5 Ways to Book an Affordable Flight

Call us spoiled, but we get incredulous when met with high flight prices.

What’s high, you ask?

Let’s just say we can’t remember the last time we paid hundreds of dollars ($200+) for a roundtrip domestic flight. In fact, we won’t!

As 2 Girls Who Travel, we’ve traveled by boat, bus and even a good road trip, but our preferred mode of transportation is definitely plane because you get places so quickly and can immediately start your vacation.

We always get asked for tips on how to find cheap flights, so we decided to compile a quick list for you.

So if you want tips on how to book an affordable flight, keep reading!

1. Don’t be destination-specific. Listen, this is probably the biggest thing! Unless you have a very specific reason for needing to travel to a specific place (i.e. you have to attend a friend’s wedding), stop limiting your vacation possibilities! If you’re craving a beach and have your heart set on Oahu, Hawaii, but see a deal to Miami — go to Miami! You’ll still get your beach and you’ll probably find that you enjoyed the trip more than you ever expected to.
2. Be flexible on your flight days/times. When you fly matters. Weekend travel will almost always be pricier than traveling through the week. Here’s a pro tip: if you must have a weekend trip, we often depart on a Thursday and return on a Saturday or depart Saturday and return on a Monday. Also consider the time of day you travel. Super early flights (or the first flights of the day) are often much cheaper and often aren’t as full. Same goes for late-night/overnight flights. And while we don’t personally prefer this, if you’re okay with long layovers, those roundtrip flights tend to be cheaper, too. And for popular destinations like Europe, consider flying during their “shoulder seasons” – essentially, the seasons between the uber popular summer and winter. Flights are typically cheaper.
3. Sign up for flight deal alerts. There’s literally a ton of websites and apps that promise you alerts on cheap flight deals. Some swear by some and others swear by others! Probably our favorite and the one we use the most is Escape Houston. It’s a budget travel blog that provides flight deals departing from Houston (as that’s where we’re based). They are extremely thorough and we’ve definitely booked flights after receiving alerts from them in the past. They also give details on how to book such as which specific dates to plug in to get the best price. Be sure to subscribe!
4. Don’t believe the hype. Okay, we know you’ve heard horrible things about certain budget airlines. And while we can’t vouch for them all, we most certainly can vouch for Southwest Airlines. We’ve been flying them for years and have NEVER had an issue. Seriously. Flights are always affordable, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are complimentary and the best thing for us is that you don’t have to pay baggage fees. Each passenger is allotted two free checked bags!
5. Use your flight rewards. As we mentioned, we are avid Southwest flyers. So the more we fly with them, the more points we get. Points can later be converted into dollars. We’ve booked a few flights and paid next to nothing by using our rewards points. Many airlines offer similar programs. If there’s one in particular you prefer to fly with, ask about and sign up for their rewards programs. It definitely comes in handy!

So there you have it. These are tried and true tips that work for us. But what about you? Do you have any tips on booking affordable flights? Let us know in the comments!