Fly Internationally for Cheap (without losing your mind)

Scoring a deal on airfare sounds like mission impossible. Coming in at one of the larger expenses for a trip, plane tickets can cause so many headaches. How do you know if it’s really a good deal? At what point do you stop holding out in hopes of another fare drop? How does someone even score a fair price?

If you’re like me, you’ve probably already tried Googling “how to fly for cheap”. Chances are, you didn’t really find the advice you were looking for. In my years of traveling, I’ve learned some tips and tricks (and some lessons on what not to do) and am proud to say I’m pretty good at snagging some airfare deals. I’ve scored $200 roundtrip tickets to Vancouver, $550 roundtrip/multi-city fares to Europe, and $300 roundtrip deals to South America.

Today, I’m sharing my secrets to help you find the deals of your dreams. The costs of airfare don’t need to be a reason why you don’t pursue your wanderlust dreams. Whether you have a destination in mind or just want to see what’s out there, you can use these tricks to discover some serious airfare steals. PS - nothing in sponsored or affiliated!

To get a good idea of what constitutes as a “good deal”, you should do some research to see what “good deals” have been in the past. Sites like FareDetective.com let you search for flight routes and see when the lowest and highest costs to fly have been. For example, when check flights from Chicago to London, the fares ranged from $457 to $836, with the cheapest historical flights being in May. This gives me some great insight – what price points I can expect to find tickets (and what prices are on the higher side) and what time of the year would be best to go.

The price a passenger pays for a flight can be drastically different from someone else on the same plane. Airfare changes constantly and a huge factor into the pricing is when you buy your ticket. If you buy your tickets too soon or too late, you can end up paying significantly more than if you had purchased during the ideal “window”. Sites like CheapAir.com analyze airfare and markets to give you the best window of time, based on historical data, to buy your tickets. For example, if I wanted to go from Minneapolis to Paris, pricing trends say I should book tickets 88-171 days before my departure date. If I book earlier or later than that window, I could be paying up to double the cost of fares within that window.

Nonstop flights are convenient and always ideal, but they’re usually more expensive. Consider booking separate flights to get to your destination to make things cheap. For example – a flight from Detroit to Berlin could set me back $769. But if I make two different airfare bookings – one from Detroit to New York ($148 roundtrip) and one from New York to Berlin ($449), I would save $172. That may not sound like a lot, but that’s enough to cover a night or two in hotel costs. Sometimes being strategic with flight routes can lead to some cost savings.

One of my favorite airfare-deal-finding finds has been Scott’s Cheap Flights. This service tracks fares and alerts you whenever there’s a crazy great deal. You can sign up for the free alerts, but a cheap annual membership will ensure you get first dibs on email notifications. I’ve been able to find sub-$400 flights to China, $295 deals to Hawaii, $100 fares to South America, and $500 steals to Africa. If you’re flexible about where to go – since the deals could be to anywhere – and are able to jump on a deal within 24-48 hours of the notification, this service can save you hundreds on normal fares without a lot of work on your part.

Skyscanner.com is on my shortlist when it comes to amazingly helpful websites. This site lets you search for the best deals on fares, but my favorite feature allows you to play a little game we like to call Flight Roulette. You simply enter your departure airport, pick “Everywhere” for a destination, and select “Cheapest Month” (or a specific month if you have one in mind) for when to go. You’ll end up with a list of the cheapest places you can fly to across the world. For example, my latest Flight Roulette from Chicago had options like $204 to Calgary in April, $271 to Costa Rica in May, and $300 to Barcelona in September.

I get it – no one wants to spend a long-haul flight on a budget airline. The planes tend to be cramped, less comfy, and with fewer “perks”. But the cash you can save opting for a budget carrier over a nicer airline can be significant. For example, a flight from Minneapolis to Zurich is $1,800 on a carrier like Delta but only $900 on budget-friendly Aer Lingus. Sure you’re giving up nicer meals and comfier seats, but trust me, you can deal with it for a few hours in order to save that much money. Don’t overlook airlines like Norwegian, easyJet, and WestJet.

Most airlines will offer “bare fares” – deeply discounted tickets that don’t offer seat selections, early boarding, or a checked bag. If you’re traveling with just a carry-on (you can, trust me, read THIS) and can live without picking a window seat out in advance, this is a great way to save some money without much effort. You’re not going on vacation for the flight, so there’s no reason to splash out extra cash for a nicer flight. You’ll be more than fine giving up these little luxuries. Why pay $200 more for better seats when you could spend $200 on amazing meals or an incredible tour at your destination?

Most business-people fly Monday mornings and Friday afternoons – yay work trips. Most tourists fly Saturdays and Sundays. The days leading up and right after major holidays are crazy busy. All this means excess demand for tickets, which means airlines can get away with higher fares for those flights. Opt to fly on off days, Tuesdays through Thursdays, or at off times, like redeyes, to take advantage of cheaper flights. Flying on holidays will also make vacation getaways during that time much more reasonable.

I have a local airport with a decent amount of flight options only 15 minutes from my house. But if I’m willing to drive an hour and a half, I have three new airports I can pick to fly from. This gives me way more options and I can usually score a cheaper flight simply by driving to other airports. Also, know which major airports your local airport flies to. My hometown hub flies to Detroit, New York, and Atlanta multiple times a day with cheap, nonstop routes. If I can snag a deal from one of those cities to my destination, it’s easy for me to get there with my local options.

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Airfare doesn’t need to cost as much as you think. Some people assume it’ll be the most important aspect of your trip, but I find that using these tricks can land me deals that make it less impactful (PSST – nowadays, my hotels tend to cost more, but you can read my hotel deal tips HERE). With a little research, a little patience, and a little flexibility, you can be hopping on a plane and jet setting away sooner than you think.