When looking to make a purchase, we hunt for the best deals. Yes, there are airline loyalists out there where price does not matter, but most travelers are brand agnostic opting to save more of their hard earned dollars. Let’s just call it like it is, most of us want to travel on the cheap. Thanks to the interweb, there are many tools empowering travelers to locate and secure the best available deals. These search tools have options that can be configured to benefit both the frequent flyer member and the budget-conscious traveler alike. I was a brand specific passenger where I pledged my allegiance to American Airlines. However, due the host of Aadvantage program changes recently, my outlook has now changed. I would concede airline elite status benefits to regain brand and price flexibility.
Is it worth sacrificing travel comforts to keep more greenbacks in your pocket? The answer to that question will depend solely your personal comfort preference. I would rather leverage credit card perks instead of paying more for flights. Few things make me happier than scoring a great travel deal. Below is the list of 5 sites that I use regularly to find travel deals.
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The Sites For Travel Deals!
ThePointsGuy
Brain Kelly, aka The Points Guy and his team are a fantastic resource if you’re a points/mileage enthusiast. They are also active in bringing travel deals to the public as soon as they find them. I follow them to see what destination options are available to me, either through dollar purchase or points/miles redemption deals. Give ThePointsGuy a visit see what deals they’ve uncovered today!
Google Flights
Google flights is a very useful site for finding airfare deals. It searches through most airline carriers. Be sure to check individual airline websites, such as Southwest.com directly to make sure your getting the best available deals. There is a map view where you can see prices to other surrounding destinations given your search parameters. You can also pick dates and leave the destination field empty and Google will present you with the best priced destination options.
Momondo
Momondo is a great deal finding search tool. It’s a colorful, fun site that usually finds the cheapest flight deals. The search results are organized in order of best value, taking into consideration price versus the length of trip. It also gives quick access buttons for the “cheapest”, “quickest” and “best” flight options. You will be offered these tickets though various flight booking agencies. I recommend doing a quick cursory search on any unfamiliar booking sites to make sure you won’t encounter any issues down the road.
ITA Matrix
Google acquired the ITA matrix software and used it to bring you Google flights. The ITA matrix site on its own is still a very powerful tool that allows you to finely customize an itinerary. I use it when I want to control the layover destination along a flight; i.e. on a trip to Dublin, I used it to find a flight that had a 10+ hour layover in London to visit the city. Now, while you cannot buy tickets directly from the ITA matrix site, you can save the booking code and forward to a travel agent or you can use a site like bookwithmatrix.com to book the itinerary.
Skyscanner
Skyscanner is another search tool that yields good low cost results. It has many search options and the flexible destination search is convenient. This site is very good when you are unsure of your next travel destination. When searching, try the combination of leaving the destination field empty and selecting the cheapest month as the travel date. If you’re flexible with travel dates, the results can help you find destinations that may not have been considering at very competitive rates.
This is the list of sites that I use for finding my travel deals. If you use any other sites not on this list, please share them below. Happy hunting!
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