7 secrets to finding cheap flights

We've all been there. The weekend you want to go on a trip to Denver, flights are $400+ round-trip. Want to visit your family over Thanksgiving? Flight prices are the highest you've ever seen just to spend a few days in New York City. Booking an international vacation to Paris in July? You could pay a steep price of $1,300+ round-trip to enjoy the city in its prime season. Luckily, there are ways to score cheap flights to some of the best destinations both in the U.S. and internationally. Here are my 7 secrets to finding cheap flights in 2024.

Propeller plane operated by Bangkok Air in Ko Samui Airport in Thailand.

1/ clear your cookies

Have you ever seen flight prices change after you search a few times? Sites use cookies to track your visits and activity. This isn’t always bad, but when searching for the cheapest flights, the cookie will work against you. Based on the cookies in your browser, flight prices can increase when a particular route is repeatedly searched. Always search for flights in incognito or private browsing mode. This ensures you see the lowest prices.

An incognito window in Google Chrome.

2/ if you're traveling over the holidays, avoid traveling on the busiest days because they're the most expensive days

Being flexible with your travel dates is key to finding the best flight deals. The most expensive time to fly is when everyone else is too. If you can't be flexible, you probably won’t find a flight deal. As a rule of thumb, always try to avoid busy travel times because they will be more expensive.

Sometimes you can't avoid traveling on or around busy travel dates. For example, Thanksgiving travel is always busy and expensive. If you want to save a couple of hundred dollars, consider flying on cheaper days during the holiday, like Thanksgiving Day and the Monday after Thanksgiving.

This trend is consistent with any major holiday like Christmas, New Year’s, Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, etc.

Using Google Flights, you can see how the round-trip prices differ depending on what day you travel around The 4th of July..

3/ book your trip to the cheapest destination

If you have a specific date you want to travel, your best option to get the best flight prices is to be flexible with your travel destination.

For example, if you want to go on a trip within the U.S. with friends for your birthday from Thursday, February 14 to Monday, February 18, but flights to Salt Lake City are $530, you can use Google Flights' "Explore" feature. Enter your travel dates and let it show you the prices for various destinations. You might find flights to Las Vegas for $253, Dallas for $183, New York City for $163, Orlando for $254, Denver for $270, and Seattle for $324. By being flexible with your travel destination, you can visit top destinations in the U.S. for an affordable price.

Using Google Flights, you can see which destinations are cheapest for your specific travel dates. The image above is for the dates used as an example in the paragraph above.

4/ travel dates matter, so be flexible with your travel dates

If you can be flexible with your vacation dates, you’ll get better deals. Let a flight search website show you when the cheapest days and times to travel to your destination will guarantee you the lowest prices.

For example, if you're planning a trip from Cincinnati to Vienna, Austria, originally from Friday, May 24 to Friday, May 31, and the cheapest round-trip ticket is $1,831, changing your travel dates to Friday, April 26 to Friday, May 3, could drop round-trip tickets to only $601. The weather might be a little colder in Vienna that week, but by traveling four weeks earlier, you save over $1,200.

5/ lock in the best deals by letting a flight search site pick your travel dates and destination

You'll always find the best flight deals if you can be flexible with both your travel dates and destination. I personally like to use Google Flights' "Explore" feature to find cheap tickets to different destinations throughout the year. This feature shows the best prices on tickets to destinations all over the world.

For example, flights from Cincinnati to Las Vegas can be as low as $139, and flights to Denver as low as $78 round-trip. International flights, such as a week-long trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, can be as low as $582, and flights to Athens, Greece, as low as $725.

Google Flights also shows if the flight is a good value and how much less than the average price that specific flight is, ensuring you lock in the best prices.

6/ book connecting flights yourself

If you're flying somewhere that involves a connection, like from Cincinnati to Sydney, Australia, which typically involves a flight from Cincinnati to Los Angeles, then Los Angeles to Sydney, it may be cheaper to book these tickets separately. If you choose this option, make sure you don’t book tight layovers, so you have enough time to taxi, get off the plane, get your bag, recheck your bag, and go back through security. The airline is not responsible if you miss your flight. The one exception is when booking with Kiwi.com, which offers a guarantee on making connecting flights even when not with the same partner airlines.

For example, a round-trip flight from Cincinnati to Sydney is $1,075 for travel dates of Thursday, March 7 – Thursday, March 14. By booking separate flights, Cincinnati to Los Angeles is $248, and Los Angeles to Sydney is $594, totaling $902, including the cost of checking a bag both ways. This saves you $173 in total flight costs.

7/ shop budget airlines

Budget airlines typically offer significantly cheaper tickets than full-service airlines, though it comes at a cost—less legroom, no “free” food or drink, extra charges for seat selection and carry-ons, etc. Be sure to double-check the flight aggregate website you're using to ensure they include budget airlines. Some budget airlines are excluded from these sites, like Southwest flights are not available on Google Flights.

Some major budget airlines in the U.S. include: Southwest, Allegiant Air, Frontier, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, WOW Air, JetBlue, and Porter. Other countries also have their own budget airlines, so if you're traveling to and from a different country, don't forget to check those countries' budget airlines for cheap flights.

The secret to finding cheap flights is to be flexible and smart in where you travel, when you travel, and how you book your flights. By following the tips above, you’ll guarantee that you are locking in the best prices for your travel.

Need help or more advice for planning your next vacation? Get in touch with me today!

*All flight prices gathered from Google Flights in 2024. Price and availability may change.