This is the question I’m asked most often, so let’s get down to it!
The most important thing to know is that there is no one “magic bullet” when it comes to getting cheap flights. Sometimes it’s luck, sometimes it’s the result of good planning. But there isn’t a secret site that only expert travelers know about.
Mostly, people who score great flight deals are in the habit of being flexible around when and where we travel. But knowing where to search can help you find cheap flights too.
If you haven’t read my Cheap Flights Dos & Don’ts, check that out now, since it’ll probably answer some of your questions.
Ready for a walkthrough of how to search for cheap flights? Let’s get started!
WHERE SHOULD I SEARCH TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS?
I search on 2-3 travel search engines, and buy the best ticket from those results. Many sites use the same search engines or are owned by the same company (Expedia owns Travelocity and Orbitz, and Matrix ITA powers Google Flights and Kayak.). It’s a waste of time to slog through all of them.
My go-to approach is to use Skyscanner and Momondo to find the best fares, and double check my results on those sites against a search on Matrix ITA. Which sites or apps I use depends on the type of vacation I’m trying to book (see my walkthroughs below!)
WHERE SHOULD I BUY MY TICKETS?
Maybe you’re thinking “Shouldn’t I buy them from the site where I found the fare?” and the answer is… it depends.
Most flight search engines return two types of results: tickets from airlines themselves, and those from Online Travel Agencies (who buy and resell tickets, sometimes at a discount and sometimes at a premium.) Well-known OTAs include Expedia, Priceline, and Booking.com.
Most flight search engines show ticket purchasing options from both airlines and online travel agencies, and allow you to click through to buy tickets through either one.
Matrix ITA is unique because it returns only search results from airlines, but you can’t buy tickets on it: you need to go directly to the airline’s website to purchase the tickets you found on Matrix. (If this bothers you, use Google Flights or Kayak – the results will be similar and you’ll probably save a little time.)
Whatever flight search engine you use, buy tickets directly from the airline instead of from an OTA if the rates are comparable. There are a few benefits to doing this, but the biggest one is that the airline is much more likely to work with you to find a solution if you run into trouble with your travel plans than an OTA would be.
If the price from an OTA is too sweet to pass up (and sometimes they are!), do a little research on the OTA to make sure other customers have had a good experience, and cross your fingers that you don’t have to change your travel plans.
Got all that? Good. Let’s do some searching!
CHEAP FLIGHT SEARCH WALKTHROUGHS
There are four situations that cover most flight searches, and I’ll walk you through how I’d search for cheap flights in each situation:
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- you don’t have plans in mind… you just wanna see what’s cheap right now!
- you have a fixed travel time frame, but your destination is flexible
- you want to visit a specific destination, but when you travel in is flexible
- you have a fixed timeframe and destination (wedding or holiday travel)
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In general, it’s cheaper to book the first three types of travel than the last one, but good deals for any type of travel are possible, so here’s how I’d search in each situation:
HOW TO FIND THE CHEAPEST FLIGHTS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW
- Where to look: Skyscanner, flight deal sites.
- When to book: if you find a great deal for the right window, book immediately. It won’t last!
Skyscanner is the perfect search engine for exploring when you just want to see what’s out there. Just type in your home airport, and select “Everywhere” for the destination.
When it asks what dates you’d like to fly, select “Cheapest Month” from the dropdown. There you go: the cheapest airfares available in the world right now!
Keep in mind that air travel prices change all the time, so this is really only telling you what’s cheapest right this second. But if you’re just collecting ideas, this is a great search to explore destinations that might not have occurred to you, or which you thought were out of your budget.
Skyscanner search for flights to “Everywhere”, with Cheapest Month selected as the date.
If you want to travel “soon” but you’re flex on dates, do an “Everywhere” search on Skyscanner, and search for results by month, selecting the month two to three months from now. Most prices are lowest six weeks to two months from your departure dates.
If you prefer to let cheap flights come to you, sign up for alerts from flight deal sites: they tell you when prices go down for flights around the world. My faves are The Flight Deal, Secret Flying and Scott’s Cheap Flights. Check out my advice on How to Make Flight Deal Sites Work for You.
HOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS WITH A FIXED TIMEFRAME AND FLEXIBLE DESTINATION
- Where to look: Price on Momondo and double-check prices on Matrix ITA. If your departure & return dates aren’t set in stone, use the “+/ 3 Days” search on Momondo.
- When to book: Six weeks to two months from your departure date if you’re flying domestic, up to three months from your departure date if you’re flying international.
You know what week you have available to travel, but you’re not sure where you want to go. Time to let Momondo find you the best deal.
Choose “Anywhere” for your destination in Momondo and enter your travel dates. Voila, the best prices for your dates.
