Our expert Flight Finders share their top tips for booking the cheapest flights

How to find cheap flights using Google Flights 

As you might have noticed, many of the lowest fares we find are offered through an Online Travel Agency (OTA) aggregator such as Momondo or Skyscanner. 
If you've previously booked all of your flights directly with the airline, you might be wondering if it's both advisable and reliable to book your flight with smaller, lesser-known OTAs found on Skyscanner and Momondo. 
To address this, we've put together this set of FAQs to give you our take.
<h2>1. What are flight fare aggregators, and how do they work?</h2>
Momondo, Kayak and better-known websites like Skyscanner all function as flight fare aggregator engines. 
These tools collect and display the best fares for any particular flight route by comparing prices offered both by the airline and by the various Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) selling tickets for the same flight.
This is not dissimilar to what Google Flights does. The difference is that while Google Flights compares only fares offered directly from the airlines and other major booking sites (such as Expedia and eDreams), these aggregators compare fares from smaller booking sites as well.
These smaller sites are the ones that are more likely to sell flights at a discount to the price offered by the airline itself. They also sometimes include routes that Google Flights doesn't.
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/ce08872475107063e61d69c2daa88994b9092537" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<h2>2. Is it safe to book with these smaller Online Travel Agencies?</h2>
This question comes up a lot, and we remember how confused we were when these websites first began to pop up. Here's how we see it:
The biggest fear for some travelers is that an Online Travel Agency will take your payment and keep it, without ever issuing a ticket for your purchased flight. Based on our experience, this is an incredibly rare occurrence that only occurs as the result of an error. 
The OTAs listed on Skyscanner or Momondo are vetted for legitimacy to some degree before being listed on these aggregators, and do not do this on purpose. That's not to say that they are all ethical, pro-consumer companies, but they do not try to scam people in this way.
Online Travel Agencies are lawfully required to issue a ticket for the price at which you made the purchase in order to process your payment. Many OTAs in the United Kingdom are also<a href="https://www.caa.co.uk/atol-protection/"> ATOL protected</a>, which means you have an extra layer of consumer protection against any wrongdoing. EU countries have similar protection schemes.
If you want to be extra certain, simply google: "Booking site name + ATOL" to make sure they are ATOL Protected. You should see a verification similar to this:
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/b8b77033f2f4d52ee8c92be6689b7bfc67670c36">
Or you'll be able to find this in the company's Ts &amp; Cs:
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/1d881fd56d6cea92d65aa5fc9b3840f5001feaea">
In the US, though, there is no agency that booking agencies can register under like the ABTA (for rail, cruise and coach holidays) or ATOL to protect consumers in case a company goes insolvent. But check out our guide on what happens<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/what-happens-when-flights-from-the-united-states-are-canceled"> when flights to or from the United States are cancelled</a> if you are in search of some guidance on what else you can do to protect your booking.
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/3e95fc6bb418eac711142fec72c534da3aa27a77" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<h2>3. Are there other OTA tricks I should be looking out for?</h2>
Indeed, some of these sites are known to try and squeeze a few extra fees out of you in other ways. Here are the most common tricks to look out for:
<h4>Avoid booking over the phone </h4>
Most of these booking sites offer a phone number if you'd like to avoid booking online. When possible, I advise using the online portal instead. Phone agents, who often earn a commission, will sometimes see that you're trying to book a cheap fare and will try to find another way to increase the price you pay. Calling over the phone also opens you up to the next two items as well.
<h4>&lsquo;Fare no longer available&rsquo; trick </h4>
Every now and then, an Online Travel Agency will call you within a few minutes of your booking to tell you that the price you booked at is &ldquo;no longer available&rdquo; and you must accept a refund or agree to pay a higher fare. If that does occur, don't panic! Simply decline their new fare, accept the refund, and go on to book with another agency offering the next best fare.
<h4>&lsquo;Extra bag fees&rsquo; trick </h4>
Keep an eye on the bag rules throughout the booking process. While rare, we have heard of agencies claiming that you have to pay extra to add a checked bag, even on routes where bags were definitely included in the fare. Again, this generally only happens over the phone.
<h4>Extra service fees </h4>
Make sure you double-check all the passenger details you enter when booking tickets via an Online Travel Agency. Many of them will find ways to charge extra, often high, service fees for tiny changes.
