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Kyle Potter is the executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, covering everything from aviation news to travel deals to in-depth guides on using airline miles. A professional journalist, he joined the comp…
Jackson Newman is our Credit Cards and Award Travel Editor at Thrifty Traveler, where he writes and edits news articles, guides, and other stories. He joined Thrifty Traveler in April 2023 after more…
International travel is bigger than ever, and all that demand can lead to some eye-popping flight prices.
But not everywhere. You can still find cheap international flights for trips this year or next. No matter whether you’re making plans for a Caribbean escape or a long-haul journey over to Europe or even Asia and Australia, finding cheaper international airfare can be easier than you think.
All it takes is fine-tuning your search methods, using the right tools, and a little flexibility. Do all that, and you’ll see that the price tag doesn’t have to be a barrier to international travel.
It all starts with a search. While there are plenty of search platforms to choose from, one is better than all the rest: Google Flights.
If you ask us, Google Flights is the most powerful, accurate, reliable, and in most cases, the simplest tool to find cheaper international airfare … and it’s not even close. It has a user-friendly interface with countless features that make it better than the rest. Adding Southwest Airlines to the fold last year made it even better.
Other search platforms have their strengths, but none are better at zeroing in on the cheapest flights and dialing down to the exact trip you’re looking for than Google Flights. It should be your first stop – every time.
Not sure where you want to go? Willing to head anywhere so long as you can find a cheap ticket? Use the Google Flights Explore tool and let the map be your guide to the best deal.
With this handy map, you can spin your way across the globe. Google Flights Explore will show you the cheapest places to fly to from your home airport.
Simply navigate to the Google Flights home page, enter your departure airport and your dates, leave your destination blank, and hit search. You’ll quickly see a map of all the cheapest places in the world to fly to based on your travel dates and you can filter for the flights you want. You can also narrow your search by typing in “Europe” or “South America” for the destination and see what comes up.
If you’re flexible, leave the dates blank, too. Otherwise, you can search for weekend, one or two-week trips sometime in the next six months or choose a specific month like March or June.
Too many travelers start planning their big trips by locking in their travel dates first, maybe even booking their hotels or cruises, and only then going to search for flights. That all sounds great … until you find that flights are $800, $1,000, or much more.
By deciding on your dates first, you’ve put yourself at the whim of the airlines and whatever they want to charge you. It’s the single biggest mistake travelers make. And it can be absolutely deadly for finding a good deal on flights abroad.
Instead, follow The Flight First Rule. It’s exactly what it sounds like: Before requesting time off or booking a hotel, start your travel planning by searching for flights first.
That simple change alone can save you hundreds of dollars per ticket on international airfare by letting the cheapest airfare prices help determine your schedule – even if it means shifting your dates by just a day or two.
Let’s say you want to head to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) for a week next winter. If you lock in a trip from Wednesday, Dec. 5 to Wednesday, Dec. 11, you’ll pay for it … to the tune of more than $1,000 for a roundtrip flight. Ouch.
But by heading into the travel planning search with even an ounce of flexibility, you could shift those travel dates back by one week and cut the fare down to $676 – $380 in savings per ticket! For a family vacation for four, that simple change saves you more than $1,500!
This pattern plays out again and again and again. This is the #1 way to save on travel. Again, one of the best reasons to use Google Flights for your searches is that they’ll automatically let you know when a slight date change can result in some serious savings, like this:
Thrifty Tip: If you can’t be flexible with your dates, use Google Flights Price Alerts to stay on top of fare changes for flights and book when prices drop!
That old saying you’ve heard about booking flights on a Tuesday to get the best flight deals? It’s not true. There is no single best day to book flights.
But what day of the week you actually step on the plane plays a huge role in how much you pay, whether you’re traveling domestically and especially if you’re heading abroad. The cheapest days to fly internationally are typically Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. When it comes to finding cheap international flights, being open to traveling on these days can save you a ton.
The time of year plays a big role in finding cheap flights, too.
A trip to Europe in the peak summer – from June into mid-August or so – will almost always cost a small fortune as airlines know demand is high. If you’re hoping to save on international flights, try to avoid a big trip abroad over the middle of summer.
If you want to book flights for less, you’re better off focusing on shoulder seasons: spring and late summer into the fall. You’ll save on your flights, miss the crowds, and still luck out on some great weather, depending on your destination.
The window to find a good deal on an international flight is often much, much earlier than if you’re just traveling in the U.S.
If you’re planning a big international trip, start looking at flight prices at least six months out, if you can … and be sure to book at least two months before your trip to get the best deal.