If you have flexibility about your travel dates within a set window, run a +/-3 days search on Momondo… this option is in the date selection dropdown, and the grid display will make it clear which days are cheapest to fly that week.
Check your results against Matrix ITA, and book whatever’s cheapest.
A Momondo search for flights to “Anywhere”, with your travel dates applied, and a +/- 3 day window selected to show the absolute cheapest flight results.
HOW TO FIND THE CHEAPEST FLIGHT WITH A FIXED DESTINATION AND FLEXIBLE DATES
- Where to Look: Start with Skyscanner, then use Matrix ITA to figure out the best trip length and dates, and do a final price check on Momondo.
- When to book: As soon as you find a fare you’re comfortable with for dates that you’re free.
First, get the lay of the land with Skyscanner’s “Cheapest Month” search and see what the lowest prices this year are. These prices will help you ballpark low season costs at your destination. Also note what days of the week are cheapest to fly – these will probably hold year round.
Next, ask yourself if the cheapest month compliments your vacation priorities: if you want to see the Northern Lights, go when they’re visible. Consider religious holidays and customs as well: visiting a primarily Muslim country during Ramadan will be a different experience than visiting in a non-holy month.
If you should stick to a certain travel window or season, do a few quick Skyscanner searches by month. It’ll become immediately clear where the cheapest travel window is.
Once I have my options narrowed down to a month or two, I go to Matrix ITA, and use their month-long search function.
Matrix has a really helpful search functionality for flexible dates. I can say “Show me all flights to Honolulu for the entire month of October for trips that are between 6 and 12 days long”, and it will return a calendar that shows the cheapest round-trip flights for each day.
Sometimes staying 7 days instead of 5 makes a huge difference in price, and Matrix ITA helps you eyeball fares quickly and see where the best prices are.
In this example, I’m searching for flights to Paris between October 15th and November 15th. The shortest my trip could be is 6 days and the longest it could be is 12.
Once I know what dates have the best fares on Matrix ITA, I do a final check on Momondo to make sure I’m not missing a great deal. If I’m not, I book the Matrix fare directly with the airline.
HOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS FOR A FIXED TIME FRAME TO A FIXED LOCATION.
- Searching strategy: Use Matrix and Momondo to find best fares, check Hopper to see if you should buy right now, and try Skiplagged if you’re desperate.
- When to book: Six weeks to two months from your travel date, or whenever your price alerts tell you the price has dropped.
I have to be honest: this is often the most expensive type of flying to book. But sometimes it’s unavoidable – your best friend is getting married in Peoria, IL, and you’ve got to be there.
As soon as you know your travel dates, do a quick search on Momondo and Matrix ITA, and see what the airfares look like.
If you’re more than 2-3 months from your travel date, and the airfares feel too high, wait for fares to go down. Set a flight alert on Momondo for your travel dates and destination, and let them email YOU when the price goes down.
You can also download the Hopper app, which shows you pricing for fares in upcoming months, and recommends waiting or buying now. (They too have an alert system that will ping you if fares go down.)
If you’re trying to buy tickets six weeks or less from your departure date and the prices are making you feel faint, you have my sympathy. Here are a couple of hail mary moves that might help you save some cash.
- Double-check my guide to how flexibility save you money while traveling. Sometimes making one change affects the ticket price a lot.
- If you’re flying to another country, price the airfare in their currency. If your currency is strong at the moment, you might get a better fare (just make sure you purchase the tickets with a card that won’t charge you foreign currency fees.)
- Search on Skiplagged. “Skiplagging” is the practice of buying a ticket that lays over at your destination… and just not getting on the second flight. (You’re trying to get to Chicago, so you buy a ticket from NY to LA with a layover in Chicago.) You will need to buy one way tickets only, since the airline cancels reservations once you miss a flight. You’ll also need to carry on or your bag will end up at your supposed final desation. And finally, while this is legal, the airlines dislike this practice, so be discreet.
FINAL ADVICE: DON’T PANIC!
I hope you found something cheap with all of that advice, but if you didn’t: the truth is that sometimes it’s just expensive to travel.
Any experienced traveler will tell you that sometimes high priced flights are unavoidable (those who don’t are trying to sell you something.) When this happens to me, I try to be take a deep breath and keep my Zen. You win some, and you lose some, and I try to remember all the amazing cheap flights I’ve scored when I’m booking that $600 ticket to Omaha.
Don’t spend weeks booking your flights… searching on 43 travel search engines isn’t going to get you better results than searching on the most efficient three.
Remember that buying tickets is only as stressful as you let it be. Thanks to this guide, you now know the best timelines and most efficient tools for finding cheap flights. Use these tools with confidence, find the best flight you can, purchase that ticket, and move on with your life.