<h2>4. Are there ways to save on airline baggage fees when booking with an Online Travel Agency?</h2>
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/4c176c96077bfeb5fc5b2f2e40416251bf4f88d7" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
In 2022, airlines will now charge you anywhere between 0 and 140 pounds or euros return, or as much as $180 RT from the US, to add a checked bag to your itinerary. The actual amount varies wildly by route &amp; airline.
Online Travel Agencies will often get incentives to sell bag-inclusive tickets and are able to sell you a checked bag at a cheaper fare than the airline. Some OTAs choose to do this, while others choose to keep the price the same or even mark it up in order to earn a higher margin on your ticket.
For this reason, it's important that you always compare the bag fee charged by the OTA you are booking with against the fee charged by the airline itself (or even other OTAs).
If an Online Travel Agency is offering the cheapest fare but is pricing up checked bags, you can always just buy the ticket from the OTA and add a checked bag directly with the airline after the ticket has been issued.
Note: It's also not uncommon for some OTAs to sell economy-standard ticket class fares, which include early seat selection, meals, checked bags, and other perks, for only slightly more than the airline itself sells economy-basic tickets, and the savings can be quite significant. We often see this with Virgin Atlantic, for example.
<h2>5. How are smaller Online Travel Agencies able to offer cheaper fares than the airlines themselves?</h2>
Firstly, many airlines - primarily major international carriers - offer incentives and discounts to third-party agencies to market their tickets. This allows OTAs to pass some of those savings on to you in order to secure your business.
That said, not all airlines will do this, and there are other ways Online Travel Agencies can generate revenue, some of which are less consumer-friendly:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Fees - Expect hefty service fees for making any future changes to your booking. That includes name changes, date changes, cancellations, etc.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Reselling reserved tickets - OTAs are able to reserve a number of seats months in advance. Many will often hold a certain number of seats on popular routes at a low price, knowing that they'll be able to sell them at a higher rate later in the year.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Poor customer support - They tend to outsource customer support to third party companies in order to save on costs.</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/4268bb876f66e76a4f0ab97669ad7346adb91e97" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<h2>6. What about all the bad reviews Online Travel Agencies have?</h2>
It's true that most OTAs, even well-known ones like Expedia, have plenty of negative reviews online. As a rule, customers will generally go further out of the way to report a negative experience than leave a positive review when everything goes as expected, resulting in a high rate of negative reviews.
While it can be a sign of poor customer service, it doesn't mean you won't get the ticket you purchased. As you've read above, some OTAs can be clever about trying to make as much as possible from each customer, but they won't (usually) take your money and run. You can find our reviews of the most popular OTAs <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/reviewing-the-most-popular-online-travel-agencies">here</a>.
<h2>7. When should I book directly with the airline vs. booking with an agency on Momondo?</h2>
This just depends on your situation. We reckon it&rsquo;s worth booking with an agency and saving the extra cash if your travel dates are set in stone, but here are some general guidelines for like-minded travelers:
<h3>Book with an Online Travel Agency if:</h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Savings exceed at least &pound;/&euro;20-&pound;/&euro;30 or $50-$60 for a long-haul fare.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You are 100% certain you will be taking the trip on these dates.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Book directly with airline if:</h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You're the type of traveler who is more likely to extend your trip later on or change travel dates.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The flight is with a budget or charter airline, such as Spirit, easyJet, Wizzair or TUI, none of which offer discounted fares to OTAs.</li>
</ul>
For more information on Momondo, Skyscanner and Online Travel Agencies, take a look at our <a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/reviewing-the-most-popular-online-travel-agencies">reviews of the most popular OTAs</a>, or visit our<a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/find-cheap-flights-to-anywhere/"> ultimate guide</a> to finding cheap flights to anywhere.
. . .
Still have questions? Feel free to drop us a message on
support@jacksflightclub.com and we'll be happy to help.
Please note, while we do have links to other websites in our articles, none are affiliate links and we do not benefit from you clicking on them, we just think they are a good resource :-)

Is it safe to book with online travel agencies (OTAs) on Momondo & Skyscanner?

