5 Tips for Finding the Cheapest Flight Possible

1. Go Incognito. Ever notice how flight prices seem to drastically increase after a few searches? You aren't going mad--this is a real thing. Cookies in your browser track how often you search a particular flight, and sites will increase prices accordingly. Do yourself a solid and search for flights in Incognito or private mode. You can do so by simply right clicking your search engine icon and choosing "New incognito window."

2. Fly Out of Vancouver! Are you ready for this? Prices out of Vancouver, B.C. are usually half the price of flights out of SeaTac. We don't really know why, but its true. Consider having a friend or family member drive you up to Vancouver to fly out of YVR instead of Seattle. You can also think about renting a car and driving it one-way to the Vancouver airport; this may seem excessive but a $50 rental car is actually a lot cheaper than the extra $400 you would pay for a ticket out of Seattle. BOOM. Mind blown.

3. Find the Cheapest Day to Fly. Some sites will let you see an entire month's worth of flights to compare prices. For example, weekdays are often cheaper days to fly, but not always. It can depend on the city and/or airport.

Skyscanner.com is a great place to try out these types of searches. Start by putting in your departure and arrival city for a one-way flight (even if you need a round-trip ticket). Then for departure date click, "whole month" and the month that you would like to leave. Your results should look something like this, with lowest prices in green and highest prices in red.

**EXPERT TIP: its usually cheaper to purchase your ticket on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Not leave on a Tuesday or Wednesday, but literally buy your ticket on that day of the week. I can't tell you why, but its a thing.

4. Layovers are your Friend. Try booking two legs of a journey separately, with a one or two day layover between flights. For example, if you are going from Seattle to Cape Town, South Africa, you might have a layover in Amsterdam. Instead of booking that two-leg trip all at once, try booking a flight from Seattle to Amsterdam, then another flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town. The sum of these two separate flights can be less than the original two-leg flight. Also, consider giving yourself a multi-day layover: i.e. a free trip to Amsterdam! Take a few days to explore the city, then hop on that last flight to your final destination.

5. Multi-City Tickets. If you are planning to travel after or before your study abroad program, try booking a multi-city ticket. Kayak.com is a good site for this. So, rather than booking a flight from Seattle to Rome, then Rome to Barcelona, then Barcelona to London, then London to Seattle, book them all on one ticket. You can still spread out the departure dates so that you can spend time in each city.

Also... here is a list of other great resources!

Websites

Momondo

Skyscanner

Google Flights

TripAdvisor

Thrifty Nomads

The BaseTrip

Apps

Hopper

Email Subscriptions

Scott's Cheap Flights