Travel experts have shared some of their top booking hacks that could help Brits save around £150 on their flights – and it requires almost zero effort to do them
Planning holidays is always exciting, but sometimes the cost of flights can quickly bring you back down to reality.
Finding the sweet spot can be a fine balance; do you book early and snap up bargains, or leave it last-minute when airlines often slash the cost of seats that they haven’t sold? Of course it depends how flexible or spontaneous you can be with your travel dates, but whenever you choose to book, you might notice that if you search for flights regularly, the prices seem to increase each time.
However, according to travel experts there are some simple ways you can swerve price hikes – and they take a matter of seconds to put the odds in your favour.
One expert from the Experience Travel Group explained: “Dynamic pricing means the same seat can cost different amounts depending on the information a website has about your browsing history. By changing a specific browser setting, you can avoid giving away those signals and view the base prices instead.”
READ MORE: ‘I went backpacking for 210 days but quickly realised I made a crucial error’READ MORE: Jet2 makes big change for families including new baggage allowance rules
Do you have a travel story that you want to share with us? Email us at [email protected].
The key is to change to ‘private’ or ‘incognito’ mode, or simply clear your cookies before searching. This stops booking websites from linking your current search to previous visits, so the system sees you as a brand new visitor and could end up showing you the lowest available fares instead.
According to the travel pro, travellers have reported savings of up to £150 simply by booking in private mode compared with booking after repeated searches in standard mode. These changes in price are also particularly noticeable when booking long-haul routes or travelling during peak seasons such as the summer holidays.
They added: “The advantage of private browsing is that it removes one of the variables that could push prices up. While it’s not the only factor, it’s a simple, no-cost step that can easily work in your favour.”
Of course your browser setting isn’t the only way you can find some of the best fares available. According to the insiders, there are three extra hacks that are worth trying – check them out below.
- Search at different times of the day; flight prices can fluctuate depending on demand.
- Compare prices on multiple devices; you might find a cheaper rate from your computer than through your phone.
- Avoiding peak booking windows; prices often rise on weekends when more people are looking.
If you have a specific destination in mind, then you may also want to keep an eye out for the key moments in the year when travel companies release holiday deals. For example the likes of TUI, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways all usually have some hefty discounts on during their Black Friday sales, while come January most airlines and holiday firms slash prices to tempt holidaymakers into booking ahead for the summer period.
Want more travel hacks to help you get the most of your budget? Check out our travel tips guide.