Flight Booking Guide
Flights: How We Find the Best Deals
When it comes to finding flights, our go-to tool is Google Flights. It’s hands-down the easiest and most convenient way to score great deals. Google Flights almost always shows the best rates, and its calendar feature is a game-changer. You can expand the calendar and browse an entire month to find the lowest fares—perfect for flexible travel dates. Another awesome feature is the price alert. You can set an alert for specific dates, and Google will send you an email whenever the price drops. It’s like having your own personal fare watchdog.
Pro Tips:
Book Direct & Join Loyalty Programs: Always book directly with the airline, and make sure the whole family joins the airline’s loyalty programs. If any issues arise, it’s much easier to deal with the airline directly, plus you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for future flights. Those points can really add up, especially with a family!
Avoid Low-Cost Airlines (When You Can): We generally steer clear of low-cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier, especially those notorious for poor service. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to avoid them. For example, we once had to choose between a Delta flight to Orlando that was late in the evening and $600 more expensive, or a Spirit flight that was more convenient and much cheaper. We bit the bullet and went with Spirit, and thankfully, the trip was uneventful. But not every low-cost experience has been smooth sailing. One time, we flew Spirit to Puerto Rico, only to have our flight canceled on the morning of departure due to an incoming hurricane. Spirit didn’t even notify us—luckily, we called the day before our flight to get some information, and the agent casually mentioned, “Uh, your flight was canceled a few days ago.” No email, no notification—we only found out because we called. We were left scrambling and managed to book a last-minute JetBlue flight out at $900 per person. Ouch. Lesson learned the hard way.
Faredrop: The App That Finds Flight Deals for You
If you love scoring flight deals as much as we do, then you need to check out Faredrop. This app is like having your own personal travel agent keeping an eye out for the best fares. Setting it up is super simple—just input your home airport and choose your preferred travel regions. That’s it! Whenever there’s a price drop or a sweet flight deal from your chosen regions, Faredrop will send you an email alert. No more endless searching; the deals come straight to you.
The best part? All domestic and international economy alerts are completely free. If you’re someone who dreams of flying business class without breaking the bank, they also offer an annual subscription plan for International Business Deals. It’s a small price to pay for potentially huge savings on those luxe flights. So if you’re serious about finding the best fares, Faredrop is a must-have in your travel toolkit.
Booking Flights with Points: Our Secret Weapons
You’ll notice we talk a lot about using credit card points for flights. But let’s be honest—finding flights for the whole family using points can be a real headache. That’s where our go-to website, Points Yeah, comes in handy. This site makes booking flights with points a breeze. It lets you search across different bank and airline programs, helping you quickly find flights in both economy and premium sections.
One feature we absolutely love is the Daydream Explorer. It’s perfect for those times when you have flexible travel dates. You can explore availability across entire months, making it easy to spot the best deals. Plus, you can set alerts to notify you when those dream flights pop up.
Another tool in our arsenal is Seats.Aero, which we use to find even more points deals. Between these two websites, booking flights with points becomes less of a chore and more of an adventure in itself. So if you’re serious about maximizing your points, these are the tools you need to have on your radar.