Secrets to Booking Cheap Flights: 9 Dos & Don’ts

Travelzoo deal experts share their smartest tips to help save you time and money when booking flights.

1. DO search for tickets one at a time

Even if you’re flying with a group. Airlines often sell multiple fare classes at different prices, with a couple of seats in each class. If there’s only one seat left in the lowest fare class and you search for four seats, most automated systems will show you the highest fare class for all four tickets.

Try searching one at a time, just in case there are limited seats on sale. This way, you’ll rest assured that at least some, if not all, of your tickets were purchased for the lowest possible price. If you lock in the cheap fare and have the option to select seats, pick one next to an empty seat; then, immediately book the second ticket and select the seat next to the first one. It takes a little time and effort, but can really pay off.

2. DON’T avoid flying on the actual holiday

Changing your departure or return date by just day or two can save major cash. The biggest savings typically come with flying on Christmas Day or New Year. Example: we looked at return fares from London to Cape Town. Flying out on 23 December and back on 30 December, the cheapest fare was £734 1-stop and £1601 non-stop. Change travel dates to 25 December (returning on 1 January) and it's £583 1-stop and £1049 non-stop.

3. DO search for two one-way fares, even on different airlines

While some airlines charge extra for a one-way fare, it can pay to compare, especially on short-haul flights with low-cost carriers. Just make sure to triple-check the dates, times and cities so you don’t book two tickets in the same direction. Not that this has happened to any of our deal experts.

4. DO try to fly at least one leg of your trip on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday

Because planes are least full on these days of the week, flights usually have the lowest fares. Side perk: getting through airports is a touch easier.

5. DO consider booking a package

If you need a hotel in addition to your flight, it may be cheaper to buy a flight-and-hotel package than to book each separately. Many hotels take this opportunity to hide a very aggressive discount within a packaged price versus discounting the hotel alone. This is a great opportunity to find deals at big brands that are hesitant to have a low price next to their name.

6. DO check Twitter, Facebook & Travelzoo Newsflash emails

Follow your favorite airlines on social media, and — shameless plug — follow Travelzoo, in addition to signing up for Travelzoo Newsflash emails. This way, you’ll have access to deals that airlines can’t advertise directly. Little known fact: airlines must have a certain amount of availability in order to advertise a fare. So if there are one or two seats available for less than the lowest advertised fare, they might not get flagged as part of an official sale.

7. DO know when to be loyal and when to compare

Keep a rewards membership with favourite airlines to rack up points when it makes sense. Sometimes it’s worth booking a slightly more expensive ticket when it earns you points. Many airline credit cards offer generous sign-up bonuses that are enough for a free flight, not to mention perks like priority boarding and free checked luggage. But, to make an informed decision, it pays to compare all available fares first.

8. DON’T be afraid of the layover

Even though a non-stop flight is ideal, you can sometimes save by stretching your legs during a plane change.

Some airlines, like Icelandair, also offer free stopovers — meaning you can extend your stay in the layover city and make it part of your vacation.

9. DON'T forget charter carriers

While most seats get more expensive the closer you get to departure, seats on flights chartered by the likes of Thomson actually tend to get cheaper. It's a great way to find cheap long-haul flights to the like of Florida or the Caribbean, especially if you can depart in the next few weeks.