I have traveled A LOT this year (19 flights and counting) and I have spent a TON of time (and money!) buying plane tickets this year.
Airfare only continues to get more expensive, and for the vast majority of us, the price of airfare is a hindrance to travelling to see friends and family, which I think is a shame. As I kept purchasing tickets, I started thinking that there had to be a cheaper way to buy tickets – and I found one!
Guys, you can make your own flight connections. And save money. It’s genius.
Usually it’s impossible to get a non-stop flight to where you want to go, so you need to make a connection through a city. Sometimes the ones that the airlines make for you aren’t always the cheapest ones, and sometimes you can make your own connections with different airlines to save money.
Today I will share all of my wisdom with you. Get ready for some flight booking hacks!
1. Search for flights on various websites.
I personally like to use Expedia and Cheapoair to get a good sense of what the prices are, and then I search individual airlines. Keep near-by airports (Seattle/Vancouver for example) in mind when booking flights. You might save a few hundred dollars just by flying into a different airport and driving an extra hour or so!
Also, some airlines don’t show up on those search engines. Here are some of my favourite budget airlines:
- Volaris – great for flying in Central America (downside: they weigh your carry-ons and it costs $50 per bag to check)
- Interjet – the budget version of Aeromexico (you usually get one free checked bag!)
- Spirit – good prices sometimes (but you do need to pay for carry-ons)
- Southwest – great for flying in the U.S. (also, you get 2 free checked bags and snacks and there are no fees for changing your flights – it’s the best!)
2. Once you have a sense of prices, start looking at alternative flights and dates.
For example: I recently flew from Guatemala to El Paso, TX. No joke, when I simply looked it up on Expedia, it was $1,500 CAD. I started seeing how much flights were from GUA to LAX and then LAX to ELP. It was significantly cheaper, even though I was actually buying more flights.
Also, if your travel plans are flexible, sometimes leaving a day earlier or later makes a big difference in price! Make sure to check alternative dates when booking flights.
3. Use any airline miles or vouchers you have for shorter flights.
Sometimes you don’t have enough points or miles to book your whole trip, but you might have enough for a shorter flight. For example, I had enough points through Southwest (one of my favourite airlines to fly!) to get a flight from ELP to LAX. I cashed in my points and paid $5.60 USD to cover the taxes. Leg 1/4: Done!
I also had a paper travel voucher from moving a flight last year at the airline’s request, which was really hard to cash in. I either had to mail it in (impossible in Guatemala!) or drive to the airport, but after a phone call with an amazing customer service representative, we got it all straightened out, and I got my flight from LAX to ELP for FREE with no taxes since the voucher was good for a few hundred dollars. Leg 2/4: Done!
*Side note: If you are ever on a flight and they make an announcement about giving you a travel voucher if you switch flights, TAKE IT! (If your travel plans allow.) They usually start at $100-$200 and I have heard them get up to $1,500 vouchers for really full flights – that could be a free flight (or several flights) somewhere! Just don’t forget to cash it in. (They also usually expire within one year, so keep that in mind as you make your travel plans.)
4. Make sure there is enough time between flights.
This selfie was taken after I had spent 20 minutes walking across LAX with all my luggage. Whew!
If you make your own connections with different airlines, that means that you sometimes need to switch terminals in the airport. If you book 2 legs of your trip with different airlines, make sure to leave at least 3 hours between flights in case of delays or if you need to walk across the airport. When I flew through LAX, I needed to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 7. It took about 20 minutes of walking, and I was really glad I had planned for 3 hours between flights to make sure I could check in and go through security with time to spare before my flight.
So there you have it! By following this method on my last trip, I saved over $500 on my total flight cost. For me, it was totally worth all of the work of putting together my own flight plans!
As with most things, there are a few downsides of this method:
- Checking luggage doing this can sometimes be expensive or difficult – especially if you are switching airlines. So if you need to check bags, make sure to factor in the cost of checking bags twice with different airlines. Or just pack it all in a carry-on.
- I personally love searching for plane tickets, but some people don’t. If it is going to stress you out to switch airlines or make your own connections, don’t do it. The stress might not be worth the money you save. (Another option is to have a friend or spouse who loves to make travel plans do some searching for you!)
- This way of booking flights does take a long time. For me, putting in 4-5 hours to save several hundred dollars was definitely worth it, but for people who are lacking in time, this might not be the best method for them – something to factor in!
If you like this post, check out my other travel-related posts with great money-saving tips:
How to Travel on a Budget Part 1
How to Travel on a Budget Part 2
Do you have any tips on how to save money on airfare? Feel free to leave a comment below!
Note: None of the airlines and search engines mentioned in this blog compensated me in any way for talking about them. They didn’t even ask me to! I just like to share with you what I actually use when booking flights. A free gift from me to you, my friend. There are no affiliate links in this blog.