HOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS (We’d Rather Tell You How to Do it, Than Keep it a Secret):

That's our basic process - spelled out. Here's how we use it:

1) Morning Flight Search: Do before 8 a.m. central time. This search will typically pick up some early postings, catch international specials from Europe Carriers, and perhaps pick up a mistake fare or two from Asia / Australia.  **To do a decent google flights search: Run the full google flights Fare Search process for each departure airport you would consider. IMPORTANT: Flights from one airport to the next can vary by as much as double or more! Switching airports can be the single biggest factor in finding really good prices.

2) Mid-Day Flight Search: Often, we see sales hit the big 3 carriers in North America during morning hours. This search will often find those. Additionally, we see Asia prices vary during this search. Do the entire Google Flights Fare Search process again - for each departure. The one time you skip this process, could be when the best sales are posted.

3) Early Evening Search: This one can get good sometimes. If a major carrier posts sale prices in the morning, competitors often respond later in the day. By end of day, a fare war can happen. We try to get on these as soon as they get posted. Do the entire Google Flights Fare Search process again - for each departure airport. Don’t skip one!

4) Late Evening search: These get more important during fare wars. When the big carriers (Delta, American, United, SouthWest, Air Canada, others) start competing on sale prices - things can change rapidly. This late evening search might identify the last of the responses. You might get tired and skip this one some days. You might miss the best deals ever if you do.

5) Alternate Internet Searches: Google Flights is our “go-to” search engine, but it has some flaws. To find those sale prices that are “hiding in the cracks” we typically do alternate daily searches on Skiplagged, Kiwi, and a few others. We find that doing a “one-way” flight search from major departures to major destinations can pull up some surprises?

We’re not revealing ALL of our sources here, but by using the above methods - anybody can find some great prices on flights.