It’s summer, which means vacations! Whether you are gearing up for your next vacation or have to travel for business, getting the best price on airline tickets is truly an art form. There are few things like it (other than purchasing a hotel room) as airlines use all kinds of different hidden tricks to charge you as much as possible. The tips below can help you get the best possible price on your airline tickets for your next trip.

Hidden Searching

This may seem like a confusing concept, but it is actually pretty straight forward. When you use your web browser to surf the internet, you are tracked in your travels. There are all kinds of data about where you went, what you searched, how long you looked at something, and so much more. The airlines use this to their advantage and look for signs that they can charge you more money. For instance, if you visit an airline’s website but don’t purchase a flight, they could recognize this and charge you more knowing that you are planning on taking this trip and likely won’t cancel over a slight price increase. The way to avoid things like this happening is very simple. Every browser, whether Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, or anything other has an “incognito” feature. You should search for airline tickets in an incognito window so there is no data being fed to the airlines about where you have been and what you have searched.

Payment Options

There are tons of different ways to pay for an airline flight, but the best case scenario is using flight points. Different airlines have different rewards programs, so it is important to find one that suits you best and will give you the most benefit. This is particularly important if you will be flying for business or traveling more frequently. It only takes a few trips for points to start accumulating and the savings to begin. Another way to save is to see if paying in a different currency would be cheaper. You do not always have the option to choose the currency you pay with, but if you do some simple math can tell you if paying with the currency of a place you’re traveling to might be more efficient. Getting creative with your payment methods is a great way to save on your next flight.

Choose The Right Flight

There are a number of important factors to consider when deciding which flight is the right one for you. It starts with the airline you choose to fly with. There are a million different airline options and each has it’s own benefits and drawbacks. If you are only concerned with price and not luxury, airlines like Spirit, Jetblue, and Southwest are great options. They are typically cheaper than other airlines but are big enough to take you just about anywhere in the world you want to go. Another factor of choosing the right flight is to fly out on the right day. If you are planning a vacation, do some research and find out what day is best to leave on as airline ticket prices fluctuate by day of the week. You can use price comparing airline ticket search engines to find out what day is best, but generally weekends are more expensive. If you are going to need a connecting flight you can try experimenting with getting two separate flights to see if that could be cheaper. Saving money on airline tickets starts with choosing the right, cost effective flight.

Airline tickets are often the most expensive part of any trip. There is no doubt the process of flying is far from a fun one, but it can be made a little bit more tolerable if you know you are not getting ripped off. Well not quite as bad at least!