2025 Complete Guide on How to Save on Flights

As I write about flight booking strategies through various angles, I thought it would be good to compile a comprehensive list of the tips I've covered in other articles. I won't go into details for each item so feel free to follow the links if you need further information. While this list is meant to be exhaustive, I spare you the mention of the obvious ones such as flying off-peak, booking in advance or using low-cost carriers. Some of the strategies are automatically served by Airglitch, some might be in the future, others are more general.

Save by booking like a pro

1. Look for cheap return dates

This works well for international flights that are already too expensive. If you are looking for a one-way with a traditional carrier, look for the cheapest possible return date and chances are you will find a better fare with a spare return ticket. If you need a roundtrip, you can still give it a try - it's not uncommon to get a cheaper fare by booking two flights back-to-back instead of the one you need, even when dropping two out of the four journeys you could fly on.

2. Use separate bookings

You've likely stumbled upon the "separate bookings" flag on Google Flight or one of its peers. It often means that the outbound and the inbound flights are served by different carrier groups or alliances and therefore cannot be issued on the same ticket. More generally, it applies to any multi-leg itinerary where each part of the journey is booked separately. Sometimes, you can actually get a cheaper fare booking separate tickets on a trip that is served by the same airline. This will not always show on search engines and it's worth checking each journey independently. In addition, it allows you to apply other strategies on each leg to try reducing your fare further.

See Save on Flights with Separate Tickets for more details.

3. Search for multicity flights

Multicity flights are a bit of a mystery when in comes to pricing. Similar to roundtrips being frequently cheaper than one-ways, you'll be surprised by the offer you get when searching for multicity itineraries. As a result, try combining several trips into a multicity booking, even when they are spaced by several weeks or months. If you don't have any other trip planned and tickets are way above average, try booking a spare multicity by adding an additional destination to your itinerary. Airglitch has this strategy built-in, but you can also try it manually by entering multiple potential destinations (generally a max of 5 to 10 depending on the search engine). In addition, multicity tickets often comes in to play to execute other booking strategies.

See Save on Flights with Multicity Tickets for more details.

4. Search for layover exit flights

Also called hidden-city or skiplagging, the layover exit strategy consists in booking a flight with a stop at your desired destination and leaving the airport at the layover. It's a bit of a grey area as airlines sometimes try to prevent it. But stories of people being penalized for it remain anecdotal. Make sure you don't check luggage or book a return flight on the same ticket. I tend to favor other strategies when the layover exit is not significantly cheaper.

See Pros and Cons of Different Booking Strategies for more details on the risks associated with layover exit booking.

5. Book several trips at once

At the risk of repeating myself, Booking Multiple Flights at Once is Better for your Wallet. On top of the eventual discount you might get with a multicity booking, you can also partition your trip into various combinations of n-leg flights. Unlike a separate booking where each leg is booked independently, you can have some flight legs on the same ticket and others on a different one. The more configurations you try, the more likely you are to find a cheaper fare.

6. Have a "maybe" flight hanging

As an appendix to the previous point, find ways to have a flight booked sometime in the future that you might not use. When applying any strategy that involves a spare journey, it's worth checking if the spare return or the spare multicity leg(s) can serve another trip. You're making your desired trip cheaper anyway, but if you can adjust the dates or destinations of the spare leg for a small markup, you might as well book it that way. Especially if you regularly travel to the same places. You can also book it as a flexible ticket if the price difference is not too high.

7. Check airfares in different locations or currencies

There are various urban legends about using incognito mode or a VPN when searching for flights. They are largely debunked and I have yet to see a significant difference in fare using these methods. However, some airlines apply different fares for local customers and foreigners (e.g. LATAM), sometimes up to 50% cheaper, but requiring a local credit card to bypass. In those cases, it can be worth purchasing the ticket through a trustable reseller, as they might have access to those fares. You can also try to purchase the flight with a virtual credit card or a local friend's card.

