5. Skiplagged
Have you ever heard of "hidden city ticketing?" A hidden city is a flight where you disembark at the layover point instead of the final destination. Airlines hate when passengers do this, but sometimes its necessary to save money. Skiplagged helps you find flights not found anywhere else, and these special hidden city fares. Be sure to only pack a carry-on bag when booking a hidden-city fare. Some airlines will penalize you if you regularly disembark at layover cities so be smart about it. You can book using their or on the website by clicking here.
The app doesn't require you to put in a specific destination, so you can do a search for all cities from your departure airport on the dates you'd like to depart. You can also use it to book hotels.
6. Priceline
Earlier this week, I needed to book a last-minute flight to attend my cousin's funeral in New York. Unfortunately, this also meant that I needed to book a flight to NY during New Year's Eve which is one of the most expensive times to fly. Before booking a flight on Priceline, look to see if there are any Express Deals. You won't be able to choose your air carrier to exact flight time, but the Express Deals will give you a time range before booking. Luckily, I decided to take a chance and was able to book a round trip flight for $263 that had great flight times. The kicker is that this flight didn't come up in the regular search but were only available through Express Deals.
MY FAVORITE FACEBOOK PAGES YOU SHOULD FOLLOW TO FIND FLIGHT DEALS
These pages post error fares on a regular basis. Be sure you select the option to have these pages appear in your feed first, so you don't miss seeing a deal! Keep in mind that deals don't last long so be ready to book if you see something great! Don't forget to select your departure city when signing up.
I hope you found this list of sites/apps helpful! Are there any other sites you think I should add? What apps do you use to book flights? Let me know and I'll try them out! Happy Flying!