HOW TO GET CHEAP FLIGHTS IN 2025
April 2025
photo credit: raychan | unsplash
How To Get Cheap Flights In 2025
Using incognito mode doesn’t get you cheaper airfare. Using a VPN to disguise your location or waiting to buy your flights till Tuesday at 10am doesn’t work either. Those cheap flight hacks were debunked in a study published in this article in The Quarterly Journal of Economics in late 2023.
But!
There are still some tried-and-true methods for getting a great deal, and below I’ve laid out a sky-high overview for some of the best options. Some will get you cheap flights today, and some will take a bit of lead time (like collecting points). By the end of this blog you should have 1 or 2 options that will get you traveling sooner.
Happy planning!
Renee | updated April 2025
PS: Check out A Beginner’s Guide To Travelling On Credit Card Points and the free workbook to help you get started.
10 Tips For Cheap Flights In 2025
- Collect and Redeem Loyalty Points
- Subscribe to a Fare-Finder Newsletter or App
- Book Early
- Use Airline Error To Your Benefit
- Sign Up For Airline Fare Sales
- Compare Multiple Booking Sites
- Be Flexible with Dates and Airport Locations
- Book With A Budget Airline
- Layover to Visit Multiple Destinations
- Buy Connecting Flights
Collect and Redeem Loyalty Points
Almost everyone has signed up for grocery store points, and there’s no reason to think any differently about travel points. The top two ways to earn points for travel: sign up for credit cards that offer travel rewards and join airline loyalty programs. The Prince of Travel has a newsletter that Canadians can join to keep up with everything points-related for travel.
Credit Card Travel Rewards Points
Visit cardratings.com to see a listing of the top-rated credit cards that offer travel rewards points. Then head over to A Beginner’s Guide To Travelling On Credit Card Points to get a crash course on how to weigh the best travel rewards credit cards for your budget + household needs + and travel desires (bonus: it has a free workbook).
Then, download the (free) Travel Freely App to help you get the most out of your points. If you need a bit of inspiration to get started, check out this fun article by Thrifty Nomads about how to maximize your budget on credit card points.
the catch: Some credit cards only award travel rewards for certain types of spending, and some cards offer big points bonuses that can only be earned by spending thousands of dollars on your new credit card in a limited amount of time. You need to be strategic in order to get the most out of credit card travel rewards. My blog and workbook walk you through those considerations.
Airline Loyalty Points
Find out which airlines fly out of the airport(s) nearest to you. Then choose 1 or 2 airlines that you’re most likely to fly with, sign up for their loyalty program, and read their offerings top-to-bottom to learn how to earn and redeem points.
the catch: These points are not always redeemable when you want to fly, and can be subject to blackout dates, baggage allowances, and other restrictions.
Subscribe to a Fare-Finder Newsletter or App
After points, the best way to get a good deal on flights is to use a Fare-Finder. Fare-finder newsletters and apps do the leg work for you, scouring the web for cheap flights and sending email alerts to your inbox. They’ve blown up since travel restrictions were lifted at the end of Covid, and with good reason: subscribers can regularly save anywhere from 20% – 90% off airfare using these services.
the catch: Most fare-finders are subscription based so you need to pay a membership fee to get the best deals. And (as with most third-party booking sites) you’ll want to look into extra travel insurance in case of delays, cancellations or lost luggage.
Book Early
It’s rare that flights get cheaper as your travel date gets closer (and especially within 21, 14 and 7 days, when they only get more expensive). It’s best to book 1-3 months ahead of time for domestic, and 2-5 months for international flights – unless you need to travel during peak season or at the holidays, then you should book as soon as flights are available. Sign up for email alerts or download the app for your preferred airline loyalty program so that you know when flights become available or go on sale.
the catch: There’s no way to guarantee that a fare sale won’t pop up closer to your travel date.
Use Airline Error To Your Benefit
Airlines are run by humans who can sometimes make mistakes. When this happens you need to book fast before the seats are gone. This article by Forbes will tell you everything you need to know about error fares.
the catch: You need to already have a sense of what your flight should cost in order to know what an error fare looks like. And, airlines don’t have to honour error fares; around 10-20% are cancelled (another reason to get travel insurance).