The ultimate guide to finding cheap flights to anywhere

The rumors are true: finding the cheapest time to fly is no easy task. Most of you will have heard from people who have their own 'tips' on the best time to book flights; your super-organized friend will tell you booking early can save you a fortune. Another, less prepared pal will tell you to book as late as humanly possible.
So, who's right - when is the best time to book flights? Well, it's not that simple&nbsp;- while flight pricing doesn't follow an exact formula, there are many things you can keep an eye out for if you&rsquo;d rather spend all that hard-earned money on your actual holidays. We've curated some golden nuggets from our flight hackers to help you land the cheapest flights.
<hr>
Quick Reference:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/the-best-time-to-book-flights#h_55335685729741653176627671">Is there a best time to book flights?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/the-best-time-to-book-flights#h_95040722926531653176443444">What is the difference between short-haul and long-haul flights, and why does it matter?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/the-best-time-to-book-flights#h_45955256119651653176280168">The best time to book flights for holidays</a></li>
<li><a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/the-best-time-to-book-flights#h_48024604517661653176262817">The best strategies for finding cheap holiday flights</a></li>
<li><a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/the-best-time-to-book-flights#h_3634569815641653176238626">The best time to book flights to popular locations</a></li>
<li><a href="https://members.jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/the-best-time-to-book-flights#h_8929508713691653176224913">How can I find out about unannounced sales?</a></li>
</ul>

<hr>
<h2>Is there a best time to book flights?</h2>
The best time to book isn't perfectly predictable, but you can use the data we&rsquo;ve collected over the years to set up a strategy for getting flights at their cheapest. The golden rules to follow are:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Don't wait until the last minute&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Book flights 3-9 months in advance</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/77f8885e47712d22720d3916e0a17667dc5d0499" alt="Best time to book flights - girl staring at airport screen" width="512" height="341">
Even as an avid traveler, it can be challenging to keep track of the price tag on every destination on your bucket list.&nbsp; But, we have a feeling you love finding a good deal ​​since you're reading this guide.&nbsp;&nbsp;
So, at some point, you may have wondered how airlines decide on the price of a ticket since it's possible to pay a totally different price than the person sitting directly next to you.
Basically, airlines have different price groups for each seat and use complex algorithms to estimate how many seats need to be sold on each route by a certain period to make the most profit.
Once a target is met, they move on to the higher price group, but if seats don't sell, they get knocked down until they reach the minimum amount.
By this logic, you'd think that waiting on last-minute flights when airlines are desperate to sell off seats would be the best game plan.
But it's actually the opposite. Last-minute fares can go way up in price to take advantage of business travelers and others who may need to travel rather than simply want to. Airlines know they'll be less likely to gawk at the higher fare.
Although this isn't always the case, especially with short-haul flights, it's good to keep in mind:
"Banking on a last-minute deal is like playing roulette. The odds may be in your favor, but the house wins either way."
To find the best time to book your flight, you'll first need to know if it's a long- or short-haul flight.

<h2>What is the difference between short-haul and long-haul flights, and why does it matter?</h2>
How far you are going makes a huge difference when it comes to the best time to buy flights - short-haul and long-haul flights are two completely different beasts.

