Flight deals still available. Here are 4 ways to find them road trip

Gone are the days of jaw-dropping low prices on plane tickets. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, air transportation has increased 27.7% in the past year. Even if you don’t find pandemic flight deals, there are still ways to get a good deal on your tickets.

Here are a few tricks you can use to score cheap flights — wherever you’re going.

This is one of the easiest ways to get discounts when shopping for flights. why? Because you don’t do the searching yourself. There are a handful of websites that scan flight prices daily and send any useful results directly to you.

This includes sites such as Scott Cheap Flights and Thrifty Travel, both of which notify you when they find discounted ticket prices. Best of all, signing up for flight alerts is free – although you may have to pay to receive business or premium economy class deals.

You can also follow other flight alert sites like SecretFly, which publishes deals as they pop up.

We probably all have that one special place we want to visit, but the truth is that flexibility is key when it comes to saving money on flights.

As with Scott Cheap Flights, the top tip when looking to find a discount ticket is to be open-minded about the destination. Look for cheap destinations on dates that work for you instead of choosing flights on your pre-planned vacation.

There are various tools you can use to search for cheap flights, depending on your desire to be flexible in order to save money on travel. Google Flights is a popular option. The “Navigate” function allows you to choose your starting point, the length of your trip, and how fast you want to go. You will then be presented with an interactive map showing prices for various destinations.

Once you’ve chosen your travel dates on Google Flights, you can filter the search based on stops, airline, class and price.

Skyscanner has a powerful search function to find cheap flights. You simply enter a departure destination and select “Anywhere” for the trip you want to take.

With Skyscanner, you can also choose to search for specific flight dates or search prices within a month.

A quick search for a flight out of San Francisco in October reveals several destinations, including flights to Europe from $374 round-trip.

Although using airline miles for travel can be a bit complicated, it’s worth the effort. Redeeming miles for flights can reduce your out-of-pocket costs to zero, even if the ticket price is high.

Here’s an example of an economy class ticket from Chicago-O’Hare to Kona, Hawaii in early March 2023.

This same ticket can be purchased with United Miles. You’ll often want to redeem your credit card points for the same flight on non-US airlines to redeem some miles. As a member of Star Alliance, Turkish Airlines is allowed to book these United Airlines flights — and the cost to do so is 15,000 miles round-trip. Star Alliance is one of several airline alliances; These partnerships allow airlines to share routes, resources and other reciprocal benefits.

And even though it’s a foreign airline, it’s not hard to earn Turkish Airlines miles since it’s a transfer partner of Capital One and Citi.

Capital One Miles and Citi ThankYou Points, both transferable point currencies, transfer to Turkish Airlines at a 1:1 ratio, meaning one credit card point is converted directly to one airline mile. You can then use miles to book award flights.

Each area has its own peak season where you can expect to find more tourists, expensive flights, and more expensive accommodations. However, it is better to go to off-season areas.

Take, for example, a flight from New York-John F. Kennedy to London-Heathrow. Choosing to fly in late August means you’ll pay just under $1,000 for a nonstop flight:

Shifting your dates to a lower travel time, such as those you find at the end of February, can cut the cost of your trip in half.

This is true no matter where you go, so if you have a specific destination in mind, consider taking a vacation to save money on flights.

In fact, a NerdWallet analysis conducted in December 2021 — of more than 100 flights on eight major airlines on popular US travel routes — found that airfares are an average of 23% cheaper when booked outside of peak travel season.

Although we can’t expect rock-bottom prices for plane tickets, that doesn’t mean you’re paying a fortune for a flight. Instead, use these tips to find a flight deal.