13 Travel hacks to save money on flights

1. Clear your cache, enable private browsing

Airlines track your behaviour via cookies, which means if you return at a later date to grab that cheap flight you found in your flight search, they’ve noted your interest through the cookies previously and so will, this time, return a slightly higher price for your flight. #cheeky You can get around this by clearing your cache or enabling private browsing.

2. Use a VPN

Flights can be different prices depending on which country you book from. Use a VPN – a Virtual Private Network – which makes it look like you are in another country.
You can select a VPN from the US, UK, Germany, Japan, etc. to find the lowest price and book through that VPN. It may take time, but you could save a substantial amount on flights.

3. Use search engines

Use search engines like Skyscanner, Adioso, and Google Flights who will scan the airlines for you and bring you comparative rates. You can purchase the best deal directly from them. OR, after finding the best deal, go direct to the airline’s website to see if you can get a better deal.
You can then also check to see if you can reduce the price or get free upgrades with your frequent flyer or membership points. Check your favourite airline first. If the price is right, it’s always best to fly your favourites and stockpile those points each time you fly.

4. Use Frequent Flyer or Membership Points

I can’t tell you how many flights we’ve paid for using frequent flyer points. You can collect them each time you fly – as long as you’re a member of that frequent flyer program. Or, you can collect them using our first travel hack – use your credit card to pay for all expenses. You’ll be surprised how quickly they accumulate.
Craig just used his frequent flyer points to pay for his flight to South Australia. We get several flights per year, including international, due to our frequent flyer points.
American Express Membership Rewards program has over 10 Airline Partners you can transfer your points to. We usually try and consolidate our points to Qantas, but our current Card doesn’t have that option – but we can transfer to Velocity (Virgin), which we use frequently.
If there’s a seat available with Webjet, your points can pay for it, or a combination of points plus pay on your American Express Card.

5. Free flight with your credit card fee

When we pay our annual fee each year for our American Express Platinum Edge, we get a free domestic flight on Virgin. Our friend, Mel, has used her one before to visit us on the Goldie – yay!
I used mine the other day for my return flight to South Australia. If you’re paying fees, find ways to make them work in your favour.
Plus, when you create a new account with American Express you get a bonus 10,000 points. You can use those points in multiple ways as outlined in this post.

6. Find hidden airports

Some airlines don’t operate in the same alliance or have a codeshare agreement, which means they might not show up together on flight searches even though the option is available.
TripCombi uses an algorithm to search connections from nearby airports or between two airlines to track ‘hidden airports,’ as the team calls them. These flights can often offer better rates and connections.

7. Follow Sales Days

Some airlines have certain days of the week where they will release their sale fares. For example, Virgin Australia has its Thursday Happy Hour, which is an exclusive sale for discount flights that you can access only by signing up for their email alert and Jetstar has Friday Frenzy with great sales to domestic and international locations each week.
You can also do this through websites like Airfare Watchdog and CheapAir.com, which both offer fare-track alerts that let you know when prices drop.

8. Politely complain

Don’t go looking for things to complain about, but if something legitimately goes wrong on a flight, reach out to the airline to express your disappointment and explain the situation. Often you’ll receive credit.
I complained to Jetstar once about the rude staff, and I received a $100 credit. It wasn’t why I complained; I didn’t even know that would happen.

9. Get bumped

If you’ve got plenty of time up your sleeves, this is one of my favourite travel hacks.
Plenty of airlines overbook their plans with the hopes some people won’t show up. If they’re too full, they ask for bump volunteers. They’ll get you on the next possible flight as well as giving you perks like free flights, credit and accommodation vouchers if the next flight is not until the next day.

10. Set flight alerts

Search Kayak for the flight you want, and check the price predictor.  If the flight is more than 3-4 months away, set a fare alert, and watch the price.
When you find a price that works, try to book it on a Tuesday or Wednesday when prices are typically lower. To make the hack work even more in your favour, head over to American Express Travel and pay the flight with as many points as you have. If there’s a balance left over, use your American Express card to pay for it and collect more points!

11. Buy an upgrade with points

Some seats on each flight are kept aside for frequent flyers to effectively ‘buy’ using points. These can be seven times less than the Points plus pay seats which are available. These are best suited to solo and flexible travellers.
Qantas has the option to bid for your upgrade. The last remaining unsold biz class seats are put to auction with the highest bidder wins! Take your chances!

12. Work for an airline

Craig worked for Delta in North Carolina for two years. We had standby free flights including flights back to Australia. It was such a shame that they only had space remaining in business class!

13. Airline Lounge upgrades

Free food, drinks and Wi-Fi plus TV, desks and comfy chairs away from the chaos. I didn’t even notice my flight was delayed by almost three hours on my return from LAX. I was lapping up the luxury in the Qantas Business Lounge. Check your frequent flyer program status to see if lounge access is included.
American Express grants eligible Card Members two complimentary airport lounge visits each year to the Sydney International lounge.

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