5 Cheap Flight Hacks

Easy tricks to maximize savings when flying!

Flight tips

1. Use https://www.google.com/travel/flights

   1. Book in advance

      1. Domestic flights: 1-3 months

      2. International flights: 2-8 months

      3. You can even track prices here: when you find a flight you like, select the track prices icon so you can get alerts when prices change:

         

   2. Use southwest.com separately since google flights does not show southwest

   3. If you are flying to Asia, one nice hack is to fly out from LAX

      1. So you could book 2 separate tickets: one to get to LAX, then another to fly out to your Asian country.

      2. LAX to HNL to HKG: book 2 separate tickets if your final destination is to Hong Kong.

2. For students and adults under 30: https://refer.studentuniverse.com/s/bz787171

   1. Prime Student members save up to 10% more on flights and hotels (connect student universe to prime account)

3. https://skiplagged.com/

   1. You could be banned from airlines if you keep missing layovers.

4. Gift cards at Costco

5. Book at the airport

You can save money on these 3 budget airlines by buying your tickets at the airport: Frontier, Allegiant, and Spirit.

In the screenshot below, you can see this Frontier flight with the Carrier Interface Charge that occurs when buying over the phone or online. However, buying at the airport will waive this fee so you can save $23*4=$92 ($23 per segment so with one layover on this roundtrip, there are 4 segments). $141.27-$92=$49.27 flight total! This is unbelievable savings. I happen to have a flight anyway so I booked this Frontier flight right before I took off on another one. Moreover, if you live by an airport, congrats on your future savings!

Buying online:

Recently on 11/23/2022 at ONT, I bought a Frontier flight and was charged an extra $50 for “Pre-purchased airport agent assistance” which is $10 per passenger per direction. This was still worth it given that I had originally saved $92 by bypassing the Carrier Interface Charge. However, earlier the same month, I bought a Frontier ticket at MEM without being charged the “Pre-purchased airport agent assistance” fee. Thus, be wary of this extra fee which seems to sometimes be charged depending on the airport or agent. Another update: I was on a layover in LAS, so I was able to book the same ticket without the “Pre-purchased airport agent assistance” fee and cancel my ONT purchased ticket within 24 hours for a full refund since all U.S. flights within 24 hours must be refunded completely (if booked at least 7 days in advance).

Buying at the airport:

Allegiant flight “Carrier Usage Charge” $44 could have been saved, but I had purchased this flight before I learned this awesome trick of buying flights at the airport. The Carrier Usage Charge is $22 per segment per passenger.

However, I was able to use capital one google extension to get that $20 savings voucher: https://wbuy.me/7RVFLFL Link to other blog explaining how to earn more savings here.

Spirit calls the fee “Passenger Usage Charge”. One important note is to check if these budget airlines’ ticket counters are open. Usually, they are open 2 hours in advance of a scheduled flight so you may want to check your airport’s flight schedule before going to the airport. Take into account the cost of driving, parking, and your time as well. An example would be to google “MEM flight schedule” and check frontier flights.

By the way, I learned about this flight hack here by thriftytraveler after googling Carrier Interface Charge since I was curious. This is why you should always be curious and google things you don’t know, especially when it comes to money and fees.

Video Tutorial:

Quick Summary of Savings (per passenger, per segment)

1. Allegiant Carrier Usage Charge: Save $22

2. Spirit Passenger Usage Fee: Save $22.99

3. Frontier Carrier Interface Charge: Save $23

Check airport departures by date and airline here to make sure ticket counter is open (Search by Airport or Route and select your departure airport, time range, and airline company). Screenshot example below showing FLL airport with “Allegiant Air” on 11/24/22 for times around 6-12PM.

For FLL, there is a separate ticket counter for buying tickets for Spirit. It’s downstairs of Terminal 4 Departures called “Ticket Sales” (NOT rebooking assistance): there’s two separate lines. Ticket Sales is shorter. Near Gate 412 (close to first gate when entering Terminal 4). Moreover, if told that luggage is cheaper online, make sure to ask for price first and then verify because it was not cheaper online (at least when booking at the same time as flight).

Extra tips

1. https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/mileageplus/promotions/young-traveler.html 

   • Discounted flights on United for 18 to 23 year olds

2. Ask to save the return flight if you happen to miss a flight in a multi-leg trip, so the flights connected to the confirmation number do not get automatically cancelled. On Spirit, this saved me from having to pay the $50 cancellation fee and having the rest of my flight cancelled. I would call customer service as soon as you know you might miss a flight.

3. Turn on track prices on google to save on Delta flights even after booking. More info here. You can also do this with Southwest (however, google flights does not track prices for Southwest).

All content herein is for entertainment or educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or investment advice. Any links provided may include referrals that help financially support me and the channel. Referral offers and information provided may change or update over time so make sure to do your own research.