I started to write this post a couple months ago, then the pandemic hit.
Of course, I thought it would be senseless to write a post about flying when no one could fly unless essential.
The coronavirus may be with us for a while, so I decided to go ahead and publish this post.
Personally, though more people are flying each day during the pandemic, I have no idea when I will get on a plane.
Some people are flying now.
So, it is a personal decision.
In any case, when you are ready to fly, whether in the present or next year, you will want to save money.
Along with lodging, flights are the most expensive part of any trip.
Personally, I use points for flying, but even if you are using points you want to save.
Why pay 25,000 Delta Skymiles when you can pay 6000?
So, here are my top ways to save on flights.
Again, though we are in a pandemic now, these tips apply under most circumstances.
20 Easy Ways To Save On Flights
1. Use flexible calendar
Most people choose a specific date.
If you really want to save money, be flexible with your dates.
I still want to get to New York City.
For those who follow the blog, you will remember I was about to book my first flight in basic economy before the pandemic.
Again, I usually only use points for flights.
I have both Delta and American Airlines miles in my accounts.
When I started browsing the other day, I could pay 6000 or 25,000 each way on Delta.
Of course, who would pay 25,000 miles instead of 6,000?
I easily found this by starting my Delta search with the flexible calendar.
Points are like money,
You don’t spend more than you have to.
Flexible calendars work the same with points or cash.
Each airline has a full month calendar you can see to find the cheapest dates.
Of course, if you are paying cash, your search should start with Google Flights.
2. Choose your destination by the sale
Whether you use points or miles, there are always sales.
Instead of choosing a destination first, choose a sale.
For instance, if you want to go to Europe and there is a sale to Spain, you could pick Spain as the destination.
It is easy to get between countries in Europe, so you could even have other places in mind.
The point is to watch out for sales and choose your destination by the sale.
Again, the sale could be in points or cash.
3. Fly basic economy
Basic economy can save you about $60 or more.
For those who don’t know, basic economy does not allow you to choose your seat (except 24 hours in advance), does not allow any changes, and makes you board last.
Honestly, on most domestic flights, I think this is the way to go.
Most flights in the United States are short.
Traveling across the country, such as Los Angelas to New York City will be at most six hours.
If you are traveling on flights around two hours, you really are not missing anything by choosing basic economy.
If you have a ten hour international flight or want to sit with your kids, then I would suggest regular economy or if possible premium economy or business class.
Again, for just your simple domestic flight around two hours, I would suggest basic economy.
If anyone flies during the pandemic, some airlines like Delta are blocking middle seats.
The middle seat was the worst thing about basic economy.
Airlines don’t want you to buy basic economy.
They want you to pay for regular economy and spend more money.
RELATED: 5 Ways To Make The Most Of Basic Economy And Beat The Airlines At Their Own Game?
4. Check sites like Google and OTA’s
Whenever I pay for an airline ticket, my search always starts at Google Flights.
Both Google and OTA’s like Priceline or Orbitz can give you a start of how much you will pay.
After the initial search, two sites that can give you even better deals are Momondo and Skyscanner.
5. Use a different airport
Again, whenever it is safe, I would like a trip to New York City
When I book tickets, I check all New York City area airports to get the best deal.
I will fly into Newark if it saves me money.
The same is true from your home airport.
In my area, a lot of people fly out of Nashville or Atlanta to save money.
I live in Alabama.
Sometimes, the savings is worth the commute to a farther out airport.
Do the math.
6. Join an airline loyalty program
Airline loyalty programs can give you points when you pay for tickets.
Most are based on revenue instead of distance, so they are not as great as they once were.
Since you still get points for any paid trip, make sure you are signed up for all loyalty programs of airlines you frequently fly.
Most people in the points and miles hobby get their free flights from credit card sign up bonuses, but any miles will add up.
7. Get an airline co-branded credit card
Airline credit cards can get you your next free flight fast.
A couple years ago, I got two round trip tickets out of one American Express Delta Gold credit card sign up bonus.
I went to Toronto and Montreal on one ticket and to New York City on the other ticket.
Honestly, this was when I first got started in points and miles and did not know what I was doing.
Personally, that could have been a round trip ticket to Europe.
I will write later how you should make international destinations a priority.
I have covered countries but not as many as if I had prioritized international travel.
