5 Websites That Can Help You Find the Best Flight Deals

I often get asked how I find all my cheap flights and mistake deals. My “secret” is not so secret.

• You don’t pick the destination, let the destinations pick you. If you have a specific location and date in mind, such as your brother’s wedding in Chicago, your chances of landing a crazy good deal are slim. If you know you have vacation time in June and you’re open to where you go, you’ll probably be able to fly internationally for under $500.
• Establish a daily habit of checking certain sites for good deals. You never know when they’ll come up and they don’t last long.

While there are a bunch sites out there, here are the 5 airfare deal sites I focus on:

1. The Flight Deal & Fare Deal Alert track the best deals from major US markets, basing their definition of a deal on average prices and cost per mile (making them particularly useful for mileage runs). The Flight Deal serves New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami, Dallas Fort Worth, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland (OR), Seattle, and Chicago O’Hare.  Fare Deal Alert tracks Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Orlando, and San Diego. Both provide available booking dates, an explanation of how to make the most of it, and even instructions on how to book.
2. Scott’s Cheap Flights is a relative newcomer. They offer inexpensive premium services, $5 a month or less, that alert you to deals from your home airports. I haven’t tried out the paid services, but have already found several great deals on their Facebook page. They seem to include many smaller airports not covered by The Flight Deal or Fare Deal Alert which is helpful to those living outside major metro areas.
3. Secret Flying is great because they cover deals and mistake fares internationally, not just those originating in the US. Because so many of their deals are very time sensitive, I follow them on Facebook and get notifications when they add a new post.
4. Airfarewatchdog deals are a little less dramatic, and mostly domestic, but good for seeing the cheapest flights, both published and unpublished, from your chosen airport. Handy to skim if you’re tracking fares for particular destinations.
5. Exit Fares aggregates a lot of the deals posted on other sites, including the sites above and flight deals posted on blogs and airline websites. You choose your preferred departure airport and they send a daily email with everything that has come up.

If you’re a casual deal hunter, check these websites once (or multiple times) a day. If you’re serious about finding great deals, I also recommend subscribing to daily email newsletters, following them on Twitter, and signing up for Facebook notifications. These deals can disappear quickly, so since you usually get 24 hours to cancel, book first, double check dates later. 🙂

Did I leave some sites out? Feel free to add them in the comments below!

Related Posts:

• Travel Better in 2018: the 5 Best Websites to Find Crazy Airfare Deals
• When is the Best Time to Book Flights for Thanksgiving?
• Great Airfare Deals to Spain and Asia for Under $450
• Updated: How to Find the Best Flight Deals in 5 Minutes a Day
• Exit Fares: Another Way to Find Cheap Flights