Have you ever wondered why people can score some great deals on flights? Why people tend to be always flying somewhere, but they do not always have the cash.

Flights are always a harder thing to figure out. You have to figure out when you will go, where to go, what is a budget airline, how long the lay over is, and how cheap can I get the ticket. It can be frustrating and a long process.

Here are some of my rules for searching for cheap flights. Try to use some of these and you too will be able to find great deals, fly anywhere, and save money.

Rules for Searching for Cheap Flights:

Rule 1: Travel on a Tuesday

It is often said that airlines give some discounts for buying tickets on Tuesdays. Some people have called that myths, others still believe in it. I search for tickets on any day, but what I have found out is that if you travel on a Tuesday the tickets are so much more cheaper than on a Monday, Friday, or a Sunday. Those three days more people travel. The airline companies raise the price a bit.

My tip to you is try to travel on a Tuesday. It may save you much more than you expect.

Rule 2: Search Several Booking Sites

Here is my tip: Go to several flight booking sights that scan for deals. Put up alerts. If there is a deal too good to be true, book it. Often times, airlines will have discounts or even make mistaken fares.

Example: Cathay Pacific on January 1^st, 2019 meant to mark down the First Class seating from the U.S. to Vietnam by 10%. They accidently marked it down for 90%. There were people paying around $850-900 USD for a round trip First Class ticket via Cathay Pacific. Great deals come to those that search.

Here are my sites of choice:

• Google Flights
• Skyscanner
• Momondo
• Kiwi
• Scott’s Cheap Flights (deals, subscription service)
• Expedia
• Airwatchdog (watches for airline deals)

Rule 3. There are more ways than one to get to a destination

Sometimes it is cheaper to book trips by finding one-way flights. Sometimes it is even cheaper to book a flight to the stop over, and then book another flight to the final destination.

I looked for a flight to Belize City from Taipei. The cost would have been around $1300 USD. I noticed the flight flew into LAX. I looked it up, found a flight from Taipei to LAX for around $730. Then found a flight from LAX to Belize City for $260. I saved over $300

Rule 4. It is sometimes cheaper flying out of a different airport

Oftentimes, we can get stuck going to the same airport. There are times that you can save money by flying into another airport or even driving to a different airport to get a better deal.

I am always looking for deals. I look at several different airports to fly into. My family lives in Ocala, Fl, and I usually fly into Orlando to come and see them. It has sometimes been cheaper to fly into Sanford Airport or fly into Tampa instead of MCO.  

I saved $100 flying from Greenville, SC to Midway in Chicago instead of flying into O’Hare.

Sometimes it saves some money looking at alternative airports.

Rule 5. Use Miles or Points

I use miles and points all the time to fly cheaply. Using credit card points and airline miles is another way to attain cheap flights. The miles and points can help you to attain free tickets.

Going to Indonesia from Taiwan, I bought two round trip tickets via China Airlines using Chase Ultimate rewards points. It was about 47,000 points.

I have used United Miles to fly to Australia on Eva Air and Singapore Air. All that was paid was taxes.

If you are not collecting miles and points you are leaving money on the table, and free travel. It is time to jump into the travel hacking game.

When I first moved to Taiwan, I used miles and bought a one-way ticket from Orlando to Taipei for $5.60. I use miles and points whenever I can to get the cheapest tickets.

Rule 6. Be Flexible

Most Important Rule: Be Flexible. Being flexible helps to take advantage of any deal.

We often travel when we have holidays. Four weekend equals time to travel. With that thought, thousands of others are thinking the same exact thing. It will mean the tickets will have a higher price. Higher prices mean less savings and less traveling.

Tip: Try to travel when less people are. Look up a place you would like to go to. See when the low seasons are, check the prices, and find the cheapest days to go on. If you are flexible you will score some major deals.

As you start to look at flying to different places, remember these tips. They will help you get to places much cheaper. Sometimes you have time and place constrictions, but if you are flexible you will be able to fly much more and cheaper as well.

Good luck, safe travels, and keep traveling.