By international, I mean across either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.
I don’t mean Canada, where it is about the same price as a ticket within the United States.
I have been to London but have not done Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and other places in Europe on my list.
So when we can travel, I will be moving fast internationally.
I have been to several countries in Africa, but would like to cover those cities I mentioned earlier in Europe as well as parts of Asia and Australia.
As fast as I usually move, I think can move quickly.
Of course, that is after a pandemic.
8. Bring a carry on
Checking luggage will cost you.
I prefer to travel carry on only.
I understand that may not be possible with kids.
Carry on luggage is around $25-$30 each way.
That is $50-$60 added to your trip, so if possible, travel carry on only.
9. Plan a long layover and get in another city
Get an extra city by doing a long layover, like eight hours or more or even overnight .
So for instance, if you wanted to see Dallas and New York City in the same trip, and you know Dallas is an American Airlines hub, you could just book a flight to New York City with a long layover in Dallas.
10. Use a budget airline
Budget airlines like Spirit, Frontier, and Ryanair can save you some money.
Beware that the extra fees, like a carry on or picking a seat, don’t negate your savings.
11. Travel during the off season
Like hotels, the off season can save you some money on flights too.
For instance, with points, the normal 30,0000 miles each way trip to Europe is often discounted to 20,000 during the off season.
So choose the off season for your next ticket.
12. Follow e-mail list from airlines and blogs
Email list from airlines like Delta can tell you when there is a sale to certain regions.
Even better, big blogs like The Points Guy can show you all the deals in one place.
Being on an e-mail list or following on social media can let you know when the next sale is coming up.
I personally subscribe to the Points Guy blog.
It is the biggest blog on points and miles.
I find reading more than one blog on points and miles helps you learn more.
I read at least ten blogs on points and miles a day.
You can also follow us on Twitter for the latest deals in one place.
RELATED: My Top 10 Favorite Points And Miles Blogs
13. Get a general travel reward card
Earlier, I mentioned airline credit cards.
You can also use general travel cards.
Travel reward credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card get you to your next trip just by using your everyday normal purchases.
Credit card sign up bonuses are the number one way to get your free trip.
If you are buying an airline ticket, make sure to get your loyalty points from your airline too and double dip.
So you get credit card points for using your reward credit card to buy the ticket and airline miles.
RELATED: Why Credit Cards Are The Tools To Get Free Travel
14. Acquire airline points in other ways
In addition to reward credit cards, you can get free airlines miles in several other ways.
For instance, you can shop through an airline shopping portal.
You can use an airline dining portal.
You can even earn miles from surveys.
Again, I usually only fly on points and miles, so these methods get used a lot
15. Purchase in a foreign currency
Sometimes, if you buy your flight in the foreign country’s currency, you can save money.
I don’t think it works often, but it does work.
16. Buy a mistake fare
A mistake fare is when an airline accidentally publishes a lower price than the actual price.
Grab these quick because they go quickly.
17. Use an open jaw
If you want to fly to multiple locations, use an open jaw.
An open jaw is when you fly into one city and out of a different city.
18. Buy at the right time
In general, three to six months is the best time to buy an international flight.
For domestic flights, one report I read said to book between 21-120 days with 70 days being ideal.
If you book at the wrong time, you can pay significantly more.
19. If you are flying to a far flung destination, get to the busiest airport
If you are going to an unpopular destination that costs a lot more try a hub airport not far away.
For instance, some places in Africa will cost more from the United States.
If you fly into a popular hub like Dubai, you can sometimes save money.
Usually the nearest hub, will save you and then you can just take a short cheap flight from the hub.
20. Get free hotels or tours for book a long layovers
Earlier, I mentioned you can do a long layover and get another city free.
Some places will give you a free hotel stay or tour for a long layover.
RELATED: 12 Easy Ways To Save On Hotels
Summary
Though we are still living through a pandemic, when we get back to normal travel, whether next month or next year, you will want to save money on flights.
Lodging and flights are the two biggest expenses in travel again.
You would want to save whether you are paying in points or cash.
Like I said, I prefer to use points for flights.
Again, points are like money.
You don’t spend more than you have too.
I don’t believe in spending money on travel.
I will talk about how I do that in a later post.
When you fly again, these are easy ways to save on flights.
Have you tried any of these methods?