This doesn’t mean you should book nearly a year in advance to get the best deal on an international trip. Far from it: We regularly see prices start out high for airfare 11-plus months in advance … then drop two to five months beforehand … and finally, skyrocket in the final weeks before departure.
Let’s quash this myth once and for all: Airlines are not tracking your searches.
Clearing your cookies does not affect the prices you see. Nor does using an incognito browser.
Here at Thrifty Traveler, we’re searching for flights all day, every day. If airlines were tracking our searches, we’d never find a great deal. And trust us: We find plenty of cheap international fares – like this one.
The simplest explanation for why that flight you were looking at suddenly jumped in price? Fare classes.
While you may see only economy and first class on the plane or when you search for flights, airlines actually have an alphabet full of classifications called fare classes – each with its own rules and, most importantly, its own price. When the cheapest fare class you’re looking at sells out (or an airline decides to remove it), the price automatically jumps to the next, higher-priced fare class.
So don’t spend your time deleting your cookies and forget about searching incognito for flights, believing it will lower your prices.
Sometimes, finding a cheap international flight from your home airport can feel next to impossible. How do you capitalize on cheap flights if you’re from a smaller city?
By using positioning flights, that’s how.
It works like this: Let’s say flights to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) would cost you an arm and a leg by starting your search from your home airport.
But you could score a huge deal by booking a cheap flight out of a major hub like Los Angeles (LAX) instead, and book a separate flight from your home airport to get there.
Time it right, and you can snag roundtrip flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Los Angeles for $200 or less, then hop on the long-haul flight over to Japan.
Add up the flights from this example and you could book a one-stop trip for well under $800 – substantially less than your first search starting from Minneapolis.
Positioning flights are one of our go-to ways to save on international travel. That said, there are a few things to keep in mind:
When you see a deal, book it. The cheapest flights never last long. And while it may seem risky, you’ve got an excuse to be impulsive.
It’s called the 24-hour rule. U.S. law requires all airlines to give customers a full refund for almost any flight within 24 hours of booking. It doesn’t matter if you’re booking with a U.S.-based airline or a foreign carrier. If your flight touches U.S. soil, you’re covered.
That means you can book a great flight when you see it, then check in with work, and line up your schedule with your spouse or travel buddy. Not going to work? Cancel your flight and get your money back within 24 hours, no questions asked.
There are a few exceptions and caveats with the 24-hour rule to keep in mind:
We like to focus on finding cheap flights on the major, full-service carriers – the big ones like Delta, American, and United or foreign carriers like Lufthansa, SWISS, Japan Airlines, and Emirates.
But there’s no question that budget airlines have their place for travelers looking to save. Just keep in mind that those savings may come at a cost: Extra fees for picking a seat, buying a meal, checking a bag, and … well, just about everything.
Do it right and you can still come out ahead by flying internationally with a low-cost carrier. Here are some of our favorites – many of which we’ve flown ourselves!
It can be done, but scouring the internet for the best international flight deals can be a lot of work. The cheapest fares can come and go in a matter of hours – if not minutes.
Let us do the work for you.
With Thrifty Traveler Premium, we send all the cheapest domestic and international flight deals from your home airport straight to your inbox. That includes sub-$100 domestic flights, trips to Europe for less than $400 roundtrip, jaunts to Hawaii for under $200, bucket list trips to destinations like the Maldives for less than $700 total, and much more. We even send award alerts to our members to put their points and miles to use, too – plus deeply discounted first and business class fares.
At home or abroad, finding cheap international flights isn’t rocket science. Arming yourself with these tips, tricks, and tools can go a long way to saving you big money on your next trip abroad.
By putting these concepts to use, you will quickly realize that you can see much more of the world than you thought – for much less.
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Kyle Potter is the executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, covering everything from aviation news to travel deals to in-depth guides on using airline miles. A professional journalist, he joined the company in November 2018 after five years covering state and national politics for T…
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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3 Responses
Who can share the best travel insurance (not just based on other people reviews) but actually a personal experience with them in another country?
Thank you so much for these tips! It really does make soooo much sense. I am going to do start right now 😊👌👍
Jon,
Not sure I agree with you on clearing Cookies. For example … If I use Chrome browser on American Airlines for search same dates and destinations (using points) If I do exact same search with Fire Fox Browser. I get different flights that are not available on Chrome! Yes, it is true! So not sure what the difference is But found better deals with the Firefox browser than with Chrome. Think has something to do with Cookies or Cash… I have seen if use VPN In Mexico on flight to Europe from States. some flights are same price some are more and some are less. depending on departure city. compared to using No VPN. So, not sure all you say is completely true.
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