<h3>What is a short-haul flight?</h3>
Short-haul flights are less than 30 minutes to 3 hours - think quick domestic trips e.g. Boston to Philly or London to Belfast. However, it can also refer to technically medium-haul flights that last 3-6 hours like east coast to west coast trips in the USA or regional travel like Manchester to Ibiza.
We've found that short-haul flights are more predictable when deciding the best time to book: the best time to book a short-haul flight is a few weeks to four months before departure. The price variations for short-haul flights are consistently competitive, especially for popular destinations.&nbsp;
In the US, cheap flights come around pretty frequently to popular tourist spots like Hawaii and Las Vegas from big cities, like New York and Washington, D.C. This is mainly caused by price matching between the bigger airlines, and budget airlines needing more people to cover their costs. On the other hand, smaller cities like Salt Lake City and niche tourist spots like Myrtle Beach may not get to see deals as often.
In Europe, there&rsquo;s a lot more competition for short-haul flights. Budget airlines like Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet and Norwegian operate a lot of the same routes, and flash sales can drop at any moment. As a rule of thumb, you&rsquo;ll want to wait it out and book just a couple of months in advance with these guys.
On the other hand, flying with a national carrier like British Airways or Brussels Airlines lets you plan in advance - and includes the all-important hand luggage. They usually have short-haul sales a couple of times a year - once in February/March, then again after summer.
In general, short-haul sales usually mean 20-30 dollars/pounds/euros off the original price, compared to 100+ discounts on long-haul routes.

