Whenever I travel, I always try to get the best deal as possible. It isn’t always easy and definitely takes some extra time and effort, but the savings can be huge and 100% worth it.
I recently spent many hours trying to figure our flights for my upcoming trip to Nashville to celebrate a good friend’s bachelorette. With the ever-increasing inflation, gas prices, and traveling on a holiday weekend, I knew I wasn’t going to get the best deal ever on flights but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.
My first stop when looking for flights is always Google Flights. Their search engine is great for showing you a variety of airlines and even flights into nearby airports. But be careful when using Google Flights because not every airline in on there; like Southwest, and sometimes without knowing the search engine will show you flights to airports that may not be your first choice. For example, I know that I always need to check to make sure I am only looking for flights out of Tampa International because the default on Google Flights when you type “Tampa” is to show you flights from TPA and MCO (Orlando).
When searching for flights, I also always check Allegiant and Southwest websites. As I mentioned above not every airline is listed on google flights. Although Allegiant is a budget airline and only flies certain days, a lot of time the savings are worth it to me because I don’t need all the extras some airlines offer for a higher price day for an hour or two long flight.
Once I find a few routes that I am interested in, I will look up the flights on the airlines website just to make sure I can’t get a better deal. During this process, I’ll also check the app “Hopper” that even allows you to price freeze a route price incase you aren’t ready to pull the trigger yet.
Even when using these tools, make sure that you are looking at round trip flights and one ways. While most of the time it is cheaper to fly roundtrip you may be able to snag a deal or two with the little extra search of one ways. This was how I saved big for my Nashville trip.
While searching for flights, I always make sure to keep an excel document near by with all of my flight options and prices, so I am able to compare the best routes and prices before I make my final decision.
So, with all of these steps and tips, I was able to save almost $100 on my flights to Nashville!
I booked a one way to Nashville on Allegiant and a one-way home on Southwest. While I will be flying out of St.Pete/Clearwater and coming back to TPA, I was able to save almost $100 on my flights and even get some pretty decent flight times.
So next time you ready to book a flight make sure you are checking all your options. There are always ways to save if you put a little extra effort in and are able to be a bit flexible with your travel plans.