“Travel as much as you can, as far as you can, as long as you can. Life’s not meant to be lived in one place.”I agree with this quote because we live in a wonderful world so learn to travel and see the beauty and charm of other cities, provinces, and countries. Have some adventures in life, seek to see and experience things up close and personal. Do not stay or live in one place.
I cannot deny that travel means expense but nowadays, you don’t need to be rich just to travel because there are so many ways to travel cheaply.
Living in the Philippines which is an archipelago, we always need to fly out to visit Visayas, Mindanao and of course other countries. In order to save money, I need to look for cheap airline tickets. I’ll be sharing with you how do I save for airfare.
Here are the 9 Ways to Score Cheap Airline Tickets
1. Watch Out for Seat Sales
My number one on my list is watching out for airline seat sales, I cannot stress enough but you can really save money if you are able to buy a promo ticket.
I remember when my son was in toddler years, I really wake up before 12AM so I’m ready to book when 12AM strikes. Airlines are offering P1 sale or FREE seat, we’ve been to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia for only PHP2,145 Round Trip for 3 persons.
How can you watch out for seat sales?
Follow the social media of different airlines such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe to their email updates to keep you updated with deal alerts.
2. Visit Travel Expo
Visit Travel Expo, if you don’t like waking up early, you don’t have a reliable internet connection or you don’t like booking online. It is like a one-stop-shop where airlines, resorts, hotels and travel agencies offer promos, seat sales, and discounts. But you need a lot of patience to fall in line. Prices may vary too depending on the season that you will choose. We were able to score cheap airline tickets for our Europe trip here in travel expo. What I like here is I can choose Philippine Peso for payment unlike online, USD so there is a foreign currency charge on my credit card.
Read: Philippines Travel Tour Expo Tips
World Travel Expo
Philippines Travel Mart
3. Enroll in Airline Frequent Flier Program
Whether you are a frequent traveler or not, take advantage of the frequent flyer program of different airlines. Membership is free and you can earn miles by flying or staying in partner hotels. We were able to book Business Class Ticket when we went to Cebu and Economy Class ticket when we went to Bangkok, Thailand using our Mabuhay Miles
Read: How to Redeem Flight Rewards in Mabuhay Miles
4. Use Credit Card
Credit card companies are also offering airline promos and discounts by using their credit card to book the airfare. Some companies are offering buy 2 and get one free. Some companies are offering installments too. We also earn miles by using our credit card, Credit Card Points to Mabuhay Miles.
Read: How to Save Money Using your Credit Card
5. Fly with Budget Carriers
If you are not picky, book your tickets on budget airlines like Cebu Pacific and Air Asia. These airlines also offer a membership program where you can also earn points or miles. Just like other airlines, they also offer seat sales or zero fares.
6. Book One Way Ticket
Don’t always book round-trip ticket especially if the price is steep. Whenever there is a seat sale, I make sure that I will only book the promo fare so most of the time, I will buy a one-way ticket and wait for another seat sale or check other airlines.
When we went to Cebu 5 years ago, I booked Manila to Cebu and Cebu to Manila in two different airlines.
PHP499.68 - Manila to Cebu (via Cebu Pacific) 3 persons
PHP1561 - Cebu to Manila (via AirPhil) 3 persons
But there are times buying round-trip tickets are much cheaper, so just mock book to compare.
7. Fly on Cheapest Days or Times
If there are no seat sales and you need plane tickets, book the cheapest days or times. The cheapest days are on Tuesday and Wednesday. Avoid expensive days like Fridays, Sundays, Holidays and Peak Season.
The cheapest times are flights at dawn and red-eyes. I don’t mind flying as early as 5AM if the fare is cheap. When we went to Japan, I chose the earliest flight because it was the cheapest rate, fare difference of $50 dollars per person/way.
8. Find the Cheapest Airport to Fly
Sometimes the price of the airline ticket varies depending on which airport you are going to fly. So if you want to save money, search for airports where you can fly. In our case, we can choose NAIA or Clark International Airport; though Clark is more than three hours away from our place, we still consider this airport especially if we can save a lot.
We did this when we went to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Hongkong and Macau, Batanes and Norway. Even we add the gasoline, toll fee and even hotel stay, the saving is still bigger. We just need to add a few hours to our traveling time.
9. Use a Booking Platform
Sometimes looking for a cheap airline ticket is very stressful because it takes so much time but now with the help of a booking platform like Traveloka, the work will be easy. It is available on your desktop or mobile phone.
The booking platform is a great tool to search for cheap airfare because you only need a few clicks and you can see, compare and book airline tickets. It will save you time in comparing cheap flights from different airlines. Aside from that, you can also book a hotel at a competitive price.
Care to share your tips in booking cheap airfare.
If not for seat sale, I wouldn't be able to fly any airlines! The cheapest ticket that we got so far was for 800 pesos back and forth ticket to Palawan in 2013 for two persons I wish I have a credit card but I don't, so, maybe next time. haha
ReplyDeleteWow! Ang mura ha, parang terminal fee lang ang price. :) Seat sales are godsend. hehehe!
DeleteThanks for the tips Michi! Bookmarked your page so I will be able to read it again if ever we'll be traveling ;)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. :)
DeleteI'm not too lucky when it comes to seat sales though, parating nauubusan XD
ReplyDeleteTrue, ako din nauubusan. :)
Deletei am lucky to score a seat sale fare, but when it comes to travel expo if wala me sakit, busy sa work :-)
ReplyDeleteBihira din ako makapagTravel Expo, madalas may lakad pero this September meron ulit, wala naman ko budget. hahaha!
