Travel Tips
February 4, 2026
5

How to Find the Cheapest Flights (The Simple Rules I Always Use)

One of the questions I get asked most often is: “How do you always find such cheap flights?” The truth is: I don’t have a secret website or a magic trick. Finding affordable flights is mostly about how you search, not where you search. Over the past year of traveling long-term, I’ve learned that a few simple rules make a much bigger difference than chasing every so-called “hack”. This is the exact approach I still use today.

If there’s one thing that impacts flight prices the most, it’s date flexibility.

When I search for flights, I almost never look at just one exact day. Instead, I use tools that allow me to compare multiple dates at once.

Personally, I always use Skyscanner for this.

Two features I use all the time:

  • “Whole month” view → shows the cheapest days to fly in a month
  • Date grid → quickly compares nearby dates

Very often, flying one or two days earlier or later can save a significant amount of money, without changing anything else about your trip.

I also try not to lock myself into one destination too early. When my plans are flexible, I’ll search for flights to multiple cities or even use the “everywhere” option to see what destinations are cheapest from my current location. A good tool for this is 'Google Flights'!

Some of my favorite trips happened simply because the flight prices made sense.

There’s a lot of advice online about booking flights on specific weekdays or at certain hours. In my experience, those differences are usually small.

What matters much more:

  • avoiding peak travel seasons when possible
  • not waiting until the very last minute
  • recognizing when a price is reasonable for the distance and time of year

I don’t aim for the absolute lowest price, I aim for a good price. Waiting too long for the “perfect deal” often backfires and leads to higher prices instead. (Happened too often haha)

Finding cheap flights doesn’t require complicated tricks. It’s about staying flexible, using the right tools, and keeping an open mindset while searching. In future posts, I’ll share more detailed strategies (like free flights because of mystery shopping!!) and real examples from my travels. But if you start with these basics, you’ll already be far ahead of most travelers. Travel doesn’t have to be expensive, it just requires a different way of searching. :)

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