How to get cheaper flights

Often one of the biggest expenses when going on a holiday, whether it be a family, couple, individual or group of friends, is flights.

So how can you save on flights? Well, there are a few ways which I’m excited to share with you, starting with what I consider to be the easiest method.

Frequent Flyer Programs

If you haven’t heard of them before frequent flyer programs are airline loyalty programs. Like any loyalty program, they offer reward points that can be used to book flights, either with points only or points and cash, to encourage customers to be loyal to their service. Rewards are earnt based on fare type booked and number of miles flown miles. Most airline frequent flyer programs also use status credits with give you more perks, often including more points earn per mile / flight. Status credits are what frequent flyer programs use to assign your level of membership within the program. These different levels often come with perks such as priority boarding, higher chance of being upgraded, if an upgrade becomes available and other perks depending on the program.

Other ways to earn frequent flyer points include;

• Credit card reward points,

  depending on which bank your credit card is with, sometimes you can transfer your credit card rewards points to a frequent flyer program. You will often lose some of the value of your points doing this, but if your mission is to get as many frequent flyer points as possible this is can make a big difference to your points balance over time. Some credit cards are also linked directly to an airline frequent flyer program, so all your rewards are frequent flyer points.

• Supermarket reward programs, such as Flybuys and Everyday Rewards have the option to transfer reward points to their partnered frequent flyer program. Again, you will often lose some of the value of your points transferring them.

• Service station reward programs such as BP rewards often partner with a frequent flyer program that you can transfer points to, or nominate to send earnt points directly to the frequent flyer program.

• Purchase frequent flyer points. Some frequent flyer programs will allow you to purchase frequent flyer points. However, I personally would only consider this if you are only just shy of having enough points for your intended use, such as claiming a reward seat. Be mindful of the cost to purchase the extra points you need, as in some cases it may not be worth paying to purchase the points, and a better option may be to save the points for another trip and pay for your flight in full.

• Family pooling and points transfer is another way to boost your points. Your frequent flyer program may allow you to transfer frequent flyer points to another person. This a great way to save points that other family members may have expiring in the near future that are unlikely to get used, or you know that your children probable won’t accumulate enough points on their own to redeem for any reward seat flights.

• Home loans now days often have some sort of signing bonus or annual incentive for choosing that specific lender, and a lot of the time they come in the form of bulk frequent flyer points from their partner frequent flyer program. Always remember to read the terms and conditions.

• Private health insurance companies will often run promotions offering bulk frequent flyer points when taking out and keeping a new policy for a certain period of time. Always remember to read the terms and conditions.

• Business reward programs offered by some frequent flyer programs allow you to earn frequent flyer points as both a business and an individual. The catch is you need to have an eligible business. Check with your frequent flyer program to see if they have a business rewards program available.

One thing to keep in mind though, is depending on the frequent flyer program, the airline you are flying with and your intended route, reward seats or reward upgrades may be limited and often sell out quickly.

Also, frequent flyer points and status credits often expire, so be sure to read the terms and conditions of the frequent flyer program you are using.

Loyalty Reward Programs

Loyalty reward programs, such as Flybuys, Everyday Rewards, and BP rewards, are often partnered with an airline frequent flyer program. There may be one or more ways to use your loyalty program reward points to purchase flights.

Some of these ways may include;

• points transfer to a partnered frequent flyer program, as mentioned above

• a dedicated travel booking platform, like Flybuys Travel, where you can book and pay for flights using your loyalty program reward points, or a mixture of reward points and cash

• redeem points for gift cards for travel agencies or booking sites, such as Webjet or Flight Centre

Remember to keep in mind that often reward program points will expire, so be sure to read the terms and conditions of the loyalty program you are a member of before squirreling away those points. Many programs also have a minimum number of points you can transfer.

Air Fare Sales

If you know well in advance that you are planning to travel, or you are dreaming and doing research, or planning a holiday in years to come, monitor the fares so that you get to know when the destination goes on sale, and take advantage of those sales. For example, every year around September the Europe Early Bird Fare Sale happens, this is often a great time to book flights for the peak travel periods for the following year. The great thing about the Europe Early Bird Fare Sale is that most airlines have sale fares during this period so you can shop around and compare airlines.

Things to remember when shopping sale fares are;

• sale fares usually have stricter terms and conditions when it come to cancelling or changing the flights

• international flights can usually only be booked as far as 11 months, or around 330 days in advance, so beware of your travel dates, especially that return date. Domestic are usually only 9 months in advance.

• sales don’t necessarily guarantee the cheapest fare, but as with everything, you take a risk when you book or pay a certain price, knowing that the item or fare may be cheaper in the future.

Undesirable flights

If you don’t mind how you get to a destination, just as long as you get there, sometimes booking the flights no one else wants can save you a lot of money.

These types of flights may;

• have long stopovers

• be with airlines that don’t have direct flight routes to your preferred destination, as a result you will have multiple connecting flights that take you in a much less direct route, which often mean a significantly extended travel time

• be during unpreferred travel times, these times can vary depending on the flight route, but sometimes include red eye flights, flights that depart or arrive at undesirable hours.

Tip: if you want to experience flying business class, check out the undesirable flights, especially those with airlines that have indirect routes or airlines that aren't usually one of the preferred airlines for a particular route, as you can sometimes get very reasonably priced business class fares.

Also, bear in mind that business class is not the same on very airline that offers business class.

Budget Airlines

Sometimes budget airlines can be a great way to save money when booking flights. You just need to remember that budget airlines often include a lot of additional purchases that can add up, so make sure you compare the final fare price with all the extras you decide to add on, such as luggage and seat selection. You will need to purchase all your drinks and meals on these flights as well, unless you chose to take your own food (check with the airline to ensure they don’t have restrictions with permitted food and beverages). If you do plan to purchase food and beverages on your flights check to see if it is something you can add on at the time of booking, or in the lead up to your flight. Remember though, some budget airlines are called budget for a reason!

Combine flights on one ticket

If you are planning to do a lot of travel to different locations that require flights, consider booking these on one ticket. For example, you are going to Hawaii and you are planning to spend time on a couple of the islands, sometimes booking all your flights on one ticket can save you money. These types of flights are called Multi sector. Sometimes airlines will allow you to book Multi Destination (multi sector) flights on their websites, however more often than not, these types of flights will need to be booked by a travel agent who has access to a GDS, that allows more complicated fares to be booked.

Residential fares

This tip won’t apply to everyone, and usually only applies to certain airlines from certain regional locations. However, if you are in a location that has residential fares, they can save you money if you are flying between the destinations eligible for the fares. For more information search residential fares on your local or chosen airlines website, or do a google search to see if your location has regional fares available.

I hope these tips can help you save on your next flight, or at least get you more excited by the thought that your dream holiday may be more in reach than you first anticipated.