DeleteI have yet to score tickets from seat sales. I've done travel expo already and the lines are really long! I've also gotten super cheap tickets because the arrival time was midnight.
ReplyDeleteYes, after dinner flight is cheaper too. :)
DeleteI like tip #6. I've done that in our trip to Bora 4 years ago. Our total fare was around 2k for a back and forth trip booked separately for 2 and with different airlines. Seat sales are great you just have to be fast. Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteTrue, your internet connection should be fast too. lol
DeleteThis is very informative. We used to make "abang" for seat sales during midnight and ng bilis maubos. Hahaha. You really need to exert effort to score cheap tickets, but I guess it's all worth it naman. I'll check traveloka soon, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNagpupuyat talaga ko dati nung toddler pa anak ko kasi wala pa school so anytime pwede magbook.
DeleteOnly tried #1 when I went to Palawan. Piso sale. Although I had to wait for 6 months for the travel date, it eas worth it naman. Would love to go to Japan or HK, still eyeing for a sale. Hopefully meron soon. The rest of your tips will surely help me.
ReplyDeleteThe longest that I waited is 10 months before the trip, nakapagparenew pa ko ng passport. hehehe! Ang bilis ng HK lagi maubos kaya di ko na mabalikan. hehehe!
DeleteFor a big family like ours, cheap airline tickets are a must. Although of course, I wouldn't want to scrimp on the quality of service. As long as we get to our destination safely and on time, I don't mind paying a bit more.
ReplyDeleteTrue, not only airline tickets, travel tax and terminal fee are not cheap.
DeleteBookmarked ko to sis for future references kasi we never had a chance to travel ng malayuan or yung sasakay ng plane, hopefully this year. This is so informative.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope you can travel this year ng malayuan! :)
DeleteRight in time, I'm currently looking for this info, my husband and I plan to go back to Hongkong next year. Sana makakuha din ako ng Piso fare. Thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteAng bilis lang maubos ng HK pag seat sale, pero madalas sale siya sa mga credit card promo. :)
DeleteDone no. 1 hahaha, napupuyat kakaabang for the piso seat sale pero sometimes while booking naghahang yung page. The cheapest plane tickets we've bought was 5k roundtrip for 2 people to Korea and 2k for 2 pax roundtrip to Hong Kong. True yung no. 7. Try booking on wednesdays for CebuPac, tickets are usually cheaper.
ReplyDeleteAgree, puyat ang kalaban. For Cebupac mas mabilis pag mobile app ang gamit though credit card lang yata ang payment option.
DeleteHave tried grabbing seat sales but i'm so unlucky hahaha.. These are great tips by the way! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThere are times that I'm unlucky too so I chose unpopular destination na lang.
DeleteI'm a fan of seat sales in general! I've been known to sit in front of the computer during ungodly hours just waiting for them to start. So far I've already scored some dirt-cheap tix!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, now medyo tamad na ko magpuyat at may nagschool na ko. :)
DeleteI used to travel a lot years ago. Traveling was my work before. And I never thought of booking one way only. Such nice reasoning. I should have helped the company save lots with this idea.
ReplyDeleteI only book one way ticket if the other leg is not on sale. For regular fare, sometimes it is cheaper to book roundtrip ticket. I noticed that when I mock book in PAL.
DeleteMalapit na Blogapalooza and I rely on seat sales for my flights! So thankful to have learned about about traveloka recently, will definitely book accommodations thru them!
ReplyDeleteWow this is so helpful! I never knew there were so many ways to get cheaper tickets. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of all seat sale! Subscribed to all airline companies which gives alert before the public can see. Yeah, super nakakapuyat but when you got the cheapest deal, super saya! All our family travels were made possible because of these seat sale! You just really have to be patient :)
ReplyDeleteYes, nakakapuyat but worth it pagnakabook ka. =)
DeleteSeat sale is the key! We went to Cambodia last 2013 for 3k+/ head roundtrip. And same as you, I make sure I'm awake during wee hours to catch the seat sale heheh
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to Cambodia, I would love to see Siem Reap. :)
DeleteWow, I don't have that kind of patience to wait for seat sales but my husband insists it's the best thing to do to travel affordably. We're planning a trip with the kiddos , so I guess this is goingto be our strategy too.:)
ReplyDeleteYes, super sulit if you grab the seat sale.
DeleteThis is very helpful indeed. I also wait around 12mn to score cheap tickets. Actually, even PAL now has cheap airfares from time to time. :)
ReplyDeleteTrue, PAL offers budget economy fare but I haven't tried their seat sale yet.
DeleteWala akong tsaga for this, nauubos pasensya ko sa mga seat sales, if may travel we normally book round- trip tickets... Need to learn this soon. Mag full fare na si baby next year. I bet slash budget namin sa travels.
ReplyDeleteFor busy like you, nakakaubos talaga ng pasyensiya. hehehe! Di ko na rin natitiyaga kasi may class na si Ethan, need to wake up early, bawal na magpuyat. Ipon na lang ng points and miles. At least, naenjoy niyo yung free fare pa. :)
DeleteWow, I so need these tips. I have never tried booking airline tickets before and I am appalled at the prices of some airlines, especially when they are not on sale. I will keep these nifty suggestions in mind when I book for our next vacation. Thank you for sharing! :D
ReplyDeletevery helpful. we will be traveling to iloilo the comming months but then i havent booked a ticket yet, last time, we did it through Airasia going to boracay but it was so late kaya we had a not so cheap flight. but then now, lesson learned, should book way ahead before the travel time.
ReplyDeletewill try waking up in hte morning to see if rates are lower. hihi. thank you po!
love from Myxilog