9 Ways to Score Cheap Airline Tickets

“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.