Travel has a reputation for being expensive.

And it can be, if you let plane tickets, 100$ per night hotel rooms and eating out for three meals a day add up! The trick is knowing how to cut your travel costs. All it takes is the willingness to do a bit of research!

As flights are generally the most expensive part of a trip, today I want to show you how to minimize those plane ticket prices! The following is a list of the sites I use to travel far and often, without having to spend too much money.

If you are flexible on dates:

Scott’s Cheap Flights is my favorite resource for international flight deals. Once you subscribe (there’s a free version, which I use, and a version with a small monthly fee), you’ll get emails every time a great international deal appears. They go fast, and you’ll probably be travelling during the off-season, but if you’ve saved a few hundred dollars to travel you’ll be able to snag a great ticket!

What I’ve bought from here: $470 round-trip Seattle to Paris, $480 round-trip Seattle to Rome

The Flight Deal for domestic and some international flights. Similar to Scott’s, you’ll get emails about deals. This one is better for travelling to bigger US cities (think Houston, Denver, New York), but occasionally has international deals, like $180 round-trip Seattle-Cabo.

If you’re looking for the cheapest flight during a certain time frame:

 

Kayak and Skiplagged both allow you to search for the best deals within a certain time frame, and will show you the price differences if you are able to shift your flight around a few days (for instance, if you left on Sunday instead of Monday you might save $100). I love using these if I have to be somewhere on a certain day, because even if it’s a busy tourist season you’ll still get the best deal.

What I’ve bought from here: $200 round-trip Seattle to Houston tickets to visit my family

Finally, Google Flight Search works for either situation, because it allows you to browse dates and prices at your leisure. It usually has the best prices for everything, but you have to be careful when you book and make sure the fare actually works. I spent 3 hours on the phone with an airline once only to find out that the $350 round-trip Seattle to Italy ticket I was after was a “travel agent price” and I couldn’t book it unless I was booking for an agency.

What I’ve bought from here: $400 round-trip ticket from Seattle to Reykjavik, sorta on the higher side but the best available for the weekend that worked with my schedule.

Before you buy:

Check the baggage allowance! Some airlines get you by charging extra on these tickets for a carry-on or checked bag, so make sure you know what’s free to bring!

Make sure your ticket is not with Spirit. Not worth the price, I promise.

 

I hope these tips help you get to your next destination! Let me know in the comments if you have other suggestions or cheap flight tips. Happy flying!