Flight Hacks
Welcome to our perpetually-expanding list of hacks to save money, boost your rewards, and get free flights. Most of these apply to any type of flight you might want to book, but if you just want to take off to any interesting place with a great fare sale, we have a few solutions for that at the bottom of this page.
Use the right credit card.
Check out our comprehensive guide here. Among the best options are the Amex Platinum, Gold, and Green, Chase Sapphire Platinum and Preferred, Bilt, and Citi Premier. Note that some of these only provide bonus points on flights booked directly with the airline and through the credit card issuer. Capital One Venture and Chase Sapphire cardholders can also earn 5x points on flights booked through those banks’ booking sites.
Search with Google Flights.
Options abound:
Pull up the calendar to quickly see prices on various days, and use the Date Grid to see how slight changes to travel dates can impact the airfare.
Add multiple airports where appropriate (DCA, IAD, and BWI in DC, JFK, LGA, and EWR in NY, for example)
Check if two one-way flights are cheaper than a round trip. This is more likely when there are multiple airports available (e.g. an SFO to JFK one-way with a LGA to SJC return might be cheaper than any round-trip between two airports)
Set flight alerts to receive fare updates from Google.
Set filters to make sure the fares include the baggage allowance you need, limit arrival and departure times, exclude connecting flights, and more.
But don’t forget about Southwest.
SWA flights don’t show on Google Flights, so be sure to search their site separately.
Book via a shopping portal.
Shopping portals occasionally offer bonus miles or cashback on flights, but the earnings tend to be minimal and limited to online travel agencies like Expedia. Still, if free money is available you won’t want to miss out.
Buy discounted gift cards.
Airlines occasionally run promotions in which they sell discounted gift cards, and discounted gift cards are sometimes available for Costco members. Similarly, IHG Premier cardholders receive $25 in United credits every six months as well. But beware, most credit cards have excellent protections and insurance for trip cancellations, delays, or lost or delayed baggage, but are usually applicable only if the flight was paid for entirely on the card.
Book with price drop protection.
Several booking sites, like Google, Capital One (if you’re a cardholder), and Hopper offer alerts for the ideal time to book, and, if you book when they suggest, they will reimburse you if the price drops at a later date.
Book main cabin fares.
Alternatively, main cabin fares with the legacy airlines (Alaska, AA, Delta, United) and all fares on Southwest have no change fees, meaning if you find a cheaper fare later, you can change and receive a credit for the difference. Check other airlines' policies to see if they’re similar. This flexibility is only valuable, though, if you are confident you’ll be flying with that airline before the credit expires, usually 1 year after the original date of booking.
Or, book basic economy.
By contrast, if your plans are rock solid, you can book a basic economy ticket (or fly a discount airline like Spirit or Frontier) for cheaper fares. You’ll lose the flexibility to rebook if prices drop or plans change and will likely end up with an undesirable seat or a smaller baggage allowance, but the savings could be worth it.
Use positioning flights.
Especially on international flights, it often makes sense to find the cheapest flight across the ocean, then book an affordable flight to your final destination. For example, the cheapest flight to Europe may take you to Paris, and you can hop a cheap flight on an airline like EasyJet from there to many other possible destinations.
Check your bags with an airline credit card.
Getting an airline credit card won’t always make sense, but in some cases it could save you real money. With a free checked bag for you and, depending on the card, as many as eight travel companions, the card could save you serious money on a trip requiring a lot of baggage.
Book multiple seats strategically.
If you’re flying with multiple people, book seats one at a time to ensure you get the cheapest rate available for each seat.
Get good value for your points redemptions.
Know a fair value for your points. Generally, you should get at least 1.25¢ worth of airfare for each credit card point; 1.5¢ is great value.
You can simply use your credit card points to book flights through banks’ travel portals. Amex, Citi, and Capital One points can be redeemed at 1¢ each. Bilt and Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders can redeem points for 1.25¢ each (1.5¢ for Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders.) Capital One miles can also be redeemed at 1¢ in statement credits even for flights booked directly with the airline or via other booking platforms.
Check fare sales like Flying Blue Promo Awards and Delta points deals.
See if there are any transfer bonuses before booking. If Amex is offering an extra 20% more miles when transferring Amex points to FlyingBlue, for example, you might get even more value.
Hacks for Your Adventures
Sign up for cheap flight alerts.
Services like Going or Thrifty Traveler will let you know when airlines offer great deals from your home airport.
Search open-ended destinations.
On Google Flights, search for flights originating from your home airport(s) (you can add several) to areas rather than cities. You can search flights to “Europe,” or “Japan,” and search either specific dates if you have certain time off or more broadly (1-week trips in the next 6 months) if you’re more flexible.