How to land a cheap flight as travel restrictions relax, and why it pays to be flexible

As COVID-19 travel rules relax around the globe, more and more people are thinking about taking to the skies.

While there are traditionally fewer deals around the holiday season for air travel, travel experts say there are ways to save on your next flight if you’re flexible.

“The number one tip if you want to save money for flights is flexibility. If you can be flexible with one thing and what I mean by that either your destination or dates you can probably get a good price,” Barry Choi of moneywehave.com.

The personal finance and travel expert says the day you fly and time of your flight can make a difference in price.

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Choi says very early morning flights or late afternoon departures are sometimes less expensive.

“Even flying a Tuesday through Thursday is traditionally cheaper than flying Friday through Monday,” Choi explained.

Travellers may also want to consider a stopover rather than a direct flight which could save you hundreds of dollars.

A break in a flight itinerary may also be a great way to see another city.

“Let’s say you want to go to Paris. You can fly to any city in Europe and maybe take a discount carrier or possibly a train and it could save you money,” Choi said.

“It may take you longer to get there, but at the same time that stopover is an opportunity to see more of Europe.”

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To offset higher fares, watch for Black Friday and Cyber Monday travel deals, he added.

“As a travel expert and travel deal hunter I always look forward to Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” Choi said.

“To me, travel is one of the best deals to be had. The thing is you have to be ready to pounce on those deals because usually they even have travel Tuesday and as soon as those deals are gone, they are gone. So if you are ready to commit, book right away.”

Choi also recommends signing up for price alerts and joining travel related mailing lists to score deals.

Also, if you’re in the market for a new credit card, now might be a good time to apply for one.

“With travel coming back credit card companies want to entice you to sign up for their card. I’m seeing welcome bonuses that are worth hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars these days and these bonuses are the highest I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“So it’s a good time to sign up for a new credit card if you are looking for one.”

To contact Anne Drewa and Consumer Matters, email story information and contact details to consumermatters@globalnews.ca