<h3>What is a long-haul flight?</h3>
Long-haul flights are 6+ to 12+ hours long and always cross into a new border.
When searching for a long-haul flight, booking in advance is a pretty good idea. Broadly speaking, buying tickets somewhere between 8 months and 6 weeks in advance gets you the lowest prices - but more detail on that soon.
One option worth checking for last-minute flights if you&rsquo;re in Europe is charter airline TUI. They buck the trend and often put deep discounts on flights less than 3 weeks away, mostly to beach-type destinations in the Caribbean and Europe.
Keep in mind that these are just general guidelines - prices on each route will vary based on many factors that affect the demand.
<h2>The best time to book flights for holidays</h2>
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/ad7042ff77981634c4a55c6d006e0858a496e024" alt="Best time to book holidays - map with sunglasses, toy flamingo and palm tree" width="640" height="437">
Booking cheap holiday flights can sometimes feel like an impossible task, but with 5+ years of experience under our belt, we&rsquo;ve developed a spidey sense for when you&rsquo;ll likely be able to book the cheapest holiday tickets.
<h4>Best time to book Thanksgiving holidays</h4>
As you're putting up your Jack O Lanterns, you might want to be on the lookout for Thanksgiving flights as well. They usually drop four to six weeks before the holiday and shoot up within two to three weeks. While it&rsquo;s rare to find, there's a chance to find last-minute deals a few days before Thanksgiving.
<h4>Best time to book Christmas and New Year's holidays.</h4>
Cheap fares for Christmas and New Year start showing up two to three weeks before the holidays. For Christmas, the closer the holiday gets, the more prices climb. But we tend to see last-minute price drops for New Year's Day - especially after Boxing Day. To cut costs even further - try flying on the day of the holiday.
<h4>Best time to book school holidays.</h4>
Cheap flights for Easter, spring break, and summer holidays pop up between November and February. Because prices for these periods do tend to fluctuate, it's worth monitoring your route to see when prices drop and being ready to take advantage of that
<h2>The best strategies for finding cheap holiday flights</h2>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sign up for airline newsletters to keep track of seasonal sales - for example, in the US, Southwest has sales almost at the start of every season. It's common to find blackouts on their pricier days (e.g., Christmas Eve), but there'll often be discounts on days that fall on a holiday.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Track prices with Google Flights tracker - if you've got specific dates already mapped out, the Google tracker is great for letting you know when prices change for that period. Combine that with the price history tool, and voila - no more second-guessing if the price is right! We&rsquo;ve written a handy guide on <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/how-to-use-google-flights-to-find-deals">how to use the tracker</a> and other Google Flight features like a pro.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sign up for <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/">cheap flights newsletters </a>- hey, that&rsquo;s what we do! We take the hassle of price watching off your plate by notifying you when prices are great. We look for deals during the holidays too!</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Travel on the holiday - traveling on New Year's or Christmas Day can shave off quite a few bucks from your total price since most people want to settle in before the big day itself. This also applies to other major holidays like Thanksgiving and Easter.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Avoid the rush where possible - a holiday might fall on the weekend, so it&rsquo;s a no-brainer to come back on a Sunday or Monday to prep for the workweek. But according to <a href="https://www.cheapair.com/blog/holiday-flights/">CheapAir's</a> study, avoiding these popular travel days saved an average of $125 per ticket during Christmas.</li>
</ol>
Knowing the right time to book flights is a good start, but you'll also have to keep in mind where you're heading.
<h2>The best time to book flights to popular locations</h2>
Finding cheap flights to the most popular vacation spots requires some research on the country's weather, peak/off seasons, and some experience with airline pricing patterns. It may seem like a lot of information - but hey, that's why we're here!
Three tips to keep in mind when flying to popular locations:
1) Avoid the peak season hype - Peak season may fall during the dry season/summer or when a major event occurs. If you're not targeting a specific event - it's best to visit just before or after these peak periods.
2) For international (long-haul) flights, we usually start seeing deals 1 - 2 seasons before departure. For example, deals for summer trips show up during winter and springtime.&nbsp;
3) Deals to exotic locations like the Maldives are rare, but the airlines often have flash deals worth setting up trackers to find.
<blockquote>
We've written a guide on finding the absolute best time for the best chances to <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/best-time-to-book-international-flights-usa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">score a cheap flight from the USA</a> to some of the most popular countries worldwide. It's worth bookmarking for your next trip!
</blockquote>
<h2>How can I find out about unannounced sales?</h2>
Now that you know when to buy the cheapest flights, we thought our go-to tools for actually finding these deals were worth mentioning.
<img src="https://cdn.jacksflightclub.com/id/3cf8793af483f2b1e0c5f15998fbd099ff869c50" alt="Best time to book - man booking flight" width="512" height="384">
<h4>Google Flights</h4>
<a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights">Google Flights</a> allows you to look through a calendar to see what prices various dates bring back. It's probably the most comprehensive tool when it comes to depth and search options available, and it's also the most responsive.&nbsp;
One minor issue with this search tool is that not all airlines are included in the results (Thai Airlines, Air China, and China Eastern, for example, don't always show up). Also, it&rsquo;s worth noting that it&rsquo;s not great for browsing prices offered by <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/is-it-safe-to-book-with-smaller-otas-on-momondo">OTAs</a> - the likes of Momondo and Kayak are more suitable.&nbsp;
<h4>Skyscanner</h4>
<a href="https://www.skyscanner.com/?previousCultureSource=COOKIE&amp;redirectedFrom=www.skyscanner.net">Skyscanner</a> has a practical and easy-to-use design that allows users to see, via simple graphs, information about how far in advance to look for flights for specific places. Drop-downs let you input where you're going from and to, as well as showing which months are expensive, and which are less likely to be so. Skyscanner is especially good for budget airlines.
<h4>Kayak</h4>
<a href="https://www.kayak.com/">Kayak</a> is great as its search options allow you to incorporate the cost of baggage within any search. This has become especially important in recent months as many airlines have significantly altered their policies and prices, with bags now potentially adding large numbers onto what initially seemed like very cheap fares.
<h4>Momondo</h4>
<a href="https://www.momondo.com/">Momondo</a> provides an easy-to-use service that lets you see how expensive your flight dates are, combined with information about how flying to different airports or nearby locations may be cheaper. It's best suited for popular destinations like the Netherlands, on which it holds more information.
Want more advice?
Knowing the best time to book takes you one step closer to scoring amazing deals like a trip to Australia from the USA for $200! (Yep, that's actually a deal we've found in the past!)
Finding the best time to book is deceptively simple on the surface, but it comes with a few caveats. To get the thrill of securing a massively impressive deal, keep an eye out for the distance of the flight, the high and low seasons, and the right window for holidays. If you'd like more tips and tricks on how we find great deals, check out our <a href="https://jacksflightclub.com/travel-hub/find-cheap-flights-to-anywhere">ultimate guide to finding cheap flights.</a>

Flight Hacking

How to find cheap flights using Google Flights

Is it safe to book with online travel agencies (OTAs) on Momondo & Skyscanner?

The ultimate guide to finding cheap flights to anywhere

The best time to book cheap flights