8. Call the airline if a listed flight is not showing

I can rant for a while about the benefits of calling the airline in various scenarios. One of them is to book flights that are inaccessible on their website. Sometimes it's simply because their website only shows a limited number of options and they don't have the filters you need to narrow it down. If you have the time, you can also try to have them price a flight that seems theoretically possible (e.g. all segments from the same carrier or alliance) but that doesn't show in search results.

9. Try long layovers instead of multicity

Less common, but if you are travelling to multiple destinations and you're visiting a city for only a few days, try making it a long layover stop. These cheaper options don't always show on search engines or airline websites, but you can try with ITA Matrix and filter by length of layover. Building on the previous point, it's a typical case where you might want to call the airline to book it.

10. Don't purchase add-ons

This topic is worth a full article to convince you that most add-ons are useless, so I'll just list a few examples:

• Seat selection: they are various ways to get a fine seat for free
• Insurance: often covered by credit cards or existing insurance
• Car: renting a car through a third party is always trouble
• Lounge access: get it with your credit card
• Price lock: you can always cancel within 1 day for free

11. Rebook when the price drops

This one was a real blessing post-pandemic, when all tickets where flexible. You could buy your flight, turn on a Google Flight price alert, and rebook it whenever the price dropped. No need to try timing the market. However, it is still possible with most traditional carriers, even if you might have to pay a fee. If the price drops sufficiently, it can outweigh the fee and you can still save money. With Delta and United, you don't even have to cancel and rebook, you can simply rebook your flight on the same itinerary and the price difference is refunded. Most tickets can be refunded within 24h, so you can also cancel and rebook if the price drops within that timeframe.

See Use Price Alerts Like a Pro for more details.

12. Redeem miles on high value flights

This one is obvious, so simply a reminder to look at miles redemption when trying to make a complex itinerary work. Sometimes, you can single out the most expensive portion of your trip and redeem miles for it.

Save with flexibilitity

The focus of Airglitch is not on flexible travel, rather on making high-demand and convenient flights more affordable. Flying on a Tuesday might save you some cash, but you’re also cutting into your time off. Sometimes it’s worth paying a bit more to travel when it works best for you. If a ticket is cheap because nobody wants it, you haven’t unlocked some secret strategy — you’ve just found a route with less demand. However, I am including these two points that I feel are worth mentioning.

13. Look for multiple airports or cities

Depending on location, entering a single city does not always cover all the relevant airports in the suggestions drop-down. For instance, a search for Los Angeles might omit Burbank Airport, and will definitely not cover alternatives such as San Diego or Tijuana. If you're travelling to Frankfurt, you can also land in Cologne or Düsseldorf, both less than 2h away by train. In Europe, some train stations even have a virtual airport status and you can get the train ticket included with your flight.

14. Create your own layover

Sometimes referred to as Greek Island Trick or virtual interlining, self-transfer consists in booking a cheaper flight to a place close enough to your desired destination and then getting there through a separate booking. For instance, you fly to the cheapest city you can find in Europe and book another ticket on a low-cost flight to your final destination. It can be risky if your first flight gets delayed, and cumbersome if you have to check luggage, but it is sometimes worth it.

Save with compensations

15. Claim compensation for delays and cancellations

Don't forget to claim compensations after a delayed or cancelled flight, they are often worth several hundreds. Some airlines make it particularly hard, but some have dedicated forms and automatically process claims upon submission. You can use intermediaries such as AirHelp, but they will take a 25% cut on the compensation. Also, you might have compensations included with the insurance on your credit card, so make sure to check that too.

16. Write complains to the airline

If something goes wrong during your flight, write a complain to the airline. I've often received a generous voucher or miles after reporting a bad experience. This can include a broken seat, a rude staff member, a broken entertainment system, etc. It's worth a try, especially if you are a frequent flyer.

If you made it this far, I invite you to try Airglitch for your next flight search. We strive to make these booking strategies easily accessible to anyone on a single meta-search engine. We will publish dedicated posts on certain topics that are only covered briefly here, so make sure to follow us on socials to get the latest updates.

Cheers,
Ron