{"id":12571,"date":"2025-05-14T11:57:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T11:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smartdcamp.com\/?p=12571"},"modified":"2025-05-14T14:39:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T14:39:46","slug":"ultimate-guide-to-booking-flights-in-2025-travel-hacks-to-save-big-on-your-next-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.smartdcamp.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/ultimate-guide-to-booking-flights-in-2025-travel-hacks-to-save-big-on-your-next-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultimate Guide to Booking Flights in 2025 (+ Travel Hacks to Save BIG on Your Next Trip!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wondering when the best time to book a flight is? These tips for booking will help you save BIG when you travel!<\/em><\/p>\n

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Find the best time to book a flight and how with our flight hacks and tricks. You’ll never overpay for a flight again after using these!<\/p>\n

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Know the best time to book a flight with our helpful tips to save time and money when flying:<\/h2>\n
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1. Ignore the myth about searching incognito and sign up for price alerts instead. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

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For years, airlines have been accused of hiking rates based on your previous search history. However, according to Thrifty Travelers<\/a>, that’s not the case, and searching for flights using incognito tabs is doing nothing for you. What’s more, they even claim buying tickets on Tuesdays<\/a> isn’t necessarily saving you money either.<\/p>\n

Instead, when researching travel deals, start checking for flights early. This will require planning or some flexibility if you’re simply just looking for a great deal to pop up. Signing up for alerts will allow you to score a flight deal effortlessly. Google Flights<\/a> is a free and easy way to get alerts about flight deals across different airlines.<\/p>\n

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2. Don’t plan your trip first; be flexible and buy cheap flights first, if you can. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Most people pick where they want to vacation, book their accommodations, and then find a flight. However, planning your trips this way could end up being the single most costly travel mistake you could make. I learned this last year after planning my entire honeymoon first, then trying to book round-trip tickets to Greece based on specific dates.<\/p>\n

If you have the flexibility, the single best travel tip you could learn is to book cheap flights first and then book everything else. Thrifty Travelers blog calls this The Flight First Rule<\/a>. Making this tip second nature could end up saving you hundreds of dollars.<\/p>\n

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3. Consider booking flights at a different airport or one that flies more frequently to your destination rather than the closest one to your house.  <\/strong><\/h3>\n

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It may have never occurred to you, but driving slightly farther to an airport could save you hundreds of dollars on your ticket. Although it may be a little more of a drive, it could also save you travel time.<\/p>\n

Take my search to Athens above, for example. The BWI airport is closer to my home and typically where I always fly out of, but what I found out when booking a trip to Greece is that they never fly directly to Athens. This means the flights tend to be pricier and not as convenient as other airports. When compared to Newark, New Jersey, which is just 1.5 hours farther for me to drive, I could save over $400 on one round-trip ticket. They even have direct flights costing nearly $60 less, and would save me a minimum of 4 hours of flight time. Note that prices always vary, but this trick has always seemed to work for me regardless of the day or time of year you travel.<\/p>\n

*If traveling to a new airport, be sure to check the toll rates along your route. <\/em><\/p>\n

If you can’t drive to an airport with more affordable airfare, look into booking a “positioning flight”.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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What’s a positioning flight, you ask?! A positioning flight is a flight taken to get to a specific airport where you can start a more important flight, making it cheaper and\/or more convenient.<\/p>\n

For example, if you find a great deal on an international flight that leaves from another city, you might take a positioning flight from your airport to get to that city first. These flights are usually short, inexpensive, and are just a way to get you in place for your main trip and save some cash.<\/p>\n

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4. Fly on the least busiest days of the week to save on flights.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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It’s not when <\/em>you book the flight, it’s what day you’re actually flying that could save you money. According to Thrifty Travelers<\/a>, the cheapest days of the week to fly are typically Tuesdays<\/strong>, Wednesdays<\/strong>, and Saturdays<\/strong>. Like many of the best ways to save on flights, this may not always be the case, but it should be one of the things you always check before booking a trip on a more peak travel day.<\/p>\n

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5. Be mindful of holidays when booking flights.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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While Wednesdays are normally cheap flight days, the day before Thanksgiving falls on a Wednesday every year and is a high-demand day for travelers. This is just one example of keeping holidays in mind when booking flights. Your trip may have nothing to do with a holiday, but airlines almost always raise prices during these days.<\/p>\n

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6. Don’t book flights last minute, or it could cost you big bucks. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

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It’s recommended to always book your flights at least 30-45 days in advance<\/strong>. This is because anything later than that is likely to be jacked up in price. Airlines realize that people booking last-minute flights are typically desperate and are likely to pay whatever they need to get to their destination. Booking earlier rather than later could save you hundreds.<\/p>\n

This also means if you’re going to start hunting for flight deals, you’ll want to start about a year in advance. Although you may not end up booking a year in advance, you’ll be able to closely watch flights over the next few months and be ready when you see a dip.<\/p>\n

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7. Always use Google Flights to compare the best prices. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Google Flights is great for finding cheap flights because it’s easy to use, tracks prices with alerts, and shows flexible date options. It also compares prices across the board for many different airlines, which booking directly with one airline won’t do. This allows you to compare prices quickly and also know if they’re a good price for the time you’re planning to book. They also don’t charge extra booking fees, and they have a new Price Guarantee feature, which is offered for certain flights.<\/p>\n

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8. Learn how to book tickets with points and potentially get them for free. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

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After booking my trip for two to Greece on an Emirates nonstop flight using 64,680 points and just $64.60 in taxes and fees, I can’t praise booking with points enough! And I could have even used half the amount of points if I didn’t choose “preferred seating”. Honestly, the ability to use points deserves a post all on its own! Once you get the hang of booking with points, you’ll never want to pay cash for a flight again. 🙌🏼<\/p>\n

The most basic way to use points for flights is to fly often and with the same carrier, so you can earn their rewards and redeem them for future flights. However, you can also rack up some serious points without<\/em> flying when you use credit cards that offer rewards!<\/p>\n

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You certainly don’t want to go into debt just to use points, so I don’t encourage anyone to get a credit card unless they’re financially responsible. That said, if you can be strategic about how you’re making your purchases and you’re good about making on-time payments, you can rack up quite a bit of points to use for future flights. You can also use these points for much more, such as booking hotels, rentals, using them towards credit card payments, and more!<\/p>\n

I personally pay for all my bills, groceries, and other expenses on my credit card to rack up points and then make weekly payments to pay off my card. Even better, some of the sign-up bonuses when you’re approved for a card could potentially get you a free flight alone!<\/p>\n

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Here are my top 2 choices for the current best credit card rewards:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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