How To Find A Great Flight Deal

Whether you’re a solo traveller or a family looking to travel abroad, finding a great flight deal always feels good. Finding the most affordable deals isn't always down to just luck. You can make your dream trip a reality if you know the right places to look.

We have 8 useful tips to help you get the best flight deal:

1. Timing is key

Booking at the right time is essential to getting a cheap flight. Prices for flights can vary depending on distance and demand meaning ticket prices fluctuate regularly.

Skyscanner's data experts have found that flight tickets are usually cheaper earlier in the week than later. Booking last minute can also be more expensive due to availability, so planning in advance will help you get the best deal.

While there are great deals to be found all year, there are extra savings to be had at these key times:

What:	When:	Best for?
Black Friday	Friday 24th November 2023	All travel deals; especially long-haul flights between UK-USA and UK-Australia. Budget airlines sometimes have £5 flights to European cities, too.
Cyber Monday	Monday 27th November 2023	Flights and travel essentials like luggage and accessories from online retailers
Boxing Day	December 26th	All travel deals

Source

If you don't want the hassle of searching for deals, Skyscanner's Price Alert is a great free tool for getting a cheap flight without doing any work. Once you’ve set up an alert for your preferred destination and dates, you'll get a notification whenever the price of your flight changes!

2. Check out Comparison Sites

Comparison sites trawl through the internet for the best deals on flights/package holidays. They can make it easy to find the best deals available if you have a date and place in mind. If you need inspiration on where to travel to, set your destination as 'Anywhere' to find some great bargains.

Below are some great comparison sites that will generate a free donation when you go through Give as you Live Online:

Skyscanner compares millions of flights to help find you the cheapest deals. They have a great range of helpful filters to get the best deal for you. You can even select a greener flights filter, which shows you flights with lower CO2 emissions!

TravelSupermarket is a price comparison service for flights, package holidays, hotels, cruises and more!

TripAdvisor is a great site for looking at places to travel. You can discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from other travellers.

3. Book a package holiday

Package holidays save you the hassle of planning and are often cheaper than booking flights and hotels separately. Traditional holiday destinations usually have cheaper travel packages for 7-14 days away.

last m inute.com have a wide selection of cheap package deals starting from £75 per person for two nights! For less visited destinations or shorter trips, sometimes it can be better to book your flight and stay separately.

4. Collect and redeem frequent flyer points

A lot of airlines offer frequent flyer programmes that reward you with air miles or points whenever you fly. You can redeem these points for free flights, upgrades, shopping and hotel stays. If you travel often, joining a frequent flyer scheme will help you get cheaper flight deals, as well as other great perks.

5. Beware of hidden taxes and fees

Many people buy cheap flights online only to discover they have to pay extra for luggage or to choose a seat. To get the best flight deal, you should always double-check additional fees before you commit to your flight as they are not always made clear.

The Civil Aviation Authority website has a useful airline charges comparison table which shows additional fees for a lot of major airlines. Paying with certain payment cards may also cause an extra charge.

6. Book car hire early

If you are planning on driving after your flight, car hire can save you £100s on transport costs. Comparison sites can help get you the best deal. You can book car hire as a part of a package holiday or through a separate company and raise a free donation for your chosen charity via Give as you Live Online.

7. Check airline low-fare guarantee pages

Always check if an airline has a low-fare guarantee page. These pages contain unbeatable fares guaranteed to be the cheapest flights for your destination. If you manage to find a cheaper price somewhere else, some airlines will match the price and even offer a voucher to you as a bonus for the cheaper price! Easyjet, British Airways and Emirates are examples of airlines that have low-fare guarantee pages.

8. Flying with kids

Instead of paying for your child's ticket, look for an airline where they can fly for free. Most airlines allow children under the age of two to fly for free if they are sat on your lap for the duration of the flight.

Other airlines will give you a discounted fare for child tickets. Here are some airlines which often hold promotions for children flying discounts:

Whatever way you choose to get the best flight deal for you, don't forget to use Give as you Live Online so you can generate free donations for the charity close to your heart!

What is Give as you Live Online?

Give as you Live Onl i ne is a FREE online fundraising platform that has raised over £31 million for UK charities just through online shopping. There are over 6,000 stores listed and over 200,000 charities available to support. Sign up, click through Give as you Live Online and raise free donations whenever you shop!

Offers, donation rates and participating stores are correct at the time of writing and are subject to change. Please visit the Give as you Live Online website for the most up to date information.