Sign Up For Airline Fare Sales
A fare sale (seat sale) is a great deal if you can get one before it’s sold out. Here are the best ways to be the first to know:
- Subscribe to a Fare-Saver App to receive notifications
- Sign up to your preferred airline loyalty program to receive notifications
- Follow the airline on social media
- Do a Google Search
the catch: Fare sales are typically subject to blackout dates and are available for a limited time, so being flexible and spontaneous with your travel plans is the best way to take advantage of these deals.
Compare Multiple Booking Sites
Taking the time to compare prices on a few different booking sites is worth the effort, but make sure you read the reviews for new-to-you airlines before booking. Reddit and the airline’s Facebook page are two great sources for passenger feedback.
the catch: Baggage fees, airport fees, tourist fees, and mandatory seat selection are almost never included, so make sure you read all the fine print before buying your ticket. And: predatory “VIP club memberships” tend to lurk on these sites, promising huge discounts or freebies that aren’t worth the membership fees. A lot of the free trials for these programs are scams that will charge your credit card for the annual membership fee long before the free trial period is up.
Be Flexible With Dates And Airport Locations
If you’re not limited to where or when you want to fly (is that you, fellow digital nomad?) then these options are for you!
Flexible Destination
This is basically the internet version of throwing a dart at a map. By entering only your travel dates and leaving your destination blank, most search engines will show you the cheapest airfares to dozens of destinations all over the world. Then you can just filter by airline or loyalty program to apply your points and away you go!
the catch: If you’re flying a carrier with familiar baggage fees, and you’ve done your due diligence on visas and tourist fees, then: no catch! The only way I see this going bad is if you don’t like the view from your beach bungalow.
Flexible Dates
Start by entering your preferred fly dates and then review the booking calendar that’s presented. You’ll often get a calendar like the one pictured above that shows cheaper and more expensive fly dates.
the catch: A lot of cheap flights generally leave super early in the morning or after midnight, so you’re probably sacrificing sleep to get a deal. In some cases it can work out as a silver-lining by helping to reset your sleep schedule.
Book With A Budget Airline
I like to think that budget airlines are designed for a certain type of vacation traveller: those who are willing to take multiple short-hop flights with minimal luggage to land in more remote locations with smaller airports. If this sounds like you, then book away!
the catch: Flight cancellations and delays are far more common on budget carriers, so insurance is a must. There’s also less leg room, and almost nothing is included in the advertised seat price. Be prepared to pay extra for luggage, airport fees, mandatory seat selection, printing your boarding pass, and checking-in at the airport (always, always, check-in online as soon as you can, even on the fancy airlines).
Layover Or Visit Multiple Destinations
To do this properly you ideally want an inexpensive bed as close as possible to the airport (check out this article on airports with sleep pods around the world), or you can do like Anthony Bourdain and just eat and drink away the hours in between flights (IYKYK).
Or! You can do like I did when I visited Greece last year: I flew Air Canada direct from Montreal to London Heathrow Airport and then two days later took Ryan Air from London Stansted to Chania. By booking my connecting flight to Greece separately from my long-haul across the Atlantic, I was able to turn the layover into a mini-vacation enroute to our destination. My husband and I stayed at a beautiful cottage in the countryside and spent a day riding the tube, taking in sights like The Eye Of London and Buckingham Palace.
the catch: If you do like I did, the money you spend on accommodation and sight-seeing will eat up any savings from doing the layover in the first place. So I snuck this one in here for my fellow travellers who like to squeeze as much as possible out of their trip by turning every touch-down into a destination.
Buy Connecting Flights
If you’re not in a hurry, booking connecting flights instead of flying direct can be a great excuse to check out Business Lounges in the departure area. Think of these like an oasis at the airport: you pay a flat fee for a hot buffet with unlimited adult beverages in a quiet space with clean washrooms.
the catch: Booking a connecting flight works best when you’re already in-country. If you find yourself connecting between international destinations – like when I went to Guatemala via Mexico – you can find yourself going through customs twice in the same day in tiny airports with no AC. No bueno.
Happy Planning!
However you choose to get the most out of your travel budget, I hope this blog has given you 1 or 2 solid options to consider when booking your next trip. In the coming weeks I’ll be doing a deep-dive on the basics covered above. Follow me on Pinterest for new blog posts on how to travel well and travel safely on a budget.
Renee | updated April 2025